Reborn To Defy The Alpha-Chapter 74: They’re Hiding Something

A slow smile broke across Jason’s face, bright and a little stunned. So that was why she spared him. The beta actually defended him. Heat crept up his cheeks, spreading fast, the kind of blush he couldn’t fight even if his life depended on it.

He pressed a palm to his face, grinning like an idiot, then started walking again with a new bounce that was impossible to hide. His steps turned into a little skip and then another, the softest hum slipping out of him. The hallway suddenly felt lighter, warmer, and his chest fizzed with excitement he could not contain.

The beta stood up for him. For him.

Jason practically floated the rest of the way.

*******

Tavian slowed his steps beside Jason and nudged his shoulder lightly. "You think Rhea is in her room?"

Jason rolled his eyes with a soft huff. "Where else would she be? It’s not like she has anywhere to go."

They continued down the hallway, evening settling over the pack house like a warm blanket. Quiet voices drifted from distant rooms. Jason’s fingers still carried the light smell of baby powder from the nursery. He had stopped by after his afternoon shift and somehow ended up helping until Tavian closed up. He hadn’t expected that. Tavian was... surprisingly easy to be around. Too easy. Comfortable in a way that made Jason wonder how they could have lived in the same pack their entire lives yet barely exchanged a greeting until yesterday. Now they walked side by side like they’d been locked in step since childhood.

"For some reason, I don’t think she’s someone we should leave alone," Tavian said as their footsteps echoed closer to the west wing.

Jason scoffed. "Relax. There’s nothing to worry about."

Tavian threw him a sideways look. "You look a little too pleased with yourself. Something happen?"

Jason’s heartbeat stuttered. He straightened too quickly. "I’m just being my normal self."

"Sure," Tavian replied, disbelief dripping off the word.

Jason fixed his gaze on the floor, heat prickling at the back of his neck. There was no version of reality where he would admit he was in a good mood because Beta Ellie had spoken up for him. Even thinking about it made warmth crawl up his cheeks, guaranteed to betray him if Tavian so much as glanced his way again.

They reached the last corner of the hallway, Rhea’s door sat at the very end. Tavian slowed, then stopped, inhaling quietly as if bracing himself.

He raised his hand and knocked.

Jason swallowed hard.

"You sure you’re okay?" Tavian murmured.

Jason jumped. "Yes. Of course." He stepped forward quickly and knocked again, louder this time, eager to redirect attention anywhere but himself. "Maybe she’s sleeping or..."

His words dissolved as the door creaked open.

Rhea stood there in the doorway, bathrobe hanging loosely around her frame, one hand scrubbing a towel through her damp hair. Droplets slid down her neck and disappeared beneath the soft fabric, and she looked at them with a mild pout that almost seemed rehearsed.

"I thought you two had forgotten me," she said, stepping back as she pushed the door open wider.

Tavian snorted and walked in first. "We have jobs, unlike you. You know, now that you are no longer mopping floors for the Krolls."

Jason slipped inside after him and closed the door gently. The click barely echoed before Rhea stopped mid-step and frowned.

"I used to work for the Krolls?" she asked, brows scrunched.

"Yes," Tavian replied, looking at her like she had just grown a second head. "You used to serve Nikki. You really do not remember?"

Rhea tossed the towel aside without even checking where it landed. Her expression dimmed with confusion, though she masked it well. None of this appeared in the girl’s memories. And the book? It definitely did not mention that part. Still, she swallowed the unease and kept playing along.

Jason leaned forward slightly. "Did you exchange your memories for the ability you said you received from the goddess? Because it feels like you forgot a lot about yourself."

Rhea shrugged. "You could say that."

Tavian and Jason traded a long look, both equally unconvinced, then Rhea waved them off.

"Wait here. I need to get dressed. I will be back in a minute."

She slipped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Tavian sank onto the bed with a sigh, rolling his shoulders. Jason perched awkwardly on the single-seater chair near the corner, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

"So what really happened with you?" Tavian asked him.

"Nothing," Jason said too quickly.

Tavian scoffed. "I do not believe that. Even when you came to help at the nursery you were practically buzzing. After what happened yesterday I thought you would be miserable, not... whatever that was."

Jason darted a look toward the bathroom and immediately shushed him. "Do you want her to hear us? We promised not to tell her. Have you forgotten?"

Tavian lowered his voice but rolled his eyes. "She cannot hear us from in there. She has no wolf, so no wolf sharp hearing."

"Even at that, we should be careful," Jason whispered. "Who knows, maybe the goddess gave her good hearing too."

Tavian shook his head lightly. "I still do not understand why we should hide it. I would have liked to see her whoop Nikki. After what she did to me yesterday?" His jaw tightened as the memory flashed across his face. "If not for fast healing, I would be covered in scars."

Jason opened his mouth to respond but froze when a soft noise echoed from behind the bathroom door. He shot Tavian a quick shh, pressing a finger to his lips, then leaned back in his seat and arranged himself like he had been perfectly innocent the whole time.

Inside the bathroom, Rhea stood frozen, her palm pressed hard against the door handle. Her bathrobe clung to her still-damp skin as she forced each breath to stay steady. Every muscle in her body vibrated with the urge to fling the door open and demand the truth. Something had happened. Something they were keeping from her.

She closed her eyes, swallowed her impatience, and whispered to herself, "Calm down Rhea."

She forced her fingers to loosen from the door handle and turned away, pulling on her clothes with sharp, clipped movements that mirrored the storm in her head. Something had definitely happened between those two. She already suspected as much after her conversation with Ellie this morning, but overhearing them only cemented it.

Rhea and Ellie had just stepped out of that stable like room when he called after her. "Rhea."

She stopped, annoyance slipping across her face. "What now? There is more?"

Ellie let out a long sigh as he approached. "Look... I know you might dislike the Alpha for what he put you through, but try not to blame him too much. Ares is really a nice guy once you get to know him."

"Luckily, I don’t want to know him," she shot back without hesitation.

Ellie pressed his lips together, as if choosing his next words carefully. "I meant that he is not as cold as you think."

Rhea lifted a brow. "Are you the Alpha’s defender now? Interesting. And here I thought you were on my side."

He chuckled lightly. "I am not on anyone’s side. Everything I am doing is for the good of the pack.

She eyed him skeptically. "I fail to see how you trying to make me understand a foolish Alpha is somehow for the good of the pack."

Ellie rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I wish..." he began, but she cut him off immediately.

"I don’t want to hear it. Let’s just stick to the plan and stop trying to ship me with a fool."

She turned away, fully ready to leave, but his voice reached her again.

"Rhea."

Irritation flared as she whipped her head back. "What is it again?"

"Just... try to go easy on the Krolls."

She stared at him, disbelief written clearly across her face. "You are defending the Krolls too?"

"No," he said quickly, both hands raised as if physically rejecting the accusation. "I am not saying it for their sake. I meant it for Tavian and Jason. You might drag them into trouble if you push too hard."

Her expression shifted, the irritation melting into something sharper. "Did something happen to them?"

"No," Ellie said, but his voice carried a little too much smoothness, a little too much ease. And the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know.

He was hiding something.

And overhearing Jason and Tavian just now only proved she was right. Something had happened, and they were keeping it from her. Funny, nothing stayed hidden from her for long. She’d find out one way or another, and the Krolls better pray they hadn’t done anything to the boys.

Rhea finished tying the last knot of her top, her fingers lingered on the fabric.