I shake my head, nowhere near inclined to be the ruler of some weird secret society, the very society that had my parents murdered and covered it up, meaning that the bastards haven’t even been punished for it. “And if I don’t want it?”
Carver shakes his head. “I told you, Winter. It doesn’t work like that. This isn’t a job offer that you can accept or deny, this is your blood. It’s who you are, and until the day you die, Dynasty will always be there looming over you. Seventeen families, seventeen seats at the table. No one in, and no one out.”
“But those men tonight,” I say, looking around them again. “Who were they?”
Carver sighs. “Most likely the same hitmen who were responsible for taking out your parents eighteen years ago.”
Fuck. I gape at him, slightly hysterical. “And you expect me to go willingly to stand before these assholes and be their ruler? Fuck no. These people killed my family, and now they want to kill me. I don’t want anything to do with them. Fuck it all to hell. I’m out.”
I start walking for the door but Grayson reaches out. His fingers curl around my wrist, and with one quick move, he throws me back across the room until my ass is slamming down on the coffee table. “I don’t think you’re hearing us,” he growls. “You’re the sole remaining Ravenwood, the one person standing between them and their reckless need to rule over governments and take judgments into their own hands. This is people’s lives at stake, not just some bullshit game. You don’t have a choice, just as your future child won’t have a choice. It’s who you are, and you’re in this position whether you like it or not, so stop bitching about it, stand the fuck up, and own who you are. You’re Elodie Ravenwood, the heir of Dynasty, not some bitch-ass nobody with low morals, a bad attitude, and a fucking chip on her shoulder.”
I stand, bearing down on Grayson before grabbing the front of his shirt and letting him have it. “Call me Elodie Ravenwood one more fucking time and I will introduce your face to my fist. Elodie is the daughter of money, she stands against everything that I believe in. She’s a complete stranger to the person I am now. She died when my parents did. My name is Winter and you better start using it.”
Grayson doesn’t back down and we remain locked in each other’s stare until Cruz stands and physically pulls me away. “Look, babe,” he tells me. “Whether you like it or not, you’re the heir of Dynasty. That means that you’ve got a target on your back. Those eight families won’t stop. They don’t want you in leadership, and they’ll try and try again until they can be stopped.”
I stare at him for a moment before slowly looking around at the rest of the guys. “That’s why the party was at King’s cabin, wasn’t it? You knew they were looking for a chance to get at me and you drew them out.” Guilty expressions twist across the guys’ faces and I want nothing more than to smack each and every one of them. “It’s why you sit in my classes, why you moved me out of Ember’s place, and why Carver has been sneaking into my bed this past week even though I’ve not been living here anymore. You’ve known all along that there was a target on my back, and not one of you thought to say anything.”
“It’s true,” King declares. “We’ve known since the beginning that this was coming, but we didn’t know where or when they would try to hit you, so that’s why we’ve stayed close. But you must know that you’re safe with us. We’d never let anything happen to you. We need you.”
I scoff, unable to believe a word I’m hearing. “You’re all fucking assholes,” I say, turning my stare on Carver. “But you’re the worst. You should have told me when you told me about my parents. You had every opportunity to come clean and you never did.”
Carver’s gaze drops. He knows I’m right. They all do.
The silence in the room couldn’t be louder as we all take a moment to calm down. I find myself looking at the guys, while also realizing that no matter how angry I am with them, it doesn’t take away the threat. Whether or not I’m the heir of Dynasty, I’m still going to have a target on my back. “So, what now?” I ask. “Am I supposed to just go to school every day, looking over my shoulder, and hoping that I don’t get shot up in the process?”
Cruz shakes his head. “We just keep going the way we’re going. We’ll keep you protected, but now that they’ve made a move and failed, they’ll need some time to regroup and come up with a new plan of attack.”