The Greyhollow Pack had planned a retreat to the coastal den-estate, a rare handful of days where the whole household would travel together under a full warrior escort. But when Lena's old neighborhood scent-bond, Tessa Thornvale, caught wind of it, she begged to be included. Without so much as a glance in my direction, Lena pulled my reserved place from the Alpha's private convoy and handed it to her, arranging instead for me to run with the foot warriors on a thirty-six-hour drive through back roads with no guard.
I looked to my mate's pack. Not one of them raised a word of objection.
So I took the arrangement. I took the long road, traveled west, and stayed away for three moons. By the time the silence broke, the entire Greyhollow household had descended into panic.
It was rare for Lena to step away from pack matters. Her minor hunting-ground holdings barely kept her busy, but the appearance of authority demanded her presence, and so genuine time away from the territory was a luxury. When the household settled on a retreat to the villa on the coast, I began planning half a year out. I chose the safehouse, mapped the route, coordinated the convoy, arranged provisions, secured the seaside villa through one of my Ravenfall-controlled front holdings, and handled every detail from vehicles to meals to the warrior rotations.
No one else lifted a finger. They never did.
I didn't mind the work. If the pack was content, if there was a single evening where the tension in the household loosened enough for something resembling warmth, then it was worth it. Arranging a secure convoy of armored carriages was no small task, so I had claimed the seats moons in advance. When Rowan mentioned she had never ridden in the Alpha's private car, the reinforced black sedan with its leather interior and tinted silver-glass, I paid out of my own pocket to upgrade every place in the convoy so the whole household could travel in comfort.
Then, two days before departure, Lena appeared in the doorway of my study. Her scent reached me first, stale leather and cheap copper and that over-sweet wine gone sour, and something in me went still before she even spoke.
"Tessa heard about the trip. She wants to come." She said it the way she said everything, as though the decision had already been made and my role was simply to absorb it. "The convoy's full, so you'll take the long road. I already made the arrangements."
She sent the details to my communicator. A route map. A thirty-six-hour drive. No escort. No armored carriage. Just a place in a civilian vehicle running with the foot warriors.
I stared at the crystal screen, then looked up at her.
"What is this, Lena? This was supposed to be a family retreat. You're bringing Tessa Thornvale?"
"Of course." She didn't even hesitate. "She wants to come, so she comes."
The anger rose in my chest like a slow flame behind my ribs. My wolf stirred low beneath it, hackles lifting, a growl I held behind my teeth. "When my sister asked to join us, you shut it down immediately. You said this was family only. No outsiders. Just us. Now Tessa snaps her fingers and you rearrange the entire convoy?"
"Tessa and your sister are different." She loosened the collar at her throat, a gesture meant to look careless that only showed how little she understood the weight of her own words. "She and I go back to the old neighborhood. She's closer than family. She practically is family."
I scoffed, the sound sharp enough to cut glass. "I arranged the convoy moons ago. Every place, every vehicle, every safehouse along the route. Why should I be the one running with foot warriors?"
"There were no places left. I had to pull yours and give it to Tessa." She shrugged, one shoulder lifting and falling with the practiced indifference of a wolf who had never once earned the comfort she took for granted. "The only thing left was the long road."
I looked at the route again. Thirty-six hours through back highways. No silver-glass windows. No guard at my flank, nothing between me and whatever waited on those roads.
"So Tessa Thornvale rides in a Ravenfall-funded armored carriage, in the place I reserved, while I spend thirty-six hours exposed on back roads with no protection?"
A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Didn't you say once that you liked the open country? The empty roads? Here's your chance to see it all."
I turned to my mate's pack.
