The Lost Elixir

Chapter Ten

The high-pitched screech leaving the man below Rayne made her hand falter mid-punch. Her eyes nearly bugged right out of her skull as she registered the familiar hazel eyes of a person she hadn't been expecting at all. A person whose scent she should have recognized moons ago when she first caught wind of something strange, but she would never be able to pinpoint who it belonged to, considering their pack's wolf's bane lingered in his system. It wasn't enough to kill him, but enough to mask his wolf and their scent.

"Ronan?" she cried, her thighs still straddling his narrow waist.

The innocent smile sprawled across his sheepish face and the guilt oozed from his body like sweat. It marked his scent all wrong; like drenching a caramel apple in tar. What was once sweet, familiar, and warm, was now tainted by not only his contrition, but by the bane as well.

"H-hey Raynie," he greeted, hesitantly. "Er—funny seeing you here."

Rayne was seething. She pressed her fingernails tightly into her palms and crossed her arms over her chest. It took everything in her not to reach down and strangle the bastard to death, and she was sure to push down any joy that could have risen from seeing him. He was following her because he didn't trust her enough to do it on her own, and that in itself was reason enough to make her very angry with him.

Now it all made sense. Why she randomly believed someone was following them, why she thought she heard someone call out for her in the fire. Ronan was behind them the entire time, and even tried to save her when the lodge burnt down.

"You have five seconds to explain what the fuck you're doing here, Ronan or so help me," she warned, the weight of her heated glare making him flinch into the grass.

The bush she jumped from rustled and she snapped her head back to see Jarrah curiously looking over at her. He caught onto the strange look in her eyes and followed her body down to the culprit below her. A spark of lightning glowed in his hard eyes and he scoffed loudly.

"Of course," he snarked. He glared sourly at the two of them like Ronan and Rayne had planned the entire ordeal to spy on him all along and abruptly turned around, leaving them alone.

Did he really think Rayne would set up a secret ploy to spy on him? Sure, she didn't trust him very much. But she never would have stooped so low. She thought Ronan would think the same way, and yet, there they were. Now she and Jarrah were back to square one because of his carelessness.

Rayne's jaw locked. Deliberately, she turned her head back around and glared down into Ronan's guilty-eyed gaze. The urge to strangle him warmed her fingertips and murder simmered in the depths of her belly. "What the hell are you doing here, Ro?"

The bastard had the audacity to be offended. Hurt shot clear across his face like a meteor that flew and landed squarely into her chest despite her obvious anger. "Wow, Ray. It's nice to see you too," he scoffed, frowning.

She rolled her eyes. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" she punctured, refusing to ease up.

The corner of Ronan's lip slithered between his clenched teeth. He carefully gripped her waist and picked her up like a cornhusk doll as he sat up. He moved her fuming body beside him so that she was no longer glowering above him, and ignored her crossed arms and impatiently raised eyebrows.

Rayne refused to give him enough time to search for a lie. She moved strictly into his line of sight so that she'd be able to read him if he even tried. And when he made eye contact with her, with his worried brows creasing, she knew she wasn't going to like his answer.

"Don't even try to lie, Ronan. You either tell me why you're here, or I'm never talking to you again and I'll make Amira my Beta."

Ronan grimaced. "Ouch. Okay, I'll tell you," he sighed, reluctantly.