Chapter 109
The wedding was two days away, and Rashel had begun to feel a bit nervous. From her investigations, Dorian had stopped whatever it was he was planning with the other board members; he was finally out of her hair. Viola, too, hadn’t made a move for the longest time, and even though it was a good thing, it unsettled her. She had sent Milla to find out if she was planning something behind the scenes, but Milla got nothing. Everywhere was silent and calm. She attributed it to the fact that it was probably because she had been fighting for too long and had forgotten how to relax.
Jethro noticed her restlessness, but he interpreted it as Rashel having cold feet. He assumed that she had changed her mind last minute or was thinking about it at least. He waited until she was alone to speak to her about it; he wouldn’t go ahead to marry a woman who wasn’t sure about him. He found her in her east wing office staring blankly at the screen of her computer.
“Hey, you got a minute?”
“Sure. What’s up?” Rashel asked, turning to face him.
“You’ve been acting jumpy, and you’ve been evasive. What’s happening?” Jethro asked after he took the seat facing Rashel.
“Jumpy and evasive?”
“Almost like you’ve changed your mind or something.”
“I’m sorry if it comes off that way. I’ve just been thinking about something for a while.”
“I’m listening.”
“Viola has been too quiet lately, and I’m getting a sense of dread. I don’t know if I should be worried or if I’m just overthinking. Our wedding is in two days, and there are going to be lots of people there. Anyone with bad intentions could use that as an avenue to attack us, and it would be bloody as hell. I don’t want that, Jethro.” She whispered.
Jethro took a deep breath, relieved that she wasn’t thinking of walking away from him and worried again that she was becoming paranoid. He moved closer to her and took her hands in his.
“Nothing is going to happen, my love. I’ve ensured that the entire perimeter is heavily protected; you saw the arrangements yourself. I’ll ensure that this wedding goes by without any drama, I promise you, okay?”
“For one of the most eligible bachelors in Denver, you worry so much about a woman leaving you, Alpha.” Rashel teased.
“When that woman is you, you never can be too sure,” Jethro said, his mouth curving into a smile.
Viola was counting down the days to Rashel’s wedding like she was the one getting married. Anyone who didn’t know their history would assume that she was overjoyed for her when, in reality, Viola was celebrating the imminent end of Rashel and Jethro and maybe the child. For her, she was going to witness a funeral and not a wedding; one more day, and all her problems would leave this world with Rashel. The city of Denver would belong to her and Seth, as it rightly should, and as for Merikh, she would find a way to get rid of him, maybe even use Seth.
Moments later, she watched Seth cross the platform on the lounge to meet her where she sat beneath an umbrella by the pool, his face lit up when he sat beside her.
“I’ve been looking for you all over.”
“Really? Why?”
“Mum is coming back in a few days, and I’d like you to arrange for her return,” Seth said,
“Coming back? “Wh—is everything alright?” Viola’s mood flipped very quickly. She was just about to get rid of Rashel, and now another problem was coming. It was like the universe didn’t want her to be happy.
“Yeah, she’s been away for too long, and since Fiona has moved to New York for school, I don’t want her staying alone. Is there a problem? You don’t seem too happy.” Seth explained when he noticed the shift in her mood.
“No, it’s just, we won’t be able to spend much time with her either. Once Rashel and Jethro are out of the way, you know Fortis is the next biggest tech company in Denver, and we’ll have our hands full,” Viola explained as she tried to rationalize her not wanting Seth’s mother to return to the house.
“That won’t be a problem. Mum will help with the household and the baby. The baby is even more reason why I want her back. I wouldn’t want to leave my child with just anyone, and Mum is more than happy to help when the child arrives.”
Viola simply nodded and smiled stiffly as she swallowed whatever arguments she wanted to raise. If she tried to argue, Seth would assume that she didn’t want his mother to return, and it would cause issues that she couldn’t afford at the moment. The best thing was to let her return and then find a way to make her leave or get rid of her as well.
As the wife and woman of the house, she was saddled with the responsibility of organizing the staff and giving instructions for Charlotte’s room to be prepared ahead of her arrival.
“When is she supposed to arrive?”
“Thursday.” That was two days after Rashel’s wedding. Rashel would be long gone by then, and she would have enough time to decide what to do with Charlotte. For now, she would carry out her wifely duties.
“That’s alright. I’d be pleased to have her back; it’s been such a long time indeed.” Viola forced a smile on her face.
While the city slept, there was an explosion in the Archers’ valley in the far corners of Denver. It was where the maximum security was located, and it was laced with neutralizers for whoever it was that ever got tempted to shift into their wolf forms to constitute a nuisance. This facility, which was heavily guarded by the strongest and most rugged werewolves, now shook after the impact of an enormous explosion.
They hadn’t recovered from the first one when a second explosion rocked the foundations again, taking most of what was left after the first hit. The entire wall surrounding the back of the facility had been destroyed, and almost half of the facility had been lost in the resulting inferno. The guards responsible for the prisoners were taken unaware, and because they weren’t prepared for something like this, they couldn’t handle the multitude of prisoners emerging from within. Some stayed put inside their cells, as the explosion didn’t affect their quarters, while some of the others, whose cells were affected, stayed within the prison grounds.
Some of the prisoners took to their heels immediately, desperate for the chance to escape whatever sentences had been given to them. Unknown to them, having expected something like that, the guards had called for backup from the nearest station immediately after the first blast. The men were positioned and waiting for them at every possible exit from the valley, neutralizing the prisoners as they approached.
They were surrounded by the guards on all corners, and there was no way out, or so it seemed. A group of five prisoners who had escaped with the rest didn’t follow the direction that the rest of them took. It was a chaotic night, and nobody noticed as they stopped by the lake and swam to the other side. When they got to the other side, they didn’t follow the clear path that was occasionally used; instead, they went through the caves and tunnels in the dark.
This group of prisoners was the one that was responsible for the explosions. They had contacts from the outside who came on occasional visits and had laid out and carefully explained this escape route to them over a period of several weeks. The explosion was an avenue for others who were lucky enough to escape to distract the guards while the other five found their way out of the valley.
The first pink streaks of daylight had just broken through the grey-blue sky, providing a little illumination when they crossed over to the other side of Denver. They were still in their wolf forms, so they couldn’t be easily identified by just anyone. All of them moved to the part of town where the outlaws were known to live. They had been given a contact to meet if they made it out, and his name was Zayn.
When they knocked on the door of Zayn’s apartment, he didn’t answer immediately. They knocked again, this time louder and with more sense of urgency, before they heard some shuffling of feet and a gruff voice from behind the door.
“Who the hell is that!” He growled as he looked through the peephole. “What the hell!” he gasped when he saw who was standing on the other side of the door.
They heard the clicks as the locks turned and the door opened for them to go in. They all hurried into his small apartment, and he shut the door behind them, making sure all the locks were in place before joining them in what was supposed to be his living room.
“How the hell did y’all make it out of there!”