Page 3 of Savannah Royals
“I think she’s a wolf.” The third boy finally spoke. He was lanky with black skin and big, hollow eyes. Deep shadows were etched in the somber lines of his face. “Look at her dark hair. She’s a wolf,” he continued. “Just like us.”
“Welcome to the Wolfpack, Kitty-Kat.” Paul tossed me a bruised apple.
“Whoa.” I snatched the fruit out of the air. “Where’d you get this?”
The boys all laughed.
“We get whatever we want, whenever we want,” Tony said. “We’rereyes—kings. Royals.”
“We’ll teach you how to get whatever you want too,” Paul promised.
I smiled at the three dark-haired boys, liking the sound of that very much. I took a big bite of the apple, licking the juice from my fingers, not wanting to waste a drop.
That’s the moment I became a wolf.
Wolves, you see, are always hungry, and even at just six years old, I wasfamished.
CHAPTER ONE
Savannah, 1919
Thetinklingofchinateacups and high-pitched peals of girlish laughter are almost more than I can bear. My head is positively pounding. The morning sunlight streaming through thick glass windows has pushed me into a seat at a corner table, deep in shadow.
Which—who am I jesting?—is where I prefer to be at these trivial events. I sag slightly in the corset under my morning gown, but Headmistress Helena’s hawk eyes land on me. I right myself, crossing my legs at the ankle beneath the table. For good measure, I paste on a soft, bland smile. The headmistress gives a curt nod before moving on.
I sigh and relax my posture again. I’m coming off another long night with the Royals—publicly known and feared as the Wolfpack—casing Astor Manor for the umpteenth time.
How many more nights we gonna do this, Paul?Tony asked, flipping his dark hair.
As long as it takes. We’ll only get one shot.
My eyes track my classmates as they mingle through the brightly lit tearoom. They swarm the visiting young men like bees to a honeycomb, their buzz a bit louder than usual because the entire trifecta is here—the eligible sons of the Morgan, Astor, and DaMolin families. Three American dynasties under one roof.
It’s a feeding frenzy here today, I muse, fanning myself in my corner. Lionesses on the hunt.
But with just under a year left at Telfair Academy, a premier boarding and collegiate finishing school for young ladies of the American South, I suppose I understand why.
I absentmindedly drum my fingers as Florence Vanderbilt, head bitch in our class, gabs at the blond guy. They’re a perfect pair, both yellow-haired and blue-eyed. A matching set of Anglo porcelain dolls. She laughs coquettishly at something he says and rests her hand on his forearm. His gaze flickers briefly to her hand, then away. I chuckle to myself, amused by both her transparency and his disinterest.
“Miss Quinn.” Headmistress Helena is back. “Why don’t you talk to some of the young men? It’s one of the first open houses of the season, and—”
“I shall. I’m just taking a short respite,” I reply, trying to shut her lecture down before she can really pick up steam.
“I understand you’re very fulfilled by your apprenticeship with Raymond,” she begins carefully, tucking a lock of salt-and-pepper hair behind her ear.
“Yes, ma’am.” I lift my hand to examine the many rings on my fingers, all but one crafted by my own hands in the back room of Ray’s jewelry shop.
“But you should take advantage ofeveryopportunity the Academy offers,” she says, undeterred.
“Perchance not every opportunity is right for every lady.” I narrow my eyes.
She laughs. “Pray tell, Katarina, how would you even know, sitting here, sulking in the corner?”
I don’t deign to respond. After all, I can hardly tell her I already have someone waiting for me. Someone I sneak out to see half the nights of the week while the other girls sleep in their feathery beds, virginal and blissfully unaware. Dreams of sugarplums and fairy dust and rich boys have neverbeen my own. It’s the adrenaline-filled rush of a good con and a stolen moment in the dead of the night I crave.
With Paul.
“You might be surprised, Katarina. You think you have it all figured out, that you already know where you’re headed, but you shouldn’t ignore the opportunities around you for the sake of stubbornness.”
