Chapter 4

I stood at the door, frozen.

The pack patrol?

Ethan had never mentioned this to me.

I had been here for three months, and I couldn't even enter the Packhouse without permission.

Yet Ethan was giving a spot on the elite patrol team to his weak cousin.

"Don't worry, I've already cleared it with the Alpha."

Ethan's voice was gentle. "As for Grace—she has me to take care of her. She doesn't need any of that."

Standing outside, I felt like laughing.

So in his eyes, I didn't need any of it.

The door opened. Zara walked out and froze when she saw me.

"Grace?" She quickly flashed a smile. "Are you here for Ethan? He's busy right now. Why don't you wait a bit?"

I took a step forward. "Move."

She blocked the doorway. "Grace, seriously, you can't go in. Ethan is handling pack business—"

I reached out to push past her.

She immediately took a step back and threw herself backward into the office.

"Ah!"

Ethan jumped up from his chair and rushed over in a few strides.

He glared at me.

It was a freezing, accusing look.

Then he bent down to help her up. "Are you hurt?"

Zara clung to him as she stood up, biting her lip and shaking her head. "No, no, I'm fine. I just lost my balance. Don't blame Grace..."

Ethan looked at me, his voice sharp with anger.

"Zara was just trying to help. Why did you push her?"

I looked at him, then at the teary-eyed Zara in his arms.

I didn't bother to argue.

Instead, I went straight to the point. "I need you to talk to the transit office about my pack status."

He frowned. "What status?"

I explained the situation.

Before I could even finish, his temper flared.

"You ran all the way here and pushed Zara just for this? Grace, when did you become so unreasonable?"

"Either you go clear it," I looked him dead in the eye, "or I will go directly to the Alpha right now and ask how the pack handles the status of a Beta's mate!"

His face paled.

The next second, his grip tightened around my wrist.

He yanked me close. "Grace, that's enough!"

He lowered his voice, his tone turning icy. "Don't forget who allowed you to stay here in the first place. Without me, you wouldn't even have a roof over your head, let alone go anywhere else."

"Stop making a scene. Go home."

I stared at him for two seconds, and suddenly, a laugh escaped my lips.

When he begged me to come here, he said, *I'll take care of you.*

Now he said, *I allowed you to stay.*

"If you do it now, we can still end this with some dignity."

My voice was entirely calm.

His eyes darkened, and he let go of my wrist.

"Guards!" he called out.

Two wolves in uniform stepped inside.

He glanced at me. "Escort her out. She's not feeling well."

The guards stepped forward. One grabbed my arm, while the other blocked my path.

Before I could speak, a hand quickly covered my mouth.

I was dragged out of the room.

As they pulled me past him, he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "We'll talk about this tonight, okay? Stop throwing a tantrum!"

Ha...

Talk tonight?

There's nothing left to talk about.