Emily’s POV
“We followed you,” Angelica continued, excitement clearly written on her face.
“What did you use? Wolfsbane?” I asked.
“If only!” She said this, sounding proud of her accomplishments. “Axel injected you with liquid silver.”
Is that the reason why Willow struggled to return?
“We saw your wolf running with you earlier,” Angelica continued. “With her out of the way, getting rid of you would be easy.”
“What happened to Alex?” I asked worryingly.
“He saw what we did to you,” she replied and sighed. She was kind of acting strangely-more than usual.
“Did Alex try to fight you off?” I asked.
“No, he shifted into that stupid black beast of his and went to protect you!” She hissed. “It was something amazing to watch, but it complicated things.”
“That’s when you suspected we were mates,” I said; it wasn’t a question, yet Angelica continued to elaborate.
“Only fated mates would protect their mate like that, even if they just met a second ago,” she said, sounding kind of jealous. “When Ghost suddenly emerged-shifting earlier than was possible-trying to protect you, I put one and one together and knew he must be your mate. I was well aware of the prophecy regarding the rise of the Lycan kingdom involving the Fire and Snow wolves. You stated earlier who your father was, and we could not let such an incredible opportunity pass. We had to eliminate you both and make sure the Lycans would never return to power.”
If Alex was protecting me, how did Angelica and Axel overpower Alex?
“How did you manage…?”
Before I could finish asking my question, the door opened abruptly, and my nostrils were filled with a familiar smell.
I let out a sigh of relief, believing he had come to save me.
“I assisted her.” Xavier’s statement from the entrance startled me.
No, that cannot be true!
“W-what?” I gasped. “Tell me what you are saying is not true!”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I put my trust in Xavier. He was like a father to me!
“My dear, have I ever lied to you?” He asked, entering the room and shutting the door behind him.
“Why?” I asked. “Why would you betray me like that?”
Xavier’s eyes turned icy, and the same unholy feeling I had previously encountered in his office made me shiver.
“Uncle Xavier!” Angelica yelled out excitedly. “You came!”
She went to his side and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“As soon as I hear,” he said, taking her hands in his. “How is my beautiful niece doing?”
“I am better now that you have come,” she said sweetly. “Can I now get rid of her?”
“We will have to see if Alpha Alex’s protection has worn off,” he said. “She did reject him.”
“What are you talking about?” I snapped.
“Alpha Alex’s wolf was protecting you with a protection spell,” Xavier said, turning his attention toward me. “It prevents us from killing you.”
“But we can hurt you physically,” Angelica added excitedly.
“We got some help from an old friend,” Xavier said.
“Vito,” Angelica said, her face lighting up.
“Who’s Vito?” I asked, confused. I had never heard of him before.
“Axel’s Beta,” Angelica said, snickering behind her hand. Why was she acting so weirdly all of a sudden?
“And his older half-brother from his mother’s side,” Xavier said. “He is a full-blood warlock.”
I shivered.
I have never been very fond of witches and warlocks. They were not to be trusted.
Was he the one who helped Angelica in the duel? The one Luke saw but couldn’t find?
“What did this Vito do?” I asked, cutting Xavier off.
Angelica and Xavier looked at one another, and the two burst out laughing.
“This is where we moved all of Alpha Alex’s memories of you,” Angelica said, revealing to me an opal pendant hanging around her neck. “We planted images in his memory of me rescuing him and made sure that when he sees you, he will feel enraged towards you. We used the same spell on you. Except we made sure you would want to flee from him rather than stay with him.”
Was that the reason I packed up and left without thinking twice about it?
But why didn’t the spell force us apart when we met again? Was it because of Willow?
“Why?” I asked, becoming upset and angry. “Why are you doing this?
“The shield that is around you will vanish the instant Alpha Alex utters those words of rejection,” Xavier explained.
“And you would be able to get rid of me,” I muttered.
“Clever girl,” Xavier praised. “I always knew you were smarter than you looked.”
“After that, everything else would just fall into place,” Angelica went on. “And we would be able to eliminate every Lycan wolf. Things would have gone as planned if you hadn’t mingled in!”
What was she going on about?
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
Angelica sighed.
“In the hopes that the protection boundary would be lifted, we put Alpha Alex’s wolf under an enchantment to ensure he would not ever scent you,” she said. “But for some reason, he managed to scent you and break free.”
“And I believe you are the one who released him,” Xavier remarked.
“How?” I asked, startled. I never even knew Alex was under a curse.
“My theory is that you awakened him the night you first danced with him. Your touch must have broken the spell,” Xavier said. “After that, Vito made numerous attempts to put him to sleep, but the bloody dog just would not give up!”
“Tell me why you let me join your pack,” I asked Xavier.
“Because you were useful,” he said, grinning subtly. “And I couldn’t openly kill you despite my best efforts; I was never successful. I therefore sent you on a mission in the hopes that someone else could do my dirty work for me. After the vampire attack was unsuccessful, I finally gave up.”
Xavier sighed.
“I knew that you longed to be loved; maybe even extend your family and take a mate,” Xavier said. “So in order to break the protection spell, I needed you to find Alpha Alex again and reject him.”
“So this was all a setup?” I growled.
“Not all of it,” he said. “I do love you as a daughter, but you are not the kind of wolf breed I would like to keep in my pack and home.”
“What about Mila and Jax?” I asked. “Where do they fit into your plans?”
Was Mila part of this?
Did she betray me too?
“Mila and her mate are only pieces on the chessboard,” Xavier said. “I used them to my will, and they were happy to comply without knowing it.”
“What are you planning to do with me?” I asked.
“You will see,” Xavier said. “I have prepared a whole schedule specifically for you. I might even pause to have a quick cup of tea.”
“Oh, Goddess, be with me,” I silently prayed. “Whatever Xavier is planning to do with me, help me not to let my emotions spill over the bond…”
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