Chapter 18 Chapter 18
Violet
I had never gotten over a hangover so fast in my life.
Elijah drove like a madman and ignored our terrified screams from the backseat as he swerved and cut through narrow lanes, whooshing past people and trees alike.
His eyes kept glancing at us from time to time but no way did he slow down. I saw his muscles flex as he gripped the steering wheel too hard, and pushed the accelerator like his life depended on it.
I wasn’t sure how long the ride lasted but he abruptly pulled into a curb and we both smacked our heads on the front seats as he parked in a driveway.
“Ow, we didn’t die” I joked as I struggled to find the door handle but Elijah had already slammed his door shut and yanked the door beside me open.
He didn’t say a word but I could feel the heat and anger rising off him like steam over boiling water. His fingers clutched the door a bit too tightly and he stepped aside to give me a way.
Cassie meanwhile, joined me and he slammed the door shut, making us nearly jump.
He didn’t say a word as he turned around and began walking away from us.
Only then did I truly look around.
“Where are we?” I asked as I took in the perfectly trimmed bushes, the water streaming in a fountain and the freshly mowed lawn with a stone pathway leading to a tall building.
“May I present to you, my swanky cage of a home.”
She began walking forward but I hovered near the car, unsure if I should join her.
“What are you waiting for?”
“This is your house, not mine. I should probably hail a taxi or something.”
“You are going to leave me to deal with the devil alone? Not happening” Cassie looped her arm around mine and we walked in through the large wooden door.
And I gasped to realize I had just walked in the most upscale property ever. The hall itself was huge as was its ceiling high enough to make the massive chandelier hanging down seem small.
I had not really thought of what Elijah’s place would look like but I sure didn’t expect to walk in a space with bare walls and no soul.
It looked modern and chic but there was no warmth, no personal touch anywhere.
The moment we entered, Elijah turned around, arms folded across his chest. His gaze flicked between us, and I swear the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.
“I specifically told you to go home,” he said to Cassie. “Not drag Violet into one of your impulsive escapades.”
“It wasn’t an escapade,” she fired back, brushing past him toward the sitting area. “It was fun. Something you wouldn’t recognize if it bit you in your stoic ass.”
I wondered what gave her the courage to talk back to him like that, especially when he was breathing down our necks like a mad bull.
Elijah inhaled sharply through his nose — the kind of breath people take when they’re holding back a storm.
“Fun? Getting drunk in a place full of strangers? Throwing money at strippers? You call that fun?”
“It ended fine, didn’t it? You got to play hero again. Must’ve fed your ego nicely.”
Their words clashed like claws, sparking tension so thick I could taste it. I hovered by the door, unsure if I should say something or melt into the expensive walls.
“Cass,” he warned, “you don’t know what’s out there.”
“Oh, please,” she cut him off, throwing her arms around animatedly. “Here we go again! The world is dangerous, Cassie. People are bad, Cassie. Don’t go out, Cassie.”
Her mocking tone was almost playful. Almost.
But there was something trembling underneath it.
“I’m not a child,” she continued. “You don’t get to control my life.”
Elijah’s tone stayed low and deliberate. The kind of calm that was somehow worse than yelling.
“I’m not trying to control you. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“Safe from what, exactly?”
“From criminals and rogues,” he said, his gaze hardening before looking at me. “Ask her, she witnessed a rogue attack a few days ago.”
But Cassie slammed her hand against the nearest table, and the sound echoed through the huge space.
“Rogues? Who would even dare touch the sister of the great and powerful Alpha Elijah Lockwood?”
The way she said his full name dripped with sarcasm.
Elijah’s jaw clenched. “You think power makes me immune to loss?”
“I think power’s all you care about!” Cassie’s voice cracked slightly, though she masked it with anger. “You don’t love people, Elijah. You just protect them like they’re pieces on your chessboard!”
“Enough,” he said quietly, but his voice had steel in it.
“No!” she snapped, her voice rising. “You think everyone should bow and obey you, but maybe I don’t want to live like one of your pack members, waiting for permission to breathe!”
I winced. It wasn’t even directed at me, but the force of her words stung.
Elijah’s eyes flashed with a mixture of frustration and guilt.
“I’m your brother, Cass. It’s my duty to worry about you.”
“You know what’s really sad? I had to string Violet along last night because when I texted my friends that I was back in the city and wanted to hang out, not a single one said yes. You know why?” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “Because they’re scared of you.”
“No offence, Violet,” she quickly added.
“Uh, none taken,” I shook my head, trying to make my presence smaller.
“Cass,” Elijah said, his patience thinning, “this isn’t a joke. People would hurt you just to get to me.”
That silenced her for half a second. Then she exhaled, shaking her head.
“Am I the only family member you should worry about? Why would your enemies use only me as bait?”
Cassie’s words seemed to have hit a nerve because something in his posture shifted, and tension coiled in his shoulders.
“Dont” He warned but she didn’t back away. His gaze flicked to me and I realized he didn’t want me to hear whatever she wanted to say next.
That this was a family matter I shouldn’t be a part of. But Cassie was in no mood to stay silent.
“Do you even know if your parents are alive?” Cassie pressed, her voice trembling now. “When was the last time you even called them?”
The words hit him like a physical strike and I saw him flinch.
“Just go to your room,” he said at last, his voice on edge. “You need to sleep this off.”
Cassie shook her head, tears glinting in her eyes. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You’re my half-brother, not a real brother and certainly not my father. So stop pretending to be either.”
And with that, she spun on her heel and stormed down the corridor, her heels echoing through the hall before the sound faded completely.
The silence that followed was deafening.