scent of pine and grass. The moon was half full tonight, and I could almost feel it caress my skin as I focused on it, offering both comfort and power. He expected me to be scared, I realized, as I let the moonlight energize me for what was to come. That was why he picked the night, the forest. I didn’t have to see my eyes to know they were glowing as I looked to where my friends were hidden in the trees. He didn’t expect to be giving me power.
I heard the car approaching as I let my powers drop back. He didn’t need to see my eyes glowing and ask questions. Keep them in check, I told my wolf. We can’t out ourselves to him. She growled, not liking it.
I’ll help, Alarick promised me quickly. A rustle in the branches had me looking to my left, and I saw his large form and glowing blue eyes. No powers in front of your uncle, Pixie. No exposing us. Command rang through me, shuddering over my body. For once, I didn’t fight it, I simply accepted it, letting it sink into me.
The headlights nearly blinded my night vision as Alarick slipped back into the trees, and I turned my head, shielding my eyes from the glow before he switched them off and stepped from his car. He hadn’t changed any, not that I had really expected him to. He would still be considered handsome by my old high school friends with his tall, slender frame, blond hair, and green eyes. He was dressed in one of the suits he preferred, though after my time at Lupine Hollow, it was easy to see that his weren’t even near the quality he tried to pass them off as.
“Penelope,” he greeted me coldly. “You’ve caused a lot of work for me.”
“Lyle,” I said in return, not bothering to get up from my perch on the table. “I don’t see how I’ve caused much work for you, considering you shipped me off to boarding school and haven’t had to interact with me.”
His eyes strayed to the phone in my pocket, and he grimaced. “It may be best to leave your phone in the car, my dear,” he remarked slightly louder. “I would hate for you to lose it in the dark here while we caught up.” The look he gave me was far from caring.
I shrugged, moved to the car, and tossed my phone inside, shutting the door with a definite click. “Better?” I asked, hopping back onto the table.
He studied me for a moment before nodding. “I see you haven’t sold the car the way I told you to.” Straight to the point then, I guessed.
Idiot, Chann seethed.
“No. And I don’t plan to. I told you, it’s part of my scholarship,” I replied, kicking my heels against the table.
Lyle waved a hand in dismissal. “No scholarship includes a car, and if it did it wouldn’t be a brand-new one in your own name.”
Because you’re an expert on all scholarships, Zev snarked. Ha, go Zev.
“This one did.” I shrugged. “I assume it’s somewhere in the paperwork you signed for me.”
It is now, Alarick told me, dark humor coating the words. How convenient that he happened to lose a few pages, but his signature is right there on them.
“Either way, the car is in your name. It’s still within your right to sell it and, as your guardian, I demand you do so and turn over the money to me immediately.”
“The terms of the sale do not permit me to do so as long as I’m a student at Lupine Hollow, and if I withdraw from Lupine Hollow, ownership of the car reverts back to the school,” I explained with a shrug. “I asked at the office. They said you were supposed to have all the paperwork, they seemed really concerned that you wouldn’t know that.” Lyle spun suddenly to kick his car, making me jolt.
Easy, Ian called out as the others began to growl. We knew he’d begin to react. Despite his calming words, his mental tone was hard as steel.
“The junk that was bought from your mom’s hovel. Where the hell is it? And what about her jewelry?” Lyle spat, turning back to me.
I lifted my chin now, not looking away. “They’re safe.”
“I told you to sell those!” His hands balled into fists, my wolf vision allowing me to see his green eyes flashing even in this dim light.