<h4>Chapter 216: Before the storm.</h4>


    <strong>Charis</strong>


    I left the rooftop in a daze, Alpha Raymond’s words echoing in my mind.


    <i>And the child? Does he know about the child?</i>


    The child. The baby I’d had when ter and I were first mates. Before everything fell apart.


    Although I’d lied to ter that I miscarried the baby when in reality, I had carried the baby to full term.


    With the help of my mom and a few trusted servants in the pack house, I’d sessfully carried the pregnancy to term and hidden it from my father. However, when I gave birth, I’d fallen unconscious, and by the time I woke up, the baby was gone.


    Until today, my mom hasn’t told me what happened to the baby, if it was still alive, and back then, I’d been so scared to ask her because I was worried that if my father discovered that I’d gotten pregnant with ter’s child, he’d kill me.


    And I didn’t tell ter the truth because telling him would be pointless. Plus, I didn’t know anything about the whereabouts of the baby; what purpose would it serve except to cause more pain?


    But somehow Alpha Raymond knew.


    There was no way he could have gotten the information from my medical records because there was no record of it, nor could he have gotten it from pack gossip. The only people who knew I had carried the pregnancy to term were six people.


    But somehow, Alpha Raymond knew that I had, and maybe the baby had survived, too. Though I hadn’t given him any reply, wasn’t my silence a confirmation?


    And now he was using it against me and threatening to tell ter if I didn’t break up with him.


    My chest felt tight, and I couldn’t breathe properly. I needed to find somewhere quiet where I could think.


    I wandered through the pack house in a fog, barely seeing where I was going. My feet carried me until I found myself in the garden.


    It was peaceful here. The sun was lower now, casting everything in warm golden light. Flowers bloomed in carefully tended beds. A stone path wound through the greenery, leading to a small bench under a willow tree.


    And sitting on that bench, phone pressed to his ear, was Kael.


    I almost turned around. He looked like he wanted privacy; his shoulders were tense, his expression serious. But something drew me forward. Maybe it was the need forfort, or it was just that being near him felt safer than being alone with my thoughts.


    I walked over and sat down beside him on the bench. He nced at me but didn’t stop his conversation.


    "Yes," he was saying into the phone, his voice low and reverential. "I understand. No, I haven’t told anyone else yet."


    A pause while the person on the other end spoke.


    "I know it’s dangerous." Kael’s jaw clenched. "But I don’t have a choice. This is about saving someone I care about."


    Another pause. It was longer this time.


    "Yes, sir. I’ll be careful. Thank you for the information." He paused again, and when he spoke next, his voice was softer. "I know. I won’t forget what you’ve done for me."


    He ended the call and sat there for a moment, staring at his phone. Then he turned to me.


    Without a word, he leaned over and kissed me. It was gentle, tender,pletely different from the desperate passion we’d shared earlier. This kiss felt like a promise and reassurance.


    When he pulled back, he stretched out on the bench,ying his head in myp. His body rxed against me, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.


    I automatically started running my fingers through his hair, the motion soothing for both of us.


    We sat like that infortable silence for several minutes. Birds sang in the trees. A breeze rustled the leaves above us. It felt normal and almost peaceful.


    Like we weren’t about to rescue someone from kidnappers.


    "That was my handler," Kael finally said. "Every agent is assigned a messenger or handler that serves as a bridge between you and the organisation. I’d asked him to gather more information about the Collectors and about their operation."


    "Did you learn anything useful?" I asked quietly, my fingers still moving through his dark hair.


    "Some," he nodded. "Locations they’ve used before, patterns in how they operate that might help and how we could easily bypass them, picking us up as soon as we get to the human world."


    He was quiet for a moment before he continued. "I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did to Rhett."


    The change of subject caught me off guard. "What?"


    "The fight." Kael opened his eyes and looked up at me. "I agree, I lost control. I let my anger take over, and more than anything, I should have respected the fact that you belong to three of us too and that you care about them just as much as you care about me."


    "Kael—"


    "But I couldn’t ept it," he continued, not letting me speak. "I still can’t, really. The fact that I have to share you with them. I know it’s selfish. I know the mate bond means we’re all connected. But the thought of you with Rhett, with ter..." His hands clenched. "It just makes me jealous."


    I stroked his hair more gently, hoping it would bring ease to my aching chest. "I love you," I said softly. "Just like I love ter and Rhett. I love you three equally. There is no hierarchy or ranking. You’re all mine, and I’m all of yours."


    I paused, thinking about how things had unfolded. "Maybe the fault is mine. I shouldn’t have shown preference. I made it seem like I was choosing one of you over the others."


    "You didn’t," Kael said immediately. "You haven’t. It’s just..." He sat up, turning to face me fully. "I’m not good at this. At sharing. I feel like if you ept the others, you’d be taken away from me, and that shit scares me."


    "I won’t be taken away from you, Kael. You’re mine forever."


    He smiled softly. "Life is predictable, Charis. I might die on this mission..."


    "The goddess forbid such wicked thoughts," I stopped him immediately. "Why would you even think of that?"


    He arched his brow at me, smiling as if what I’d just said was amusing.


    "Charis darling, whenever I go on any mission, I always prepare to meet my end. It makes me fight bravely and tirelessly to keep my life. Don’t worry, it’s not a bad omen thing."


    "Still, you should say things like that. You might jinx it."


    He nodded, shing me a smile as we both quietened. After a while again, he looked up at me and asked quietly.


    "Do you want toe with me?"


    The question caught me off guard. "To rescue ter?"


    "Yes."


    I opened my mouth to answer, then closed it. Did I want to go? Of course I did. ter was my mate. He was in danger. I should be there to help rescue him.


    But I was also untrained, Alpha Raymond and Alpha Terry didn’t like the idea, and I didn’t want the men to hate me more. I was a liability, just like Alpha Terry had said.


    "I don’t know if that’s a good idea," I said slowly. "Everyone seems to think I’ll just get in the way."


    "I didn’t ask what everyone else thinks," Kael said. "I asked what you want."


    "But I’m not trained forbat. I don’t know how to fight properly. What if I mess things up?"


    "Charis." Kael took my hands in his. "Just tell me. Do you want toe?"


    I looked into his eyes and saw the understanding there—the way he was giving me the choice instead of making it for me.


    "Yes," I whispered. "Yes, I want toe."


    He nodded, like that was precisely what he’d expected. "Then don’t worry. I’ll bring you. I’ll keep you safe."


    "Kael, the Alphas said—"


    "I don’t care what they said." His voice was firm. "You have more right to be there than any of us. ter is your mate. And mates don’t abandon each other."


    Tears pricked at my eyes. "Thank you."


    He pulled me closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "I need to tell you some things about the Collectors. About what we might face when we get there."


    "Okay."


    "They use fear as a weapon," he began. "They’ll try to intimidate you, make you feel powerless, and they y mind games too. They use a human machine, hyno-something..." he scratched his head, eyeing me warily. "I can’t remember the name, but basically, when you walk through this machine, usually at the entrance of wherever their hideout is, you start getting shbacks of your past, the dirty ones."


    "Ooops!" I shifted ufortably.


    "It’s brutal, I won’t lie. I’ve been with many agents who went through that ordeal and almost didn’t make it. It was simple for me because I didn’t have a past until I met my master. So, I didn’t have many regrets or bad things that had happened to me, but that was back then. Who knows what it’ll be this time around."


    "How do I move past it?"


    "It’s simple, stay calm and refuse to listen to the voice telling you that you’re worthless. Once you push back, it goes away."


    "What if I can’t?"