Chapter 3

For a moment, all I could do was sit there.

When I didn't answer, Mom asked, “Are you listening?”

I gripped my phone.

“Mom, Sienna never gave me that money.”

There was a brief silence.

Then Mom sighed.

“Chloe, what's gotten into you lately?”

“Sienna just told me you'd already asked for several advances this month.”

I straightened.

“She's lying.”

“Don't talk about her like that.”

Mom's voice turned stern.

“You've grown up together, so we know what she's like.”

“Your brother trusts her with his money, so why would she short you on purpose?”

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt blocked.

In high school, Mom had always worried my monthly spending money wasn't enough.

Once, when I complained about the dining hall food, she'd sent extra the next day.

“Buy whatever you want,” she'd told me over the phone, “and don't pinch pennies like your brother.”

Adrian had laughed and grabbed my phone, saying, “Keep spoiling her, Mom, and she'll bankrupt us.”

I'd never imagined I'd need someone else's approval just to access my own spending money.

Mom kept trying to reason with me, saying, “Sienna's doing this for your own good.”

“You've never been good with money, so I'll keep sending it to her.”

My eyes stung, and anger rose with the tears.

“Even if I can't afford to eat?”

Mom hesitated.

“Of course you can afford to eat.”

“Don't make it sound worse than it is just because you're mad at Sienna.”

I hung up, my fingers shaking.

The next afternoon, I went to see Sienna again, and all three of them were there.

Adrian frowned as I approached and asked, “What now?”

I looked at Sienna and said, “Give me my money.”

She twisted the hem of her shirt.

“Chloe, I already gave you this week's money early.”

“That was mine anyway, and I'm here for the rest.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“So unless I hand over everything right now, you think I'm stealing from you?”

Adrian's face hardened.

“That's enough, Chloe.”

He stepped in front of Sienna.

“Mom agreed to let her handle it, so why do you keep making trouble?”

Logan put his phone away.

“You can ask me if you really need money.”

“You keep hounding Sienna, and now she's scared every time she sees you.”

My chest felt tight.

“I have to borrow from you to spend my own money?”

Mason leaned against the table, frowning at me.

“You've been out of line lately, Chloe.”

“We've been doing this for two years, and suddenly you're the only one with a problem.”

“Have you considered that maybe you're just spending too much?”

I stared at the three of them, including my own brother.

Another was the man I'd planned to take as my mate.

The third was a packmate who'd been beside me since childhood.

Sienna stood behind them, crying harder.

Adrian turned to hand her a tissue.

Logan quietly told her not to cry.

Mason wasn't even looking at me anymore.

After a moment, I turned and left.

I still didn't have my money.

By the end of the month, my bank account was empty, and my dining card was nearly out, too.

I started looking for a job near campus.

I went to class during the day and waited tables at the Black Pine at night.

The staff meal saved me the cost of dinner, and I earned wages and tips each shift.

At first, I was so underfed that my legs shook after a few hours on my feet.

One night, I took off my shoes and found I'd rubbed my heels raw.

My socks had stuck to the broken skin, and I gasped as I peeled them away.

If I'd gotten so much as a scratch during shift training before, Mason would have hunted down antiseptic spray.

Logan would have called him dramatic, then slipped the medicine into my bag anyway.

Now I got back to the dorm around eleven every night, and no one in the chat asked where I'd been.

They were too busy taking Sienna shopping and out to dinner.

One weekend, I came out of the kitchen carrying food and stopped as I entered the dining room.

The four of them were sitting by the window.

Sienna sat in the middle, with Adrian unwrapping her silverware.

Logan poured her water while Mason studied the menu.

Then they saw me.

Adrian stood first and asked, “What are you doing here?”

I adjusted my tray and said, “Working.”

His face darkened as he asked, “Since when does our family need you to wait tables?”

Sienna went pale and hurried to her feet.

“Chloe, are you still mad at me?”

Logan frowned, too, saying, “Didn't I tell you to ask me if you needed money?”

“Did you really have to get a job here to make a point?”

I stared at him.

Behind me, the manager called, “Chloe, get that food out.”

I looked away and said, “Move, you're in my way.”

Adrian reached for me.

I stepped around him and delivered the food to the next table.

After my shift, I sat by the back door eating my staff meal.

My phone lit up with a message from Mom.

[I've sent next month's money to Sienna.]

Then came one from Sienna herself.

[Chloe, stop making a fuss and I'll release your money a little at a time once you learn to budget.]

I opened our chat and replied: [You'd better keep every cent of my money safe.]

[I'm going to make you pay it all back.]

Then I blocked her.