Chapter 97

Chapter 97
The day for the council meeting dawned early and bright. Rashel had prepared for Scepter’s presentation, which she was giving on behalf of the company. They had done a Demo-Rashel, Jethro, and Milla-and they all agreed it was good enough to be shared with the council and its members.

The past few weeks had been relatively peaceful, so there was no need to take Kael along. In any case, he was safer in the fortress than anywhere near the council building, where there were people who could be potential enemies of Jethro and Rashel.

Jethro was ready and waiting by the car when Rashel emerged from the house. She wore a navy-blue suit and a pair of white tailored pants. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, making her normally high cheekbones more pronounced.

Jethro smiled the moment he saw her and held the door open for her as she approached the SUV.

“You look amazing.” He whispered as she passed him. Rashel stopped in her tracks and turned to him.

“I hope I do amazing as well.” Even though she tried to smile as she spoke, Jethro could see the fear in her eyes. He couldn’t understand why she was afraid. She had done this so many times before, and she had always done great.

“Of course, you will.” He reassured her, taking care not to let the conversation remain on her lack of confidence and her fear.

“I hope so,” Rashel whispered as she went into the car.

The ride to the council hall was a quiet one, but it wasn’t a hostile silence. Jethro knew Rashel was nervous and didn’t want to speak, so he didn’t try to make conversation or put her in a situation where she had to answer him.

Instead, he took her hand and intertwined his fingers in hers, and they just sat there quietly, waiting for the ride to come to an end.



They arrived at the council hall thirty minutes later. While Jethro exchanged pleasantries, Rashel escaped and waited in the lobby for Milla, who came in the second van with some of the security detail.

They managed to get in without meeting anyone they knew, saving Rashel the trouble of engaging in any conversation in her nervous state. Because the session hadn’t yet begun, Milla sat on the seat assigned to Jethro, knowing that she would leave when it was about to start. They had barely settled in their seats when Viola came up to them. Instantly, Milla went into fight mode, but Rashel stopped her in the middle of drawing her gun.

“Well, if it isn’t the queen of social climbers,” Viola said with a sweet smile plastered on her face.

Rashel sighed deeply and ignored Viola’s jab.

“What do you want, Viola?”

“She probably needs some coaching on self-respect.” Milla hissed from beside Rashel.

“And who’s the little lapdog?” Viola sneered, her smile not faltering even for a little bit.

“Who the hell do you think—” Milla began, trying to break free from Rashel’s grasp, but Rashel held her back.

“If you have nothing to say, Viola, I suggest that you leave,” Rashel said that very calmly.

Viola didn’t move immediately; for a few moments, she just stood there staring at the two women with a smirk on her face. When she finally left, she did so without a word.

“The nerve of that woman.” Milla hissed.

“Milla, when you see Viola, the sensible thing to do is ignore her. Never engage her.” Rashel said, still in that calm tone of hers.

“Yes, commander,” Milla mumbled, sobering up.

They sat in silence afterwards, while Rashel went over the notes on her tablet. The hall soon began to fill up rapidly, and Jethro came to take his place beside Rashel.

“I’ll be at the observers’ corner, Commander. If you need me…”

“I’ll see you later, Milla.” Rashel smiled.

“Did something happen?” Jethro narrowed his eyes as he watched Rashel.

“Why?”

“Well, the air seems tense.”

Rashel chuckled and shook her head.

“Nothing to worry about, Alpha.” Rashel smiled.

“I’m glad you’re a bit relaxed.”

Just then, the chairperson of the council walked in along with the other members of the high seating, and the hall went completely silent.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first session of the summit. To begin, we shall invite Scepter Technologies to give their presentation.”

Rashel sucked in a breath sharply; she wasn’t supposed to be the first. They always went alphabetically, so Scepter always came in with the last batch being called. She didn’t understand what was happening.

Instinctively, she glanced in the direction where Viola was seated beside Seth. Viola appeared to have been staring at her and waiting for her to notice because there was a smirk on her face. It was there to inform Rashel that she was responsible for whatever was happening.

Now that she was convinced it was Viola’s doing. She knew Rashel was nervous, and she did that to embarrass her and set her on edge. But Rashel made up her mind to disappoint Viola.

She gathered herself and stood up sharply, adjusting her suit as she did.

“Good morning to the Chair of the council, the board, seated Alphas and Lunas, ladies and gentlemen. I am Rashel, from the Scepter pack, and the head of security and intelligence at Scepter Technologies.” She paused and looked around the room before she spoke again.

“During the course of the year, Scepter Technologies has witnessed some life-changing setbacks; talk about sabotage. Regardless, we have risen above the flames. This report will give you an in-depth understanding of our challenges, how we’ve overcome them, and our contribution to our community.”

As Rashel spoke, Jethro smiled proudly, like he always did when she represented him at these things. There was pin-drop silence in the hall, and everyone seemed enamored by Rashel. Everyone except Viola and Seth.

Just as Rashel finished speaking and was about to take her seat, a hand went up at the other side of the room. It was Seth’s, and it wasn’t out of place because all the Alphas had the right to ask questions after every presentation.

But Rashel had a bad feeling about this, especially because of what happened the last time she saw Seth.

“Questions for Ms. Rashel. Alpha Seth, please proceed.” The chairperson said.

“Thank you, just one question.” Seth smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You mentioned that you were able to arrest a saboteur from amongst your pack. Ms. Veronica. And you led that investigation, I suppose?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the entire setting is aware that Ms. Veronica was Alpha Seth’s betrothed before Ms. Rashel came into the picture.”

After Seth’s question, a murmur arose in the crowd, and it was the sound of agreement. Rashel looked at the chairperson, hoping she would put a stop to what he had just begun, but she also seemed curious to know where Seth was heading.

“What has that got to do with the presentation?” Jethro asked, obviously annoyed.

“I will ask that you kindly take your seat, Alpha Jethro. Ms. Rashel is representing your company; therefore, I believe you trust her to answer every question.”

Jethro sat down, but the scowl on his face remained as he shot Seth a deadly look.

“Now, isn’t it too much of a coincidence that you had to be the one to discover her dealings? As if that wasn’t enough, you still brought the evidence that was used against her. This honorable gathering will agree with me that someone probably had a motive to put Ms. Veronica away and used their position as an advantage.” Seth’s conclusion gathered him murmurs of approval yet again. Although Jethro didn’t speak again, he stood up and took Rashel’s hand, a public show of support.

“I’m the head of security and intelligence, Alpha Seth. Of course I did; it was my job.” Rashel shot back at Seth. She wasn’t going to let this man make a fool out of her in the presence of the council.

“Of course. But you could have easily delegated this duty to a trusted subordinate, yes?” Seth pressed.

“I delegated the job to the most trusted man.”

“Are you informing this honorable council that you run a company filled with so many rogues that you cannot trust any?”

“My team members are highly capable and respected men and women of high moral standing. Please, do not refer to them as rogues.” Rashel said, trying hard to hold on to the remnants of control she had.

Seth was asking for a fight; he was baiting her, and he knew where to strike. All she had to do was keep her cool, and it would be over in a few minutes.

“So, this leaves us to one thing. You had trusted people, yet you decided to carry out this investigation on your own, knowing full well that it would be easier for you to plant evidence against Ms. Veronica that way.”

Rashel didn’t reply; instead, she clenched and unclenched her free hand while Jethro squeezed the other hand. He was pleading with her not to reply.