Chapter 132: A Job
~ODETTE’S POV~
I grabbed Emalea and stormed out of the room. I couldn’t deal with him right now. Seeing him that close to that whore just set my stomach on fire again. It burned me.
I needed to cool off.
I know I’m going to have to explain things to Ambrose later.
"Odette... Can we talk by the garden?" Emalea asked softly. She rarely makes requests, maybe I could?
"I don’t know. But the garden sounds nice right now, let’s go."
She didn’t push, thankfully.
She just walked beside me like my friend. She saw the monster that burned in me and didn’t flinch away, she didn’t look at me with fear. Just concern.
I don’t think I should tell her before I tell Ambrose...
Could he know? His wolf is ancient and knew me in my past life. Maybe with the goddess in me waking, he could sense her too.
It was still crazy weird. I was a goddess in flesh. I was capable of burning souls for eternity.
When we arrived at the garden she stopped right at the entrance. I looked back.
"What’s up?"
"Odette. I just want to say..." She paused and took a deep breath and looked firmly at me, with all the seriousness in the world and continued "If you need help hiding a body. I definitely will help you."
She exhaled heavy. Like it took her so much courage to say those words aloud.
I couldn’t hold the laughter back. She was so cute, but right now, she was so scary. It was comical, truly. How I knew with all my heart she was serious. And that scared me and made me laugh, Emalea is the most honest person I know, and she would cover up murder for me.
That’s a true friend.
"Don’t laugh at me! It was hard saying those words out loud okay!" She yelled at me.
"Yes, I know and that is what made me laugh. Because it’s you and you mean it. That’s some fierce loyalty. And just know. I’d pardon you if we ever got caught."
"Odette!" She covered her mouth and laughed.
"What!?" I matched the yell.
"You’re supposed to tell me ’that’s not necessary,’ not tell me you have a bailout plan." Emalea teased.
"Oops." I shrugged.
If Kalvin had seen that he would be pressing me so hard for answers. But Emalea was just minding her own business.
She was still my friend after all that and that blew my mind.
I found myself happy here in Altay.
"You looked like a god back there." She said randomly looking one of the winter blooming flowers.
I froze. I felt caught and exposed.
"You even made the Alpha King kneel with your aura. It’s suspicious, you know." She picked the flower and turned to me.
"Anything you want to tell me?" She asked.
I looked down at Phera, looking for answers. And guess the decision was up to me, she was paying me no mind as she chased a bird around the garden.
"There’s a lot I want to tell you, but I can’t just yet. But I promise when the time is right, I’ll tell you." I answered as honestly as possible.
"As long as you promise to tell me." She answered.
"I will. It’s just, I should talk with Ambrose first." I told her.
"Understandable, he is your mate, after all. Do you believe him, when he says nothing happened?"
"Yes... I just can’t stand her and the fact she was so close and tried to trap him and just everything. I’m mad at him for letting her close enough so that could happen. I’m mad she was alone in our room. I’m mad she felt comfortable enough to come into my room. I’m just mad. I know I might have went a little overboard back there..."
"Overboard? A little?" She looked at me leaning on one hip with her arms crossed.
"She deserved it and you know it." I stood firm on my stance.
"Yes, a good lesson. But seriously if it was for Artemasia, you could have done something you regretted later." She wasn’t wrong. Jealousy wasn’t a good enough reason to die.
"Fine, fine, fine. You win. I won’t try and kill a bitch cause I’m jealous again." I exhaled dramatically.
"Good." She did a solid firm nod to me.
"So, when are you going back to talk to Ambrose?" Em asked.
"I don’t know. I don’t even know how to approach the subject. Everything is all mixed up and confusing right now. I’m still figuring things out for myself." I look up, taking not of the blue in the sky, how it was being overcome by clouds of white and grey.
It was going to snow again.
It would be Christmas in 2 weeks. I wonder if it’ll be a white Christmas?
I needed to do some shopping.
But I didn’t have my own money. I could ask Ambrose for money. But then he might want to come with me. I also had my pride to think of, asking someone for money. That wasn’t me. And I couldn’t access my own money, he still hasn’t given me a phone.
"Hey, is there a way I could secretly make money? Christmas is close and I want to buy some people gifts."
"Yeah, I know a few ways. But the tax is you forgiving me and us working on being, I don’t know. People around each other, at least." The voice of my childhood nemesis rang in my ears like unsolicited advice.
"Raven..."
"Odette..." She stood with one hand on her hip as she leaned on the other leg.
"The last time you offered an olive branch you helped kidnap me, what are you going to be tray Ambrose and kidnap me again, but sell me off to the rogues?" I stabbed at her with my words.
Phera sat next to my legs, now obediently.
"No, I’m doing this for Ambrose." She scoffed.
"If you betray me again, no one will be able to save you from my fury." I glared at her I could feel my energy spiking again. I called the wind to me. Gusts whipping our hair around. The tall winter flowers and thick shrubs shook and folded the winds.
"I won’t." She growled low.
"Fine."
"It’s not like it didn’t end up being a good thing, you found a mate. Something most of us could only dream of. And..." She looked to Emalea and continued "Friends..."
"Yeah, just because it ended well, doesn’t mean I was happy to be kidnapped. And to stand before you still without real freedom." I narrowed my eyes. I wasn’t letting her off easy. She’s terrorized me for years.
Not to mention she practically tortured me when I first got here with the collar.
"Do you want to make money or not?" She blurted out.
"Yes."
"Okay, then follow me. It’s nothing degrading." Raven told me leading us away from the garden toward the parking garage.
"What is it?" Emalea asked.
"Training some of the shifter kids. I say kids, because some of them aren’t just wolf shifters, they’re birds and feline shifter children too." Raven explained "But because they are so young they haven’t met their animal side. So, they need real combat training. I know you’re good, it’s not a lot of money, but it’s not too terrible."
"As long as it pays, I’m pretty much in." I answered. I’d shovel shit if it paid well enough at this point. Christmas is important to me, so I wanted to share it with my friends.
"Awesome. Get in the car."