I twisted a strand of hair around one finger, avoiding his eyes. “Good.”

He rolled his shoulders, clearly uncomfortable in the button-down shirt he’d put on in concession to our important company. “Were you even worried about him?”

“Of course I was.” The ends of the strand went into my mouth, and I chewed automatically. I was worried about Jace. I just hadn’t known how to make the situation any better.

Ethan growled and pulled my hair away from my face, giving it a brutal tug for good measure. “Jace thinks he loves you,” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one overheard.

Suddenly I found my bare feet fascinating. Big toe, like a thumb on my foot.

That one would be opposable, if I were an ape, I thought, wiggling it for good measure. Middle toe, longer than the first one. And those tiny little ones on the end, which weren’t terribly wel articulated, in spite of theoretical y functioning joints.

Ethan snapped his fingers beneath my nose. “Faythe, did you hear me?”

“Yeah, I heard you.” I made myself meet his eyes. Whatever I might have been, I wasn’t a coward. But not from lack of trying.

“I’m not going to ask you how you feel about him, because I’m pretty sure I already know the answer. But I wil say this. Let him down easy, and do it soon, before this gets out of hand. You’ve already screwed him up emotional y by leading him on.”

I bristled; if I’d had fur, it would have stood on end. “I didn’t lead him on,” I snapped, standing straighter. I was glad to final y have something I could legitimately argue about.

“The hell you didn’t.” His eyes blazed. “He told me you let him kiss you, and I heard what you didn’t say to Marc.”

I blinked, turning one ear toward him as if to improve my hearing. “What I didn’t say to Marc?” Okay, now I was confused. The list of things I hadn’t said was endless, no matter how much Marc claimed I talked.

“He asked if you wanted Jace to touch you, and you didn’t say no. If you’d said no, Jace would have known the truth, but since you didn’t, he thinks he has a chance with you. But if he takes one more shot, Marc wil kil him. He won’t be able to stop himself. And it wil be your fault.”

I exhaled, frustrated and angry. “You can’t blame me for something I didn’t say, and you certainly can’t hold me responsible for anything Marc does. If you have a problem with his behavior, take it up with him.” I glanced away, fingering a swirl in the wood grain of the china cabinet. “Besides, I didn’t let Jace kiss me.” Ethan started to object, but I cut him off. “Wel , maybe I did for a minute, but I was about to push him away when Marc came in.” That sounded weak, even to me, and Ethan didn’t buy it for a second.

“Frankly, Faythe, I’m a little creeped out by having to think about what my sister does in private. But apparently you’re not thinking about it enough. These aren’t house cats you’re playing around with. They aren’t college boys, either. If you don’t tel them both the truth, someone’s going to get hurt. And it won’t be you.”

A spark of irritation flared in my gut, only slightly smothered by encroaching guilt. “First of al , I’m not playing around with anyone.” I glanced away from his face, hesitant to admit the rest. “And I’m not sure I know what the truth is.”

“Wel , figure it out. Fast.” With that, he stomped off to the living room, where I could hear Jace and Parker trying awkwardly to comfort Kyle.

I was relieved that Jace was okay. And I real y had been worried about him.

But I had no idea how I could have prevented Marc’s temper tantrum. Okay, maybe I could’ve pushed Jace away a little sooner, but honestly, I was getting pretty tired of being held responsible for Marc’s lack of control. What concern was it of his what I did with Jace? Absolutely none.

But he’d made it his business, and that was the bottom line. I was starting to understand that in the real world nothing else mattered.

Around nine, my mother put Nikki to bed in my room and said I could either make a pal et on my own floor or sleep on the couch. I told her I’d stay in the guesthouse with the guys, and Ethan promised to keep an eye on me, since Marc’s Faythe-sitting shift had ended. My mother just nodded. I don’t think she’d heard about my threats to abandon the Pride. I hadn’t seen or heard her talk to Daddy since breakfast.

An hour later, Mom ran out of chores to keep her mind off the tragedy at hand. She’d dusted the entire house, cleaned up the buffet and stored the leftovers, and made enough tea and coffee to keep the bathrooms occupied for the rest of the year. Since courtesy forbade her to vacuum around our guests’ feet, she settled for trying to drive me out of my mind with inane questions. It was her second-favorite hobby, and one she’d perfected ages ago.

I knew the moment she settled next to me on the couch, knitting bag in hand, that it was time for me to retire for the evening. I just didn’t know how best to pull off my escape.

“What did your father want with you this afternoon?” she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

Swatting her hand away, I shot desperate looks at Ethan and Parker, where they sat across the room, stil huddled around Kyle, who clutched a nearly empty bottle of whiskey. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Jace. Not until I knew what to say to him.

“Faythe?” my mother said, and I turned back to look at her. “What did your father want?” I tried to relax my fists as I watched her run one hand over her smooth gray hair, turning the edges under. It made me want to shake my head like a wet dog, until I looked as different from her as was humanly possible, considering that I’d inherited her nose and cheekbones.