CHAPTER THREE
Rachel yawned and closed her eyes for a second. Ashcombe was only about three and a half hours away, so they hadn’t had to set off unreasonably early, but she hadn’t had the best night’s sleep. Despite her efforts not to think about the upcoming meeting, her mind was full of questions. Hope blossomed at the thought of being so close to where Sara was.
She curled her hands into fists and let her claw tips slide out to try and regain some semblance of calm.
There was a huge possibility nothing would come of this. Cam had already warned her, and she needed to be prepared.
“You okay?” Jason’s hushed whisper startled her into opening her eyes.
“Yeah, thanks.” She smiled and his worried expression faded. All the betas knew about her history and why she’d ended up with their pack. Her nervousness was no surprise to them. “I just want to get there already.”
Cam sat in the front, while Daryl drove, and he turned to face her. “Another ten minutes and we should be at the pub.”
“Pub?” Rachel frowned. She’d assumed they’d be going to the council headquarters.
“Yes. As this isn’t official council business in the usual sense, Alpha Wallace thought a more relaxed setting would be in order.”
She watched the trees pass in a blur as their car sped along the country roads. “I imagine a pub is less foreboding than the council building.”
To her surprise, Cam laughed. “You have no idea.” Expression sobering a little, he glanced at Daryl who offered him a wry smile. “The last time I visited the council property was… eventful. I’d rather not repeat it any time soon, so the pub works perfectly for me.”
Since she’d first come to Cam’s pack, she’d learnt a lot about their recent history. They’d had a turbulent few months, to say the least.
Jason fidgeted in his seat, and Rachel glanced over at him.
“You weren’t here for that, were you?” she asked, trying to remember more of the finer details.
“No.” Jason shook his head. “But I wish I had been.”
“He was too busy trying not to die,” Daryl added, making Jason smile.
The car slowed, and Daryl turned right into a large car park in front of a quaint-looking pub. “Here we are.” Theirs was the only car, and Daryl parked in a space over by the small stone perimeter wall and turned off the engine.
The pub was lovely, but Rachel’s nerves stopped her from appreciating it fully. It didn’t help matters when Cam turned around in his seat to face her and sighed. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Oh?” That didn’t sound ominous at all.
“This is all on me. I didn’t tell you beforehand because, if it comes to it, I want you to be able to say you had no idea about any of this and have it be the truth.”
Rachel scrunched her face in confusion, and Cam sighed again but smiled this time. “Sorry. What I’m trying to say is that we’re not meeting with Alpha Wallace because apparently there’s someone more qualified in this area. We’re actually meeting with Alpha Cornell.”
Rachel’s heart stopped for a second as that information sank in, then set off at a gallop. She opened her mouth, a hundred questions forming, but all that came out was a soft, “Oh.”
“And that’s not all.” He met her gaze, and Rachel’s stomach dropped.
No, he can’t mean—
He reached out and gripped her shoulder. “Rachel, she’s bringing Sara with her.”
Oh fuck.
The sharp tang of blood tainted the air, but it barely registered as Rachel struggled to stay calm. Only when Jason gently uncurled her fists did she look down and see that the blood was hers.
Cam squeezed her shoulder again. “I know I’ve blindsided you with this. Sara will be in exactly the same boat, but it was the only way we could think to do this and still abide by Alpha Gallen’s demands.”
“But if he finds out…” He’d blame her, she knew he would. “What about my father, my pack?”
“Neither of you had any knowledge of this, and Alpha Cornell will tell him as such if, or when, that happens. Considering he’s on thin ice with the council already, I doubt he’ll want to argue the matter.”
