Chapter six

"You...!!" Rhiannon almost yelled, shocked out of her mind, "What are you doing here? How did you even...?"

Elijah raised his finger to his lips, a gesture that told her to keep quiet. Then, he walked up to her and she sucked in a deep breath as the pull grew even stronger. 

"Five days isn't up," She whispered this time, overwhelmed by his presence. 

"I'm not here for that," He said to her, their eyes locked. His eyes were as strong as remembered, and this time she wasn't on her knees so she could see his face much better. 

He was the definition of Attractive. Everything about him screamed masculinity, and his face was a sculptured masterpiece. He also had a scar running between his left eyebrow, a testament to his true nature. 

And without even trying, one could tell he was an Alpha from his elevated aura. 

"Then...why are you here?" She asked, her voice taking a softer, more breathless edge. 

"I could not stop thinking about you," 

Rhia's heart did a somersault. Did he really just say that? "Why?" She bit her lips. 

"Because it turned out you were right," He answered. 

"I was?"

"If we had stayed, your Pack would have nearly wiped us out. I made inquiries with the werewolf seeress and she said it was true," 

"Oh, I see," Rhia nodded in acknowledgement, "Well, I'm glad you listened,"

"She also told me something else," Elijah added, and his eyes slightly narrowed at her, making her nerves spike. She remained silent, anxiously waiting for him to say more, "Which makes me very suspicious of you,"

Her throat went dry. Could the seer have told him everything about her? That she was given a second chance at life? But if that wasn't the case, why the suspicion?

"Does that mean our deal is off?" She asked. 

This time, he stretched the silence, "No," He finally tore his eyes from her, and stared at the city below the hills, his eyes flickering dangerously as he absorbed the presence of hundreds of wolves down there, "It's not off. I'll tear this place apart once I get my hands on it," He growled softly 

Rhia turned to look at the town too, "Do you know? Alpha Killian has a pit where he threw all the rogues he's caught over the years. We call it the rogue's pit, and that's why he's planning to end your life once he gets his hands on you,"

Elijah smirked devilishly, "Oh really?"

"But I won't let that happen," Rhia pronounced, sneaking a look at him, "I'll get you that Grimoire and you'll strike first,"

Elijah's eyes trailed back to her face. She seemed even more determined than he, and her innocent-looking brown eyes had this storm hiding behind them, waiting to be let out. 

He was curious to know exactly what they did to her, that made her hate them this much. 

"You've grown up here all your life. Are you ok with me attacking this place and eventually taking over everything?"

Rhiannon turned to look at him, a sad expression on her face, "There's only one person I care about in this world. Her name is Layla." Rhia fisted her hands. "She is the one I always ran to whenever things got hard. Whenever Killian got mad at me, or when he compared me to Eleanor, my so-called twin sister. Day after day, I dedicate everything to the benefit of the people I refer to as my family and my Pack. I develop serums that enhance them, and I stay up nights just to come up with great plans. Yet, everyone still looks down on me because I'm Wolfless. They only need me because I'm useful, not because I'm part of the Pack or because I'm family," Her voice broke, but she continued, "I learnt the truth the hard way, and now I don't care about them anymore. So yes, I'm ok with you taking over everything,"

Rhia stood motionless, watching as he reached in with a finger and gently wiped off a tear rolling down her cheeks. 

She almost gasped from the heat of his touch, but her chest rose quickly and fell instead. 

"And what will you do once it's done?"

"I'll do as I please," She answered. 

They stood at a cautious distance apart, and Rhiannon maintained a façade of calmness while her instincts buzzed wildly, very aware of the danger he wielded and of course, the growing insistent pull between them since they first met. 

"We are done here for now," Rhiannon said, her voice crisp as she turned to leave, "I'll advise you to leave too, before they notice your presence from your earth signature,"

The three main Packs of the North - True North, Timberfang and the Wavecrest all have unique signatures, a blessing from the Moon Goddess. The True North Pack had the water signature, Timberfangs have the Earth signature, and the Wavecrest also has the water signature, although slightly different from the True Norths. 

Rhiannon took a step forward, wanting to put distance between them and break this strange magnetic field that seemed to be drawing them in. 

But her boot caught on a loose stone, and she stumbled forward. 

She gasped softly, and the next instant strong arms came around her stomach and gripped, pulling her back swiftly in a powerful motion and sending her flush against his chest. 

Her back pressed against his solid body, sending a jolt through her. The heat from him caught her as she stood in his embrace, and the subtle spark that had always been there ignited. 

It vibrated through her, all the way to her bones and surged through every nerve ending. She felt a bit lightheaded, and her heart raced as she very much recognised this feeling. 

But this time, it was much more powerful. 

Too strong for her to turn a blind eye to. 

Slowly, Rhiannon turned in his embrace to face him, her eyes meeting his. 

His eyes, even more intense this time, met hers, and it was as if they were seeing each other for the first time, truly acknowledging what had always lingered between them. 

"I knew it," Elijah growled softly, his voice a little raspy, "Mate," He added, his eyes blazing with fury and possession. 

Rhiannon opened her mouth, about to speak, when an unexpected physical reaction rippled through them. Rhiannon clutched her head as it suddenly began to pound, and her mind reeled as she saw something, a memory that didn't belong to her. 

There was a large wolf with red fur and blue eyes, running rampant in the woods. It was a rogue and had just killed a bear with its bare claws, its canines dripping with blood. 

Then, it suddenly groaned, and its blue eyes transformed into a pain-striking Red!

Meanwhile, Elijah was also seeing a memory that wasn't his. In the memory, he saw a small vial containing an amber-coloured liquid on the floor of a lab, and a woman was being dragged out of the lab by three men. From the way she cried and bellowed, it was clear she was being dragged out of her will. 

But he didn't see the face. 

Elijah and Rhiannon looked up at each other, confused at what they had just seen. 

"You're a scientist, aren't you?" Elijah asked, his gaze calculating. 

Rhia's lips trembled, "You...saw something? What did you see?"

His eyes narrowed, "What did YOU see?" 

Rhia recoiled at the thought of the memory. She felt a little dizzy, but kept her stern eyes on him. Rogues had torn her apart during the last seconds of her life, and she had just seen one in her memory. 

A Red wolf. Wolves with red fur are said to be even rarer than those with white fur. 

But that didn't matter to her. 

She had been traumatised by what happened to her, and seeing a rogue only brought back the terrifying memories of her cruel death. 

But this memory clearly wasn't hers. 

"No way...," She swallowed tightly, taking a step back from him. 

"Rhiannon, what did you see?"

"A...Rogue Wolf," 

His expression didn't change, but he had gone a little stiff. 

"You were the scientist I saw," He sounded very sure of himself this time. "She had your hair, was your height, and she sounded exactly like you. I know your twin sister isn't a scientist, so it cannot be her,"

"And you," She sounded unsure, "You're an Alpha, not a rogue,"

"Those weren't my memories. I don't know what you saw," Elijah answered, and Rhiannon released the breath she had been holding. It would have been so devastating if he told her he was some kind of mindless rogue too. 

"Now...Where were we?" He drawled deeply, and his strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back into his heat so smoothly.

Rhiannon gasped softly, her eyes wide as she gazed into his beautiful eyes. 

They were mates. But how? 

Ethan was her mate, at least - till she rejected him this evening. But she's been feeling this pull toward Elijah since they met, which was before she had even rejected Ethan. 

Does that mean... Elijah was her mate in this second chance life that had been given to her? What does that make Ethan?