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AVA
Few things in life satisfied me as much as a job well done, whether something so exhilarating as crushing an enemy with my magic or so mundane as launching a successful marketing campaign. Fortunately enough, my exile from the family headquarters in Boston allowed me to enjoy both. Being 1200 miles away from my power-hungry grandmother and her obsession with me following in her magical footsteps was just a bonus.
Despite what everyone around me assumed, serving in my baby sister’s shadow since I’d been unofficially banished hadneverbothered me the way Grandmother hoped. Kayleigh’s perfectionism that rivaled our family matriarch’s, on the other hand?
Thatwas an absolute pain in the ass.
Kayleigh frowned at the laptop currently displaying the success of our recent PR blitz. Her frown was completely unnecessary as far as I was concerned. Numbers didn’t lie, and my campaign was helping calm the public’s fears after years of turmoil plaguing St. Louis.
I fought to keep my tone calm. “What’s wrong? You approvedallof the images, videos, and content. And the results are clear: People are responding positively to all three.”
Kayleigh pushed back in her chair and made a blandly disapproving face that had her so resembling Grandmother, I did a double-take.
“I’m just not sure how wise it is to focus on Maddox’s cousins and not onhim.On how hard he’s worked to rebuild this Pack and St. Louis’s economy.”
Something he’d been forced to do after his mother exchanged fatal blows with a challenger five years ago. An event that set off a bloody War of Succession and left only Maddox and his three cousins—brothers with rapier wits and six-pack abs who haunted my dirty dreams—with sufficient alpha strength to lead this city’s Shadow Wolves. Now it was my job to prove in the court of public opinion that peace and prosperity had returned.
Oh, and to pretend that drunken orgy with his cousins hadnever happened.
I forced every ounce of irritation deep beneath the surface. “Which isexactlywhy we’re focusing on his current successors in this campaign. Your children are too young to eventhinkabout succeeding just yet. We’re not even sure whether they’ll inherit his magic or yours. It’scriticalthe public develop faith in the stability of this Pack.”
Kayleigh sighed and gave a reluctant nod. “I know you’re right, Ava. But that doesn’t mean I have tolikeit.”
I wanted to roll my eyes and drawl, “Welcome to my world, Baby Sis.”
But someone like her would never understand constant disappointment. As much as I loved her, sheenjoyedthe power and prestige that came from being a Radiant caster: magical triple threats who could harness Shadow energy tied to the moon, Solar energy tied to the sun,andthe intoxicating Radiant energy that blended both. All without losing the ability to shapeshift into our animal forms.
But that powerdidcome with a catch.
Multiple catches, actually, but the one that ensured I’d remain the family outcast as long as possible was being forced to live, work, and evenmarryas the Circle of Dawn and Dusk—guided by the iron fist of our grandmother—chose. Which was how I’d come to be banished to magical obscurity in St. Louis, serving as my sister’s Understudy and glorified assistant. Why Grandmother couldn’t have tapped golden child Kayleigh to inherit the Boston Beaconship wasbeyondme.
My lips twisted when honesty forced me to admit, at least to myself,You know damned well Grandmother never doesanythingwithout an agenda.She had to know the secret I’d fought so hard to keep from everyone. Sometimes even myself.
Kayleigh misinterpreted the reason for my sour expression. “Well, no use in dwelling on the past. Grandmother wants us to clean up this little mess and restore St. Louis to its former glory. So restore it we shall.”
I somehow managed to keep a neutral expression rather than gag.
My sister glanced at her smartwatch and sighed. “Speaking of Maddox’s cousins, they’re due to arrive at the airport in two hours. I have a few more…things…to prepare before tonight’s reception in their honor.”
I stiffened as her voice took on a wheedling tone.
“Rory and Sorsha are thrilled at the thought of meeting theirfavoritecousins at the airport. And I obviously can’t send them alone with just their guardians and the driver. Would you pretty please be a dear and…”
Her voice trailed off expectantly, and I fought the urge to scream. We both knew she could make this seeming request an order if I refused it. Andsheknew I loved my nieces too much to disappoint them even if I were willing to defy her. No matter how much the thought of being stuck in a limo with those three wolves had butterflies stampeding across my stomach.
“Kayleigh…I still need to dress for the reception myself.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. You’ll throw on a gown with too little fabric to deserve the name, finger-comb that gorgeous blonde mane, and apply minimal makeup. And you’ll look absolutely stunning. Meanwhile it takes an entireteamof stylists to make me look half as good.”
That was the one area where my sister’s insecurities far outweighed my own. She believed I was the family beauty, failing to see her own incandescence that had nothing to do with being St. Louis Beacon.
She smiled ruefully and went in for the kill. “Besides. Do me this favor and I’ll simply look the other way when you sneak out of the reception early to bury your nose in a book.”
Thathad me perk right up. Escaping the presence of Maddox’s cousins before too many drinks could be had and too many mistakes repeated would be my number one mission tonight.
Hate screw me once? Shame on you. Hate screw me twice? No way was I takingthatwalk of shame again.
“Promise?”
