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‘This is insane,’ Dad said. ‘Should we be locked up? Is any of this real?’ He pinched himself and winced.
‘Look at our son,’ Mum said pointedly. ‘He’s a wolf.’
He stared at Ben. ‘I think I need to go and do some baking,’ he said faintly, then turned and went into the kitchen.
‘He’ll come around,’ Mum said. ‘He hasn’t seen as many miracles as I have. It’ll take a little longer to sink in.’
I gave her a small smile. ‘Where’s Pollyanna?’
Mum’s mouth tightened. ‘She said her role here was done. She walked out.’
‘She left Ben?’ I gaped.
Mum nodded. ‘If she’d leave him like this then she’s not good enough for him.’ Her tone was bitter.
Confused, I shook my head. I’d seen her love for Ben and her desperation at his injuries. Pollyanna loved Ben, I was sure of it, so why the hell had she walked?
‘So you’re a werewolf alpha?’ Mum said, blatantly changing the subject. ‘Greg said you run the whole pack?’
‘Yes.’ I paused. ‘I just helped break a huge curse on some former werewolves and the Werewolf Council have proclaimed me their Queen.’
She blinked and shot an accusing look at Greg. ‘You omitted that.’
‘She deserved to tell you some of her secrets herself.’ His voice was unruffled.
A small frown creased her forehead. ‘You’re Queen but someone attacked us, so clearly you’ve made a few enemies.’
I thought of Jimmy Rain and the Domini. ‘More than a few,’ I admitted unhappily. A psychopathic prick and a whole shadowy organisation. At least Beckett Frost and Mrs Dawes were dead.
Her frown deepened. ‘Is the title of Queen a poisoned chalice?’
‘Oh undoubtedly,’ I said, voicing the dark thoughts I’d had since the proclamation. ‘So far the title has done nothing except draw a bigger target on my back. I suspect my enemies are sniggering every time they use the honorific. They intend it to be a death sentence. Every wolf that fancies being King will see it as a challenge – and after all, I’m just a woman. In werewolf culture, you kill someone to take over their role.’
‘That’s not good.’ She looked worried.
‘Don’t worry,’ I said firmly. ‘I’ve always been excellent at being the popular girl. This will be no exception. I’ll win them over.’
‘And the ones you can’t win over?’
I braced myself as I met my mother’s eyes. ‘Those ones we kill.’
I waited for her to recoil, but she did no such thing. ‘Good,’ she said fiercely. Seeing my shocked expression, she smiled. ‘Lucy, darling, I want you to be standing at the end of this. Greg explained it is a dog-eat-dog world and, given the attack on Ben, I can well believe it. If you need a few heads to roll so people will take you seriously, I’ll pass you the damned axe myself.’
Greg looked at her approvingly before turning his gaze to me. ‘We need to talk about your parents.’
Mum glared and tapped her foot. ‘I’m right here. What about us?’
‘Under the letter of the law, we should call the Connection—’ Greg started.
‘—the magical police,’ Mum interrupted.
‘That’s right. We should call the Connection and we should get their minds cleared.’
‘Why do I get the impression we’re not talking about some calming meditation?’ Mum asked drily.
‘Clearing is when we remove any instances of magic from your mind,’ Greg explained. ‘You lose that triangle on your forehead, and you go back to normal.’
‘But I don’t want to go back to normal!’
