CHAPTER 440 - GROUNDLESS

CHAPTER 440 - GROUNDLESS
RAINA’S POV
Breakfasts were the worst.
The front door barely clicked shut behind Valen before I rushed toward the powder room. The harsh burn in my throat hardly gave me enough time to reach it before I dropped to my knees.
I gripped the edge of the toilet as another wave of nausea tore through me, leaving my eyes watering and my body trembling.
"Oh, Luna." Meera's light footsteps hastened behind me, and she flicked on the light. Before she could give me any assistance, the doorbell rang.
"Go," I merely managed to say before more content spilled out.
She hurried away, and I pushed the door shut, not wanting anyone to see me like this.
Not long after, I heard the bathroom door open.
“Raina?”
I snapped my head up and said hoarsely, “Grandma?”
Based on the strange darkness that was cast over the pack, I was surprised she came. Nevertheless, I was happy because I hadn’t seen her in a while.
Grandma Nitya’s smile vanished when she saw me. At first, she hitched at the threshold in her loose, ankle-length, red-and-white, paisley-patterned dress. Then she rushed inside and crouched beside me, gathering my hair away from my face.
“Oh, baby.” Her voice trembled with concern. “So it’s true. You really have been sick.”
I scrunched my face from the bitter aftertaste, trying to take slow breaths while giving my stomach time to settle.
“It will pass.” The burning sensation in my throat made my voice scratchy. I wiped my mouth and struggled to sit back against the wall. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Her chestnut eyes studied me carefully. “Everyone kept saying you were ill, but I thought they were exaggerating.”
She reached for a face towel and gently pressed it against my forehead as I rubbed my chest.
Peeking through the hair that fell over my eyes at her wrinkled face, I inquired, "Dad told me Jakub came to see you. He said you were the last person Jakub saw before he left."
Her hand paused, and her expression tensed. Her eyes shifted to the shower when she said quietly, "Yes. Raj often sent him to my home, so he came to say goodbye. He didn't tell me where he was going." She glanced at me and began patting the towel on my forehead again. "He's gone, isn't he? He can't do any harm."
"Grandma, he...."
“There’s something I came here to ask you,” she cut me off gently with a forced smile.
My brows furrowed in curiosity. “What?”
Grandma hesitated. She lowered her hands to her lap. “How long will Jiya be kept in the dungeon?”
My stomach twisted as I stared at her. “I don’t know.”
“She’s from White Clovers Pack. My old pack.” Her voice softened into a pleading tone. “That is her rightful home. Your father was born there. I was raised there, too. She has ties to that pack, Raina. You see, I owe her mother a favor, and she misses her daughter.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I rose from the floor and went to the vanity. “She’s not allowed any visitors. The whole point of the dungeon is to have her in isolation.”
“I came to ask you to let Jiya return to her home. Her mother and Alpha Marcos want her back.” Grandma was standing now. "I know she tried to come between you and Valen, but if she left, she wouldn't be able to interfere in your lives anymore."
It was still a pricey favor. Hefty and unreasonable.
I can’t explain how much anger possessed my body that my own Grandma was begging for her. She was brushing aside all the heinous things Jiya had done just to return some favor.
How could she be serious?
My eyes stayed on the drain of the sink as I drew in an uncomfortable breath. Then I turned on the tap. “Jiya committed treason. She's a criminal. She's lucky to be alive.”
"Do you think Alpha Valen could ever kill her? She’s a woman he’s had a bond with. He will think twice.” Her tone remained soft, but her words were biting.
“We will figure it out. That’s what we are doing. I love you, Grandma, but don’t come here defending her.”
“Raina, please...she's troubled and misguided." Grandma paused, but persistently tried to convince me. "She didn't have the wholesome life you had. You’ve always been sheltered. She is lost."
A strange uneasiness crawled beneath my skin. I turned my head and looked at her.
My forehead creased, and my voice came out sharp. "What exactly do you know about Jiya? The entire time she was here, you've never mentioned anything. You knew we needed information about her, and you kept quiet."
“I know she’s not well.” Grandma crossed over to me. Standing sideways, she raised her hand and placed it on my head. Then she began smoothing down my hair. "They just want her home to care for her."
I turned to pick up the mouthwash bottle and started to uncork it. My words came out with the contempt I felt for the woman. "Jiya lied. She manipulated us. She hurt people. Plotted to ruin me."
She was stealing my mate, yet Grandma was standing here defending her as though all she did was spill milk on my dress.
I tilted my head back and poured the mouthwash into my mouth. I swished it around as I mulled over my thoughts.
Grandma's hand paused in my hair, and then she retracted it slowly. "Don't take this the wrong way, Raina, but Jiya's bond with Valen happened on a special night. You may need to start thinking that your role is to guide her.”
I narrowed my eyes at her reflection in the mirror.
Her fingers tightened around the towel, and her voice went apologetic. “Because if things turn out the way the prophecy says, she'll be his queen someday. And she'll need someone to show her how to do her role. You can't pretend the truth isn't staring you in the face, especially with how sick you are.”
I spat out the liquid and whipped my gaze to her in disbelief.
“I hope it doesn’t happen. She shouldn’t be queen,” she added quickly. “I’m just saying, give her some compassion.” She cleared her throat and continued to say, “Sometimes that’s what people need to change, just like you did for Shayla."
“Shayla was a victim, not a villain,” I mumbled.
A silence passed as I cupped my hand under the tap to catch water to rinse my mouth.
When I was done, I straightened and dried my mouth with the towel from the rack, and asked, “Grandma, what did Dad have to say about this?”
Her gaze slipped away from mine for a moment, as though asking Dad was the one thing she had deliberately avoided. “Your father won’t understand.”
I sighed heavily. Why would he?
Deep down I believed Grandma was up to something. I was very curious about what she could have possibly owed Jiya’s mother. What could have been so significant to make freeing a criminal seem like a fair repayment?
I hung up the towel and led her into the living room. I sat on the long couch and said, “Why do you owe her? What happened? I’m sure I can help in some other way.”
“I can’t get into the past,” she refused to divulge, shaking her head. She decided not to sit. Instead, she stood by the armchair. She swallowed and then spoke. “But I can tell you that it’s best to get Jiya out of this pack.”
“She’s in the dungeon. It’s the safest place anyone could be. There’s no way she could ever get out,” I assured her. “That’s where she belongs, and everyone can be at ease knowing she’s in a place she can never escape.”
It was illogical to send Jiya to White Clovers when the kind of security we have here isn’t there. I didn’t see the sense in that. It would give her more chances to leave and raise more hell. The last thing I needed to worry about was her and her schemes.
She walked over to me and gently touched my hand, her chestnut eyes urging me to consider. “Raina, Grandma is never wrong.”
“Your fears are groundless.” I rose to my feet and took both of her hands into mine. Connecting my eyes to hers, I said as firmly and lovingly as I could, “Jiya is where she needs to be, and that’s final.”
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