Chapter 3

Dragging my suitcase out of the bedroom, I spotted Lucas and Sarah squatting in my home like they owned the place, and my brows tightened.

"Still not leaving?"

Lucas lit a cigarette, wearing the smug look of someone who had nothing to lose.

"Elena, you may have bought this house, but Betas don't have private property rights in the pack. As the future Alpha, I have the authority to requisition it."

Sarah giggled and leaned into him. "Elena, I need a proper environment to recover after being marked, and this house is perfect. You're the one who should leave-and don't forget the keys."

A bitter laugh slipped out of me. I pulled out a copy of the property deed and slapped it across his face, the edge slicing his cheek.

"Look closely-this is a human legal deed. This property is protected by law. Get out. Now."

Humiliated, Lucas shot to his feet, and his Alpha pheromone pressure burst out in a surge of anger.

With the purest royal bloodline of an Alpha Queen, his so-called pressure barely registered to me.

But I had to keep pretending.

I stepped back, one hand bracing against the wall as the color drained from my face. "Lucas, are you going to hit me?"

Satisfied by what he thought was submission, Lucas approached me.

"Elena, stop acting out. You'll stay and take care of Sarah. Consider this your evaluation period. If she's happy, I might take you back."

Sarah chimed in, "That's right. Make tonic soup for me every day, do the laundry, and don't bother us at night. I'll put in a good word for you with Lucas."

I stared at the shameless pair, and the fury I'd been holding back finally snapped free.

I swung my hand hard, the slap cracking across Lucas's face and splitting the corner of his mouth.

"You... you hit me?" he stammered, stunned.

"I hit you because you're a piece of shit."

I raised my hand toward Sarah next, but she shrieked and lunged at me, claws outstretched for my hair.

I sidestepped her and caught her wrist, but Lucas grabbed my arm and shoved me hard.

"Enough, Elena!"

Caught off guard, I slammed into the sharp corner of the entry cabinet.

Agony shot through my lower back. With my inhibitors suppressing my healing, the blow likely damaged something deep.

Lucas hesitated, a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but Sarah yanked him back.

"Lucas, she tried to kill me!"

His expression hardened instantly. "You started it. You've really disappointed me, Elena."

Swallowing the pain, I pulled out my phone. "Fine. Then let the police explain things to you."

Sarah's face drained of color. She snatched the phone from my hand and hurled it to the floor, smashing it.

"No police! If they come, your shot at becoming Alpha is over!"

Sarah shot me a venomous glare, then ran into the storage room and came out clutching a can of accelerant.

"If we can't stay here, then you won't either!"

She shouted at Lucas, "Lucas! If you don't teach her a lesson now, she'll walk all over you! Burn the house-once she's dead, you, as her fiancé, become the primary heir!"

Lucas froze for a moment, then stepped forward, blocking the only path between me and the door.