Lightning & Thunder

Chapter Sixteen

She stopped, breathing in quickly and pressed herself against a wall.

The male voices paused too, and she wondered if she accidentally outed herself, but after a minute they resumed and she slowly exhaled her breath.

She was just about to head back the way she came when something caught her attention.

"--how are we supposed to know whether or not she's dangerous, Raiden?"

That made her pause in her tracks completely.

They were talking about her. She strained her ears to hear the response.

"I don't know, Malfus. On one side we're hearing a completely ridiculous story, and on the other we're told nothing at all."

"You don't think she really did it, do you?" Raiden spoke again.

"Well the doc did say she got into a physical altercation at some point. It was the one that gave her the concussion."

"Then why the fuck did I find her nearly dead at the bottom of the river?"

"Maybe she tried throwing herself over in guilt." The other voice-the one named Malfus-replied.

Olivia's eyes narrowed. Guilt? Of what? Escaping a dangerous situation? Protecting herself?

The voices grew more hushed, more frustrated.

"We don't really know what happened there. Who knows if she really murdered him-and if that's true, then we don't know why she did it." That voice was Raiden's.

"Well you could ask her."

"Don't get snippy with me."

Olivia didn't know what to do. She falls asleep for one day, and suddenly she's getting accused of murder.

The only thing she did was protect herself against Jameson.

It wasn't murder.

For a split second doubt raced through her. Was Jameson really going to hurt her that bad? Maybe he wanted to scare her?

But immediately, her own voice inside her head scoffed at her.

No. He was going to rape her.

It was self defense. End of story.

But not everyone knew that story. Raiden left to go to the meeting yesterday. Bessell most definitely showed, and he was the one damaging her good name.

Anger flourished within her. This situation was not going to resolve herself. She had to do something.

Maybe it was desperation-or maybe it was brain fog still affecting her from her sleep, but on impulse she came out of the shadows, bursting through the office doors.

Both of the men paused, stunned at her sudden entrance. Raiden was seated in the chair at his desk, and Malfus was seated at a chair in the corner. Both eyes were completely on her.

Olivia started speaking before she could get nervous. "Alpha Bessell of Pleasant Pack is my ex-husband. I ran from him because he kept hurting me. I did not murder anyone. One of the pack guards-a guy named Jameson-found me alone and tried to take advantage of me. I had to defend myself and as a result he ended up dying."

The words tumbled out of her all in a rush. She watched the faces of the men before her change. From being stunned, to shocked, to angry...

She especially paid attention to Raiden's face, keeping her eyes level with his. Holding his stare.

Nobody said a word, her words were still sinking in.

"Well?" She asked, her voice sounding vulnerable.

"And the river?" This time it was Malfus who spoke up. "Why were you in the river?"

That she was less inclined to explain. She looked down at her feet, watching her toes stand on the dark wood. "I tried to kill myself." She muttered under her breath.