Chapter 50
Conspiracy
JESSICA
Present Day
Joe, Anders, and I stand in front a large computer monitor in the medical suite. We stare at an X-ray image of my chest.
“Right here. See this line? It doesn’t belong there,” Sodie explains to Anders and Joe. Sodie moves to stand behind me, palpating my back near the border of my shoulder blade. “Joe, show me where you saw the blood.”
Joe moves around me and gently taps my back.
It’s obviously an implant. The Resistance got more creative. “Did you manage to give the device to someone to look at?” I ask Anders.
“I gave it to Squirrel.”
“Is there any pain when I push down?” Sodie inquires.
I sigh. “I haven’t felt any pain or burning in that area for several hours now.”
“Any more symptoms or lack of capabilities?”
“I’m no longer dizzy or feel like I’m going to pass out. I still feel weak and tired, even though I got at least a few hours of sleep. I’ve had a slight headache all day. I can’t hear the twins in my head, and the ability to mind link is still gone. No storm magic either.”
Anders searches my face. Worry lines etch into his forehead. “No storm magic? It’s completely gone?”
“Yeah. It’s a weird feeling, like an emptiness just under my breastbone.”
Anders’s eyes widen in fear. “Jessica, this is completely different, compared to what they did all those years ago.”
“I know…”
“There’s an easy remedy to all of this. We just excise the implant before it hinders you further,” Sodie says from behind me. “They won’t know it’s gone, and I can take it out in less than fifteen minutes.”
I step away from Sodie and sit on the exam table. “What if we leave it?”
“Are you insane?” Sodie snaps. “We have no idea what they’re using. What if we leave it, and it has a more permanent effect than the last time?”
“That’s the chance I have to take.” I pause.
“I don’t like it either. If whoever planned this realizes that I’m not weak or without magic, then we won’t be able to get behind this.
I know you don’t like it, but I have to play the part to draw them out.
Last night was a test. They saw the way I interacted with the twins, with Joe. They saw how the guards responded.”
Sodie folds his arms over his chest and shakes his head. “Anders, talk some sense into her. This is dangerous.”
“You were on board with my plan this morning,” I protest.
“That was before I realized that the drug took away all your magic.”
I turn my attention to Anders, his face still laced with concern. Will he change his mind? Disappointment starts to settle in my chest.
“I trust you anticipated something like this?”
“I did. I didn’t see the implant specifically, but I figured drugging me was a possibility again, especially considering it was quite effective before.”
He nods and takes a step closer to me. “The moment I feel like you’re losing control of this game, I want that fucking implant removed. So help me, Jessica, if I have to hold you down and remove it myself, I will.”
Feeling a little triumphant that he didn’t immediately shut everything down, I press my lips together to prevent myself from grinning like a fool. “Got it.”
He turns away from me. “Why couldn’t I have had three boys?” he mutters under his breath.
“I heard you,” I reply to his back.
He doesn’t acknowledge me as he makes his way out of the suite.
I’m in the home stretch. Soon, I will meet the last three contestants. I rub the towel through my wet hair. The hot shower helped ease the tension in my shoulders and the headache forming in my temples. Resigned to wearing only a robe, I head down to hair and makeup.
I'm curious to see how the production team sets up the introduction for the remaining three men. I like knowing my surroundings ahead of time. If something happens, I can make a quick decision on an escape plan. Let’s just say it’s a habit I developed since being caught in many threatening situations.
I take the long way to hair and makeup, observing the surroundings, seeing in my head where the guards will stand post, imagining possible escape routes if I need to flee.
As I near the gathering room where the men wait, Marcus and Wills stand in the corridor, talking in low tones.
Before they see me, I slip into a room, leaving the door slightly ajar so I can hear.
“We need to form an alliance, get as many of the LS Alphas on board. We can’t let a Northern A Alpha win. Territory Seven belongs to us, not some outsider,” Marcus says. I would recognize his annoying voice anywhere.
Wills chuckles. “So, you’re going to make friends with Shadow, then? I have to see that.”
“Shut up. I’m not here to make friends with anyone. Besides, Shadow and I share a common goal. He’s here to gain the Alpha Princess’s trust and take over Territory Seven, but I don’t just want Territory Seven. I want the Alpha Princess. She’s mine.”
A stinging pain shoots straight to my heart, and I slowly shake my head in disbelief. I almost believed Shadow’s declarations last night, his claim on my body when he made love to me. I guess I was right initially. He is here to kill me, after he wins my hand in this game.
“You sure about that? My resource tells me otherwise. I was told that they had something going on between the two of them, right before he was forced into a betrothal agreement when he was reinstated as Young Alpha. That’s why I had his name placed on the list for the first five to be eliminated tonight. ”
“Doesn’t matter. Like I said, I’m not worried about him.
He might have a relationship with some of the Resistance followers, but he doesn’t have the resources that I do.
I am the Resistance. My family has been a part of this group from the beginning.
Shadow is a has-been, a Resistance wannabe, a working alcoholic who can’t keep his own territory in line. ”
Wills snorts. “Functioning alcoholic or not, I’m not taking any chances. Don’t forget there are still three more men she’s meeting tonight.”
“Do you know who they are?”
“No. I didn’t get their names. They were last-minute additions, and I couldn’t get the information from my father without looking conspicuous.”
“What the fuck, Powers? You had one job—to obtain information about the men in this ridiculous game.” Marcus lets out an audible sigh. “Fuck it. I’ll figure this shit out on my own. You’re as useless as your sister—all talk and no fucking balls to actually finish the job.”
“Wait a minute, you fucking piece of shit. You wouldn't be here right now if it wasn’t for me. You better remember that the next time you want to act all caveman-like when you see Jessica. Pull another stunt like you did last night and I’ll kick your ass out of here myself.
We have been waiting for this opportunity.
If anyone is going to fuck it up, Neanderthal, it's you. Now we made a deal. You better fucking honor it.”
Deal? I lean in closer to the door. My hearing is superior to most shifters, making up for what I lack in vision.
Heels click down the corridor. “Why are you two out here?” Carmen asks, her voice loud and accusatory.
I softly close and rest my forehead against the door.
Dammit, she picked the worst time to walk by.
I need to know what they’re planning so I can prepare myself.
The voices are muffled now as they progress farther down the corridor.
I tilt my head back and let out an audible breath. The room is in total darkness now that the door is fully closed. I slide my hand down to rest on the handle, waiting for Carmen’s voice to disappear so I can exit.
A hand closes over my mouth, and an arm snakes around my waist, bringing me flush against a firm body.
I grab the perpetrator’s wrist, digging my nails into his flesh, and jut my hip out to pull him toward me and over my shoulder.
He counters my attack by shifting to the side to unbalance me.
Refusing to let him gain the upper hand, I let go of his wrist and punch his thigh, narrowly missing his groin.
He emits an oomph, but instead of faltering backward, like I expect, he pushes forward, pinning me against the door with his body weight.
“Stop, Jess. It’s me,” he hisses.
“Owen?! What the fuck are you doing in here?” I whisper.
“The same thing as you—eavesdropping.” His taut body pushes into my back for a few seconds longer. I start to relax, and he spins me around. His face is so close his breath caresses my cheek. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Since when does a trained guard not watch their own back?”
Since this trained guard’s mind is all over the damn place. “So what? You’re teaching me a lesson?”
“Maybe. Or I just wanted an excuse to touch you.” He leans his body into mine, pressing my back up against the door.
He lifts my chin with his free hand while his other raises mine and presses it against the door.
“Kiss you,” he whispers. Teasing his lips over mine, he pauses, waiting for me to either fight him or push him away.
I don’t move, and he presses his lips against mine, sliding his tongue between my lips, just like he did when I was eighteen. His fingers slide down my neck, under the lapel of my robe. I gasp when his hand trails over my naked breast.
He takes advantage of my open mouth and slides his tongue in deeper.
His caress is light, ghosting slowly over my breast, tracing a slow intimate circle around my nipple.
There’s no tingle or buzz of electricity, as I felt this morning with Shadow.
I lean into his kiss and arch my chest, giving him more access.
Maybe I’m not giving it a chance? Do I want to give it more?
I push into his kiss, slide my tongue against his, and press myself into his touch.
I still don’t feel that heat that I want.
Guilt crashes into me for my thoughts of Shadow while I kiss another man.
I gently push against his chest with my free hand.
He smiles against my temple. “I’ve been dreaming about doing that for a long time.
” His voice rumbles, full of need. Instead of turning me on, more guilt fills my heart.
I lean my forehead against his chest, grateful that I can’t see his face in the dark.
Shame burns in my cheeks. What the hell is wrong with me?
Without moving my head, I whisper, “Owen, I need to go.”
“Yes. I’m sure you do,” a gravelly voice says from the corner of the room.
Suddenly, a lamp illuminates the room. I blink a few times for my eyes to adjust. Shadow sits in a chair, a dark, angry expression contorting his face.
Standing next to him, casually leaning against the wingback chair, is Dimitri Rhineheart.
Fuck me. Of all the fucking rooms in this corridor, I chose this one. How did I not sense them? My eyes flick up to Owen’s face. He smiles mischievously. Did he know that Shadow was here?
He traces a finger across my collarbone before adjusting my robe back in place. He kisses the top of my head, slowly spinning around to face Shadow and Dimitri. He covers me in a protective stance, blocking Shadow's direct view of me.
Such a dick Alpha move. I didn’t realize he had it in him.
“So what’s it going to be? Scrubbing the indoor swimming pool with my toothbrush? Digging trenches, just for the hell of digging a trench? Or my personal favorite, kitchen duty for the remainder of my time here?”
I frown at Owen’s back. A flicker of a teenage Owen scrubbing the indoor swimming pool at the training facility invades my mind. I remember being angry when I found him, scrubbing the wall with a toothbrush in his hand. He smiled up at me when he turned to dip the brush into the bucket next to him.
Don't worry about it. I'm using Beaver’s toothbrush. It will be worth it when I'm done and return it to its rightful owner. He waved the toothbrush at me and winked before he continued scrubbing the wall. When I left him, I went in search of the person who made me angry—Shadow.
I scoff as I look over to Shadow now, watching me with an intensity that sends a shiver up my spine.
Dimitri stands mere feet away, body tense like he’s ready to fend off an attack.
I watch him with curiosity. There’s something different about him—his stance, his demeanor.
It’s a stark contrast to the anxious wreck I encountered during the introductions.
Is this just another layer of the game, a mask he’s wearing to distract me?
Redirecting my focus to Shadow, I exhale sharply. “You were such a dick to Owen back then,” I mutter quietly to myself.
"Because I wasn't the only one in love with you back then," Owen concedes.
I frown as I drop my chin. Did he know about me and Shadow?
Guilt sits like heavy stones in the pit of my stomach. I look between the three men. This is so awkward, and the silence is stifling. So, I do the cowardly thing and make an excuse to leave. "I have a headache. I think I should go and see Sodie."
Owen slides a hand around my elbow. “I’ll take you.”
"I'll take you," Shadow offers at the same time.
"No. I can take myself.”
Owen scowls down at me, and Shadow clenches his jaw. Dimitri is the only one amused by all of this. What a jerk.
“I can't be seen with either one of you. There are rules I need to adhere to, and I didn't spend the last couple of weeks being tortured with makeup and stinky hair products for everything to come to an end right now."
They all huff with laughter.
"Fuck off. You would have a headache, too, if you had to endure that shit every freakin’ day. Not to mention that I risk breaking my neck every time I walk in those heels." I roll my eyes and turn to make my exit.
"Princess, I highly advise that the next time you choose to wonder the halls of the castle, you wear something underneath that robe," Owen suggests.
I smile. Well, well, well. Look who joined the Alphahole club. He's definitely not the same teenage boy I once knew.