#Chapter 18: The Bonfire

Ella My father’s and Margaret’s faces both reddened at the same time. “You didn’t tell me he was off eating when he should be socializing,” he whispered, turning toward my stepmother. Her mouth just worked uselessly. The damage had been done. My father took Margaret by the arm, muttering some excuse or another, and the two of them hurried away. I watched them go with a satisfied feeling curling in my chest. Socializing at events like this was paramount for people of our status; it was an opportunity to network, to get to know other Alphas and Lunas, and in the case of someone like my younger half-brother, who would one day inherit Stormhollow—it was a chance to him to build his name and maybe even meet his future Luna. But Margaret, believing Brian could do no wrong, had let him run around doing whatever he wanted. If she had any real authority over me, she would have forced me to talk to each and every socialite in attendance, remember every name, even p