Page 2 of A University of Betrayal

“Mady was there for me when our grandmother died,” Mia said tonelessly.

Dad had forbidden her to leave the house because things were particularly tense at the moment. She had called, but Mady hadn’t answered.

“You’ll see each other again soon.”

Mia laughed bitterly. “We both know that’s a lie.”

I turned to face her, and when our eyes met, I saw it. Her eyes glowed yellowish, as they increasingly did for months now.

“I don’t want to join the pack, Julian.”

Overwhelmed, I strode over to her bed to sit next to her and put an arm around her, sighing. Then I pulled her close.

“No matter where you go. I’m here for you, even if I’m not going to berightthere.”

I’d been thinking all night about what it would be like to live with the pack again, at least until Dad had his old house back. And the thought had weighed me down with increasing fatigue. It had worn me down inside. And I had made up my mind.

We had nothing to do with that shit last night, and yet the Quatura wanted to kick us out. How much I hated this town once again.

“So, you’re really going to leave me alone at the Copelands?” Mia looked at me insistently.“Wow,Julian, you’resucha responsible family member.”

I raised both brows.

“Easy there, sis. You can’t have a black-and-white view of everything. Besides, I thought you were old enough, and I wouldn’t have to babysit you anymore.” She turned her annoyed gaze from me back to the window as if she needed to savor the view one last time. As if we lived in the Council District, where the most expensive houses in town were located, inhabited by Air Quatura.

If all that hadn’t happened last night, I’d probably beveryangry with Mia now. I would have talked to her about the club visit, but right now, she was in a bad mood.

“You don’t know what it’s like, Julian. I can’t doanythingabout it. Dad will listen to the Alpha and take me to them.”

“You can try to keep as much distance as possible.”

Mia looked at me with raised brows. “Do you know how angry I am right now?”

I wanted to tell her how angryIwas, but I refrained.

“You don’t have to turn...” I said instead in a firm voice. “And if it does happen at some point, I’ll be there to make sure nothing happens to you.”

The anger disappeared from her gaze, and I could see a glimmer of fear, so I gently placed my hands on her shoulders.

“Hey, Mia. It’s the first transformation. You’ll be able to suppress the rest. I’ll talk to Alarik. He’ll give you wolfsbane.”

My words didn’t seem to reassure her.

“What if I transform like you, if I do something I don’t want to or even hurt someone?”

Tears filled her eyes.

My heart tightened because I couldn’t bear the thought of her beating herself up like that.It was all my fault.I was the reason Mia was so afraid of it. Hatred for myself rose up in my throat, but I swallowed it down. What other choice did you have than to simply block out the daily pain when life gave you no other way to deal with it? I hated it, but that was my fate. The price I paid for my mother’s death.

“What if the same thing happens to me as it did to you, and I...”

“Mia,” I pressed out with all my strength. I wanted her to stop reminding me of that time. It would tear me apart from the inside.

Mia was sobbing now, and I hugged her tighter.

God,what a bad influence I was on my family. They all led such unhappy lives, and it was because of me. It was time for something to change. I hadn’t thought about it at all, but Mia’s teenage behavior might not have been so unjustified. She also tried to repress what had happened back then. And now she was completely confronted with it.

Mia started to shake; her sobs became more violent. I didn’t know what else to do but stroke her back. “Hey, Mia Mouse.”

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