Chapter 128 Chapter 128

Chapter 128 Chapter 128
AILSA

Pain greeted me before consciousness did. A dull, throbbing ache pulsed at the back of my head, spreading slowly until it felt like my skull was splitting open from the inside. My body felt heavy and unfamiliar as though it didn’t belong to me anymore.

For a moment, I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe or think. Because sometimes when the world felt wrong, stillness was safer than truth but the truth always comes slowly and cruelly. 

My lashes fluttered open and darkness greeted me.
Not complete darkness but dim, suffocating shadows that clung to every corner of the room. A single lamp glowed weakly, casting trembling light across the walls and a low ceiling.

This wasn’t my room. It wasn’t the pack house. It wasn’t anywhere familiar and that realization sent cold terror flooding through my veins. I tried to sit up. The ropes burned into my skin immediately.

My wrists were bound tightly above my waist, rough fibers biting into flesh that already felt bruised. My ankles were tied too and secured with enough strength to make even shifting painful.

“No, no, no, no” my breath hitched. Panic rose fast as I realized I had been taken. 

I tugged at the ropes instinctively, twisting my wrists, pulling, struggling but the knots didn’t move. They only tightened. The friction scraped my skin raw and might leave a mark and fear crawled deeper into my chest. Would I leave here alive? Who had kidnapped me. 

“What happened?” I whispered to myself. 

The last memory surfaced slowly. Me, walking down the corridor, my mind heavy with guilt. Lucian’s anger echoing in my thoughts. The ache of knowing I had hurt him. My regret and loneliness, I was going to the room to rest. 

Then…a sudden blow at the back of my head. I remembered that too. Then pain, I tried to remember if I had seen anyone before darkness swallowed everything.

And now, I woke up tied. My breathing quickened and my heart began to race. I looked around the room and it was covered in dust, it look like an abandoned place. The silence was sickening, I had never felt so scared in my life than I did now. 
I pulled harder at the ropes determined to save myself. 

“Help!” My voice sounded hoarse and unfamiliar. 

“Help!” I screamed again. My voice was loud and desperate. I prayed someone could hear me. 

“Someone help me!”

The sound bounced off the walls, echoing uselessly back to me but I heard no footsteps or voices. There was no answer to my screams. I was met with silence. 

“Lucian!!” I said weakly. I wondered if he knew that I was not in the pack. Tears burned my eyes.

I screamed again and again until my throat felt raw and my chest ached with the effort but I refused to stop. The silence was too scary. It seemed like I had been abandoned in the middle of nowhere. 

“Lucian, please help me!!” I screamed again. 

The door opened minutes or hours later, I couldn’t tell. The sound was too soft and almost gentle but it echoed like thunder. I opened my eyes and my head snapped toward the door. And the moment she came into the light, I saw her. I wasn’t surprised not even a little. 

Elara stepped into the room like she belonged there. I knew she belonged here because she had orchestrated every second of this nightmare. She smiled, like she had been waiting for this moment. Her gaze lingered on me, calm, amused and observant. 

“I can see you’re not surprised” she said softly. I swallowed, my throat was dry from shouting and I hadn’t drank any water. Fear tightened my throat, but anger burned stronger.

“I wouldn’t put it past you to go low” I said. My voice trembled despite my effort.

“I know you are hurt Lucian cast you aside. I expected you to retaliate but not so soon” Elara laughed. It was a soft, chilling sound that echoed. 

“You think this is about Lucian?” Confusion flickered inside me.

“If it isn’t about Lucian, then what is it about?” I asked. 

She stepped closer. Her eyes gleamed with something darker than jealousy. Then she squatted until our eyes were at the same level. 

“You” she said simply.

“Me?” I asked. 

“You are a means to an end” My brows furrowed.

A means to an end?

“I don’t understand what you are talking about” Elara tilted her head.

“Don’t you?” She asked. “I don’t want Lucian again” she said calmly. It was obvious she wanted him before. 

“I want the power he can give me” she added. 

The words hit harder than any slap. I understood jealousy as a motive, rejection I understood too. But ambition? This was a ruthless, consuming ambition?
It was far more dangerous.

“So what? You want to be the Alpha?” I whispered. Elara smiled.

“Maybe”

“Let me tell you a story. I’m pretty sure you would like to hear it” she said with a smile. 

“I was never abused. At least not in the way I made Lucian believe” she said.

I knew that already. I suspected it from the beginning that she was only putting up a farce. 

“I knew you were lying. It’s a pity that Lucian didn’t see what a manipulative bitch you were” I spat at her face and she laughed. 

“It was so unlike Lucian to buy that story. Anyways, I killed the man I ran away with” Elara continued. Her voice carried no guilt or regret. 

I knew she was a lying bitch but I never expected her to be capable of murder. 

“You are sick!!”

“No, I’m not. He didn’t have the power I thought he did. He lied to me”

“You were just a greedy bitch that didn’t appreciate what she had” 

“Yes, I realized that later. I could have just stayed with Lucian back then. That’s why I came back” she said.

“I thought Lucian would accept me with open arms because he had begged me to stay. I thought he would be happy to have me back” Her lips curved bitterly.

“What I didn’t expect was for him to have another mate and in love too” Her gaze hardened.

“I did everything I could to make Lucian want me again but I suppose you can’t cheat fate”

A chill ran down my spine because fate had already proven itself merciless in my life.

“So I took matters into my own hands” 

The quiet finality in her voice made my skin crawl. I shook my head.

“So you had to kidnap me?”

“Of course. I said you were a means to an end”

“What is my role in all this?” I asked. My voice felt small but I needed answers. Her smile returned.

“I realized that Lucian would do anything for you. So I thought why not take her?” The certainty in her voice made me shiver. 

“And I want to see if he’d be willing to give up his position for you” My heart pounded.

“That would never happen”

I don’t know if Lucian would do that and even if he wanted to. I’d stop him. 

“I know” she said calmly.

“It won’t happen easily” Her gaze sharpened.

“That’s why I’ll contact Lorcan”

The name sent dread coursing through me. How did she even know him?

“Lorcan?” She nodded.

“I know he wants you. You believed him to be your mate” Her lips curved.

“And I know Lucian would rather die than watch his enemy take his mate”

Realization struck like lightning. I saw where this was headed. 

“You mean to cause a war” 

Elara didn’t hesitate.

“If it gives me the power I need, I don’t mind. Two Alpha’s would be fighting over you. Wouldn’t that make you feel important?”

My chest tightened.

“You’re insane” She smiled.

“No, I’m ambitious. They say women are no good blah, blah. I’m trying to make history for women”

“You don’t understand Lucian” I whispered.

“If he finds you…”

“He’ll kill me?” Elara finished. Her expression didn’t change.

“Then we’ll have to make sure, he doesn’t find me right? Don’t even think you can run from here” Her gaze darkened.

“I warned you to leave quietly”

The words felt heavy with a hidden meaning.

“But you didn’t listen. You think you’re untouchable, right?”

Fear twisted inside me but I couldn’t let her see that. I understood now that this what’s an impulsive decision. It was calculated and deliberate. She had been planning this for a long time. 

Then…there was footsteps outside the door. Elara’s smile widened.

“My partners are here”

Partners? The word echoed in my mind. This meant she wasn’t alone. I should have known that she couldn’t be alone in this. 

The door opened slowly. We turned toward it. The moment I saw who stepped inside. The world stopped for a second and shock flooded through me.
Disbelief choked my breath and betrayal carved deep into my chest.

“You…”