Rejected, Abused, I Fall for the Forbidden Alpha (by Riley Scott) novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Hades POV

The moment we entered the study, I kicked the door shut and angrily pinned Jackson to the wall, my elbow underneath his throat, my eyes filled with rage. All his flirting with Raven had gotten beneath my skin

“What exactly is going on between you and Raven?” I snarled, fighting the urge to strangle him.

His eyes widen, and he appears to be speechless. I push my elbow harder, almost cutting off his windpipe.

“Speak,” I growled, “are you romantically involved with her? Are you sleeping with her?” I hissed.

If he’d so much as touched her, I was going to murder him and dump his body in the forest for the small critters to feast on.

The moment Jackson had offered to take Raven as his plus one, I had struggled to maintain control. My wolf was enraged. Jackson was lucky we hadn’t taken his head off back in the dining room. The mere thought of him touching her, or worse, attempting to kiss her, made me feel violent towards him. Best friend or not, he was overstepping his bounds. I ignored the small voice inside my head pointing out that I was doing the same and that I had no good reason for overreacting this way. I was beyong rationality.

“Raven?” Jackson’s voice is filled with surprise, “There’s nothing between us,” he coughed, shoving my arm away and straightening himself up, his hand rubbing his throat as he shot me an indignant look.

“Oh yeah?” I scoff in disbelief, folding my hands over my chest, “Then why did you offer to take her to the party? Don’t tell me it’s simply you being kind.”

“You’ve got it wrong, Hades,” he snapped, “and why do you care so much anyway? All morning, you haven’t once even looked poor Raven in the eyes, or asked her how she was feeling. You acted as though she was invisible.”

“I was being attentive to my fiancée,” I said hotly.

It was a lie and not a very good one.

He snorted. “Bullshit. Something happened between you and Raven, didn’t it? That’s why you didn’t even have the decency to speak to her.”

“Nothing happened,” I muttered, sitting down in my chair and studying him closely. “But you, you’re so close that anybody would think she’s your girlfriend,” I snarled.

“I treat her like a sister. Gods, Hades, if it weren’t for her, I might not even be standing here right now. Is it so wrong to show her some gratitude and thank her? Every girl deserves to feel special,” he spread his hands out wide, “and maybe Raven might find somebody at the party who will fall for her. That girl deserves somebody who will look beyond the fact she’s an anomaly.”

His voice is tinged with pity.

“Then why don’t you?” Jealousy was beginning to rear its ugly head again.

“Because I already have somebody I care about,” Jackson lost it and shouted at me furiously, “and I’m not about to betray her with somebody else. Do I like Raven, yes,” he admitted, “but not romantically. She’s easy to get along with, she’s kind-hearted, and she cares about people. She’s like the calm before the storm, the light in a sea of darkness. She shines, but nobody notices,” he continued, his chest heaving up and down in frustration.

It was a poetic speech filled with underlying passion. Jackson had a way with words. Still, I can’t help but be suspicious.

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