“It haseverythingto do with that!” Helena finally rises. “You were an amazing father while we grew up. But we’re grown up now. You need to let us make the lives we want to have.”
He turns to me then, eyes narrowing. “You. What did you promise her? Do you know what happens to Ravenwood Shield Security alphas who seduce their wards?”
I let the accusation roll off, chin up. “With respect, Lord Starling, it wasn’t like that. She chose. I followed protocol at every turn.” But I can’t help but bring up more evidence. “And I believe the last two Ravenwood alphas bonded with our prince and a popstar, so I believe there’s room for this, too.”
He stalks around the desk, coming nose to nose with me. “You’re thirty years old, Hawke. You should know better than to let a bored omega play you.”
I could say a lot of things. That Helena is never bored. That she’s the strongest, most clearheaded person in this room. Or point out that he lost her the second he started treating herlike a piece on a chessboard. I say nothing because if he doesn’t leave my space within seconds, it won’t be mymouthdoing the talking.
“Father.” Helena stands. “I’m not doing this for attention. Or to hurt you. Please stop attacking Zane.”
“Then why?” He whirls away from me—thankfully. “Explain to me, darling. Please. Enlighten me why my eldest daughter is spitting on three hundred years of Starling tradition.”
Again ignoring what his eldest son already did.
I should have called Ranier. Made him understand and be here. He’d have come for Helena.
She looks at him, eyes huge and bottomless. “Because I want to behappy. I want to live my life without spending every minute waiting for someone to tell me what comes next.” She turns to me. “And while I left here hoping to avoid pack life and Omega Selection Day, I finally met alphas worth fighting for.” She turns back to her father. “They’re whom I want. They’re my pack. End of story.”
He sags a little, eyes going suddenly old. The rage ebbs, replaced by something like heartbreak.
“I’m sorry,” Helena says.
Her father closes his eyes and takes a few slow breaths. “I spent a fortune on that finishing school. On this entire—” He gestures at her, helpless. “Thisproject. You’re meant to lead. You could have any alphas you wanted. Instead, you drag home a pack of… misfits. What am I supposed to tell the family? The media?”
“Tell them the truth,” Helena says. “That your daughter is off the market. That she’s happy.”
Lord Starling stares at her with lips pressed white. “Does your mother know?”
“I’ll tell her. She’ll understand.” A beat. “Or she won’t. I don’t care anymore.”
He sinks back into his chair. The fight is gone. “Ranier will support you in the media. I suppose his omega will, too.”
“Emeryis my friend, yes,” Helena replies. I think a part of him will always hate “wild omegas who don’t follow the rules,” or whatever he once said about Emery.
After a long minute, he asks, “You’re not coming back, are you?”
She shakes her head.
He looks past her, through me, into the dark. “Then you should go.”
Helena hesitates. “Do you want to meet them?”
He barks a laugh, hollow. “No. If you want my blessing, you’ll wait a few years.”
She gives him a tiny, sad smile. “I won’t need it by then.”
He nods, and that’s it. In his way, he’s signed the paperwork, released her from everything. But I know in his heart, he loves his daughter enough to change his mind. I’ve no doubt that in a few weeks—once this has blown over and the media has had their say—Helena’s father will be down in Seamuse Village to have dinner with us all.
I follow Helena out of his office, but at the door, Lord Starling says, “Hawke.”
I turn. He looks at me, flat and cold. “If she ever comes to harm, if she ever regrets this, you and your packmates will wish you’d never left the beach. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.” I don’t break eye contact. “Understood.”
He waves a hand. “Get out of my house.”
We walk back through the echoing hall, up the stairs, to her old room. Helena moves like she’s underwater now, everything in slow motion. Her hands shake as she flips on the light.
