Chapter 181 CHAPTER 181

Chapter 181 CHAPTER 181
Lydia’s POV

I heard the scream.

It was louder than anything I had ever heard before, ripping through the mansion and leaving a terrible silence in its wake. The sound struck me like a blade, sending stabbing pain straight into my heart.

I was drunk that night, my thoughts blurred by the wine I had consumed, but even through the haze, I knew I had done something.

I hurried out of my room, nearly stumbling as I stepped into the corridor. Doors were opening all around me as other members of staff and occupants of the mansion emerged from their rooms, drawn by the horrifying scream.

Then I saw Clara.

She was crying and sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking as she struggled to speak. Her face had gone pale, and she kept wiping at her cheeks, only for more tears to spill down them.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice unsteady. “What happened?”

Alpha Keleb was suddenly beside me, his hand closing around my arm to steady me.

“It is Miss Lucy,” Clara cried. “She is not responding to me.”

I felt my heart drop.

For a moment, I could barely breathe. The noise of everyone gathering in the corridor seemed to fade, replaced by the frantic pounding of my own heart.

Then I saw Alpha Marcus. He didn't wait for an explanation. The moment Clara managed to deliver the news, he pushed past us and ran into the room. His movements were unnaturally quick, his instincts taking over before anyone else could react.

I didn't want to go in. I was terrified of confirming what I already knew. Lucy was dead and I had done it. I had dropped poison into her wine.

The memory flashed through my mind with horrible clarity—the bottle, the glass, the moment I had convinced myself that I had no other choice. Now, standing outside her room, I could almost taste the bitterness of the secret sitting at the back of my throat.

I stayed where I was, unable to move.

A few seconds later, Alpha Marcus walked out of the room. His expression was unreadable. He glanced at us for only a second before turning away and walking down the corridor. He didn't need to say anything.

I knew. Right there and then, I knew that she was dead. My knees weakened beneath me, and I instinctively reached for Alpha Keleb. I held him tightly, trembling against him as the reality of what I had done settled over me.

His arms came around me, but even his warmth couldn't quiet the cold spreading through my body. I had wanted Lucy gone. I had wanted to believe that removing her would solve everything. But now that she was truly gone, there was no satisfaction in it, only fear. And the terrible knowledge that, from that moment on, I would have to live with the fact that I had killed her.

I didn't know how he knew that I was on the verge of confessing right there in front of the whole house, but somehow, he did.

Before I could say another word, Keleb took hold of my arm and led me away from the others. His grip was firm but careful, and he moved with a speed that made it impossible for anyone to stop us. He ushered me into the nearest room and shut the door behind us.

The moment the latch clicked, I broke.

“I did it. I did it,” I said, trembling as I paced around the room. My hands wouldn't stop shaking, and I kept running them through my hair as though I could somehow pull the thoughts out of my head.

Kaleb stared at me, his expression tightening.

“You did not do it,” he said firmly.

“I did it!” I snapped, my voice breaking. “Kaleb, I poisoned her because I was jealous. I thought she was taking you away from me, and I couldn't stand it. I didn't want you to reject me.”

The words came rushing out of me, each one heavier than the last.

I heaved a deep sigh and collapsed onto the floor. My legs simply refused to hold me anymore.

“I can't believe I killed her.”

“Don't say it,” he said immediately.

I looked up at him.

“No one can hear that you did it.”

His voice was low, but there was an edge to it now. His wolf hearing made secrecy more complicated than it was for ordinary people. In a mansion filled with werewolves, walls were not always enough to keep a confession private.

“What am I going to do?” I whispered.

My chest tightened as panic surged through me again.

“Everyone will know that it was me who did it because the poison is still in her room. And now Marcus would have seen it.”

Kaleb said nothing.

He stood motionless for a while, his jaw working as he considered what I had told him. I could almost hear the thoughts racing through his mind.

Then he looked at me.

“Why did you think I was going to choose her over you?”

I swallowed.

“I saw the both of you,” I said quietly. “I knew she was seducing you, and you fell.”

His expression faltered, but he didn't interrupt.

“Kaleb, I didn't know what to do. I was out of my mind. I went to Seraphine, and I asked her for a poison, and she gave it to me.”

My voice cracked.

“I just wanted her gone.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then Kaleb rose from where he was standing and crossed the room. He reached down and pulled me to my feet before wrapping his arms tightly around me.

I clung to him immediately.

“What is going to happen to me?” I whispered against his chest. “The Whiteheads are not going to forgive me for killing one of theirs.”

“They don't know,” he said.

I pulled back slightly, looking up at him.

“No one is going to know about this,” he repeated.

“How?”

My voice trembled again.

“How can you possibly make that happen? I can't keep this a secret.”

Kaleb's eyes held mine, and for the first time, I noticed something different in them.

He wasn't simply comforting me. He was thinking. And whatever he was considering, I had a feeling it was going to change everything.

“Then you have to leave for a while, Lydia. I can't afford to lose you.”

His voice was quiet, but there was no uncertainty in it.

“But for tonight, you have to act as though everything is normal. Then tomorrow, you can leave.”

I stared at him, my stomach twisting at the thought of what he was asking me to do. Pretend that nothing had happened. Walk through the mansion, look everyone in the eye, and behave as though I hadn't just taken a life.

But I knew he was right. If anyone noticed how frightened I was, questions would follow. And I couldn't afford questions.

I watched as he pulled out his phone and called Seraphine. She arrived a few minutes later and quietly joined us in the room. The moment she stepped inside, her eyes settled on me. She studied my face for several seconds, and I knew she could see the guilt written all over it.

She knew. She didn't need me to confess. Her gaze shifted briefly toward Keleb before returning to me.

“She was pregnant,” she declared.

I gasped.

My eyes immediately flew to Kaleb.

“It wasn't mine,” he said quickly.

There was something defensive in his voice, as though he already knew exactly what I was thinking.

“No,” she said.

She paused, then delivered the words that made the room seem to tilt beneath my feet.

“It was Alpha Kaleb's.”

My breath caught. I stared at him, unable to process what I had just heard.

“I was able to save the baby,” she continued.

A shaky breath escaped me, and I felt some of the tension leave my body. I had been holding my breath without realizing it.

“What about her?” I asked. My voice came out barely above a whisper. “Can you save her? Is it possible?”

Seraphine's expression softened, but she slowly shook her head. “No.”

My heart sank.

“It is beyond me now.”

Silence filled the room.

I looked at Kaleb, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. His gaze had dropped to the floor, his face rigid as the weight of Seraphine's words settled over him. The baby was alive. Lucy wasn't.

And suddenly, the secret I had been desperate to hide felt even more dangerous than before.

Shortly after, Alpha Kaleb left to meet his friend. I watched him disappear through the doorway, and a strange heaviness settled over me. I couldn't imagine how he would be able to stand in front of his friend, knowing that I was the one who had killed his fiancée.

The moment the door closed behind him, my legs gave out. I collapsed onto the bed and buried my face in my hands.

“I'm going to suffer the consequences of what I did, Seraphine. In one way or the other.”

Seraphine remained silent.

She sat across from me, her expression unreadable. For several moments, the only sound in the room was our breathing.

“It was my fault too,” she finally said.

I looked up.

“If I had known you meant it, I wouldn't have allowed the thoughts in your heart to grow.”

I lowered my gaze.

There was no comfort in her words. Only the painful truth that we had both played a part in what had happened.

We sat together in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts, wondering how we were going to get ourselves out of the mess we had created.

Then, just when I thought the worst had already happened, Seraphine sighed.

It was a long, weary breath.

“I'm pregnant too, Lydia,” she said.

I slowly turned toward her.

“What?”

She avoided my eyes.

“You are the Moon Priestess. How could you be pregnant?”

She sighed again, this time rubbing a hand over her stomach.

“I'm pregnant, Lydia.”

I stared at her, waiting for her to explain.

“And it's not for Alpha Marcus or Alpha Kaleb.”

Neither of us spoke after that. We simply sat there, bearing each other's secrets. Two women trapped by choices we could no longer undo. Two secrets that could destroy everything if they ever found their way beyond that room.

And somehow, we both knew that if we wanted to survive the mess we had created, we would have to protect each other.