CHAPTER 173: CONFRONTATIONS AND REVELATIONS...

Charis

"What?" the boys said simultaneously.

I took a deep breath.

"I said I was the person at the door of the kitchen when you were discussing your plans earlier this morning," I said, looking directly at Rhett and Slater.

Both of them froze. Slater’s hand stopped moving on my arm, and Rhett pulled back slightly to stare at me.

"What the hell are you all planning?" I continued, sitting up straighter. "I’ve told you several times that there’s no need to suspect Isolde—"

"You don’t see the evil in people, and that’s a flaw," Kael interrupted from where he sat at the foot of the bed. "You must learn to see both the good and evil in people to help you survive."

My chest tightened. "You’re the one to talk," I fired back. "Didn’t you condemn me to death?"

Kael’s face darkened, his hands clenching into fists. "Didn’t we agree we wouldn’t talk about it again?" he yelled. "Why are you bringing it up?"

He stood up abruptly and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

There was silence for a while before Rhett spoke.

"I kind of agree with Kael on this one," he said quietly. "You can’t keep saying you’ve forgiven him and still bring it up. It’s wrong. If you throw it in his face every chance you get. That’s not forgiveness. You’re just being cruel."

I sighed and looked between the two remaining boys. "Fine. Whatever. Anyway, how are you all convinced that Isolde is bad?"

Slater shifted uncomfortably. "We saw something last night. Isolde was meeting with people in uniforms, moving some kind of containers. And Kael recognised his boss there."

"You saw her?" I asked.

"Yes," Slater said flatly. "She was giving orders, and why would they be moving something in the middle of the night. Why not do it during the day?"

"Kael suspects that all the accusations Peter made against his boss might be true," Rhett added hastily. "That his organisation isn’t what he thought it was."

"To prove that we’re right," Rhett continued, "we need to stay here one more day so we can investigate what Isolde was trying to transport and why."

After they finished talking, they both turned to me, looking at me expectantly. I rolled my eyes then sighed.

"I know what she’s transporting. She told me."

Both boys turned to me with wide eyes.

"What?" Slater frowned.

"She’s moving medical equipment and blood samples to a new research facility," I said. "The equipment is sensitive to temperature changes, and the blood samples need to be kept at exact temperatures during transport. They can only move them during the day because the cooling systems operate more efficiently in daylight hours. At night, the power grid is less stable, and temperature fluctuations could ruin months of research."

Slater and Rhett looked at each other, clearly not expecting such a simple explanation.

"That’s why they’re moving everything in batches of four," I continued. "Each container has its own cooling system, and they can only monitor four systems properly at once. She’s not moving anything illegal, and Rhett, you can ask your dad, she got clearance from the Alpha’s office to move them."

"Why does she have a research facility? Is she a scientist?"

"Isolde runs the biggest research facilities in the world that aim at helping sick werewolves and humans tackle strange illnesses. It’s because of such research that our world has been able to develop vaccines and find cures for certain illnesses, and their labs are approved. Didn’t you know these?"

Both boys turned to stare at each other.

But at that moment, the door opened and Isolde entered with a warm smile. When she saw Rhett and Slater sitting on my bed, she paused.

"Oh," she said, and both boys rose to their feet hastily.

Isolde entered the room slowly, with a curious expression. "I’m sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting anything."

I sighed. "No, you’re not. How did the transportation go?"

"The first container was sent out already," Isolde explained. "The others will follow on Wednesday. Everything is going according to schedule."

Then she turned to me with a questioning look. "What’s going on? Why were the boys with you?"

As I started to reply, Rhett suddenly spoke up. "We’re Charis’s mates. Me, Slater, and Kael."

Isolde looked at him for a while and nodded. "I’m aware of that, but I’m sorry, I can’t let you all have sex under my roof. It’s disrespectful."

I gasped. "Of course we’re not! The boys just came to check on me."

Isolde looked suspicious and sighed. "I’ll make an appointment with a gynaecologist since you’ve decided to be active again. You need to protect yourself at least. We don’t want any accidents."

I nodded, feeling heat creep up my neck.

"I’m going to make breakfast," Isolde said, then left the room.

As soon as she was gone, Slater turned to me with anger flashing in his eyes.

"Accident?" he said, his voice tight. "Really? Is that what you’re calling our dead child? An accident?"

I flinched visibly as I felt all the blood drain from my face.

"Don’t even start, Slater," I said, rising from the bed on shaky legs. "I don’t want to do this with you right now."

"A dead child?" Rhett asked, looking from me to Slater. "What dead child?"

I closed my eyes, feeling the familiar ache in my chest. This was not how I wanted this conversation to happen.

"When I was still mated to Slater the first time, I said quietly, "I got pregnant, but I already told you this, Rhett. Why are you asking?"

Rhett’s face went completely white. "Pregnant?"

"I lost the baby a few weeks later," I continued, unable to look at either of them. "It was early, but... it was still our child. And back then, my father had put so much pressure on me to terminate the pregnancy. I had no choice."

Slater’s hands were shaking. "And you didn’t give me a say in your decisions. You didn’t bother to include me."

"How could I? I thought you were in another relationship, and my dad didn’t make things easier. In the end, I had to succumb."

"So you had the baby aborted?" Rhett asked.

My gaze flitted to Slater, and I nodded. "Yes, and back then, it was Isolde who helped me. Of course, I only discovered it was her back then because her face had been covered. But she took care of me afterwards because my mom couldn’t. Aside from my family. She’s the only one who knows."

"So, you’re saying you’ve met Isolde way before you came to Ravenshore?"

I nodded. "She’s a friend of my mom, and since the pregnancy had advanced, my mom turned to her for help. Back then, I had no idea she was the one behind it because she worked mostly behind the scenes."

"That’s another reason why you should trust her," I said, finally looking at them. "She’s kept my secrets, helped me through the worst time of my life, and never asked for anything in return."

"Charis," Slater said softly, reaching for me.

I stepped back. "I think you guys are being suspicious for no reason. If you’d like, I can ask Isolde to clarify all the things you have doubts about, and you’ll see that you’re worrying for nothing. She’s harmless, guys. I swear."

"Medical equipment," Rhett said slowly. "You really believe that’s what they were moving?"

"Yes. Why would she lie to me about that?"

"Because she’s been lying to you about everything else," Slater said quietly.

I stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"The way she found you wasn’t random, Charis. People like Isolde don’t just rescue random girls out of kindness. They have reasons, plans, purposes."

"Didn’t I tell you that she’s a family friend who came to my rescue. She knew it was me, and she knows who my father was and his erratic behaviour; she has helped me once."

"Isn’t it concerning that your mother trusted she could take care of those things? How old were you then? You assisted you in getting an abortion?" Slater said.

"My parents insisted I get rid of it because I had to be married to Darian..."

"Yeah, and your mom just happened to contact Isolde?" Slater chuckled dryly. "There is no information about her anywhere. No family, no traces. Isolde didn’t just appear from the sky; no one does. She must have roots somewhere, and that’s what we want to know."

"You’re being paranoid."

"Maybe. But what if we’re right? What if she’s using you for something you don’t understand?"

I looked between them, seeing the genuine worry in their faces. They really believed Isolde was dangerous.

"Fine," I said finally. "You want to investigate? Go ahead. But when you find out that she’s exactly who she says she is, I want an apology."

"And if we’re right?" Rhett asked.

"Then I’ll listen to whatever you have to say."

It was a compromise neither side was happy with, but it was the best I could offer. The boys wanted to protect me, and I wanted to protect the woman who had saved my life.

What none of us realised was that the truth was going to be more complicated than any of us imagined.