Chapter 138 Chapter 138
AILSA
I was put in my former room. The room I had grew up to love, the place I had once felt the safest. But now it felt like prison, I was not comfortable being here. It did not feel safe anymore.
I looked around the room and everything was still as I kept it. The bed still had my favorite blanket on it. It was like the room has not been used since I had left. But I wonder how it was so clean?
I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers gripping the blanket beneath me.The fabric was soft, yet my hands trembled against it. Everything in this place felt wrong.
The air smelled different here, different from Lucian’s territory. Different from the familiar forests I had come to know over the last months.
Lucian’s territory had always felt warm and alive with the scent of pine, earth, and the quiet presence of his pack.
Here the air smelled colder and sharper. I had not noticed the energy around this pack before. Maybe because I was so in love with it. I shut my eyes tightly, my body weak from exhaustion. My wolf shifted restlessly inside my mind.
‘We shouldn’t be here’ she said weakly. We would need a few days of rest to regain ourselves.
“I know. I don’t even want to be here” I whispered.
The faint bond inside my chest pulsed weakly.
Lucian.
Even now I could feel him, though the connection felt fragile, it was impossible to get to him. The poison had weakened me and although, it still lingered in my body, it drained my strength little by little. I pressed my palm over my chest.
Was he looking for me? Was he safe?
The thought of Lucian charging into Lorcan’s territory alone made fear twist painfully in my stomach because I knew him and what he was capable of.
Lucian wasn’t the kind of man who waited patiently when someone he cared about was in danger.He would come. Even if it meant starting a war.
My throat tightened.
“This is what I had been trying to avoid. I didn’t want this” I murmured.
The room remained silent. Lorcan hadn’t come to see me again since their confrontation earlier. I wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or another kind of punishment. Part of me dreaded seeing him again.
Another part of me feared what he might say next.
Because Lorcan had a way of dragging old memories into the present. Memories I had fought hard to bury. Memories that don’t mean anything to me.
I leaned back slightly, exhaustion weighing down mu body. My mind wandered despite my weakness.
Back to Damian.
The betrayal still felt fresh. The way he had looked at me while claiming he was trying to save me. The way he had struck me when I refused him. He was part of the reason I was in this mess. My fingers curled into fists.
“Idiot” I muttered bitterly.
I should have known better. Trusting people had never brought me anything but pain. Just as I began to sink deeper into my thoughts, the door opened. My head snapped up.
Marie stepped into the room.
“Marie”
The name left my lips like a curse. Marie closed the door behind her calmly, leaning against it as though she had every right to be there. She looked exactly the same.
“Well. You don’t look happy to see me” she said lightly. I stood slowly.
“What are you doing here?” Marie shrugged
“Visiting”
Her tone was so casual it made my skin crawl.
“I should have known you were in on this too” she tilted her head.
“Am I?” I stared at her.
“Don’t pretend”
Marie sighed softly and walked further into the room, glancing around as if inspecting the furniture.
“You know, Lorcan really went out of his way to make you comfortable. Not letting anyone enter this room since you left” she huffed.
I didn’t know why she was telling all this to me but I didn’t care to listen.
“You’re not answering my question” my voice hardened. Marie turned to face me
For a moment we simply stared at each other. Months of resentment and history hung between them like a storm waiting to break. Then Marie laughed. It was a soft, amused sound.
“Oh Ailsa” she shook her head, as if disappointed
“You still don’t understand anything” my patience snapped.
“Then explain it”
Marie studied me for a moment before she spoke.
“I never loved Lorcan.”
The words fell into the room like stones into still water. I blinked.
“What?”
Marie folded her arms, leaning casually against the table.
“You heard me”
“That’s a lie”
Marie laughed again.
“Why would I lie about that now?”
“You stole him from me because you loved him and wanted him for yourself. Didn’t you?” Marie rolled her eyes.
“Oh please. I didn’t steal him. Lorcan made his own choice. He didn’t love you”
“Then why? We were best friends. I treated you like my sister and I told you everything but you were just a lying scheming bitch”
Marie’s expression changed slightly, the amusement faded. Something colder replaced it.
“Because I didn’t want you to have everything”
The answer stunned me into silence.
“You were always the perfect one” I frowned.
“I was never perfect. I had my flaws” her smile turned sharp.
“That’s not how everyone else saw you”
She began pacing slowly around the room.
“You are strong, kind, beautiful and talented. You were going to be a Luna. And me? I was forever going to be a side piece, a common person”
Each word dripped with sarcasm.
“Everyone loved you” I shook my head.
“That’s not true”
Marie stopped walking and looked directly at me.
“It is. You had everything handed to you on a platter of gold. After all your father was the former Beta” she shouted.
“I worked for everything I had” Marie laughed harshly.
“You were born with it”
I stared at her, confusion mixing with anger.
“So you destroyed my life out of jealousy? You betrayed your own friend out of resentment?” Marie shrugged.
“I wanted you to lose something for once. Something you desperately wanted, I wanted you to be unhappy”
The cruelty of the words struck deeper than any physical blow.
“You ruined my relationship” Marie smiled.
“Relationships break easily when they’re weak” my voice trembled with anger.
“So you were manipulating him?” She didn’t deny it.
“I didn’t need to. He came to me by his own free will. He begged to fuck me. He said you were boring in bed”
I covered my mouth in shock. I didn’t know if to believe her or not.
“I only agreed because that was an opportunity to get the power I always wanted”
“So you used him”
“Of course.”
The answer came without hesitation. I shook my head slowly.
“All of this… for power?” Marie leaned closer.
“Power matters and you had it without even trying”
Her eyes glittered. I stepped back.
“You’re insane” Marie shrugged.
“Maybe”
“I don’t know if to thank you or be angry at you because if you didn’t betray me, I would never have met my true mate. You and Lorcan deserve each other”
Then her expression softened into something almost curious.
“But I’ll admit one thing, you’re stronger than I expected” I didn’t respond. I folded my arms.
“What were you expecting me to wallow in self pity?” Marie smiled faintly.
“Not exactly”
Before I could ask what she meant, a loud voice echoed across the territory.
“LORCAN!”
The sound crashed through the air like thunder. The walls seemed to vibrate with the power behind it. I froze. My heart stopped. Because I knew that voice.
I would recognize it anywhere.
Lucian was here.