Xena''s POV


    Martha''s eyes widened in shock before narrowing again. "Logan!" she hissed.


    I could see Dad''s jaw tighten. "X," he said, turning to me. "Did youplete your chores?"


    "Yes, sir. I did them this morning before school." My voice rose unconsciously.


    Martha said coldly, "She''s lying."


    "No, I''m not!" I yelled back. "See?" I pulled out my phone, opened my email, and showed him the time-stamped pictures I''d taken of eachpleted task. "All done at 6:30 AM, before school."


    "Looks like she did it." Dad nodded slightly. "What are you doing this evening?"


    "Ama and I are going to run to the pizza ce in town and have dinner there," I answered in a cold voice, unsatisfied with how he was handling this.


    "Alright, have fun and remember not to be toote," he said tly.


    "By the way, Dad," I added, "the son of Alpha Benedict from the Boneash Pack ising by the shop tomorrow at five for a custom job on his motorcycle. His name is Ryder."


    Dad''s eyebrows rose slightly and turned to leave. "I''ll stop by to meet him."


    Martha clearly wasn''t happy about being cut out of the conversation. She followed Dad back inside, alreadyunching intoints about how I needed to be disciplined.


    Logan lingered behind with Samuel and Leonard. "What did you do to piss her off this time?" he asked once Martha was out of earshot.


    I shrugged, heading toward the house. "We literally just pulled up and she was already waiting there. I can''t wait to get out of this hellhole. As soon as we turn eighteen, I''m gone."


    Logan frowned, following me inside. "Running away isn''t the answer, X."


    I entered my room, Logan on my heels. "What''s going to change, Log?" I countered. "Dad said you can''t take over until you''re twenty-five, not a day sooner. I''m not waiting around for seven more years."


    "What if your mate is here?" he challenged.


    I stepped into my closet, grabbed a blue tracksuit, slipped it on, and checked my reflection in the mirror. Not bad. "Well, I hope he likes to travel, because I''m nning to see the world for those seven years."


    Logan sighed heavily. I knew he hated this situation as much as I did, but he was bound by his sense of duty to the pack.


    I turned to face him, softening my tone. "I know you don''t like it, but what do you expect me to do? A girl can only take so much, especially when no one stands up for her.” I slipped my headphones from my nightstand and secured them around my neck my precious little escape from reality.


    "I stand up for you," Logan said, hurt evident in his voice.


    "I know, and I love you for it," I assured him, "But you know you can only do so much. You can''t always be there to stop the physical stuff."


    "I hate that," he growled, his fists clenching at his sides.


    I tried to lighten the mood. "It''s fine. You hit me harder when we spar anyway." I grabbed a hair tie from the table by the door and loosely tied it back into a pony tail as I walk.


    He didn''t smile at my joke. "That''s not the same thing, and you know it."


    Iced up my running shoes and gave him a sad smile. "I love you, bro, but I don''t have any options. I need to go run." I hesitated, debating whether to double up on sports bras. My "watermelons" had a tendency to bounce painfully during runs.


    Ama bounced into my room, already changed into her running gear. "Ready to go?"


    I nodded smilingly. "See you boys."


    "We''ll meet you at the pizza ce in an hour!" Leonard called from down the hall.


    "Got it!" Ama and I headed out, passing by Dad''s office. Even through the closed door, I could still hear Martha''s shrill voiceining about me. I quickened my pace, eager to put as much distance between myself and her as possible.


    "Which route do you want to take?" Ama asked as we stretched at the end of the driveway.


    "Let''s run to the Center today. We can take the long way to the pizza ce." The Center was the neutral town where all packs coexisted, including where our high school was located.


    "Sounds a bit hard."


    As we started jogging, I felt the familiar weight in my legs and the tension in my shoulders. But with each stride, the burden lightened. I increased my pace, Ama keeping up beside me. I slipped my headphones over my ears, letting the music drown out everything else.


    My heart rate climbed, and gradually the world faded away until there was nothing but the rhythm of my feet hitting the ground, the burn in my lungs, and the beat of the music. Each step carried away my worries and anxieties, dissolving them into the air behind me.


    Eighty minutes and ten milester, we reached the town, stopping at our usualmppost-our unofficial finish line. We both hunched over, gasping for breath. Ama looked absolutely wrecked.


    "Too... long," she wheezed, her voice raspy. "Feels... like... dying."


    I was breathing hard too, but not quite as dramatically as Ama. I took a sip from my water bottle and grinned at her. “You''ve been having too many dessertstely. Next time I call you for a run, don''t make excuses."


    Ama shot me a re betweenbored breaths, hands braced on her knees. "Next time... you call me for a run... remind me to block your number first."


    We walked slowly, regaining our breath as we headed toward the pizza ce two blocks away. It was the most popr spot for high school students, both werewolves and humans. When we arrived, the ce was already packed with familiar faces.


    The scent of melted cheese and tomato sauce filled my nostrils as Ama and I pushed through the door. The ce was packed tonight, with the noise ofughter and conversation bouncing off the walls. I scanned the room, easily spotting Leonard''s blonde hair in our usual corner booth. Next to him sat a petite brte I didn''t recognize, probably histest conquest.


    "There they are," Ama nudged me, her blonde curls bouncing as she nodded toward the booth.


    I sighed, weaving through the crowd with Ama close behind.


    "You finally made it!" Leonard called out, his blue eyes lighting up as we approached. His arm was draped possessively around the brte, who gave us


    a once-over that immediately set my teeth on edge.


    "Gotta keep this figure up," I replied tly, sliding into the booth across from him. Ama slipped in beside me.


    The brte''s eyes lingered on my tattooed forearm before she wrinkled her nose slightly.


    "Where''s Logan?" I asked, ncing around for my twin brother.


    "Log hasn''t gotten here yet." Samuel was sitting across from Leonard. There was


    a girl trying to get his attention. I smirked at him and lifted an eyebrow. He shook


    his head at me, telling me he wasn''t feeling it.


    Leonard said with a shrug. "Said something about Keira wanting to stop somewhere first."


    "Where''s my drink?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You guys have been here for half an hour already."


    Leonard''s date suddenly leaned forward, her perfume overwhelming my sensitive nose. "I think I saw some empty seats over there," she said sweetly, though her eyes were cold as she looked at Ama and me. "Why don''t you girls go sit there instead? We were kind of having a private conversation."