Page 34 of The Forbidden Wolf

“It’s just stuff I sleep in,” I mumbled the lie even as I pulled out a pair of ripped skinny jeans that only a maniac would attempt to sleep in.

“I see.” Ruby hesitated. “Has she sent anything more…”

“Dignified?” I snorted. “No. This wasn’t a gift, Ruby. Kiana is trying to make me look foolish in front of Sebastian. And I can’t say that I blame her.”

Blowing air through my lips, I slumped onto the couch beside the box. I had hoped that after the shock wore off, Kiana would realize she had dodged a bullet—one that I’d be taking for her. When I gave in and mated with Sebastian, the Bronx and Manhattan Packs would still be merged, but Kiana could remain alone on her Throne. No Alpha Male ordering her around. No royal pups nipping at her heels. She’d gotten everything she’d ever wanted, and nothing that she didn’t, so there shouldn’t really be a problem.

Unless I didn’t actually know my twin all that well. Guilt swirled in my gut, pushing champagne-flavor stomach acid up into my throat. I couldn’t close my eyes without seeing Kiana’s stricken face, so beautifully framed by the delicate golden tendrils Sebastian was meant to tuck behind her ear when they woke in each other’s arms this morning. She had been so afraid he wouldn’t find her appealing…

A devious smile twitched my lips. The least I could do now was graciously accept my sister’s gift and finally wear my human clothes around my fellow shifters with my head held high. Psycho Sebastian might not be deterred, but his parents would surely be mortified. Maybe even enough to void his claim. If only I had an Alma Mater Animalis crop top to go with my dangerously low-rise, thrift-store jeans…

Energized by this plan, I lifted the box and dumped all of its remaining contents on the floor. Cold metal clanked atop my bare toes. I yelped and bucked the object off. It landed on the carpet with a sound like tinkling ice, and I froze. The upside-down box hovered above my lap, hiding my view of the floor.

“Ruby?” My voice came in a weak rasp. “What just fell on my foot?”

“Um…” Ruby twisted her neck to peer under the box. “It appears to be a cookie tin, miss.”

My eyes slammed shut, and that word I wasn’t supposed to say whooshed from between my lips—this time, barely more than a whisper. I tossed the box in Ruby’s direction and bent over my lap, tightening all the knots in my stomach. It heaved, and I had to clasp my hand over my mouth to avoid throwing up all over my treasure box.

“Miss Elyse?” Ruby stepped toward me, but I waved her off with my other hand while fighting to swallowing the burning liquid in my mouth.

How?

The contents of the tin jangled cheerfully as I lifted it onto my lap.

How?

I held the small square box on my trembling knees, pressing my thumbs into the rounded edges of the lid. The scent of earth and hyacinth filled my nose. Kiana must have tracked the scent from the clothes I left in my laundry basket. Which meant, since I didn’t let the servants do my chores, that she had also found my extremely dirty clothes from Friday night. And if she’d caught a whiff of Sebastian…

When I pried off the lid, the early morning sun shooting through the bedroom windows lit the box’s contents on rainbow fire. I reached inside and pulled out a handful of jagged, iridescent chips mixed with bits of yellowed paper.

Kiana had taken the time to unwrap the plastic, open each case, remove the DVD, and shatter it into hundreds of tiny pieces. There was a sticky quality to the remnants that suggested she had done that part with her fangs. Then she had taped the largest surviving shred of my Little Women book to the inside of the lid with a message scrawled in blood red ink across the narrow rows of thick black font:

Dearest Sister,

I am going to spend the morning returning my poor dressmaker’s phone, and then I’ll come by around noon to collect what else you’ve stolen. Tell my mate to pack his things. I don’t mind sloppy seconds, but I do mind treason. We will complete the ceremony, as per our agreement, or the Bronx will have no choice but to rescind the offer and declare war.

Kiss kiss,

Kiana

Shit.

“Shit,” I echoed my wolf out loud.

Ruby gasped, and then quickly tried to cover it with a little cough because never being scandalized by your superiors’ aberrant behavior was Servantship 301.

My eyes bounced from the letter rattling in my trembling hand to Ruby’s paler than usual face. She swallowed hard and asked, “Miss?”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly through my mouth as one of the AAA girl’s shifting instructors had taught her to do when she felt like the world was spinning out of control. “Ruby, do you remember when you asked me if I needed your assistance with anything else?”

She frowned. “Yes, of course, it was just a few—”

“Does the offer still stand?” I asked calmly before taking and releasing a second deep breath.

“Always.” She took an urgent step closer. “What do you need?”

“I need to know where Sebastian is,” I said, reaching into the pile of clothes at my feet and withdrawing my favorite most ironic shirt. No better time than the present to prove I was not worth the trouble Kiana meant to rain down.

---