“Dinner will be in an hour,”Daniel, the elderly human butler, announced as Cricket led Radley inside the door of her Manhattan home. It was a quaint house by her father’s standards but seeing the looks Radley threw at the large entryway and the marble floors made her realize it wasn’t quaint at all. The six-bedroom colonial had been Cricket’s first purchase. Her father hadn’t approved but the house had spoken to her in a way the house she grew up in never had since her mother had died.
“What’s for supper tonight, Danny?” Cricket asked, kissing the man on the cheek. Daniel had been with her since she purchased the house, and though her father had insisted she use someone who owed a debt, she’d hired him herself. Daniel owed no one a debt. He simply took the job because he wanted to and he was great at what he did. In return, Cricket paid him handsomely and ensured his family was taken care of, including his grandchildren. His oldest grandson had just been accepted to some of the most prestigious colleges, many of which he couldn’t afford if Cricket hadn’t stepped in without asking and assured them he could choose whichever college he wanted. They were good kids, all of them, and they could often be found hanging out in the back gardens with their friends. Cricket had a soft spot for children of any species as well as animals.
“Your favorite, Lady Snapdragon.” His eyes flicked to Radley where he stood rigid in the entryway. “Should I inform the kitchen to make something else?”
Cricket glanced at Radley. “No, I think our guest will enjoy dinner. However, you don’t have to address me formally around him. He’s harmless.” Radley’s eyes flashed at her words, as if to prove he was far from harmless, but Cricket rolled her eyes. “Everyone on these grounds is under my protection,” she said firmly. “If you hurt even a single beast here, I will dismember you limb by limb.”
He tilted his head, as if curious about the very real threat in her words, but she was already turning away and smiling brightly at Danny. “How’s Parker settling in?”
Danny beamed at her, clearly proud of his eldest grandson. “Already making friends. He said the classes were tough but that his roommate was a young elf studying chemistry. Apparently, the elf has already taken Parker to some of the best spots on campus.”
“He’s being careful?”
Danny nodded. “He wears the medallion you gave him every second. Parker knows the threats and I’ve met the elf. He’s a good lad trying to find his own way just as we all are.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” Cricket patted him on the shoulder. “I’m going to go freshen up before dinner. Would you mind showing Radley to the garden suite, please? I’m sure he’d like to clean himself up.” Radley sniffed at his shirt, as if he had taken the words as an insult. “Not that you stink,” she hurried to say. “I just assumed you’d like some rest.”
“I’m a man. I don’t freshen up. I just wash,” he grumbled.
Too many thoughts popped into Cricket’s head with those words but instead of coming back with something smart to say or embarrassing herself by mumbling some embarrassed words, she nodded her head and turned away.
An hour later, Cricket came back downstairs dressed in sweats and a tank top, happy to finally be comfy in her own home. The dining room was more intimate than any that her father would have in his homes, but it was comfortable. A fire burned in the corner despite the decently warm weather outside, but Cricket preferred the sounds of a crackling fire to anything else. Taking a seat at her usual spot at the head of the table and folding her legs beneath her, she waited a few minutes before Radley came in. He took one look at the plate setting beside her and immediately went to the other side of the eight person table and took a seat.
Cricket scowled. “I don’t have cooties.”
“I always sit at the head of the table,” Radley argued as Danny came out and moved the plate setting to the new spot in front of Radley. Radley seemed uncomfortable with the exchange as he sat there, and the moment Danny finished with the silverware, he immediately moved one of them out of place, as if perfection bothered him.
“Yes, but this isn’t your home,” Cricket pointed out. “You’re my guest here, which means you’re not the head of this table.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m an alpha. I sit here.”
Cricket placed her elbows on the table and studied him. “Are you this big of an asshole when you’re surrounded by wolves?”
His eyes flicked to hers. “No, because they know their places. We’re a family, but there must always be someone who takes on the responsibility for them all.”
“Are you suggesting I don’t know my place?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “Better yet, are you attempting to place me at a level beneath you, wolf?”
Radley froze even as Danny and another helper brought in plates of food. The plate set in front of Cricket was piled high with slices of deep dish pizza. Two plates were set in front of Radley, one with the pizza and another with a steak. Apparently, Danny preferred to be thorough.
Despite the strange dinner, Radley was still staring at Cricket even after the others left them in peace in the room. Normally, Danny would sit with her, and she would have insisted they all come and eat alongside her, but with Radley being the way he was, it was best the humans didn’t get in the way.
“Do you think yourself an alpha?” Radley finally asked.
“Fae don’t measure ourselves in such mundane things as alpha, beta, or omega. We’re measured simply by the name we bear and the assets we hold.”
“Which would place you at the highest level in your world, no?” Cricket nodded. “But neither of those are you or your personality. So I ask again, do you consider yourself an alpha? If you were a wolf, where would you be?”
“There’s no point in answering. I can see your opinion shining in your eyes.” Cricket shrugged. “I’m not here to earn some title from you.”
“You’d be an omega,” he continued as if she didn’t speak. “Too weak to be higher. Too pretty to be anything but sought after for that. You’d hold no power, only respected for the amount of pups you could bare.”
Cricket bristled hard and only just barely contained herself from arguing. He was trying to push her to react. He wanted her to explode, so instead, she held his gaze and bit her pizza. “Lucky I’m not a wolf then.” She didn’t say it didn’t matter if she were a wolf or a fae. It didn’t matter what she wanted. No matter where she went, the men in her life demanded her duty be nothing more than an ornamental breeder. She’d prove them all wrong.
“Even though you’re not a wolf, omegas don’t tend to go too far from that path. Something as pretty as you, with that name, you likely have men circling you like sharks, anxious to dominate you.” Radley’s voice was smug, as if he could still somehow sense he was getting under her skin despite trying her hardest to hide it away.
“Do you get off on insulting women? No wonder you’re not mated.” Cricket shrugged, eating the amazing pizza. If Radley thought it strange that there was no fancy five-star meal, he didn’t show it. Instead, he seemed intent on pressing her buttons.
“I’m not mated because I have responsibilities besides being a breeder.”
“Just say you’re an asshole and move on,” Cricket shot back. “There’s no reason to prove it to me. I already know.”
His eyes trailed down her body, making her stiffen at the unexpected change. “I can’t say the one who breeds you wouldn’t be lucky.”
Cricket set down her pizza and scowled. “Eat your pizza and shut the fuck up, for everyone’s sake.”
“Mad because I’m right?” he grunted, but he still took a bite of the pizza. The moment he tasted it, he looked down in surprise. “This is good.”
“I don’t know who you think you are that you can come into my home and disrespect me for no other reason than your own entertainment, but I’m not here for that. The only reason you’re in that seat is because of the Games.”
“Because you need me,” he replied smugly.
“Yeah, you’re right. I do, but that doesn’t give you a right to speak of me in such a way.”
Danny stepped back around the corner and stood against the wall, his eyes on the wolf. Cricket barely shook her head at him, knowing he was there to defend her, but she didn’t need that. Let Radley think what he wanted of her. She didn’t care if he wasn’t impressed as long as he did his job.
“The truth hurts,” Radley continued, ignoring her. “I’m a wolf with lives who depend on me. You’re an heiress that thinks the hardest part of her day is picking out an outfit. There’s no comparison. I hope you can drive better than you look like you can.”
Sadness crashed over Cricket so thoroughly, it felt like her wings were waterlogged. She didn’t reveal it, but she glanced at Danny. “I’m afraid I’m no longer hungry. Would you mind saving this for me until later?”
“Of course, Lady Snapdragon.” She knew what he was doing, reminding Radley of who she was, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to sit in her rooms, away from the world that deemed her as nothing more than what they saw her. Perhaps, no matter the races she won or the proof she gave, the world would only think her a silly little fae.
“Thank you.” Then she stood up and walked out of the room, away from the alpha that could spell her doom or her freedom. The problem was, she didn’t know which it would be.
* * *