Babysitter

I sank as low as I could against the floor in total submission, thankful I hadn't let my wolf out earlier. Had I done that, she would have clawed through the floorboards, certain she wasn't worthy of being on the same level as Ferrara.

Pathetic.

Ferrara guffawed, and my skin flushed with humiliation, while my mind raced. Why had he dropped by today? For three whole years, we hadn't seen each other, and it wasn't like he always came around when I wasn't at work. I lived right above the bar. I was always here, so he had over a million opportunities to come see me if he cared.

But knowing Ferrara, and his hatred for me, I figured he'd just left me here to rot with the bar.

I changed tactics, throwing myself at work and making sure the Confections bar turned around and began making more profit than before. I'd hoped that by doing so I would gain his attention. Prove that I could have a purpose in the pack.

I was dead wrong.

Nothing. Not a glimpse. Not a note of thanks, or appreciation. It was obvious he couldn't care less about me. Was he finally here to do what he should have done three years ago? Was he here to finally accept me?

What would happen if he'd decided to marry someone else? It wasn't common for wolves to marry someone different from who the Moon Goddess had chosen for them, but it did happen. Would he need to kill me?

Or maybe he'd figured out how to remove our mating bond. There was a witch attached to the clan. Maybe it was possible.

"Get up," he sighed. "Now."

He didn't push any of his power in his voice. He didn't need to. My wolf would have slit her own throat if he'd just casually mentioned it was something that would make him happy.

I slowly straightened, but kept my gaze to the floor, waiting quietly.

"Chin up. I want you to look at me."

Shit. It was one of two things. Either he was here because of me or had decided to entertain himself while at it.

Either way, I was not going to just be able to slink out of the bar unnoticed.

Still, I didn't dare speak. His golden-yellow eyes swept over my appearance in distaste, and I felt my eyes moisten. Behind him, two of the three guards smirked, enjoying my humiliation. The other looked on with curiosity. Him, I recognized. He'd been there when Ferrara killed my father.

He was the one who'd locked his claws around my neck and held my in place while I watched. I never did learn his name.

"Stabbing customers is not ideal for business now, is it?" Ferrara asked as he twirled the knife between his fingers.

"Considering that Confections is now turning a profit, maybe you shouldn't question my techniques?"

As soon as I words left my mouth, I regretted it. Immediately, I was on my knees again, about to grovel for mercy.

Is that smart mouth of yours going to be worth your death?

It was what Parker would say to me in moments like this. If he could see me now, he'd be furious with me.

The bar was deadly silent. When Ferrara suddenly leaped over the counter, I closed my eyes and waited for the fatal blow to come.

Instead, I heard the ring of the cash register. Confused, I opened my eyes and watched as he pulled out the day's receipts. He grunted as he sifted through them carefully, and closed the register.

After what seemed like forever, he turned to me.

"Get up."

Once again, I pulled myself to my feet. If I started adding a little hop at the end, I'd be doing burpees and getting some killer abs.

I could feel his gaze on me. "Bar's closed for the day. I want everyone out."

Charlie shifted behind me, and I turned to leave. "Not you, Violetta. And Charlie, you can wait for us in the office. I want a word with you before I leave."

Oh, good. He wanted to kill me without an audience. At least it wouldn't be public.

The bar was slow to empty. Clearly, everyone was hoping to see my humiliation. Finally, it was just the two of us with his one guard. "You remember, Jenson, I'm sure."

I remembered him. I just never knew his name. Parker's lessons on pack hierarchy came to mind. Jenson was Ferrara's beta. His second-in-command. His power curled around me, not as seductive as Ferrara's, but sharper.

A lot like those claws that were at my neck.

"Good. Now pour us some drinks, Violetta."

Robotically, I did as he asked, watching as he settled back on a bar stool and studied me. "You know, when Parker told me that you wanted to tend bar, I figured you had a death wish. A month later, this suddenly became my most profitable business. Who would've thought displaying Shane's accomplice of a daughter was the fastest way to get rich? Jenson?"

Jenson shook his head with a chuckle.

Bile rose in my throat, but I kept my mouth shut as I sat two beers in front of him. He'd known what I was doing?

Parker must have told him. It made sense that he was reporting to his alpha.

"Haydenwood Brewery?" Ferrara growled. "You realize that's a Snake River Pack beer, don't you?"

"No." I finally dared to look at him. "I don't know anything about any of the packs. I know that it's popular."

"Parker didn't educate you?"

"I think Parker's only mission was to make sure nobody killed me. He did that fairly well up until he died." I couldn't help but let bitterness rise in my voice. "I don't even think there was a funeral for him."

"There was. You weren't invited."

Pain curled deep inside me. The old geezer had been a real bastard at times, but he'd also been far more kind than anyone else in my life. "Maybe it's time you stop toying with me and just tell me what you're doing here."

"Confections bar is mine. I can come and go as I please. I'm starting to think I need to come by more often."

Wonderful. I really needed to curb my tongue and become as boring as possible. "You are right, of course. Parker was a bastard, but I'm sad that he's gone. Are you replacing my babysitter?"

Ferrara grunted but didn't say anything. As he sipped his beer, I took a deep breath. "Please. I don't even know how he died."

"Suicide."

"Suicide? No fucking way. You're wrong. So wrong."

With his beer halfway to his mouth, Ferrara narrowed his eyes and growled at me. "You're still ill-mannered as ever, I see. Parker didn't change that."

"No, I'm sorry. It's just that...Parker wouldn't commit suicide. He wouldn't...he wouldn't leave me." Tears rose in my eyes, but I struggled to hold them back. I was weak in almost every single way that mattered, but I couldn't be weak now. One person had shown me some decency in my life. He'd been drunk, abrasive, and incredibly offensive at times, but at least he'd respected me.

I would not let his death be written off as suicide. I just couldn't.

"And here I was thinking that Parker killed himself because of you," Ferrara said. "That I put him in charge of a woman I should have killed years ago, and in doing so, I stripped him of all his friends and family. He killed himself because he had nothing but you."

If he was aiming to hurt me, his aim was dead-on, but I didn't back down. "Parker told me that his son had been away for years before I came here, so you can't pin that on me. And we both know that Parker didn't have friends. What makes you think he killed himself?"

"Because he put a gun to his head and left a note."

My hands started to shake, so I clasped them behind my back. "And what did the note say?"

"Wondering if he killed himself because of you, my dear?" With a smirk, he drained his beer and stood. "I'm here to promote Charlie. He's your new manager, and as you call it, your new babysitter."

My shoulders sagged. Of course Charlie was the new manager.

"I quit."

Ferrara cocked his head. "You can't."

"You can't keep me here against my will."

"I can, Violetta. And I will. Did you think this was a job? This is your prison, my dear. You leave when I say you leave. Do what you're told, and maybe it'll be another three years before I see you."

I could run. I didn't know much about the clan politics or the local packs. They were all independent of each other. The king exiled Shadowed Moon Mountains a long time ago. There was no higher authority than the alphas, but they controlled nothing out of their own territories. I could blend in with the pack-less rogues. I knew these mountains like the back of my hand.

It wasn't the first time I'd considered running and picking my life up as a rogue. I might not make it more than a few years before another wolf ended my life, but it would be a few years of freedom. That was all I wanted.

"And if you run, Violetta, I will find you, and I will make sure that where I put you next will make this place look like a castle."

Ferrara stopped and headed for the door, Jenson following closely behind Helplessly, I watched him go.

"You don't understand. You don't know the things Charlie will do to me."

Without even looking back, he said. "Oh, I do. And I don't care."