Page 97 of Alpha's Rejected Warrior
Haron nods, shame coloring her features. “I enchanted a talisman that would help us identify the Scarlet once we arrived at Kortan. We needed to be certain we had the right person.”
“Jayme,” I say. “You singled Jayme out, and then what?”
“Once we found him, we developed the plan. At dinner, I was to ask to be shown around somewhere—”
“Hold on,” Rhiannon cuts in. “When did you have time to put this plan together? The two of you met Jayme for the first time right before dinner. You couldn’t have known who he was, or that he would even be there.”
“Holden is my twin. We can talk through our minds,” Haron says, as if this should be common knowledge.
I glance at Rhiannon.I knew it.
Her golden-brown eyes meet mine for just a second before she turns back to Haron.
“Continue.” Rhiannon’s tone makes it clear she’s not tolerating any further nonsense.
Haron takes a shaky breath.
“I was to ask to be shown around somewhere. I chose Ethan because—” She stops mid-sentence, her expression crumpling as guilt floods her face. “Should our plan not go accordingly, you’d act as a distraction, giving me the chance to escape.”
“Distraction?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You mean Scarlet bait?”
“It wasn’t personal,” she says. “If I were going to have an escort, they had to be defenseless. If a Lycan had escorted me, they might have fought Jayme off, protecting us both and earning respect from my father. That would miss the whole point. I needed to be wounded for the plan to succeed and...”She pauses again, swallowing hard. “If it happened while I was protecting you from having your throat ripped out, even better.”
Heat crawls up my neck, and I swear smoke might be pouring from my ears.
“But then,” Haron goes on, “Rhiannon offered the Scarlet as my escort. Holden said it was the perfect setup, since it eliminated the possibility of anyone else getting hurt and left the Scarlet as the only possible culprit. He promised that I wouldn’t be hurt badly, that he would hold the beast back from seriously injuring me.” She looks down at her hands and the faded scars on her palms. “He unfortunately underestimated the Scarlet’s strength. I had to use every bit of my power just to survive.”
So, if Rhiannon hadn’t asked Jayme to escort Haron, I could have been what? Calculated collateral damage?
Every vile word in my vocabulary sits ready on my tongue, but something stops me cold from unleashing them on Haron.
Rage radiates from Rhiannon in waves. Her shoulders are locked, her jaw clenched so tightly I can practically hear her teeth grinding. Her golden-brown eyes have darkened to something predatory, and I swear her fingernails are sharpening into claws.
She looks like she’s seconds away from tearing Haron apart. Part of me wants to step back and watch, but we need Haron to find Holden.
“Commander.” I step between them. “She’s cooperating.”
Rhiannon doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. Just stares past me at Haron like she’s deciding which body part to rip off first.
“And what about your father?” I ask, trying to tie up the remaining loose ends before Rhiannon pounces. My voice comes out colder than I intended. “Was staging an attack on him part of this brilliant plan too?”
Haron’s head snaps up, genuine remorse flashing across her features for the first time. “No. Absolutely not. I would never have agreed to that.Never.”
“Then why did Holden do it?” I press. “What possible reason could he have for nearly killing your father?”
“I don’t know.” She wraps her arms around herself. “I swear to you, I don’t know. After the attack on me went wrong, Holden said we needed to pull back. Regroup. I thought he meant we were abandoning the plan entirely.” Tears stream down her face again. “I never imagined he would— that he could—”
“Bullshit.” Rhiannon’s words slice through the air.
Her fury sears through the connection we share — hot, violent, barely contained. She takes a step forward, and I move instinctively to intercept.
“You expect us to believe you hadno ideathat your own twin — your twin who you can speak to with your mind — was planning to murder your father?” Rhiannon’s words drip with venom. “That he managed to keep that one little detail from you?”
“I’m telling the truth!” Haron’s voice rises, desperate.
“Commander—” I start.
But Rhiannon surges past me, getting right into Haron’s face. “Tell us everything you know. Right now. Before someone else in my pack gets hurt or killed because of your idiotic little scheme to sabotage the peace summit.”
