Chapter 24

Don’t Test Me Coal The sun was barely on the horizon when I approached Calla’s home. Anxiety swept over me. I wasn’t nervous about breaking up with her, just forcing her silence. She could be strong-willed when she wanted to be. I had to ensure that she didn’t say or do anything that would cause Alpha to look at Brinley with even more suspicion or hatred. I had no idea what Brinley or her mother had done to incur my father’s wrath. I’d approached him about it once. His only reaction was to fly into a fit of rage and take his irritation out on my chest with his fists. I remembered hearing the distinct break of bones and feeling the familiar burn of cracked ribs. I was no stranger to broken bones. Even from a shockingly young age of four, my father had felt physical punishment was a much more effective learning tool than words. But this event had been worse. He’d been binge drinking for days. I was fifteen at the time. Brinley was only ten, and her mother had just died. There had be