40. Cassian

FORTY

Itrudge behind Professor Whitlock toward his office. He doesn't offer me a single word of guidance, like his job title implies, knowing full well that I'll be on my own when I step through those doors.

My father is feared by everyone, and it seems that panic filters all the way through the academy, too. When I was small, he scared me, but as I got older, wiser, I learned a lot of his crap is all smoke and mirrors. He also taught me to fear no one. He probably didn't mean to include himself in that equation, but here we are.

The professor's office door creaks open as he pushes it with his hand, but he steps to the side so my father only sees me standing at the threshold. Loser. Stepping into the room, I note the small lamp offering the only source of light so my father can look even more dangerous now that the sun has set.

He leans back in Whitlock's high-backed leather chair, ankle propped on his knee and his fingers laced together, offering me more of a sneer than a smile. His brown hair is long and uncontrolled, covering half of his face, but his piercing blue eyes are prominent, even in the low light.

The door clicks shut behind me as I edge farther into the room. My father waves at the seat on the other side of the desk and I take it with a sigh.

"You've been avoiding me," he grunts, shifting in his seat so both of his feet are on the floor, and rests his elbows on the desk.

"Yet you still didn't get the message," I retort, and his failing attempt at a smile disappears altogether.

"Watch your tone," he warns, the rasp of his wolf slipping through into his gravelly words.

"What do you want, Father?"

"Alpha," he snaps, slamming his fists on the table in a fit of rage, and I shake my head.

"You're not my alpha." I keep my voice even and any hint of emotion locked away.

"I am until I say so." This has been his reaction since I cut ties. He didn't like my announcement, and he didn't like me leaving his pack—or his control—which, in his words, forced him to exile me. Exile is a lonely place for a wolf, but I still have a lot of people around me, so I don't mind it as much as I could.

He doesn't like me basking in his punishment, so he's reverting to imaginary control that he still believes he has. Because of other people's fear of him, he truly thinks he has it.

Taking a deep breath, I inch back in my seat, but I'm far from relaxed. I'm more alert now than I was at the diner on Friday. I may not fear him, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't anticipate his moves.

"If you're here for a power trip, I'm going to have to cut it short," I state, and he shakes his head, disappointment oozing from him.

"To leave the pack is one thing, Cassian, but to allow another origin to win in a duel for you is something else entirely."

Ah, so the news got back to him. Good. I knew it would piss him off. Not that I take pleasure in doing it purposely, but it's just another reminder for him that he doesn't control me anymore. He may be annoyed it's someone from a different origin, but I bet he's more pissed that she beat the girl he had betrothed me to. The strongest beta for me, or so he said, was beaten by a fae. I think it's fantastic; he, however, would not.

He wants me to call him out on it. He wants to get under my skin. He wants to get any kind of emotion from me, and I refuse.

"It's none of your business," I breathe, reminding him that he's not my alpha without saying the actual words again because I know it will have him charging at me with his fists raised.

"It is my business when it reflects badly on me," he snarls, and my eyes narrow.

"Does it, though? I'm not a member of your pack and you publicly exiled me. If anything, it's a reflection of how terrible I am, and proves that you made the right choice exiling me. It works in your favor if anything," I ramble, watching as his hands ball into tight fists on the table.

He purses his lips, eyes drilling into mine. "I want to meet her."

"No." My answer is instant, but it doesn't really register in his mind.

"It's not a question."

"The answer is still no," I push, refusing to give in to the man who has always been too selfish to be a true alpha.

"I will meet her, Cassian. I'm throwing a moon party on Saturday. You will come, and you will bring her," he orders, still not getting the message. Sitting tall in my seat, I lean a little closer to the desk.

"I said?—"

"If you don't," he interjects, projecting his voice so loud that the desk rattles between us. "I'll meet her on far less amiable terms, with you nowhere in sight."

Fuck.

The promise in his eyes is certain. I can see right through him. He already has a contingency plan in mind if I don't take her to the moon party and my gut tells me it wouldn't be good. Before the duel—fuck, right after the duel—if he had tossed this threat my way, I would have backed away without a word. Unfazed, uncaring, and glad to be rid of a fae girl who has done nothing but leave chaos in her wake.

Now, however, I can't say I'm as impassive as I was.

I can't let him get his hands on her. My wolf won't allow it.

"Is that a threat, Father?" I ask, refusing to acknowledge that I care enough about her to do as he demands.

A sneer spreads across his face as he sweeps his hair back. He stands, leaning over the table in an attempt to dominate. "Defy me and find out."