~Brielle
My blood runs cold.
I know Ren doesn't like me. I know he doesn't want me getting in the way, but I never thought he would actually want me dead. He's evil, pure evil, and manipulative to add to it all. When was he planning on doing this? I bet he didn't think Chase was about to get control again, and was planning to do it that night. Just thinking about what might have happened sends chills down my spine.
"He won't be getting control over me again. I don't care what it takes," Chase says quickly, glancing at me. The Gaze Reader still stares at me, clearly trying to decipher why an Alpha wants to kill me, of all people. She must have seen within Chase's gaze that he is my true mate, not Ren.
The Gaze Reader looks skeptical. "I don't want to be dragged into an Alpha's mess. That's dirty business."
Chase and I exchange wary glances.
"He was never meant to be the true Alpha. His brother was, before he murdered him and cold blood, and still feels no remorse. I can tell, I can sense it, and through me, you can too. Help me keep him away, at least until I can find a Gaze Reader who is willing to get him out of my head," Chase says firmly. It seems just his tone alone seems to shock the Gaze Reader into submission.
She gets up from the cushions she was sitting on, walking over to a makeshift shelves, sifting through bottles and jars filled with questionable ingredients. I watch her carefully, waiting for her to cast some spell of bad luck onto us before shooting us away.
"I'll help you. I'll do it for you, but if any of the royal family come back for me, your lives will have the worst possible karma for the rest of your life. From the Immortal herself," she threatens.
My throat goes completely dry. Of course Chase smoothly steps in.
"You don't have to worry about that. No one will be any the wiser, I promise you. And as reward, your family will be compensated greatly," Chase assures her, to which she glances back over her shoulder, focusing her gaze on him. She looks troubled, by what she is about to do, but on hearing those words, she seems to perk up a little.
"You speak of the riches this Pack lost many years ago, when your Alpha was fleeing from that damned immortal?" She asks, practically breathless.
Chase nods solemnly.
"Well then this will be very easy. It will be a pleasure. I knew when I looked into your gaze that you had something up your sleeve. It was golden, bright and opulent. Now it all makes sense," she mutters, plucking a few jars off the table, walking over to sit back in front of us. I eye them skeptically. Who knows what any of these strange liquids and powers do. We are putting all our trust into her.
Unscrewing the lid, she reaches her hand into a jar half filled with purple dust. Grabbing a handful, she spreads her palms and blows the dust right into Chase's face. He coughs a few times, blinks, before his eyes roll back and he collapses onto the floor.
I gasp, getting to my knees to lean over him? When I grab his face, he is already cold, in less than a few seconds.
I glare back at her, my gaze accusatory. "What have you done?"
"Calm down," she tuts, getting up to wash her hands. I wipe the power off my mates face, trying to shake him awake, but whatever magic is entwined in this stuff, it has gotten into his system. My heart thuds against my ribcage, as I feel for a pulse. I only relax when I feel it pounding against the tips of my fingers.
"He's been put into a sleeping spell. We only have a few hours, so we better get this over with," she tells me, to which I sit back, still clasping Chase's hands in my own.
"Why would you do that? If he wakes, it will be Ren in control, not Chase."
The Gaze Reader walks back over, sitting in front of Chase. She looks down at him with sadness in her eyes. Maybe she is seeing Ren, not Chase, and is sad about what she has to do to an Alpha. I would be worried too, but Ren has no family that would ever come back to harm her. He took care of ridding everyone in his life. I can't help but wonder how long he was planning to wait before he was going to do it to me.
"He won't be waking until Ren is out of his body. We need to find a willing host whose life we can end once Ren has been put into their mind," she tells me, patting Chase's chest.
My breath breath.
"You never mentioned we would have to kill an innocent victim. There has to be another way," I plead. When I planned this out in my head, this isn't what I figured would happen. I thought Ren would be taken from his mind and would cease to exist in the most peaceful way possible. Even if he deserves to die in a horrible, painful way. But I would never be the one to want to do that.
She shakes her head. "This is the only way. I'll sort someone out. For now, I suggest you go and stand outside and wait for a moment. I have to prep this body with some magic, and it might make you feel better if you're not around to witness that.
"No, I'm not about to let you take someone else's life like that. I'll figure out another day. Just give me some time, okay?" I offer, as if I stand a chance of coming up with another idea.
She looks grim. "Please leave."
"I'm not leaving," I tell her firmly.
"If you don't leave right now, I'm going to have to use magic. I don't want to have to do that, when I need my strength for this spell," she says calmly, although there is a storm in her eyes that is behind turbulent. I don't want to end up like Chase, so I get up, pushing through the curtains into the outside world. I'm angry.
Some innocent person is going to have their life ended because of this mess? Ren doesn't deserve to live anymore, but it's his original body. But Chase doesn't have another body to go to. His one died years ago when his mother tried to save him.
Standing in the middle of the Devotion Pack, in a small village, I want to scream.
What do I do?
"Well isn't this quite the predicament?" I hear from behind me, making me whirl around in front, the voice completely unfamiliar. Standing behind me, is a man I've only seen before in books, never in person. It's so jarring to see him standing in front of me, hands tucked casually into his pockets, and soulless dark eyes staring back at me. And not to mention, that blue hair of his.
"Fate. What the hell," I gasp, stumbling back a few steps. For a moment, I consider the fact that the shock and trauma of this day has translated into a total mental breakdown to the point where I'm having hallucinations about immortals.
"Let's skip the whole, what are you doing here nonsense and skip right to the point, shall we?" He asks, clapping his hands together.
I nod numbly.
"There's nothing more that I love than a bit of Alpha drama, I must admit, however, I've been curiously observing this from a distance for quite some time now, and I've decided this is the part where I step in," he comments, the smile on his face sly and full of mystery.
I blink a few times, trying to ensure that he is really standing in front of me right now. This can't be real. It can't be. What business does Fate have with me? I know what he is like from rumours and books. People who have met him, who he manipulated and left behind have written large novels about him. So standing in his wake is admittedly terrifying.
"So, to keep things short, I want the money," he says brightly.
I have at him. "Money?"
"Yes, the money," he says, rolling his hands together in some kind of inpatient movement. "You know, the riches Ren has stored away that even I haven't had access to due to some kind of immortal spell he put on it. Cunning bastard. So now I'm here, begging you for it. That truly is the last thing I thought I would ever say to a mortal."
"What do you want with that money?" I question him. I'm not sure if I want to know the answer, but I'm damn sure he isn't getting it.
He tilts his head from side to side, looking thoughtful. "See, my darling mate has a rather half brain dead brother, which I mean in the kindest way possible, however, he's not good at this whole Alpha thing, which he has become, and I think this money would do him some good in getting this place back up to scratch. You know?"
I narrow my eyes on him. "Liar."
He has the audacity to look offended. "Liar? I don't lie, trust me. I know having a mate has changed me, and yes it's embarrassing, but I'm doing this for her and her family because she won't admit that her brother has a few screws loose."
"Sorry if I don't trust Alpha's after this, but I've already decided with Chase, my mate, that the money is going back to the people of this Pack, like the lady who is trying to help us in there," I tell him firmly.
Fate winces. "I don't think you're going to have to worry about her anymore."
I frown. "Why not?"
"Well that's Chase's mother. He put him in there in the first place, and now she's going to sacrifice her own body in order to get Ren away from her son. Charming I know-"
I don't stick around to wait one more second to hear what Fate has to say. I run back into the tent, and sure enough, the Gaze Reader lies on the ground.
Dead.