Lilith
Ethan disappears into the safe house, and I can still hear him laughing about finding us in a compromising position.
I already hate him, and I don’t even know him.
I get to my feet and wrap my arms around myself.
Giving the doctor space to look over Kael.
Ethan returns with an oversized shirt and waves it in front of my face, teasing me.
I reach for it, and he pulls it back, taunting me.
A growl rumbles in my throat, and he holds it back out for me.
“She’s feisty,” he laughs.
“I like her.”
I grab the oversized shirt from Ethan’s hands and pull it over my head.
He is still staring at me with that stupid grin like he knows something that I don’t.
Not wanting to be here a moment longer, I inch my way to the door, grabbing what is left of my things from the floor.
“Where are you going?” Ethan eyes me suspiciously.
I swallow what feels like guilt rising in my chest.
“I did my part.
He’s alive.
I’m leaving.”
”Not so fast,” he blocks me from leaving.
“I can’t let you leave just yet.
Not until Alpha Kael says that it is okay.”
He gestures for me to walk back into the living room when Ian is checking Kael’s wounds.
Ian looks up when I enter.
“I must say, you did a good job with almost nothing at your disposal.”
Once again, heat flushes my face.
“Thanks.”
Kael beams at me like a proud father.
“I told you, she is my savior.”
Ethan snorts.
“A savior you like to get busy with.”
I glare in his direction, but that doesn’t stop him from opening his mouth again.
“I can’t say that I am surprised.
Only Kael could flirt while he was half dead.”
I continue to glare in the Beta’s direction.
“I am only Alpha Kael’s so-called savior.
That is all.
It doesn’t go deeper than that.”
Ethan cackles with laughter.
“Maybe we should have waited outside for a few more minutes, Doc.
Then Kael could have really gotten deeper.”
How could I let myself get wrapped up in something so scandalous?
That isn’t like me at all.
I am usually so cautious, but something about Kael makes me throw caution to the wind.
“That’s enough,” Kael tells Ethan, but I can hear the humor in his voice.
“Who planned the ambush on me?”
The carefree look on Ethan’s face drips away.
It gives way to something grim.
He shuffles from foot to foot before he begins speaking.
“One of the rogues was too injured to get away.
His buddies left him behind.
It only took about two minutes for him to squeal like a pig.”
”So,” Kael urges him on.
“Whose head do I get to take?”
”It was your uncle, Hector.”
”Shit,” Kael growls.
“I should have known.”
”There’s more,” he continues.
“It appears he hired Charles to kill you.
That is why there were so many rogues in the wounds.
They all follow Charles.”
I turn slightly to look at Kael.
His eyes are focused on Ethan, but there is something missing from them.
They are like black, calculating pits.
“If Hector wants me dead, then that’s what I will give him.”
”What?” Ethan chokes.
“I am going to stay hidden.
Let them think they killed me.
While I am here, I will use this time to remove every traitor in my family.
Timothy will be the first to go.”
”Hector’s son,” Ethan whispers to me, filling in the blanks.
The conversation continues, and I lower myself onto a chair in the farthest corner of the living room, pretending not to listen, but I am.
Kael lists off the names of his family members that he thinks might be working with Hector.
They are all members of the royal family.
He talks about killing them all, even if it means destroying what is left of his bloodline.
Within a matter of hours, he has formulated a plan, a horrifyingly brutal plan, to drive them out and kill them.
He doesn’t plan to leave any alive.
He talks about them like they are strangers.
It makes me feel sick to my stomach.
When he finishes talking, his eyes meet mine from across the room.
Even though he is injured, they are sharp and calculating.
It is unsettling.
Then, I realize something.
I have heard his plan.
He isn’t going to let me leave this place alive.
I swallow hard, trying to force the panic down into my stomach where I can bury it like I always do.
Only this time it makes my stomach churn.
The living room is quiet.
No one else knows what else to say.
Then a vibrating sound from my pocket fills the air.
All of the eyes turn to look at me.
“Sorry,” I whisper, fishing my phone from my pocket.
My father’s name flashes across the screen, and I quickly ignore the call, placing the phone in my lap.
Then, it rings again, making me jump.
I look at the screen again, and it is still my father.
I don’t want to answer it, but Kael clears his throat.
“Answer it.”
I draw in a ragged breath, knowing there is no way out of this.
“Hello?”
My father’s voice booms through the speaker so loudly that I have to pull it away from my ear.
“HOW FUCKING COULD YOU?
I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BE SO SELFISH.”
I close my eyes, trying to pretend like I am having this conversation alone.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I lie.
“Don’t play stupid with me, girl.” I can feel his hatred for me through the phone.
“I know you set fire to the house.
You had no right.
Your scent is all over the place.”