“I’m not doing this with you.” A sharp headache forms at the base of my skull that I can’t press away, no matter how hard I grip my neck. “I’ve made my decision.”
“You’ll regret this.”
“Choosing Warner’s happiness over your prejudice?” I laugh without humor, hit with a rush of sad resentment toward my mother. “No. I don’t think I’ll be the one with regret.”
In this moment, I want nothing more than to sink into my desk chair, stare at the ceiling, and ignore my responsibilities. But I’m a pack leader, and sometimes, the job gets hard.
Keeping my spine straight, I ignore my pounding head and stare my mother down until she drops her gaze.
“Beginning at midnight, you are exiled from Pine Falls pack territory. You may not cross the boundaries again until the exile is lifted. What you do beyond our borders is your choice. You are free to join another pack?—”
“I’d never!”
“Or wander as a lone wolf.”
Silence stretches as she glares at the floor and chews over my ruling.
“For how long?”
My voice stays steady, hiding the pain of doling out this punishment. “After a year, you may petition to return by showing true regret for your actions and demonstrating your commitment to never harming another inhabitant of Pine Falls, be they wolf or human.”
My mother growls. “A year? She’ll be gone by then.”
Disappointment in her response weighs heavy on my shoulders, coaxing them to sag. But I stand tall. “I doubt that. But even if Zoey is, the requirement still stands.”
“You’re joking!” She flings her arms out to the sides, reminding me of Tanya in a tantrum. “You would still make me jump through these hoops even after she abandons your brother?”
Rebecca’s continued disregard for the severity of her actions burns away my weariness, leaving only rage, until all I want is to demolish every breakable object in my office.
But I’m not some adolescent wolf with no control over the beast inside me. I am the leader of the Pine Falls pack, and I will bury this anger.
“Yes,” is my only response.
My mother’s hands clench and release, then clench again.
“Tanya and Isaac.” She says my youngest siblings’ names almost as an accusation.
The twins will probably be hit hardest by this.
“They are adults in the pack. If they wish to go with you, I won’t stop them.” I lean forward then, letting my power out in a way I normally keep under wraps. I need her to stop seeing me as only her son. “But I can’t imagine you would ask them to abandon their home to share in your punishment.”
She bares her teeth, and then her shoulders drop slightly. “No. I wouldn’t.”
“Then we will take care of them.”
“The shop.” Sawdust and Supplies—my parents built the hardware store together, and she will now have to abandon it.
“We will continue to run it for you in your absence. Warner is in the best position to act as interim manager, but I doubt he’s feeling particularly helpful toward you at the moment.”
My brother works for my uncle’s construction company and has always been the best of us when it comes to interacting with people. He’s upbeat and charming. At least, he is when the woman he loves isn’t being threatened by his mother.
“I would prefer him to run it,” she replies stiffly.
I nod. “Leave any instructions you think he might need. Uncle Mason and I will oversee things while he decides.”
“Does my exile extend to communication? Am I to be cut off from my children completely?”
“You can call and speak to any who wish to talk to you.” In my tone, I convey that number might be smaller than she hopes for.
