Alpha's Faire

XXIII

Raphael's eyes glanced at Dr. Lewis that oozed fury. She tried to hide it, but Raphael could tell that she was steaming underneath the surface. A smirk came to his lips at her reaction.

She was upset, thrown off her game. Good. It was almost adorable to see her struggle with containing her emotions. Dr. Lewis played her part extremely well, but Raphael found her slip-ups even more fascinating.

"So around 8 then?" Shou seemed to pick up on her reaction as well. The dhampir pulled Dr. Lewis closer against his body with narrowed eyes. "We'll meet at my apartment."

"How does that sound, Dr. Wells?" Raphael glanced at Dr. Wells. She nodded her hair, allowing her wild curls to bounce. The smell of burnt sage entered the atmosphere. Raphael tried to not frown at the scent. It wasn't an unpleasant scent by any means, but Raphael was never a fan of sage.

"That's perfect." Dr. Wells nodded before being called away by another human across the bay. "Pick me up at my apartment?" Her deep brown eyes met Raphael's anxiously.

"Of course." Raphael eased her worries, playing the part of a gentleman. She released a huge grin as she turned away. Dr. Yvette Wells was an opening to glean into Dr. Lewis. And she was openly providing the information. He'd be a fool to turn her away.

"On that note, Jess, why don't we go and find our mage?" Shou started to pull Dr. Lewis away and waved towards Raphael. "Alpha Stone, I guess we'll see you later then."

"Of course." He nodded, watching the two carefully leave. If Jexanna was Dr. Lewis's relative, then wouldn't it make sense for the two to be paired on this project? It didn't make sense. None of it did. While their explanation seemed to wrap things up in a tight little bow, Raphael wasn't a fool. He knew they were lying through their teeth the moment that Dr. Lewis slipped. Jexanna. She was the key.

He narrowed his eyes as he pulled out his phone to text Jacob. His eyes glanced over to Shou and Dr. Lewis who seemed occupied. But he wasn't going to take a risk that the damn dhampir could hear the conversation.

That would have been stupid.

'Contact packs to find out if any have a record of a bounty hunter.' Raphael sent to Jacob. He wasn't going to search in the databases available to him. It would be easily traced back to him. If Jexanna was a part of the conspiracy with Shou, he needed to work outside of the FLA.

'What's the name?' Jacob replied.

'Jexanna.'

'No last name?'

'With a name like that? Does there need to be?' Raphael remarked, rolling his eyes. 'Do not let any FLA know. I need an image.'

'Fine. Give me a few hours.' Raphael sighed as he placed his phone away. There was one good thing about this crisis. The packs were closer than ever. If someone had encountered Jexanna, they would be able to send a record almost immediately. Being a bounty hunter, odds were that a target somehow was on a pack land at some point. Granted, it was a reach. But Raphael needed to exhaust every single avenue. If that was the case, she would have had to request permission from the pack directly to even set foot on the territory.

A half faire. That was unusual, even for modern times. The fae people were usually arrogant and self-righteous. They weren't given fated mates, instead reveled in the ability to have a choice mate. Those who were blessed by the Goddess considered the fae ignorant as a species. Fae didn't seem to understand the blessing having a perfect half would be. But Raphael understood the freedom that the fae had. They weren't holding out, stuck in limbo. Not that Raphael ever shared that sentiment, but he had seen the pain of older she-wolves had in their society. They were forced to wait and search for their destined half, sometimes never even being able to reach them. Occasionally a female wolf would even go mad from the loneliness. And that was in a society that fully supported them.

He could only imagine the pain a half faire experienced in this society. Caught between two worlds that didn't want anything to do with them. What did Jexanna even go through?

Raphael's eyes narrowed. Jexanna. The name sent Raphael's mind whirling. Dr. Lewis's full name was Jess A. Lewis.

It couldn't be that damn obvious, right? Jess A. Lewis. Jexanna. Jess A. Jexanna.

Raphael's eyes immediately went to Dr. Lewis and found a pair of gold eyes narrowed at him. Immediately, Raphael thanked the Goddess that vampires were unable to pry into werewolf minds. He would have been exposed instantly if the dhampir was able to.

Raphael didn't look away. He just raised a brow at Shou's reaction. There was no point in backing down at this point. If it escalated, he could play off Shou's glare as jealousy for his mate. It was typical for someone interested in mating to be overemotional before the bonding. Shou simply turned and kissed Dr. Lewis's shoulder. Dr. Lewis looked over with a slight tinge to her cheeks and a frown towards Shou.

A scowl folded down Raphael's lips at the sight. Couldn't they cool it for a second? He tried to clear his mind. They were most likely involved together. Shou and Dr. Lewis. If there was someone who was probably qualified to go undercover, it was someone that Shou trained. Since this was an internal effort, the Knights roster was probably moot to pull from. They were too famous, stood out too much. So why not use someone that was trained but also had medical knowledge? Someone that made sense to call into the effort.

She had to be her. That was the only logical explanation. Dr. Lewis was pretty much banished from the medical community until now. Her medical record was not actually that impressive, other than the fact that she graduated medical school at eighteen. But she dropped off the face of the earth after that. The only actual contribution she made to the medical community was her thesis, which Raphael had read several times.

Utilizing the Whitehaven Wolfsbane in treating Trauma-Induced Head Injuries. It was dull, redundant, and already an established protocol in medicine. It wasn't what the daughter of the great Dr. Lewis should have published. There wasn't an actual reason why she should have been selected, even with her lineage. There were several of her father's apprentices that were actually licensed and sanctioned by the FLA. Hell, they even pulled the man's rival into the force as well. So she didn't really need to be there, not unless it was for another purpose.

Therefore, she had to be. Raphael was certain. She was undercover for this role. But the biggest question was why? Wouldn't the assignment of her being a soldier be less inconspicuous? But instead, she donned her biggest alias. Why? The question grated his nerves immensely. It repeated and resounded in his mind like a damn pinball, turning over and over again and again.

She was proving to be more and more intriguing as each day went by. Why was she here? Why did she choose to be Jexanna, a half faire of all things? That couldn't have been easy.

Why did she abandon the Lewis name? Her father's name and fame would have opened doors for her in the medical field. So why did she become a bounty hunter of all things?

Why the hell could he not take his damn eyes off her? Why did she linger in his thoughts and consume them?

His gray eyes closed for a moment. Raphael needed to wait. He needed to be patient and wait for confirmation. Confirmation that Dr. Jess Lewis was the bounty hunter, Jexanna.

Then he would find out why. 

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Duh Duh Duh......