Randall looked pleasantly surprised to see me living here. “The Midnight Pack’s fiancée living in a place like this? Now that’s unexpected.” I didn’t mind his teasing. I gave a faint smile. “It’s not good to stay in the Midnight Pack too long. Of course I need a place of my own.” “In that case, I guess we’re neighbors now. And you know what they say—living close gives me an edge. Mr. Aiden might be one step too late this time.” I couldn’t help but feel speechless at that. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going back inside.” I turned to leave. Randall didn’t stop me. He simply stood at his own door, smiling politely. Back in the living room, I sat on the couch and thought for a long time. In the end, I decided to tell Aiden what had happened today. To avoid raising suspicion, I came up with a fake reason for visiting the coffee shop and left out the part about meeting with Simon. Once I had it all figured out, I called Aiden. “This Andrix guy—I don’t know what kind of crazy kick he’s on. First he wanted to be with me, now he wants to mate with me. What’s he getting out of it?” “Andrix said he wanted to mate with you?” Aiden sounded shocked, even his tone changed. I nodded. “Yeah, the psycho. I used to think he might actually be a decent person, but turns out he’s the most manipulative one in your whole family. He’s like some deranged lunatic—one second normal, the next totally off the rails.” Aiden thought for a moment. “If he admitted he was working with Taylor, then he’ll definitely try to stop you from getting evidence. He also won’t let my mom wake up.” I agreed with Aiden’s assessment and added, “Ruby’s mom died because Taylor secretly switched her meds, which made her condition worse. If you get the chance, you should double-check Madam Regina’s medications. You might find something.” “And when it comes to transferring her to another hospital, be careful. Andrix might have already hidden or tampered with her records to interfere with the process.” “And if you need a break, I can take over and stay with Madam Regina… that is, if you trust me.” I rattled all of that off, but then Aiden suddenly went silent on the other end.“Hello? Is the signal bad?” After a pause, Aiden finally asked, “Why are you helping my mom like this? I remember she didn’t treat you well.” I let out a long breath and smiled. “Because she’s your mom, Aiden. No matter how badly she treated me, I’ll still help her. Because if something happened to her, you’d be heartbroken.” I wasn’t hiding how I felt anymore. I said what I meant. I knew Aiden would understand. “Raelyn, there’s something I want to say,” Aiden said seriously. “Go ahead.” “When all this is over, let’s be together.” My heart pounded wildly the moment I heard that. He meant it—I could tell. “Okay,” I said softly. Aiden seemed stunned. He was quiet for a long while. “I thought you said you’d only be with me after I chased you down?” I chuckled. “If I wait for you, that ice block, to make a move, I’ll be old by the time it happens.” I knew Aiden too well. He wasn’t romantic. He had zero sense of charm. I’d looked into his past with his first love—just boring little things. They hadn’t even kissed. “So?” he asked. I couldn’t help laughing and yawned. “So go to sleep. It’s late. We’ll talk about the rest later.” I hung up the phone, leaving Aiden to mull things over on his own. The next morning, I got up early to meet Jackson and talk about the next steps. But just as I got in the car and turned the key, I realized it was out of gas. This area was pretty remote. Cabs were impossible to find.“Good morning, Ms. Raelyn.” Randall was up early too. He walked over with a smile. “What’s going on? Something wrong?” “No big deal.” “Out of gas? Don’t worry, I’ve got a few cars. Take one.” He pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and offered them to me. I took a step back. “No thanks.” Accepting help from him meant owing him a favor—and I had no interest in getting involved with this guy. “Don’t worry. I’m not the kind of guy who takes advantage.” Randall saw my reaction and laughed. “Take it. You don’t have to give it back.” I shook my head and was about to refuse again when a car horn sounded at the front gate. I turned and was shocked to see Aiden. “What are you doing here?” I asked, then quickly followed up with a bigger question. “How did you even know I was here?” Aiden didn’t show much expression. “Get in. I’ll take you.” I was caught off guard and blurted out, “Huh?” “I don’t want to repeat myself.” Randall laughed, but his tone had a strange chill to it. “Why is Mr. Salvatore still meddling in Ms. Raelyn’s life? Didn’t you already kick her out?”