Chapter 35

Hael

As I ruefully anticipated, forcing Violet from Holden’s party hadn’t gone unnoticed. Early that morning, just a few hours after catching her little ritual with the door locks, I received a mind-link from my father.

‘Hael, my office. Now.’

Short and to the point.

I didn’t bother getting dressed, not when it would be fastest to run on four legs. First, I called Cole and let him know he’d be taking Violet to school today since I’d be unavailable. I’d have to suffer through taking her home at the end of the day, but with my mother returning this afternoon, Violet would have full use of her driver for the rest of the week.

The run from my mother’s estate to my father’s never seemed to be long enough to quell the murderous urges that arose whenever his voice slithered into my head. With each morning, the humidity in the air thinned, vanishing faster as winter’s first frosty notes were sung into the air.

There had never been feelings of fondness between my father and I, only a sense of