Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
CAELAN
Few shifters wore perfume or cologne. Most paranormal beings had an enhanced sense of smell and could scent shifters much faster than the average human. Wearing any sort of perfumed body products threw any chances of stealth right out the window.
Rachel was either profoundly stupid or she wanted me to know she was here. I stopped at the entrance to my bedroom and waited for her to reveal herself.
Seconds later, she walked out from the bathroom area, wearing a blue satin robe loosely tied around her waist. One of the shoulders had fallen, no doubt on purpose, showcasing an expanse of pale, creamy skin.
She wore her hair loose and tumbling over her shoulder in a wave of amber. Her green eyes shone in the low light.
Rachel slunk toward me, a seductive smile curving her full lips, her bare feet making no sound on the floor. I held my hand up.
“Do. Not.”
The power in my voice halted her in her tracks. She’d never been a powerful shifter. Content to know her beauty was usually enough to assure her place in a Pack hierarchy, Rachel rarely had to ask for anything she wanted because most shifters were chomping at the bit to lay her desires at her feet.
But I was no ordinary shifter. “If Evie were here, she would kill you,” I said mildly.
Rachel scoffed. “As if a puny woman like her could harm me.”
My soft laugh made her eyes narrow. Her languid posture tensed.
“You honestly think your fiancée could do any damage?” Her laugh was amused, but tentative. She knew I knew something she didn’t, and it was making her nervous.
Good. “You’ve always underestimated everyone.” Even me, once upon a time. I’d done everything to prove myself to her, thrown myself at her feet just so she’d turn those gemstone-colored eyes to me, and she’d thrown it back on my face.
The only eyes I wanted upon me now belonged to a blue-eyed hurricane—a woman with a tender heart and a vicious mouth.
Rachel trailed a finger over the mahogany of the dresser. “She’s cast a spell on you. The Caelan I know would never have settled for someone so plain.”
“The Rachel I used to know would never have deigned to be someone’s last choice.”
Rachel sucked in a breath. “I’ve never known you to be so cruel.” Tears shimmered in her eyes.
“Get out of my bedroom. This will be my one and only warning.” I released my hold, and Rachel waited a long moment, her eyes narrowing as she thought about testing my boundaries.
When rationality finally won, Rachel breezed past me, but not before trailing a hand across my hip on her way out.
I waited until the door closed behind her before letting out a breath and sinking onto the edge of my bed.
She was going to be a problem. I’d call her father tomorrow to figure out the real reason she was here. Until then, I rose and locked my bedroom door.
If I wasn’t meeting with the Lords first thing in the morning, I’d stay with Evie tonight.
My phone pinged with a message. See you tomorrow night?
I smiled. I’ll be at your house by nine.
Night, Caelan.
Night, darling.
I set my phone on my nightstand and buried my head in my hands.