Zane Silence surrounded me after Xander and Mason shut the door behind them.
| was the only one left in the apartment, and | couldnât remember that last time that had happened.
It probably never had.
Come to think of it, when was the last time I'd really been alone with nothing to do but entertain myself?
Too long. | wasnât used to not having any tasks to complete, but | was going to take advantage of having no responsibilities, at least for the moment. Everyone would be back home in a few hours, and family life would resume.
| loved my family, but there was no doubt that the grind of caring for three children as well as three other mates, plus a mother-in-
law, could sometimes feel like a strain. Like it was taking everything out of me but not putting much back.
| did consider giving Greyson a call, but then | remembered that he was helping Lanie with her testing in Malachiâs quarters. That was actually a relief, because then | truly had no reason not to indulge myself in doing...nothing.
Unfortunately, the problem with having nothing to do meant there was, well, nothing to do. | wasnât really hungry or thirsty, and although a nap alone in the quiet sounded like a decadent luxury, | wasnât sleepy enough to take one. | didnât need a shower, and | was feeling too lazy to do any kind of workout.
âWell, s hit,â | said out loud to the empty space. | made myself laugh, shaking my head.
| wanted to be lazy, but it just wasnât in my nature.
The kids had left a few board games out, so | gathered up all the pieces and sorted them into the correct boxes to put them all away. We had housekeeping staff come in for the actual cleaning, but | knew if Lanie came home and saw the mess, she'd clean it up.
| didnât want my Luna to come back from her training to do any chores. Sheâd probably be wiped out.
As | was putting the games back on the bookshelf, | decided to open the cabinet set into the shelves. Iâd never bothered to look inside it before. What | saw inside made me laugh out loud.
âNo way!â
| couldnât remember the last time I'd watched anything on TV. Months ago, at least. Here inside the cabinet was a giant flat-
screen h ooked up to every streaming service Iâd ever heard of and a bunch | hadn't.
My Alphas had gone off to handle their leadership duties, and this time, | wasnât upset about being left out. In fact, looking at this big screen, | was glad | didnât have to go deal with anything other than making myself a huge bowl of popcorn with melted butter.
| grabbed a couple of cans of soda, too, and settled my as s into one of the comfortable leather recliners facing the TV.
I stations to see what options | had. | was used to the human offerings, of course, since that was most of what we had access to back home. | was surprised to see how many new episodes of shows had aired since the last time | could remember watching.
Apparently, the Fae had an entire broadcasting system, with their own game shows, dramas, and even comedies. Fortunately, they were subtitled so | could understand what was going on, but | quickly switched away from the channel after only a few minutes. | had enough drama in my life. | didnât want to watch it on TV.
| kept scrolling until | found the sports stations. Every sport from around the world, plus all the supernatural competitions. There were even channels devoted to on-demand replays of the best matches of all time.
face.
âThis is more like it,â | said out loud. |. dug a hand into the bowl of popcorn and shoveled some into my | didnât want to indulge in anger about how the High Council had screwed us all over for so long, but when | saw how many supernaturals were out there living their lives, competing in sports | hadnât even heard of, |
couldnât help feeling the fury and frustration.
We'd been denied an entire world.
The âhouseâ phone rang, startling me with its harsh, discordant jangle. It was more like an intercom system than a landline, you could only use it for internal calls. If any of my mates or even Gabriela had wanted to reach me, theyâd have used my cell, so the fact that someone was ringing the house line meant something of an emergency.
âZane Constantine,â | barked into the handset.
âZane, hello, this is Myrna from the Brightsky school.
You need to come and collect your daughter, Stella.
Thereâs a small problem. You really need to come right away.â