Rhane closed his eyes tiredly when Jenna left the hall in anger. He had clearly told the woman to never act on her own for no reason and let him handle it no matter what.
During the hunting, Rhane had been ambushed by the seven men that were supposed to hunt with them. They weren't skilled, just had more manpower than he did. It wasn't difficult for Rhane to subdue them and be on his way. All he did was leave one fatally injured so others would have something to worry about.
It was all part of Gerald's theatrics and Nikolai's plot, and he wasn't going to fall for it, Rhane had told himself. Even when he did return, he didn't tell a soul what happened—a warning for the men.
And everything was working perfectly well. Gerald had acclaimed that he saved the men from a beast. Rhane had laughed it off; at least the young man was not just miserable, he had the skills of a dignified, pathetic liar.
