Chapter 249: Chapter 249

Chapter 249 Raymond’s Announcement

Third Person POV

“Dad?” Rachel gawked as she stepped out of the auditorium. Her father, Raymond, stood before her.

“What are you doing here? When did you get here?” “Only a little bit ago,” he answered, though there

seemed to be something more he wasn’t saying. “Come with me.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her

away from the student she was aiding. “Right now?” She asked. “I was in the middle of something.”

She turned back to see Lila speaking with Headmaster Prescott. Both Brody and Becca remained

frozen in their seats; neither noticed Rachel was gone. “There’s something we need to talk about,” her

father said, pulling her away from the auditorium. Once they reached outside, he finally released her

arm. “What the hell is going on?” She asked. “I don’t know, but I didn’t like that, and I don’t want you

involved.” Rachel raised her brows at her estranged father. She didn’t have a great childhood with him

around; since her mother died her father has been nothing but cruel and abusive. He was the main

reason she was driven to drugs and alcohol and had to go to the horrid rehab in Elysium. He even

knew of the horrid conditions she was in while in that rehab facility and he did nothing to help her. It

was something she could never forgive him for and he’d been out of her life for many years after that. It

was her recent ex–boyfriend that got her out of that situation; as much as she loves her ex and always

will, she found out over the summer that he wasn’t her mate. He ended up transferring schools after he

got out of the hospital because he couldn’t handle returning after what had happened at that party. He

almost died and as a result of that, Rachel ended up relapsing and then overdosing. It was a lot of

stress, and she wasn’t even his mate, which was found out after the fact. He was never going to be

able to concentrate on his education in an environment like that and decided to transfer schools. At

first, Rachel was hurt because she loved him, and they’d been together for so long. They have gone

through a lot together. But then she realized it was probably for the best. She always dreamt about

being with her true mate and it was clear that he was not. It was clear that their relationship would

eventually kill them both if they weren’t careful. Rachel has been dealing with being alone since the

school year started, but thankfully she has the love of her friends to help her. However, recently, her

father has returned to her life and is wanting to start anew. He wants to make up for all the damage he

has done in the past and begin a real father–daughter relationship with her. She’s still skeptical, despite

what she told Lila about giving him another chance, but she’s also excited to have the chance to get to

know her father again after all these years of having no contact. But that doesn’t mean she trusts him.

“So, now you decide to act eyes in his

isn’t really a thing you do, Dad.” “You know I’m trying to be

direction. “Getting me out of a tough situatione a father?” She shot at him, narrowing her

a better father,” he said, pressing his lips firmly together like he was trying hard not to say anything

more. “What are you even doing here?” “I came to see you,” he answered. “There’s something we

need to talk about.” “I’m listening.” “It’s probably better if-” “Raymond, good to see you. I need to speak

with Headmaster Prescott, but then we will go to lunch, Alpha Jonathan said as he walked out of the

auditorium. Sarah was walking in front of him with her head held down. Rahel furrowed her brows

together; confused. She didn’t know her father and Alpha Jonathan knew each other, let alone friends.

“Sounds great,” Raymond said, bowing his head. Alpha Jonathan glanced at Rachel briefly. “Feel free

to bring your daughter. I’d like to speak with her as well,” he said, giving Rachel a head nod. Rachel

said nothing but Raymond nodded. “I was just about to ask her to lunch,” Raymond said. “How about it,

Rachel?” Rahel was at a loss for words, but she didn’t want to say no in front of them both so she just

nodded and forced a smile. “Great,” Alpha Jonathan said with a pleased smile. “See you both soon.”

He looked back at Sarah who remained in front of him and looked mortified and defeated. “Go,” he

ordered her. She said nothing, but she turned in the direction of the board building and began to walk

with Alpha Jonathan trailing behind her. “What’s going on? Since when are you and Alpha Jonathan’s

friends?” ! asked, peering up at him. “Since we became business partners, Raymond said, meeting his

daughter’s eyes. “Business partners?” Rachel nearly spat; she stared at him with disbelief. “You are

working with him?” Rachel’s father owned a small restaurant that was doing fairly well. Everybody

spoke about it; it’s hard to believe that he would sell out and decide to give Alpha Jonathan half of it

even though he owned literally everything. “He said he could expand the business across the nation,”

Raymond explained. This would be good for us.” “He can’t be trusted, Dad,” she said firmly, folding her

arms across her chest. “He’s going to take over.” “I already signed the contract, and I had my lawyers

look it over carefully. I’m getting a lot of money from this deal and I’m still in full control of my

restaurant. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’d have to shut it down” “Shut it down?” She asked with wide eyes. “I

don’t understand. I thought the business was going

–

Chapter 249 Raymond’s Announcement

well.” “We have lost a lot of business,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s not enough to keep us running.

But Alpha Jonathan promised the business success and I took him up on the offer.” “So, that’s it? No

discussion. You already signed the contract?” “It’s not like you wanted anything to do with me or the

business.” “Can you blame me?!” She shouted; suddenly glad everybody was preoccupied in the

auditorium. He sighed, “No… I can’t. But it’s still my business and my decision,” he sighed. “You are

expected to join this lunch so I want you to put on a winning smile and be polite. Understood?” She

said nothing for a long while, but she soon sighed and nodded. Thirty minutes had gone by, and Alpha

Jonathan had finally arrived in front of the school in a black limo. Rachel had never been inside of a

limo before but knowing who it belonged to didn’t make her excited. The door of the limo opened, and

Alpha Jonathan sat inside on the dark leather seats motioning for them to enter. Rachel looked up at

her father with a worried expression, but he gave her no expression in return as he slid into the limo.

She had a nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach, bur she swallowed it down and slid into the limo as

well. She was surprised that Sarah wasn’t there as well, but she saw a woman with long dark curls and

bright green eyes seated beside Alpha Jonathan. She wasn’t someone Rachel had ever seen before,

but she looked young. Not as young as Rachel, but too young to be Alpha Jonathan’s companion. “I’d

like you to meet a friend of mine, Jasmine.” Alpha Jonathan introduced. “Jazzy, this is my new business

partner Raymond and his daughter Rachel.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you. both,” she said; her voice was

as smooth as silk and yet had a bit of playfulness in her tone as she leaned forward to look at Rachel

intently. “You are quite a beautiful girl; you must get your looks from your mother,” Rachel’s face flared;

there was something off about this girl, but Rachel couldn’t figure out what I was. “I’ve heard a lot about

you,” she said, giving Rachel a beautiful smile. “I can’t wait to get to know you better. We are going to

be such great friends.” She reached out to grab Rachel’s hands and Rachel saw all the jewelry that

occupied her hands and fingers. She had never seen anyone with so much jewelry before and she was

amazed by it. One of her rings she recognized the symbol and Rachel realized that this woman must

have been a witch. Maybe that’s why she seemed off. The limo began to drive off campus and the

further they got from campus the more unsettled Rachel felt. While Alpha Jonathan and her father

spoke about business, the woman, Jasmine, stared at her, like she was studying her. Rachel wanted to

sink into her seat and disappear. Rachel tried her best to keep her eyes from staring at Jasmine, but at

some point, she couldn’t help it. She wished she did though; as soon as she looked at Jasmine, she

saw this strange swirl of darkness circling her, reminding Rachel of a snake. It slithered around her

arms and down her legs, its eyes glowing gold. She glanced at her father to see if he noticed it too, but

he was too engrossed in his conversation to notice anything going on around him. She looked back at

Jasmine who was watching her intently and smiling: her eyes growing even darker. “Is something

wrong, dear?” She asked innocently. “Uh…” Rachel stammered. “There’s she stopped talking, unsure

of what to say and how to explain it. “Um..” Jazzy’s grin widened and now the snake–like darkness was

inching close to Rachel, making her jerk away almost violently. She grabbed the door handle, unsure if

she should open it, and flung herself out of the moving limo; all she knew was she didn’t want this

snake thing to touch her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Jazzy chuckled. “It’ll only hurt worse.”

Rachel’s heart fell deep into her stomach and then she let out a shrilling scream that pierced the limo

just as the snake flung af her.