ass, knowing that she was going to dishonor the agreement and try to take over this lounge and all of their assets instead of honoring what she agreed to. But from the look of things, I don’t need to give it.
The cockatrices from both lounges are oozing plenty of judgement and antipathy out into the atmosphere, and I know my mat can feel it. She’s not stupid. She only chooses battles she knows she can win, and this challenge just got a hell of a lot more complicated. She may beat me, but if the entire lounge turns their back on her because of it, she’ll have lost in the end. If they won’t accept her leadership, she’s powerless, and that’s not something she’d set herself up for.
“I’m only doing what your alpha was going to do to me. Do you really think he wasn’t going to turn on me?” she defends.
“I haven’t issued a challenge and had no intention of doing so,” Rook counters, and my mat glares at him. I almost feel bad for not letting Rook carry out his initial plans for her. I’m the one that made him agree to leave her alone. I guess this will teach me to be too generous by giving the benefit of the doubt and forgiveness.
Rook watches everything like a hawk. Power and tension radiate off of him like steam, and I wish I could grab his hand and whisper that it’s all okay. The plan is working. My mat wants to challenge me, I can see it in her eyes, but we’re tying her hands. This is exactly what I was hoping would happen.
My mat has been operating in the shadows for way too long. People who witness shady things are threatened to stay silent about them or are exiled before they can speak out. She’s had a stranglehold on everyone and what they know, but that just changed. If she continues to challenge me, she’ll be held accountable for it.
It’s funny, all cockatrice talk about Alpha Bowen like he’s the worst of the worst, when really, he’s just strong. Leaders like my mat are the ones that need to be taken out, not him.
The anger in my mat’s eyes dims, and her shoulders fall slightly. She knows this isn’t going to go down the way she wanted. Frustration and resignation fill her green eyes, and I swallow down the sigh of relief that wants to rush out of my lips. I hoped against hope that this would work, but there were no guarantees.
“I rescind my challenge,” my mat calls out begrudgingly. No one says anything, but there’s a palpable exhale and release of tension in everyone that’s gathered around.
My mat steps to the center of the ring and extends her hand. It’s customary to shake hands as a show of faith and renewed trust, but I don’t trust my mat. I step away from Rook anyway, because like it or not, I am a matriarch now, and I can’t disrespect the cockatrice way.
Cunning green eyes track me as I move confidently closer, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up in warning. I tell myself that she’d be condemning herself to death if she tries anything, but that doesn’t do much to make me feel better. But I can’t balk or show any hesitation or fear. Just like I told Rook before, to do that would invite endless challenges from rival lounges, and until I get my evil shift-stopping anklet off, we can’t have that happen.
I take my mother’s hand in mine. It’s deceptively soft—probably because she’s never done a day of hard work in her life—and unsurprisingly cold, like every other aspect of who she is.
“This isn’t over,” she tells me flatly as she gives our clasped hands one hard pump.
I release her hand and step back. “I don’t know, mat, from where I’m standing, it looks like the tides are turning.”
I spin on my heels to move back toward Rook and the enforcers of my new lounge, leaving her to stew on that. My pulse pounds in my ears as I walk away, adrenaline and relief rushing through me. I can’t believe we did it. I mean, I had faith, but to know it’s over...I can’t help the smile that crawls across my face. I look up, searching for Rook, my eyes filled with victory, but my stomach plummets when I spot the rage pouring off of him.