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 you complete 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 each completed 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 place 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 too late,” he said flatly.

“By the way, Dad,” I added, “the son of Alpha Benedict from the Boneash Pack is coming 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, already launching into complaints 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 planning 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.”