Chapter 9

• Chapter 9
• Lexa
• By the time I was taken back home, I had caught a cold.
• My whole body was burning, and I had a high fever.
• I could tell my family were upset about what happened from their body language. But they didn't say anything about it, and I knew it was because I had fallen sick. I was grateful they didn't ask me about what had happened, because I wouldn't know what to say.
• I had planned to trap Elysia, but I ended up causing trouble for myself instead.
• I was furious that people believed what she said instead of believing me as they usually did. Especially because she had somehow gotten close to Kade Balckridge.
• How did she even do it?
• It wasn't that easy for anybody to get close to him. He was a closedoff person, and he barely interacted with people.
• I wondered if she seduced him and he fell for it.
• A few hours passed, and I was beginning to feel better.
• I got out of bed and made my way downstairs.
• I was about to enter the sitting room, but the words I heard made me stop in my tracks. I hid behind a wall so I could listen in on the conversation going on in the sitting room.
• I could see and hear everything that was going on, but they couldn't see me.
• “Elysia has lost her mind. She went too far this time around. How could she have pushed Lexa into the pool?” Calden fumed.
• My mother had a frown on her face. “And it seems like she is close to Alpha Kade of the Stormridge Pack now. She's acting like that because she thinks someone powerful is supporting her.”
• “Alpha Kade is probably just using her. He has no mate, and he must be keeping her around for fun. There's no way he's serious about her. With his wealth and reputation, he can have any woman he wants,” Calden responded.
• My mother bobbed her head, deep in thought. “But we shouldn't forget that she still has that position. If she hands it over to Kade and he adds it to his own, it'll be a big prob—”
• Mom didn't get to complete her sentence when everybody's faces went pale with shock. It was like they were just realizing that something like this could happen.
• Dad suddenly slammed his hands on the table. “We cannot let that happen. We have to find that ungrateful wench and bring her back. I don't care if we have to force her.”
• “Calm down, dad. I sent someone to check when you told me the first time,” Calden told father, but that didn't stop him from fuming.
• Immediately he said that, Calden's phone pinged and he took it out of his pocket. He looked surprised when he read it.
• “The person I sent just sent me a message...” he trailed off, his face morphing into a frown. “She's living in Stormridge Pack now. In Alpha Kade's mansion.”
• My jaw dropped when I heard that.
• How could she be living in his mansion?
• How was that even possible?
• Could she really be sleeping with him like I thought?
• “How could she be living with him? Call that brat and tell her to come back here right now! She's disgracing us!” Mom screamed.
• His words dragged me out of my thoughts, and I left my hiding place at that moment. I walked closer to them, and they all turned to look at me.
• “When I talked to Elysia at the gala, I asked her to come back to us and return to her rightful place. I asked her to stop embarrassing us in public, but she didn't listen to me. She might come back to us if we remind her about The Elder’s Legacy Agreement.”
• They all froze in surprise when I mentioned that, and I smirked.
• “How could we have forgotten something so important?” Dad muttered to himself.
• Elysia had taken The Elder's Legacy Oath when grandpa transferred his authority to her. It was an oath all elders were required to take, and she was required to do ten years of service. It was a magical binding, and if she broke it, the Council would reclaim her position.
• “Lexa is right. The oath demands that she would spend ten years serving the pack council, and it requires that she must be on pack territory during those ten years. If she breaks the oath, she will have to let go of the position,” Calden said.
• “Exactly. She will have to give up her position if she cannot fulfil her duties!” Dad agreed.
• I lowered my head, fighting back the smile on my face.
• “But isn't that too much? She's still our—” Mom was saying but Dad cut her off.
• “She brought it upon herself!”
• “Dad is right. She knew what she was doing when she took the oath. What could she have done?” Calden added.
• “Send her a message from a different number right away. She has to come home tomorrow or she'll face the consequences!” Dad said, and Calden went to work on that immediately.
• I grinned as I watched everything happened.
• And I wondered what Elysia was going to do to get out of this.
• Elysia
• We were back at Kade’s mansion, and we sat together, neither of us saying anything.
• “I still don't know what to make of you, Elysia. You are one strange woman,” he suddenly said, and I chuckled.
• “You are one strange person, too. I also don't know what to make of you,” I responded, and he laughed.
• “Take off your shirt. It's time for your second treatment,” I told him, and he raised a brow.
• “Are you that eager to see me shirtless?” he teased.
• I pulled out my silver needle from the box. “You flatter yourself a lot. I simply want to give you your second treatment on time.”
• Kade chuckled and was silent as I did my thing.
• The second treatment was better than the first. He didn't cough up blood clots this time around. He only broke a little sweat.
• He leaned back on the couch when I was done, and he looked at me curiously.
• “Who taught you all of this?” he asked.
• “An old mentor,” I responded coolly.
• “Where did you learn?”
• “In the woods, far far away.”
• Kade looked suspicious and curious at the same time. “You were in the woods all those years you were away?”
• I looked at him then. “Are you questioning me right now?”
• “I'm just curious,” he responded with a shrug.
• “Curiousity is a dangerous thing,” I told him.
• Right as I said that, my phone pinged. I picked it up to see it was a message.
• It came from an unknown number. But the first line immediately let me know it was from the Ashbournes.
• I opened the message, and my blood ran cold when I read the words.