Chapter 949 Raymond's Announcement

• Third Person POV
• “Dad?” Rachel gawked as she stepped out of the auditorium. Her father, Raymond, stood before her. “What are you doing here? When did you get here?” “Only a little bit ago,” he answered, though there seemed to be something more he wasn’t saying. “Come with me.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the student she was aiding. “Right now?” She asked. “I was in the middle of something.” She turned back to see Lila speaking with Headmaster Prescott. Both Brody and Becca remained frozen in their seats; neither noticed Rachel was gone. “There’s something we need to talk about,” her father said, pulling her away from the auditorium. Once they reached outside, he finally released her arm. “What the hell is going on?” She asked. “I don’t know, but I didn’t like that, and I don’t want you involved.” Rachel raised her brows at her estranged father. She didn’t have a great childhood with him around; since her mother died her father has been nothing but cruel and abusive. He was the main reason she was driven to drugs and alcohol and had to go to the horrid rehab in Elysium. He even knew of the horrid conditions she was in while in that rehab facility and he did nothing to help her. It was something she could never forgive him for and he’d been out of her life for many years after that. It was her recent ex-boyfriend that got her out of that situation; as much as she loves her ex and always will, she found out over the summer that he wasn’t her mate. He ended up transferring schools after he got out of the hospital because he couldn’t handle returning after what had happened at that party. He almost died and as a result of that, Rachel ended up relapsing and then overdosing. It was a lot of stress, and she wasn’t even his mate, which was found out after the fact. He was never going to be able to concentrate on his education in an environment like that and decided to transfer schools. At first, Rachel was hurt because she loved him, and they’d been together for so long. They have gone through a lot together. But then she realized it was probably for the best. She always dreamt about being with her true mate and it was clear that he was not. It was clear that their relationship would eventually kill them both if they weren’t careful. Rachel has been dealing with being alone since the school year started, but thankfully she has the love of her friends to help her. However, recently, her father has returned to her life and is wanting to start anew. He wants to make up for all the damage he has done in the past and begin a real father-daughter relationship with her. She’s still skeptical, despite what she told Lila about giving him another chance, but she’s also excited to have the chance to get to know her father again after all these years of having no contact. But that doesn’t mean she trusts him. “So, now you decide to act like a father?” She shot at him, narrowing her eyes in his direction. “Getting me out of a tough situation isn’t really a thing you do, Dad.” “You know I’m trying to be a better father,” he said, pressing his lips firmly together like he was trying hard not to say anything more. “What are you even doing here?” “I came to see you,” he answered. “There’s something we need to talk about.” “I’m listening.” “It’s probably better if—” “Raymond, good to see you. I need to speak with Headmaster Prescott, but then we will go to lunch,” Alpha Jonathan said as he walked out of the auditorium. Sarah was walking in front of him with her head held down. Rahel furrowed her brows together; confused. She didn’t know her father and Alpha Jonathan knew each other, let alone friends. “Sounds great,” Raymond said, bowing his head. Alpha Jonathan glanced at Rachel briefly. “Feel free to bring your daughter. I’d like to speak with her as well,” he said, giving Rachel a head nod. Rachel said nothing but Raymond nodded. “I was just about to ask her to lunch,” Raymond said. “How about it, Rachel?” Rahel was at a loss for words, but she didn’t want to say no in front of them both so she just nodded and forced a smile. “Great,” Alpha Jonathan said with a pleased smile. “See you both soon.” He looked back at Sarah who remained in front of him and looked mortified and defeated. “Go,” he ordered her. She said nothing, but she turned in the direction of the board building and began to walk with Alpha Jonathan trailing behind her. “What’s going on? Since when are you and Alpha Jonathan’s friends?” I asked, peering up at him. “Since we became business partners,” Raymond said, meeting his daughter’s eyes. “Business partners?” Rachel nearly spat; she stared at him with disbelief. “You are working with him?” Rachel’s father owned a small restaurant that was doing fairly well. Everybody spoke about it; it’s hard to believe that he would sell out and decide to give Alpha Jonathan half of it even though he owned literally everything. “He said he could expand the business across the nation,” Raymond explained. “This would be good for us.” “He can’t be trusted, Dad,” she said firmly, folding her arms across her chest. “He’s going to take over.” “I already signed the contract, and I had my lawyers look it over carefully. I’m getting a lot of money from this deal and I’m still in full control of my restaurant. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’d have to shut it down.” “Shut it down?” She asked with wide eyes. “I don’t understand. I thought the business was going well.” “We have lost a lot of business,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s not enough to keep us running. But Alpha Jonathan promised the business success and I took him up on the offer.” “So, that’s it? No discussion. You already signed the contract?” “It’s not like you wanted anything to do with me or the business.” “Can you blame me?!” She shouted; suddenly glad everybody was preoccupied in the auditorium. He sighed. “No… I can’t. But it’s still my business and my decision,” he sighed. “You are expected to join this lunch so I want you to put on a winning smile and be polite. Understood?” She said nothing for a long while, but she soon sighed and nodded. Thirty minutes had gone by, and Alpha Jonathan had finally arrived in front of the school in a black limo. Rachel had never been inside of a limo before but knowing who it belonged to didn’t make her excited. The door of the limo opened, and Alpha Jonathan sat inside on the dark leather seats motioning for them to enter. Rachel looked up at her father with a worried expression, but he gave her no expression in return as he slid into the limo. She had a nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she swallowed it down and slid into the limo as well. She was surprised that Sarah wasn’t there as well, but she saw a woman with long dark curls and bright green eyes seated beside Alpha Jonathan. She wasn’t someone Rachel had ever seen before, but she looked young. Not as young as Rachel, but too young to be Alpha Jonathan’s companion. “I’d like you to meet a friend of mine, Jasmine,” Alpha Jonathan introduced. “Jazzy, this is my new business partner Raymond and his daughter Rachel.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” she said; her voice was as smooth as silk and yet had a bit of playfulness in her tone as she leaned forward to look at Rachel intently. “You are quite a beautiful girl; you must get your looks from your mother.” Rachel’s face flared; there was something off about this girl, but Rachel couldn’t figure out what I was. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said, giving Rachel a beautiful smile. “I can’t wait to get to know you better. We are going to be such great friends.” She reached out to grab Rachel’s hands and Rachel saw all the jewelry that occupied her hands and fingers. She had never seen anyone with so much jewelry before and she was amazed by it. One of her rings she recognized the symbol and Rachel realized that this woman must have been a witch. Maybe that’s why she seemed off. The limo began to drive off campus and the further they got from campus the more unsettled Rachel felt. While Alpha Jonathan and her father spoke about business, the woman, Jasmine, stared at her, like she was studying her. Rachel wanted to sink into her seat and disappear. Rachel tried her best to keep her eyes from staring at Jasmine, but at some point, she couldn’t help it. She wished she did though; as soon as she looked at Jasmine, she saw this strange swirl of darkness circling her, reminding Rachel of a snake. It slithered around her arms and down her legs, its eyes glowing gold. She glanced at her father to see if he noticed it too, but he was too engrossed in his conversation to notice anything going on around him. She looked back at Jasmine who was watching her intently and smiling; her eyes growing even darker. “Is something wrong, dear?” She asked innocently. “Uh…” Rachel stammered. “There’s…” she stopped talking, unsure of what to say and how to explain it. “Um…” Jazzy’s grin widened and now the snake-like darkness was inching close to Rachel, making her jerk away almost violently. She grabbed the door handle, unsure if she should open it, and flung herself out of the moving limo; all she knew was she didn’t want this snake thing to touch her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jazzy chuckled. “It’ll only hurt worse.” Rachel’s heart fell deep into her stomach and then she let out a shrilling scream that pierced the limo just as the snake flung at her.