Three
The next morning, Viviana’s shoulder hurt even more than it had the night before. It was agony getting out of bed, and when she shuffled into her bathroom, she looked in the mirror and gasped. She could barely stand up straight.
How was she going to hide this from her mom?
She took a shower. The warm water loosened her muscles. Maybe she’d be able to get through the day without Marlana figuring anything out. If she laid low, she’d heal faster. She shuffled back into her room and dressed.
A text waited on her phone, from “Mr. Fun.”
Mendy’s code name. Viviana smiled. She hadn’t heard from her sister in a couple of months.
She picked up her phone and read the text. All’s boring here. More chores. Maybe a baby soon.
Viviana frowned. Did Mendy want to be a mom? Had they talked about this already? When Mendy had gone off to be an Exchange, she’d been practically kicking and screaming. But now she was talking about having babies.
For some reason, it made Viviana feel lonelier than ever before. Wow, that’s exciting. I’ve got a massive bruise on my shoulder I’m trying to hide.
Make-up and grit, Mendy texted back. Cover it with make-up and stand straight no matter how much it hurts. Or just stay in bed and fake a fever.
Viviana shook her head so fast it hurt her shoulder. That’ll just make her hover.
Since when did she hover?
Since you left, Viviana thought, but she didn’t write it. Mendy had gotten out, that was the important part. Mendy hadn’t wanted to leave, but in rebelling, she’d effectively taken herself out of the running for alpha. Viviana was happy for her…except that meant Viviana had to fill the alpha void, something she probably wouldn’t have chosen for herself, although she’d found she wouldn’t mind leading. She just hated the way her position had cut her off from her friends.
The princess of the Corona Pride. That whisper echoed in her head. Had she imagined the whole thing, or had there really been a vampire out there in the woods?
Her stomach growled. She tapped out another message on her phone. Keep me posted on baby news, okay? Let me know when I should start knitting.
Better start now, came Mendy’s quick reply, otherwise the booties won’t be done until the kid’s in high school. I remember how you were with crafts.
Ha, you’re so funny, Viviana wrote back.
How’s our brother and his bitch of a wife? Mendy wrote.
Fighting, like always. Agatha and Michael had what Viviana called, in her mind, a hate-hate relationship. But Marlana had orchestrated the match, and Agatha and Michael, good little soldiers that they were, had gone along with it. The thought made Viviana feel ill. If she weren’t careful, that could be her fate someday. Look, I should go. Love you.
Love you too. Miss you.
Viviana allowed her fingers to hover over the screen for a few more minutes, then she quickly deleted the entire conversation. Texting with Mendy would only lead to trouble. Her mom had wanted to cut Mendy’s “bad influence” out of Viviana’s life for good. It had been a strong, lasting message. Viviana would obey just about anything Marlana said, but she couldn’t, couldn’t lose her sister. Her only friend, really.
Her stomach grumbled again, so she tossed her phone on the bed and went downstairs. Her baggy sweatshirt covered her shoulder, and if she stepped carefully, only small jolts of pain went through her shoulder and arm. Had she broken it? If it didn’t set right, she was screwed. She rolled it, experimentally, and bit back a shriek. Not broken, but it had probably fractured. She just had to take it easy.
The kitchen was bright and sunny already—today would be hot by Montana mountain standards. Viviana peeked around—all clear. Maybe her mom was upstairs in the office, plotting how else she could take over the world.
Viviana opened the refrigerator with her uninjured arm, grabbed the milk, and took it to the counter. Then she went to the cupboards and found her box of Lucky Charms.
“You’re favoring your left shoulder,” her mom said from behind her.
Viviana jumped, and the cereal came cascading out of the box too fast, spilling over the edges of her bowl. “You startled me.”
“Why are you favoring your shoulder?” Marlana asked.
“It’s a little sore. No big deal,” Viviana said.
Marlana came the rest of the way into the kitchen. Viviana cleaned up the spilled cereal and tried to keep her face blank. No secrets here, see Mom?
Marlana paced around the kitchen island. “I’m just not sure when you could have gotten hurt, that’s all. Was it when you were going up to your room last night to ‘go to bed early?’”
Viviana didn’t say anything. It felt like Marlana was trying to pick a fight, and Viviana never won those.
“Or could it have been when you sneaked out?”
Viviana gasped and met her mom’s fiery gaze. “I—”
“Ben Channing told me. Not voluntarily. He’s got a guilty face I can spot a mile away. So, what happened?”
“We fought, that’s all.” Viviana poured milk into her cereal bowl, trying not to let her hands shake.
Marlana sniffed. “I’m worried about you, Viviana. I don’t want you to turn out like…like a bad seed.”
Like Mendy, was what she wasn’t saying. Marlana didn’t want Viviana to be like Mendy.
What Marlana didn’t know was that Viviana was the complete opposite of Mendy. Viviana was shy and chicken whereas Mendy was bold and brassy. Viviana behaved. Viviana didn’t rock the boat.
But inside, Viviana was harboring a lion full of rage, full of longing. Nobody could know that. Viviana didn’t even like admitting it to herself. So she gave her mom the simple, easy answer. “I can’t sleep sometimes. Running helps get me tired.”
“Take a Guardian with you next time.”
“I don’t want to run with someone—”
“Take a Guardian,” Marlana interrupted.
Viviana’s shoulders fell. “Fine. I’ll take a Guardian.”
“We need to get you a bodyguard.”
“What?” Viviana asked.
“Someone who can watch you, run with you.”
“I don’t want to be babysat by someone,” Viviana said. “I’m almost twenty-two.”
“I’m not opening this up for discussion,” Marlana said. “Ben said you heard something out there.”
It wasn’t a question. Viviana wasn’t sure if she was supposed to answer it.
“Was it a vampire?” Marlana asked.
“I think so. I don’t know. It couldn’t have been, though—the treaty—”
“The treaty is only in effect until it isn’t.” Marlana took a deep breath and went to the espresso maker. “I’m going to hire someone to watch you.”
“I don’t need babysitting.”
Marlana gave her a pointed look. “Obviously you do if you’re sneaking out like an errant teenager.”
Viviana felt her cheeks flush with shame. It hadn’t been like that. “Why don’t you just use your alpha power to keep me in?” she asked.
“Because I shouldn’t have to do that with my own daughter,” Marlana said. “I should have earned your respect from the beginning. Part of earning that respect is not forcing it. When you’re an alpha, you’ll understand. The power shouldn’t be used in interpersonal arguments—only when the safety of the pride is at stake.”
It explained why Marlana had sent Mendy away rather than continue to use her power to keep Mendy in place. With a shudder, Viviana remembered when Marlana had tried to keep Laura from going into the vampires’ cave to save Dristan. It had felt unfair, wrong. Marlana had later apologized for it.
Viviana didn’t want to be an alpha like that, and she didn’t believe her mother did, either.
Marlana spoke again. “I’m going to put an ad out that we’re looking for someone.”
Viviana knew it was pointless to argue further. She dipped her spoon into her now-soggy bowl of Lucky Charms.
“Do you know what you’re wearing tomorrow night?” Marlana asked.
The dread in Viviana’s stomach grew. “It’s tomorrow night?”
“You’re going to have fun. Don’t look so scared.”
Viviana focused on her cereal.
“Oh, for god’s sake,” Marlana said. “These are your pride mates. They’re going to show you respect by celebrating your birthday with you, and you’re going to enjoy yourself.”
With a sound of frustration, Marlana turned and left Viviana alone in the kitchen.
Pride mates, she’d said. Respect.
When what Viviana really wanted was friendship, and fun.