Chapter 104

Merikh was already waiting when Viola arrived. He had a gun in his right hand while he casually scrolled on his phone with his other hand. The action in his hands was a contrast to each other, an odd sight to behold. But anything was possible with Merikh, and that was the reason Viola was there in the first place.

When she learned that the council declared Rashel innocent and not just that, but also relegated her place in the council to the observers’ corner, Viola was enraged. All of her efforts had gone to waste, and that was something she couldn’t live with.

“Ah, the queen is here!” Merikh said as soon as he sighted Viola at the entrance.

“It’s nice to see you too, Merikh.” Viola stopped walking suddenly and just stood in the middle of the room.

“Weird, because I believed you wanted absolutely nothing to do with me.” Merikh stood from where he sat and walked towards Viola.

“And somehow, you let it happen. You expect me to believe you let me go without a fight?” Viola asked, her brow raised.

“I knew you were going to come running back, Vee. My weakling of a brother will never be man enough to fill my shoes. And I would never let you go, Viola. Not while you’re carrying my child.” As he spoke, Merikh closed the distance between himself and Viola. He lifted her chin with his fingers and planted a kiss on her lips, which she returned. They went on like that for a moment before Viola broke the kiss.

“I’ve missed you,” Merikh whispered, even though it was just the two of them.

Viola only smiled and said nothing in reply.

“So, what brings you back?”

“Come on, Merikh, you know why I’m here. I’m certain you’ve been following the case from the beginning.”

“I must say, you gave Rashel a run for her money.”

“What can I say? I learned from the best.”

“If you could do so much on your own, why do you still need my help?”

“For some reason, everything went wrong. Rashel pulled some strings; it’s just I can’t say which. But that’s not relevant anymore; I want to teach Rashel a lesson, but this time, I want to reduce her ability to bounce back.”

“If I’m correct, you want to involve Jethro and the child in this.” Merikh’s face was suddenly serious.

“Affirmative.”

“You do know that if this doesn’t work, we’re at risk of a strike back from Jethro, and we might not survive it, right?”

“If. That’s why we’re going to make sure that it works.”

“Viola.”

“Listen to me, Merikh. If we succeed in removing Seth from the picture, Jethro would be one of the people who’ll push for investigations and probably prevent you from being part of the council. You’ll just be another alpha without a place in the council; you’ll be an outcast.”

Merikh was silent for a while, and as Viola watched him, she knew he was considering the things she had said. She knew him more than anyone, and she knew that a threat to his place in the council would motivate him to act.

“What do you need me to do?” Merikh finally asked. Viola smiled. It was a small victorious smile, a sign that she had gotten through to him.

“Based on the ruling, they have to get married for Rashel to be recognized as a Luna and, by extension, a member of the council. I am certain that they would begin planning their wedding soon, if they aren’t planning it already.”

“You want us to stop the wedding? Is that your grand plan?” Merikh looked at Viola like she had gone crazy.

“Not just stop the wedding, but make sure it’s the last thing they plan. We’ll kill one of them during that wedding. I’m sure people will be invited, so they won’t know who did it. They’ll be dead anyway, so we don’t even have to worry about getting caught. The child must also go.”

“Understood.”

“So, for now, we wait and let them begin their plans. But as soon as it begins, we swoop in. I need to end this once and for all.”

“You know I like it so much when you’re this way, right? Feisty! How’s my child doing?”

“You suddenly care?”

“Last I checked, Viola, you were the one avoiding me. I tried to contact you several times, but you kept evading me. I had to let you be.”

“Or you didn’t care enough to get to the mother of your child by all means? Even if it meant confronting Seth?” Viola narrowed her eyes at Merikh as she spoke.

“What exactly do you want, Viola?” Merikh asked, his voice low.

“I want you to act like you care that I’m carrying your child, Merikh. Burn the world if need be, but show me something, Merikh.”

Merikh didn’t say anything in reply; he was lost for words to say. He knew within him that he didn’t want the child, but Viola wanted him to want it. But he didn’t want Seth to raise his child either, because that would mean that he, Seth, would live, and he wouldn’t be able to get the Alpha position. He couldn’t risk that.

Also, Viola had recently come to him on her own. She was on his side without reservations, but he knew that any stupid actions or words from him could fracture this rekindled trust and partnership.

“I’m sorry, Vee.” Merikh finally said as he covered the small distance between them. If apologizing to this woman was all that he needed to do to get back on the same page with her, then he would go all out.

“I’ll think about it,” Viola smirked and turned away from Merikh, and without another word, she began to walk towards the door.

“You’re leaving already?” Merikh asked.

“Promised Seth I’d be home early.” She said without turning to face him.

“But it’s still early, Vee. Don’t tell me you’re leaving because of that man.” Viola turned to face Merikh this time and with a poisonous look on her face.

“Well, that man happens to be your brother, and he’s our only option at the moment, so yes, I’m going home to him.” And without another word, Viola walked out the door, leaving Merikh to sit with the things she had said.

He had just confirmed his suspicion that Viola had fallen in love with his brother, and this enraged him the more. Seth had not only taken away the alpha position from him, but he was now taking a woman who loved him with all that she was. But now, no one needed to tell him that all of that fierce loyalty and passion she had for him had now been transferred to Seth. What he felt for Viola wasn’t love exactly, but it didn’t matter; she belonged to him, just like the alpha seat did. Merikh knew now beyond doubt that he would do whatever it took to get everything that belonged to him.

The council had cleared Rashel and declared her free and innocent of all charges leveled against her, but somehow she didn’t feel settled. She felt like an imposter, like she wasn’t fully a part of the Scepter, both at home and at the office. Like both she and Kael were living on borrowed time that could expire soon. She didn’t feel like she had any roots yet. She wanted to mention the wedding to Jethro, but she didn’t want it to seem like she wanted it because of her place in the council. She wanted to marry Jethro because she wanted to feel like they were one; she wanted to know that she had a place in his kingdom. She wanted so badly to mention it to him, but she wondered how to do it without sounding like she was only using him for the benefits, because truth be told, there were so many benefits to being with Jethro. He made things happen, and had it not been for him, maybe Viola and her team would have succeeded in wiping her and Kael out a long time ago.

Thinking about Kael taking over from Jethro was another issue entirely, but he had mentioned that it was what he wanted. She didn’t expect that from him, of course, but he had offered. What she didn’t know was if he had changed his mind, she wouldn’t even blame him if he had, because it was natural for a man to want his own blood to take over from him.

But she didn’t want to marry Jethro without knowing all of this first; she had been displaced once, but she got over it eventually because she was alone then. But now, Kael was involved and had begun to recognize Jethro as his father, and she didn’t want to confuse the child. So, in the event that Jethro changed his mind, then she would also need to reconsider her decision.