Curiosity Killed The Cat

JADEN

"What?" I said, glaring at Rhea who blinked at me, pokerfaced. 

"I said, where--"

"I get it. I heard you. I thought I asked you to stay in the basement" 

"I don't exactly have a phone to call you. I had to come up here myself"

Klaus snorted in amusement. 

"Good gracious, you really are something else, lady" he commented and she gave him a smile. 

"Why? Thank you" she responded. Her gaze moved over to me.

"Please, can you get me tampons?" 

The nerve of this woman. 

"I am not your boyfriend, Rhea," I stressed. 

She let out a nervous chuckle. 

"My apologies, Mr Blackwood. Can you please send either your Beta, Delta or Gamma to the drug store to get me some tampons?" 

Klaus glared at her and Trisha was already fuming. Darryl had an amused smile on his lips. If I asked him to get her a tampon, he wouldn't complain. But, Trisha was a woman, she would know exactly what type to get. I didn't want to do this, but I couldn't say no to Rhea. 

"Trisha," I said and she stiffened, turning to look at me with a look of betrayal in her eyes. 

"Get her some tampons," I said and she rose to her feet. She dared not complain. 

"Yes, alpha. I'll be back, shortly," she said and left the sitting room. 

Once she'd left, Rhea dropped down on the couch, her gaze fleeting from Darryl to me. 

"Since I'll be staying here, shouldn't you introduce me to your people?" She said, looking me in the eyes. 

Darryl furrowed his brows when he saw this. 

"Jaden, what's going on? This woman has you wrapped around her little finger and you're not upset about it," He communicated mentally. 

"Curiosity killed the cat, Darryl" 

"I'm a wolf, Jaden. I'm concerned about the situation," Darryl continued. 

"Why aren't you saying anything? What's with the intense look on your face?" Rhea questioned. 

"Introduce yourself, boys," I said through the mindlink and a look of surprise crossed Klaus' features. 

"My name is Klaus and I'm Jaden's Beta," he said to Rhea who nodded slowly. 

"That makes a lot of sense now," she commented. 

"What's your name, Mr Cute?" She probed and I felt my claws start to emerge. I kept my fists clenched, ignoring the fact that my claws were digging into the skin of my palm. My wolf strongly disliked the fact that she'd given Darryl a nickname too. 

"Darryl. I'm Jaden's Gamma" 

"What about the moody lady that just left?" Rhea asked. 

"Her name's Trisha. She's the Gamma"

"My name's Rhea Stone. It's nice to meet you guys" she said and I raised a brow.

"What?" She scowled.

"Now's the right time for you to tell us what you really are" I said. 

"Oh....that," she mumbled, lowering her gaze. 

"It can't be that bad" Darryl stated and she sighed. 

"I'm a hybrid"

I hadn't expected that. 

"What kind of hybrid?" Klaus asked, leaning back on his chair. 

"A witch and werewolf mix?" She said with a grimace on her face. My frown deepened when she said that. It sounded untrue. If she was truly a werewolf, I would have sensed her wolf. Klaus and Darryl exchanged glances with me. They were probably thinking the same thing. 

"Here's the thing" she stated, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. 

"My father was a werewolf and my mother was a witch. I have manifested the magic I inherited from my mother. But, I have never felt my wolf because I have never shifted before" 

"Don't you have a pack or clan that you belong to?" 

"I don't."

"Why not?" Darryl probed.

Her mood had dampened, I could tell. 

"I don't want to talk about. Just drop it" she snapped. The front door opened and Trisha strode in with what I easily recognized to be her fake smile. She walked up to Rhea and handed her a bag. 

"Those are the tampons you asked for. The best of the best" she said and Rhea gave her a sweet smile.

"You're such a darling. But, you really don't need to put up such a fake smile for me" she sassed, rising to her feet. 

"Thanks guys. It was really lovely talking to you. I'll return to the basement, never to surface until the thirtieth of this month. Have a happy rut season. Bye" 

With that she retreated towards the basement stairs. 

When she was out of sight, Darryl whistled under his breath. "Damn, she's good."

"Did she just say 'have a happy rut season?' What the hell?" Klaus commented and I let out a sigh, rubbing my temples. I didn't know if she would actually keep her word and stay in the basement until it was safe for her to do so. But, I was also worried that this woman would drive me to the point of insanity. 

'She is our mate. You can't deny that fact. You can't run away from reality for too long' my demon counterpart said and I rose to my feet, feeling bothered. I'd failed to protect Sheila and I was afraid it would be no different when it comes to Rhea. I was tortured by these thoughts and there was absolutely nothing I could do to ward them off. So, I went to my personal gym and began to take out my frustration on the punching bag. 'Jaden, are you alright?' Haru's voice cut through my subconscious mind. Haru was a part of my pack. She was a kitsune. A very skilled one. 'I'm alright.'

'I can feel your frustration,' she said and I exhaled sharply. 

'Forget about it,' I said and blocked her and everyone else in my pack, preventing them from feeling whatever I was feeling. Despite how much I didn't want to believe it, it was true that Rhea's arrival changed everything. 

It all depended on me now. 

Just before I heard a knock on the door, I sensed Klaus' presence. 

Letting out a sigh, I responded through the mind link. He opened the door and sauntered in, bright eyed. 

"I know what you're going to say. I know you're going to tell me that it's not my problem. But, I'm worried about you, Jaden. There's something bothering you. You haven't blocked out the pack since it was established. So, tell me. I'm your Beta. You can talk to me" he coerced. 

I stared at him for a moment, contemplating telling him the truth. 

"You know better than anyone else, that I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me to". 

I turned away from him, running my palm over my face. "Rhea is my mate"

"For real?" He said, the disbelief in his voice hard to miss. "Yeah"

"You should be happy, then. Why haven't you told her? Please, tell me you're not planning on rejecting her?" 

I shook my head. 

"I don't know"

"Come on, Jaden. You have been miserable. We know you're still hurting. But, the moon goddess has given you another chance. A chance to redeem yourself" 

I remained silent, my gaze fixed on the wall. Klaus patted my back. 

"You've got this"

...

RHEA

I paced back and forth in the basement, my mind clouded by several thoughts. I could've sworn that there was something going on with Jaden. I couldn't stop thinking about him. Earlier at the sitting room, I'd been distracted by the sight of Jaden. His hair was no longer in braids. It was in a bun with his hair cut low on the sides. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I had no idea why I felt that way. It was not something I was familiar with and that's what made it odd. 

"Get a grip, Rhea!" I scolded myself. I went towards the TV, my brows creasing up into a frown when I saw a photo tucked by the side of the TV. I was curious. So, I took out the photo. It was the photo of a tall blonde with green eyes. She had a pretty smile and was standing by the shore on a beach. Written on the photo was the name 'Sheila'. 

"Hmm, Sheila...." I thought aloud. I turned around with a start when the bag of tampons I'd kept on the couch fell to the ground rather violently. 

I went towards it and picked it up, my eyes narrowed. I stared at the photo in my hand, again. 

"Is she his Luna? How come I haven't seen her around?" I said and the pillow on the bed, flew across to the room and bounced off the wall. 

"What the hell?" I breathed, taking a step backwards. 

Is the basement haunted? I wondered.

"Who's there?" I said, but got no response. I remained still, waiting for something else to be thrown at me. But, nothing happened. 

I let out a breath, chuckling weakly. 

"It's just me. What was I thinking?" I chuckled. 

I returned the photo to it's position and lowered myself on the couch. My stomach grumbled and I patted it. 

"Gosh, I'm starving. I also need to shower" I sighed. 

I went into the bathroom. Then, I took a shower in the bath tub. When I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body, I was startled by Jaden who had just stepped into the basement with what seemed to be a couple of bags of groceries and pizza. My towel slipped from my hold and slid down by a couple of inches, to reveal my full breasts. I quickly grabbed the towel and covered my chest. Still, by the look on Jayden's face, I knew the damage had been done.