Chapter 17

Beth had known he would be here. Inviting Matthew Catii had been a necessity because of pack politics, and that was the only reason she had even spared him a single thought, nothing more. With his father nearly useless and having long since shunted most of his Alpha duties to his eldest son, of course Matt was going to come along with him. And to not invite Bronze Nation's ruling pack at all would have been a terrible insult, enough to fracture relations for generations to come. And now was the worst time of all for the Heether pack to accidentally burn bridges.

Still. Fucking Matt. It took everything she had to not turn and slam her fist into his face. How she not only managed that but also to fake a pleasant face as she greeted him back, she would never know. "Hello, Matthew. I hope you and Annalise are doing well. The wedding is coming up so I'm sure you're busy. My friend here and I need to step inside briefly, but we can speak later -"

Matt's hand closed around her wrist, and her