Page 81
ROSALIND
Normally, my nose helped me make sense of a room my eyes couldn't. The matriarchs had apparently bathed in money before arriving. Rose and gardenia tangled with jasmine, amber, sandalwood, bergamot, and vanilla. Individually, I could have picked apart every note. Together, they became an expensive cloud of flowers, spice, and sweetness so thick I almost started sneezing to expel it all from my nostrils.
Their natural scents tangled with pheromones sharpened by old rivalries, territorial instincts, suspicion, pride, and the subtle push and pull of dominance. Every woman who entered added another layer until my usually reliable nose was drowning in information.
Mei Ling held the head of the receiving line like an empress holding court. Her jasmine scent remained steady beneath the assault of competing perfumes, her voice warm and effortless as she greeted each woman by name. There was power in the way everyone approached her and deference in the way they answered.
The younger women of the Blackwood Pack surrounded her. Astrid's honeysuckle drifted from one side of me, her polite greetings perfectly modulated. Nell stood nearby, vanilla mingling with the faint rustle of fabric, authority in her voice as the confident CEO layered over the newly claimed status of a panther princess and Blackwood heiress. Addie was all apples, Irish steel, and absolutely no nerves or fucks to give.
And then there was me.
I stood right in line beside them, my spine straight, my dark designer sunglasses shielding my eyes. A familiar coldness prickled the back of my neck. Growing up as Sorsha Lobo’s only daughter, I was almost never brought out into public. Sorsha hid me away, certain that the world would see my near-blindness as a flaw, a defect, a weakness in the Lobo bloodline. I was her dirty secret, a broken tool kept out of sight until I could be traded.
"Welcome, Mary Ellen. I believe you all know my daughters. Astrid, of course. My new daughter-in-law, Nell. Addie... and my newest daughter, Rosalind."
Daughter. Not a bargaining chip. Not a blind defect to be hidden in the shadows or traded for territory. Mei Ling presented all four of us—biological, mated, and married—as an impenetrable wall of Blackwood women.
A suffocating knot tightened in my throat. I'd never felt anything like it. Was that guilt? Couldn't be. Only people in possession of a conscience experienced that phenomenon.
It had to be want. For the first time in my life, I wanted this. I wanted the warm, fierce protection of the Blackwood family. I wanted Gunnar’s heavy, reverent hands holding me at night. I wanted Mei Ling’s pride shielding me from the world.
A dark terror crept into my blood. Would they ever choose me?
If they found out what I had done—that I was the cause of all the chaos in their lives—they wouldn't see a daughter. They would see a monster. Gunnar would look at me not with devotion, but with the cold, deadly eyes of an executioner. That's why I had to make sure they never found out.
I reached up, my fingers trembling slightly as I hooked them around the frame of my dark sunglasses. I pulled the black lenses off my face and tucked them into my clutch. I lifted my head, letting the hazy daylight catch my clouded eyes, and faced the room with the practiced smile my mother had taught me.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all," I said smoothly. I would play the dutiful bride and daughter. I was good at pretending. No one would be the wiser.
A new scent hit my nose: dry heat, crushed grass, and the distinct, musk-heavy perfume of the African savannah.
Beside me, Astrid went still. Her breath hitched. Her heartbeat spiked to a frantic thud that vibrated against my side.
"Fuck," Astrid hissed under her breath, her hand tightening around my forearm.
"What's wrong?"
"Elias is here," Astrid whispered, her tone a volatile mix of panic and pure venom.
"I thought this was no boys allowed?"
"Good morning, Elias dear," came Mei Ling's voice, followed by the sounds of kissing on the cheek. "Thank you so much for bringing Alpha Kang to my little tea party."
Ah, that's what I was smelling. Lioness. Sena Kang was the Alpha of the Suncrest Pride. The pack was mostly women, other female lionesses, who moved both medicinal and recreational marijuana through the East Coast. My mother had met with the Alpha a few times. Once, I'd been in my wolf form and got a full glimpse of the lioness. Sena Kang had tawny brown skin with a mane of tight golden curls that belonged in a 1960s Black Power rally. The rustle of her fabric told me she was in leather today.
"I didn't realize the O'Shea pack started offering a door-to-door rideshare service," Astrid drawled, her voice dripping with dry sarcasm.
"My hotel is a full-service venue for guests who stay in our beds," Elias replied smoothly, the quiet edge in his voice making the hair on my arms stand up. "Text me when you're ready for a pickup, Sena."
Sena. Not Alpha. Not Ms. Kang. Beside me, Astrid vibrated with irritation while Addie fairly shimmied with delight. I wonder whose idea it was to use jealousy to bring these two together? I didn't have time to dwell on that as a familiar laugh carried across the room.
"I'm glad you could join us, Sorsha," Mei Ling said smoothly. "Celeste, Amara, it's good to see you."
When she was genuinely pleased, warmth spilled into Mei Ling's voice, softening the edges of every word. This was polished porcelain. Flawless, expensive, and cold.
"I'm glad to have finally been invited, Mei Ling," Sorsha replied, her voice carrying easily through the atrium. "Celeste has been introducing me to some fascinating Italian families. Old families that aren't part of our little circle anymore, but still have considerable influence. And with Amara's capital, we're putting together some very interesting investments. I'm so glad I took the time to get to know them. It's remarkable what you can find when you pay attention to women everyone else overlooks."
Well, fuck. I'd given my mother Celeste and Amara because Mei Ling considered them practically useless. Women on the bottom rungs of the social ladder. Women with no real influence, no important alliances, and no information I thought Sorsha could use.
