I knew Lyle had chosen this location thinking it was remote, but it had worked against him rather than for him, allowing my wolves to surround the area in advance. A small voice recorder was already placed on me to track any conversation, and my phone was prominently visible in my pocket without one in case he asked for it, expecting me to utilize an app. Shannon was near enough to the parking area that her powers would be able to encourage his emotions should the need arise, though she still believed it wouldn’t be necessary, certain her plan would work on its own merits and Lyle’s temper. Zev, Chann, and Alarick were spread through the nearby trees in their wolf forms for cover in case anything went wrong.
I forced myself to take several deep breaths as my wolf paced restlessly in my head, snarling her irritation. She wasn’t happy with our plan, seeing Lyle as prey and nothing more. She wanted to hunt, to rid us of this threat and move on. It’s a kind of hunt, I soothed her. A smart hunt. She growled her irritation, but she didn’t fight me for control.
That’s it, kitten, Ian cooed. You’re doing well.
I still agree with her wolf, Zev grumbled. Shannon’s plan is awesome, but he doesn’t deserve a second chance to come back at us.
If he comes at her again, we’ll handle it the bloody way, Alarick stated icily. There will be too much of a threat to the pack otherwise. But this offers an interim solution while Raff gets paperwork in place to transfer her to our care. I snorted. By getting paperwork in place, he totally meant forging paperwork. I was totally onto him.
I pushed from the car, letting the door close behind me as I headed for the picnic bench I had picked out. Not bothering with the seat, I settled on top of it, my eyes tracking around me.
He hasn’t been here yet, Ian assured me. He has no idea what you are, no idea that you’d think to outsmart him or try anything over on him. His words soothed my nerves, and I breathed a little easier, feeling the muscles in my shoulders relax.
Probably because he thinks I’m just a scared, seventeen-year-old girl who he can manipulate. Yeah, I was a bit bitter. Sue me.
Try to keep your own reactions calm, Shannon reminded me. I’ll tone you down if I need to. If we need to use the recordings, it’ll help if you don’t sound like you’re losing it.
I may hold you to that, I told her emphatically, fighting the need to fist my hands. I turned my face up toward the sky, letting the wind cool my flushed cheeks, breathing in the 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.
“Technically you already did,” I pointed out. “You sold them once already and claimed the money for them. The people you sold them to sold them again.” I lounged back on the table, my hands pressing against the rough wood as my feet idly swayed.
“You stole the jewelry in the first place,” he snarled at me, color tinging his cheeks.
“It was mine. My mother willed it to me. I had been living in that house with no heat, and almost no food, since she died. I went to Lupine Hollow on full scholarship where they covered everything for me. There were no expenses. You didn’t need to sell anything. Not a single thing. There was enough money in the accounts to cover the basic upkeep of that house until I turned eighteen and could have taken it myself.” I wished I could use Zev’s power and see the truth as he turned the color of a Bing cherry. “Why did you get rid of everything? Why did you sell it all? Why send me away? Why keep punishing me?”