Jaxen POV
Mom’s voice cut through, sharp enough to make my ears twitch. I lifted my head from the plate I’d been staring at.
“Why the hell are you calling me dummy?”
She didn’t finish the sentence the way most people would.
Just gave me that look, the one that said I’d figure it out the hard way.
“You’ll understand the flavor of that word soon enough.”
Pride and stupidity always exact a price.
Humans pay for it. Wolves pay for it harder.
I’d been arrogant with Scarlett. Mom claimed she didn’t know how deep it ran, but the stupid part?
That was carved in stone.
I still couldn’t read her.
The only way a woman walks away from every single Hale and never looks back is if she’s already burned the bridge and salted the ground.
Mom watched my brow furrow, then slid a slice of ca
