Chapter 6

As Rashel struggled to make her way out of the building, she tried to be quiet even in her urgency. Regardless of her efforts, when she finally made it to the part of the fence where she could go over the wall, her leg got caught in the shrubs. It felt like fate was working against her.

“Shit!”

As she struggled to free her leg, she heard some movement nearby and went quiet. Maybe one of the guards had noticed her absence and alerted the rest. If so, she could be in a bigger mess than she already was, and that meant she had to leave the building in a matter of minutes. She struggled with the vine holding her foot captive and cut herself in the process, and if she wasn’t in such grave danger, she might have smiled at her small victory. As she made to go over the fence, she saw—just three feet away from her—Viola entangled in a kiss with someone whom she assumed was Seth. It wasn’t until he pulled away from her that she saw who it was, Merikh.

It occurred to her that Viola was having a secret affair with Merikh, and who knew what else they could have been doing together? Just as she was about to jump, Viola spun around; it seemed Merikh had seen her and alerted Viola. Rashel quickly transformed into her wolf and jumped over the fence.

While they were still reeling over the shock of Rashel’s discovery, they heard footsteps coming towards them. Merikh quickly slipped away in order not to be seen with Viola; Rashel had already seen them together, and that was risky enough. Now they knew she was free, and if she was free and armed with what she had just witnessed, she was powerful enough to destroy them.

While Viola was still thinking up a hundred more ways to stop Rashel, Seth found her. The alarm system in the building had gone off just moments after Rashel had escaped, so Viola knew why Seth was there; it gave her ample opportunity to lie.

“She’s gone, Seth! I told you she was guilty.” Viola cried out in feigned frustration; she had managed to mask her anger in the moments it took Seth to reach her.

“It appears so; I’ve sent some men after her.” Seth’s brows furrowed into a frown, and Viola knew he was thinking. She had to know what was going through his mind.

“What seems to be the matter, babe?”

“Well, it’s just you think you know someone, and then you realize that you do not.”

Viola was furious at the realization that Seth still felt sad about Rashel’s betrayal, even if it was untrue. He was supposed to be indifferent, but not hurt like this. This confirmed that he still had a soft spot for Rashel, and she resolved to do something about it. She had decided that she would approach this gently, so she fixed her face and planted a concerned look on it instead.

“Come on, my love, she did this to herself, can’t you see? She took your kindness for granted and decided to act like the lowlife she is.” Viola reached out and touched Seth’s face.

“I guess you’re right.” He sighed. “Let’s get out of here; I need to know what’s happening with those guys out there.”

Seth took her hand and led her out of the bushes, all the while his thoughts still on Rashel. He felt a combination of anger, sadness, and guilt, but he didn’t know how to separate them.

Rashel kept running without looking back; she didn’t transform back into her human self for miles and miles. She made it to Karla’s house, and only then did she transform. She received a change of clothes, then borrowed her car and left immediately to avoid leaving a trail for Seth and his men to follow. For some reason she couldn’t explain, the only place her instincts led her to was Jethro’s fortress. It felt like a force was dragging her there even though she didn’t want to return to him. He had helped her before, and she was grateful, but she didn’t want to be indebted to him for any reason. Yet, she kept going until she could see the building from a few feet away.

So, when the guards let her into the gates and she parked behind one of the cars, she sat for several minutes in the car, trying to gather her guts for the confrontation ahead. She had barely knocked on the front door before Jethro opened it and leaned on the doorframe, a smile on his lips.

“Hey,” she mumbled. Even after all her preparation, she was at a loss for words to say. She thought the housekeeper would open the door and give her ample time to select her words before she would meet him.

“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t return.” He had a ghost of a smile on his lips, and somehow, this seemed to infuriate Rashel.

“I… what do you even mean by that? I wasn’t supposed to come back here! Do you know what I’ve just been through?” Her anger was getting more evident now, so she stopped speaking lest she offend this man whom she was about to seek refuge from.

“I didn’t mean to offend you, okay? I just thought you were going to put your house back together.” He said more seriously now.

“Well, I didn’t.”

“Want to come in?” When Rashel didn’t answer, he stepped away from the door and held it open for her to go into the house.

“Charlene, please set up a room for Miss Rashel; she’ll be staying a while.”

He gestured for her to take a seat in the parlor.

“So, I’m guessing you didn’t return with my car.” He raised a brow towards the car key Rashel was holding.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I got into a bit of trouble, and I didn’t have the option of leaving with your car or even leaving at all.” She looked down as she spoke.

“It’s fine. I’ll make arrangements to get it back.”

An alarm bell rang in her head at the thought of Jethro and Seth having a confrontation. Two Alphas of different packs over such a matter as this one could mean trouble.

“Please, I don’t want any trouble; let me get it back for you.”

“So they can kill you this time? You think I don’t know what happened there?” Rashel wondered why he hadn’t come to help if he knew the state she was in, but she didn’t dare voice her opinions; he had done enough for her already.

“I was the one who made sure there were no guards outside when you escaped,” Seth said as if he had read her mind. Great, now she was in his debt again. Something she had been trying to avoid.

“Thank you. I will repay you anyw…” she had begun to say solemnly, when she was interrupted.

“I don’t need anything from you, Rashel. Just be safe. Looks like Charlene is done setting up your room; get some rest. I’ll see you around.”

Jethro left before Rashel could find her voice. As she settled into her room, she tried to place a name on how she felt about Jethro, this man who had become her savior. It was hard trying to combine gratitude and irritation towards one person, but she made a resolve that as long as she was under this man’s roof, she would be nothing but civil.

“What is that woman doing back in this house!?” It was Veronica, Jethro’s mistress, and she was sizzling with anger.

“Please, not tonight, Veronica.”

“I see you want trouble. Can’t you see that woman’s nothing but trouble?”

“But she hasn’t even done anything to you.”

“Yet.”

“Look, I’m not in the mood for any of this, okay?”

“If you don’t throw her out, I will, and you’re not going to like my method.”

“You won’t dare.” The look on Jethro’s face was enough to shut Veronica up. Jethro hardly lost his temper, but when he did, it rarely went well. Veronica watched him clench his jaw and knew he was fighting hard to control himself, and in her best interests, she didn’t push him further. This didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to remove Rashel from that house and from Jethro’s life; she would do anything to remove her from the picture.

****

All efforts by Seth’s men to track Rashel down proved fruitless, and he was beside himself with anger. Viola was also nursing an anger of her own. Her secret affair had been discovered by that wretched woman, and she couldn’t allow her to wield so much power over her. That secret itself was power. She left Seth in the parlor with the men, then went up to their room and called Merikh.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to call from the house, remember?” Merikh asked angrily.

“I know, but this is urgent.”

“What, can’t wait till tomorrow? What is so urgent that you have to risk our lives in such a manner?”

“Rashel. I want her dead.”