Elisabeth's POV
"So this Beta is behind everything that's happened? And now he thinks he can claim the throne?" My mother's voice cut through the tension in the car.
I pressed my forehead against the cool window, watching the city blur past us in streaks of gray and brown. Maybe if I ignored her long enough, she'd get the message and stop trying to make conversation. But my mother had never been good at reading social cues, especially mine.
My hands curled into fists in my lap. The anger that lived just beneath my skin threatened to boil over. Yes, I had swallowed my pride and come back to her. Yes, I had begged for the pack's help to find Jefferson. But that didn't erase decades of damage or make sitting next to her any less suffocating.
"Elisabeth, I'm mobilizing my entire pack for this search," she continued, her tone growing more demanding. "The very least you could do is answer my questions."
