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.“If you’ve forgotten, I should remind you my title is Elite.E2.”“I heard all about what happened during your meeting with Arnou yesterday.”“Let me guess.” She crossed her arms over her chest.“Did Nathan tell you?”Nathan turned to scowl at her but winced in pain when his skin split again.“I did not.”“I have ears and eyes…sources by other means.If you’ve forgotten, I should remind you my title was Enforcer.E1.Retired.I have some clout, yet, in the Compound.Your insult to our Alpha utterly embarrassed me.“Insult?” she scoffed.“Are you serious? Do I look like a whore to you, Father?”Senior Valentine turned with stone-cold annoyance on his face.“Me referring to it as an insult is a gross understatement.You’ve offended our custom.Why?”“I call it what it is.If I wanted to lie on my back daily at the mercy of a greedy leader, trust me, I could have long ago,” she replied.“Explain yourself!” Her father was so angry she detected spittle flying from his mouth.She swallowed.“It wasn’t the first time he asked me to become Enola.”Senior Valentine’s eyes widened.Nathan turned in his chair, and the wooden legs scraped against the old floorboards.“Years ago, when I talked about leaving the Pack, I almost did.I thought if I disappeared, it would be better than leaving the Pack publicly and on bad terms.” If she got this off her chest, that would be one less burden to carry.“Tristan Arnou, caught me crossing our territorial lines.You two both know Arnou plays a tough game, and everything is about numbers and territory to him.He gave me an ultimatum that involved a trade-off.The ranking ceremony was to be held the next night, and he knew Nathan wanted to serve.Nathan had failed some of the tests and didn’t place high enough to be considered for any ranking.I stayed so Tristan would rank you.I knew that’s what you both wanted.Either way, he had the power to tarnish the Valentine family name if I didn’t accept.” Her gaze shifted from a puzzled Nathan to a dumbfounded Senior Valentine.“He tried to commit me as Enola, but somehow I convinced him if I served, I wanted to do so as an Elite.”“You were going to him, weren’t you?” Nathan asked quietly.“Yes.” She’d wanted to escape with her mate, but found herself in a Catch-22.Nathan huffed in frustration.“So then, everything is a fluke? All of this was never meant to be?”“How do you know Nathan wasn’t supposed to rank?” Senior Valentine asked.“I’m not stupid.I asked to see the proof before I agreed.There was no badge designating Nathan as an Elite leader.Tristan ordered one to be made that same night.”“This is crazy.” Her father shook his head.“This is what you wanted.You wanted to keep our family name high in the rankings.Imagine if Nathan didn’t rank that night.We know leader positions only become available once every other blue moon.When someone dies.When someone retires.Or when the title is stripped.Those things don’t happen often.Your Crew thirty-eight would’ve been handed to someone else, Father.”“No.”Both her father and brother were in complete denial.Even her brother’s face was expressionless, and his gaze shifted left and right, not focusing on anything.She wanted to hear from her brother the most.“I’m out!” she exclaimed.“Don’t expect to hear from me for a few days.I need some time to think.”Her father’s eyes were darkened slits by now.“I hope you return with your good sense.”“I never said I would return,” she said, meeting his gaze.Her father’s expression softened and a visible lump rose on his throat.“It’s forbidden,” Nathan said.“I’m no one’s prisoner,” Naomi replied and turned swiftly, heading for the door.Nathan was hot on her tail.She picked up the duffle bag with her meager belongings and strapped it to her back.“You can’t be serious.What are you doing?” Nathan grabbed her forearm, stopping her in the foyer.“Something I should’ve done a long time ago.” She jerked her arm away from him and opened the door.If she stayed a moment longer, she would change her mind again [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]