Page 47 of The SnowFang Storm

“Believe me now?” He sounded like he was chewing on some jerky.

“What the hell are you doing?” I managed not to scream at him.

“Dad didn’t see any reason to so—”

“Cut the shit. This was what you and Dad planned from the start. You were always going to hold our mating ransom. Fleece us every year like a sheep.” My throat twisted so tight it hurt.

Jerron, actually, didn’t answer.

“You’ve double-crossed AmberHowl,” I said, although it sounded pathetic.

“Is that what the AmberHowl say I’ve done?” Jerron asked, amused. “I doubt they care all that much if you and I are talking.”

My vision washed red with fury. My skin shivered. “Let me give you some free advice, Alpha. You threatened a Chronicler. You tampered with the Archives. You accepted a payment in bad faith. The AmberHowl are going to wash their hands of this, maybe they’re in on the fix with you. But don’t think I can’t find a SilverPaw enemy who’d love proof Elder Alpha Jerron of SilverPaw is a scumbag.”

Another pause while he processed what I’d said: a sure sign I’d gotten through his thick skull. He hated it when I needled him. “You can’t prove anything, Winter.”

“You want to bet I can’t?” I growled. “I can prove you cashed that check. I can prove you were in Virginia, at AmberHowl. I can prove I was there. I can prove Marcella met me at the airport, on the tarmac. I can put us all there at AmberHowl and start all those unpleasant questions. So you answer mine: what the fuck are you really after, or is this how you get off?”

His voice took on a murky, loathing quality. “The Alpha of SilverPaw cannot have a sister who is an Abomination.”

“Then shut up about him being a hybrid and it will go away.” Jerron was so fucking stupid it hurt.

“I’m not the only one saying it. You’re unfortunately my sister, and with Dad dead, I can’t let you officially be his mate.”

“Gaia, you really are an incompetent asshole.” I laughed at the insanity of it. “Use those two brain cells that dangle between your legs. Now I’m a runaway. You need to come collect me to get SilverPaw’s honor.”

Jerron laughed instead. “Last I checked, you were Unwanted.”

I choked as if he’d liver-shot me.

“So sad, dear sister. So very sad what it came to. Dad finally realized you were Unwanted after that nasty scene with SaltPaw, and he sent you away to protect SilverPaw. The grief of it killed him.”

“You lying sack of maggots,” I whispered. “What have you done?”

Something creaked, like he was leaning back on the old battered couch in the living room. “I’ve done us both a favor. This is your lucky day.”

I didn’t feel lucky.

“You don’t seem to realize how this works out for you. If you’re Sterling’s consort and not his mate, then when he’s declared a hybrid, you can kill him and blame Dad for forcing you two together. It’s not like the old man didn’t drop dead a week after he shipped you off in secret. But if you’re his mate, then you’re an Abomination and you’ll have a price on your head, and my sister being an Abomination would be really inconvenient for me. Imagine how pleased I was to discover that you aren’t actually his mate, and Dad knew it, and even the AmberHowl let it slide.”

“Bullshit and you know that. Demetrius will cut you from throat to tail for saying he participated in it to make you happy.”

A low chuckle. “Funny, I don’t hear him howling. And personally? I know you’re the dog’s bitch. I smelled how wet he got you the instant he walked in. I always thought you were a frigid bitch the way only a cold breeze got your nips hard, but that hybrid showed up and I thought you needed a bucket for how wet you were. Wasn’t you were a frigid bitch, you’re just an Abomination and only a freak gets you wet.”

“Says the wolf that fucks human women because she-wolves won’t touch you or they’re all related to you. Or haven’t you figured out that Dad’s work was important? Give a shit about the fate of the species and acknowledge Sterling as a purebred and my mate. Everything you’re doing now is just going to be more of the same and we will die.”

“We are not going to die, Winter. Dad was an alarmist.” He chortled, and it was a murky swamp of glee and raw hatred. “You can choose which way this goes for you. Or haven’t you realized why Dad kept you down in the Archives?”

Our father had not been an alarmist. I’d seen the data. I knew the truth. I wasn’t playing this game. I knew why I’d been an Archive brat. I’d chosen to be an Archive brat. Dad might have told Jerron something else, and Dad didn’t get to gaslight me from beyond the grave. “This scheme of yours isn’t going to hold up, Jerron.”

A chuckle. “The next Chronicler can figure it out if they want.”

I whispered, “I will make you regret this. I swear I will make you regret this.”

Click.

Sterling had only shaven half his face, and stood in the doorway like a statue, unmoving and burning with anger.

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