Chapter 34

Jules.

My heart was thumping in my ears, every nerve on edge. I could not be late. If I was...

I hurried through the cramped corridors after helping Lucianne escape. Now that Lucianne was relatively safe, I had to protect Aurora.

My mind had not yet fully caught up with my actions after Lucianne's revelation. I had always had an eerie feeling about my father-in-law's beta. Something about him had always kept me on edge like he was not really as loyal as everyone else made him out to be. I had suspected he was keeping a few secrets, but I had never thought it would be something of this magnitude.

The truth had been far more horrifying than I had feared. He was a monster. To think that the same man had stayed by my father-in-law's side after he had lost his wife, not knowing that the murderer was the man who had sworn an oath of absolute loyalty, was stomach-churning.

I had the urge to vomit. And Raphael? Oh goddess, Raphael... The deaths of both Lunas had been tragedies, but it was recorded that the silent reaper and his men had painted castle walls with the blood of the royal family and their royal guards.

That incident had left the Alpha bedridden. The more I thought about it, the more chills ran down my spine. I finally made it out of the secret chamber, paused for a second to catch my breath, and was off again. I ran through the dungeon exit, sprinting past guards.

"My lady..." They called after me, but I was not stopping, not until I reached the infirmary.

The infirmary was at the far end of the castle, and every second felt like an eternity. I pushed myself harder, my legs burning, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I couldn't fail. Not now.

As I rounded the corner, I nearly collided with a servant carrying a tray of medical supplies. She looked at me with wide eyes, her mouth opening to say something, but I didn't have time to stop.

"Sorry!" I called over my shoulder, my feet pounding against the stone floor.

Finally, the door to the infirmary came into view. I burst through it, startling the healers inside. They looked up in surprise, but I ignored them, my eyes scanning the room for Aurora. But she was not where I had left her.

"Where is the Beta's daughter?" I gasped.

The deltas looked at me in confusion before one of them came forward. "The Beta asked that his daughter be taken care of in her room," she supplied. "We have moved all the supplies there for more comfort. The Beta..."

But that was as much as I could hear; my ears were ringing. Before giving the delta a chance to finish, I was off again. Then I bumped into someone. I looked up to see blue eyes staring down at me.

His eyes had darkened until he realized. "Jules," Lance said. "Why are you so pale? What's wrong?"

He looked behind me, and then his face hardened. "What did she do to you?" he demanded.

He was asking what an innocent girl had done to me. He was so wrong. They all were.

"We don't have time," I tried to pull away from his grasp, but he would not loosen his grip. He refused to let me go. "We have to save Aurora."

"She escaped?" he asked, still not getting it. "Did she hurt you?"

I kept trying to pull away, but he was steadfast.

"Talk to me, Jules. Please, you look like you witnessed a murder, for goddess' sake."

"Let me go, you don't understand," there was no time to explain everything and then try to convince him. Maybe if it had been Logan that I had bumped into, Lance would never have been able to hear a bad word about Beta Reiner. That monster had practically raised him when the Alpha could not go on. He had trained him to be the person he was now. Lance held the man in high regard; he was his mentor.

"I am not letting you go unless you talk to me, Jules," he told me. He pulled me and held me by my shoulders so that we could face each other squarely.

"Aurora is in danger, we have to get to her. Please just follow me!"

That was all the prompting that my husband needed before we began to race through the corridors. We got to Aurora's room in record time, and without warning, Lance kicked the door open. I was behind him, so I could not see what he was looking at. But I felt him freeze, and Lance rarely ever let his shock show. I moved to step in. My stomach dropped when I looked into the room.

Aurora was there like the deltas had said. She was lying unmoving on the bed, but she was alone. Lucianne was there, and she had her hands around her neck. She had stopped at the intrusion, but it was clear what we were looking at. Lucianne was strangling Aurora. Bile rose in my throat. It was not possible.

"Bitch!" Lance bellowed, his voice echoing through the room as he lunged at Lucianne. She barely had time to react before his powerful hands tore her away from Aurora, sending her crashing into the far wall. He grabbed her neck and slammed her against the wall, holding her suspended as she fought for air.

I rushed to Aurora's side, my hands trembling as I checked her pulse. It was weak, but she was still alive. Relief flooded through me, but I knew we weren't safe yet.

"Lance, that is not Lucianne!" I shouted, glancing back at him as he glared at the person he thought was his sister.

He was not listening. He was so engulfed with anger that all he could hear and see was what was in front of him. "How fucking dare you!" he growled.

The imposter's eyes were wild, her chest heaving as she glared at him. "The bitch needs to die!" she spat, her voice dripping with venom. "She ruined everything!"

"That is not Lucianne, Lance," I went to him, trying to get him to listen. But he did not budge, it was as if he could not hear me. Steam was coming out of his ears.

The imposter laughed, a chilling sound that sent shivers down my spine. "You can't lock me up, you can't kill me. I will be a plague in the lives of all of you."

I stared at the imposter, disbelief, and horror mingling in my mind. It sounded nothing like Lucianne. I knew it like I knew that tar was black. But Lance was convinced that the person speaking was his sister.

"Try me!" Lance screamed. I did not have to look into his eyes to know that there would be murder in them.

I knew what the intruder wanted. He wanted to get Lance riled up enough so that the last bit of restraint would come loose and Lance would kill Lucianne with his bare hands. But that would be after Beta Reiner had escaped. I knew the Beta was experienced; he was only pretending to be nailed. He could easily escape.

"Lance!" I banged against his back. "That is not her, that is not Lucianne."

He froze. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"That is Beta Reiner!" I yelled.

For the first time since I had tried to get him to hear me, he finally turned to fix me with an incredulous look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You have to believe me!"

"You are telling me that father's Beta just tried to kill his own daughter?"

Despair washed over me. I knew he would never believe me.

"Why don't you listen to your wife and let me go? I am just your father's Beta in disguise," the imposter laughed.

"Don't let him trick you!"

"So you are telling me that this isn't Lucianne and that Lucianne is in the dungeon right now and she has not escaped?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly the guards entered the room, panic written plainly on their faces.

"The prisoner has escaped," they raised the alarm.

My stomach dropped.

Their gazes turned to me.

And two of the guards pointed at me. "She was the last one in her jail cell, sire. She came out all panicked and would not stop running."

Lance's complexion turned ghostly. "Jules..."

The guards finally noticed who Lance was holding, and relief seeped back into their faces. "You caught her, sire."

"Jules, mind telling me what you have been up to?" Lance's voice was low and dangerous. He did not let go of Lucianne as he walked towards me. "Are you a traitor?"

"No, no, it's not like that..." I tried to explain.

"Shut it! Answer the question. Did you help Lucianne escape?" he growled.

"But Lance..."

"Answer me!" he snarled.

"Yes, but..."

Shock was etched on his face before he turned to the guards. "Capture her!"

The guards did as he had ordered, just as we were interrupted.

"What is happening?" Logan asked. "Let go of her," he ordered the guards holding me.

Raphael on his tail. His eyes were on the imposter immediately. "What is she doing here?" he demanded.

My and Lance's eyes met, and I shook my head. "You don't understand," I murmured.

But Lance looked away like he could not bear the sight of me. "Jules is a traitor. She helped Lucianne escape."

"That is not possible..." Logan said. Logan's face hardened as he stepped closer. "That is not possible," he repeated, his eyes narrowing as he glanced between me, Lance, and the imposter ."Jules would never betray us."

"Lance, look at her," I screamed, my voice urgent. "Look at the imposter's eyes. That's not Lucianne. It's a disguise. You have to see it."

Lance hesitated but his grip on the imposter tightened. "You expect me to believe that this," he said, shaking the person in his grasp, "is Beta Reiner in disguise? The man who stood by us through everything?"

"Yes!" I cried out. "Lance, you have to trust me. The real Lucianne is still in danger. Reiner is trying to divert us. He is the silent reaper."

Lance's eyes darted to me, then to the imposter. Doubt flickered across his face, but he shook his head. "How can you even claim something so ludicrous?"

"Because it's true. Lucianne told me everything." Tears filled my eyes in frustration. "After everything, Lance, you call yourself my husband, yet you cannot even try to give me the benefit of the doubt!" If only Aurora were awake, she would be able to save us. She would be believed. But she had not awoken, and the deltas had said that it would take a long while.

My words hit him like a boulder to the chest before his expression hardened again. "I should have your tongue for saying that to me."

My heart shattered, not into pieces or fragments but into dust. I did not believe that our relationship would ever be the same when this was over.

I glanced at the imposter and I could tell that he was ready to escape at any minute. Then the others would go on a hunt to find the real Lucianne, and they would kill her for something she was not even guilty of.

"Take her away," Lance ordered, but I noticed a glint of a blade. The imposter had a weapon and was about to escape.

"Lance!" I screamed as he fully pulled out the knife.

"Logan?" A voice cut through the chaos, and everyone halted. Aurora rose from the bed, looking in confusion at Logan and then at everyone. "What happened?" she asked.

Relief washed through me as I watched the imposter go pale. This had not been part of his plan. The truth would finally be revealed, but I was not able to celebrate for long.

Before anyone could react, the imposter moved swiftly, pulling out the hidden knife, his target changing from Lance and hurling it straight at Aurora. Everything seemed to slow down as the blade flew through the air, its deadly aim fixed at her chest.