I cut my gaze back. Violet stays quiet, eyes flicking between us, until Idun turns her attention back to Violet.

“He’s so frustrated all the time because he’s the most confined. You see, being the hero can be terribly exhausting. I’ve always tried to help him out as much as possible. Not that he’s ever appreciated such effort,” Idun says, as she props her chin up on her hands, puckering her lips in a playful pout.

She grins at Violet, while Violet keeps a stoic expression.

“Emit’s lazy and full of self-loathing, unless he can scar your body with his hideous mark, and then he demands for you to leave it there for the sake of his uninspiring, pointless existence. I’ll let you keep him,” she says, shrugging a shoulder.

Violet raps her fingers on the table, her lips preparing to move.

“Don’t,” Emit cautions, trying to stop her before she engages.

“Emit’s not as ruthless, and he does let too much slide,” Violet says, dulling down Idun’s attack. “He’s also the only alpha who looks out for his omegas. Not just some of them—all of them. His laws reflect that. It’s the real reason his betas rebel so much. They have no respect for the ones who need protection, and they hate that their alpha helps the weak. They want a more ruthless image.”

Idun snorts, and then she quickly covers her mouth, as her body starts shaking with suppressed laughter.

Violet’s face returns to stoic.

“I’m sorry,” Idun says, barely reining in her laughter. “Now I see what you see in her. She’s perfect for you soft fools. Have you honestly forgotten what we are?”

Her expression turns more serious, and she loses all interest in Violet, as her gaze returns to mine. Contempt is in her eyes.

She then flicks her attention to Emit for the first true time.

“I’ll be one to have to deal with your endless bad bloodlines, because you never do exterminate them all. Eventually, it bites you in the tail, and then what? Oh, that’s right, Idun has to be the bad guy,” Idun states with a sarcastic huff at the end.

Once again, she trains her gaze on me.

“Van Helsing takes mercy on the wolf, allowing him to break the law, since his curse is least effective on Emit, due to all the insufficient ruling the wolf alpha does,” Idun carries on, as the cameras draw closer. “The wolf would have to work damn hard to win me back, and he’s not the type to put forth that much effort. I’m not holding my breath, and my heart’s not breaking.”

I envy Emit.

I hate that I envy that fucking stupid mutt.

He damn near smirks.

“Damien’s a lost cause. He’s as pointless as the wolf. Keep him as well,” Idun says, gesturing with her hand toward the doors that open behind us.

Damien moves in next to my side, eyes concentrated solely on Violet.

Air stirs to my right, and Arion slips in between Emit and I. Four useless ducks in a row.

If we react suddenly, Idun gets her war. Violet stacked a deck without knowing all the rules first. Why the hell isn’t Avery advising her better than this?

“I hate to butt in, but this is my meeting. Schedule one with them if you want to take a walk down memory lane and insult them with unfair blanket statements and partial truths,” Violet cuts in, drawing the first angry glare from Idun, since she’s already getting worked up.

“Keep trying to provoke me, stupid, young monster. I’ll tire of your mouth sooner than you’d like,” Idun says, leaning toward her.

Violet doesn’t budge, and her eyes never leave Idun’s, which is remarkably foolish and far too arrogant.

How is it that rules of our instincts don’t apply to her?

Is it because of all the mixed heritage?

Is it because of the miraculous birth?

Is it because of her human raising among a much more lenient time and country?

Is it because too many braincells have been burned out by botched potions in poorly ventilated spaces?

“By the time I got done with you, you’d be begging me to take Caroline in your place. You’d betray her and fall off that high horse you’re riding around on. Then your little Sanctuary would crumble, and you’d be left with none of them, because you’d be nothing more than damaged goods. You’re a few thousand heartbeats away from an eternal humbling you’ll never forget. You have no idea what it takes to be an alpha, and you have no idea what I’m capable of,” Idun assures her, no longer pretending to play nice.

Violet lets her gaze flick to us, as we all wait with painfully held breaths, hoping she finally backs down.

She turns back around, slides some papers across the table to Idun, and gives her a smile.

“Sounds terribly scary. I’ll need your signatures here, here, here, and…” Violet’s voice trails off, and she flips the page, pointing to a new spot. “Here,” she adds, glancing back up from the paper, keeping that smile fixed to her face.

Idun gives her an irritated look.

“Why would I sign anything, little girl?” she asks in a barely calm tone, her patience noticeably fraying.

“Because some of your betas, who’ve been loyalist even while you were underground for a thousand years, suddenly went rogue. Clearly it sounds too suspicious, and since you’re advocating that you’re not here for war, it’d be a show of good faith,” Violet tells her in a practiced-speech sort of way.

Idun glances down at the paper and rolls her eyes.

“This states I can’t use my own flock of carpenters for the next round of renovations. Bobo is a visionary when it comes to woodwork. It’s his only purpose in life, Violet. You dare try to take that from them just because you’re a little too possessive? Stop thinking you’re an alpha, before I’m forced to once again remind you that you’re not.”

Violet glances to the camera and back to Idun.

“I think a lot of things,” Violet states, her serious expression darkening, as something damn near malicious crosses her gaze. “I think you have too much power and abuse it too freely, simply because you can. I think you enjoy toying with the lives of others to remain relevant in a world that doesn’t really hear the ribbon girl story very often. They certainly don’t fear her.”

Idun’s nostrils flare, but she gives no other reaction than that.

“I think you love trying to make a mockery out of me and Sanctuary. I think you scheme, plot, and spend entirely too much of your eternity being overly diabolical for petty agendas, because you’re so powerful that it’s made you bored. There’s no sport or fun in much of anything anymore, because there’s no challenge left for you.”

“My, my. You certainly spend a lot of time thinking about me, don’t you, Violet?” Idun muses, sitting back in her chair.

“You’re just one of a few distractions I have running, at current. One thing I certainly don’t think is that I’m an alpha,” Violet tells her.

I want to run my head through a wall.

“But I don’t need to be an alpha to run Sanctuary. You want to find a way to beat me some more, be my guest. You’ll never find power over me. If you want to extort the law for your gain, I’ll call you out for the sake of protecting Sanctuary. The Simpletons won’t be in your House. They’re the first charge of protection I have, and you’ll manipulate them if they’re under your care.”