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CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

ROSALIND

Ismelled the guns before I understood what was happening. Then came the shouting.

"Police! Nobody move!"

The room erupted. Chairs scraped across the floor. China rattled. Someone dropped a cup. It hit the hardwood and shattered.

My wolf surged forward. So did every other wolf in the room. Fear had a scent. So did fury. There was plenty of both. At least the cloying perfume scent was gone.

A few women screamed. Most didn't. These weren't helpless women gathered for tea. These were Alphas. Matriarchs. CEOs. Politicians. Women who controlled packs and corporations. Women who moved millions of dollars with swirly signatures. Women who ended careers with polite phone calls. They did not appreciate having guns pointed at them.

"Young man, stop pointing that weapon at me," someone snapped.

"Ma'am, I need you to remain where you are."

The officers spread through the room. Too many. I could make out their shapes, but not much else. Dark shapes. Hard edges. Movement. Guns, I could see the metal.

Mei Ling's jasmine hadn't shifted from the center of the room. Astrid's honeysuckle remained close beside her, apples marking Addie on her other side. All I could think was that I should be there. Instead, I was standing next to my egg donor.

Of course, it was Nell who stepped forward. "Who is in charge?"

An officer approached. "Ma'am, step back."

"You've entered a private party during an invitation-only gathering," Nell continued. "I want the name of the supervising officer, the agency you're representing, and I want to see your warrant."

"Ma'am—"

"The warrant."

There was a brief silence. Paper rustled. "Here's the warrant. It's for Mei Ling Blackwood."

Mei Ling said in a pleasant voice. "Give it to me, please."

Wolves were incapable of complete silence when threatened. I heard breathing. Heartbeats. The subtle scrape of claws against hardwood as someone tried to control her shift. And the sound of paper being rustled, one sheet at a time.

"Money laundering. Conspiracy to commit money laundering. Financial transactions involving proceeds from unlawful activity."

The room erupted in gasps, and scoffs, and one or two snorts. This time it wasn't fear. It was shock.

"These are all ridiculous charges." Mei Ling's voice was as pleasant as ever, as though she were sending her salad back to the kitchen because she'd asked for a vinaigrette and received the house dressing.

Once upon a time, my plan had included the Blackwoods' demise. This — setting Mei Ling up to take the legal fall — had been a contender. But that was before Astrid had asked me to go shopping. Before Ivar decided I was another sister, he could annoy. Before Nell and Addie decided I was one of the girls. Before Mei Ling stood at the entrance to this party and introduced me to woman after woman as one of her daughters.

Before Gunnar.

I'd wanted them all destroyed. And now Mei Ling Blackwood was being asked to come down to the police station. During her gathering. In front of some of the most powerful women in the tristate area. They were going to put her in handcuffs in front of all of them.

This wasn't an arrest. It was humiliation. A blow to her reputation. To the Blackwoods. To the entire pack.

The Blackwoods had the police on the payroll. All of these wolves did. People in departments who took calls. People who gave warnings. People who made inconvenient pieces of paper disappear before judges ever signed them.

We had politicians. Prosecutors. Judges. Inspectors. People who owed favors and people who accepted money. That was how the system worked.

How the fuck had an arrest warrant for Mei Ling Blackwood made it all the way up the steps to her tea party without anyone knowing?

"Oh my god." My mother stood beside me. Her shock was perfect. Absolutely perfect. "This is outrageous."