I understood how much I loved Pandora, but I did not realize that her leaving would affect my mood so much.
Ever since she left, considering how swift it was, I was always in pain whenever the thought crossed my mind which, unfortunately for me, was all the time.
“Bad time?” Ashley knocked gently at my half-opened door, peeking inside.
“No, come in. You didn’t tell me that you were coming. Don’t you have to prepare for tomorrow’s trip to the institute?” I asked her, unsure of what she felt about going there since we both shared a profound likeness for the couple, individually.
While I wanted Pandora, I know that Ashley wanted Rolan even more. She has had a crush on her since she was a child.
“You don’t look good, brother, what is going on? Is it about Pandora?” She asked, I knew she was going to see right through me. She had a knack for such things and would usually see through me, no matter how hard I tried to hide how I felt.
“It’s me, Wilson. You can talk to me. I am quite upset about Rolan myself. I need to get him all to myself.” She said, and I opened my eyes wide in shock.
“If I get Rolan, you get Pandora. It’s a win-win situation.” She suggested.
“Ashley, Pandora is our friend. Moreover, if she wanted to be with me, she would have done that long before Rolan found her. I believe we will find our mates.” I assured her but saw how her face brightened up at the mention of a mate.
“Ashley? Have you found your mate?” I asked her and she looked at me nervously.
“No, I haven’t.” She said, and I knew she was lying immediately. Ashley was always nervous when she needed to lie.
“You are lying. It’s obvious. You have, haven’t you? And now you want to throw all of that away to chase a childhood crush on a man who is already with his mate.” I queried.
“Well, you do not even know if they are mates. And stop talking to me like you are some saint who hasn’t just lost his joy over someone’s mate!” She yelled back at me, her eyes burning with fury.
At this point, I am quite positive that Ashley has found her mate. She wasn’t usually so reactive to things unless there was something else going on that she was totally guilty of.
“Ashley, you have found your mate. Why the fuck would you still want Rolan? Is your mate in this pack?” I tried to reason with her so she would not lose her opportunity to be with someone that she truly loved and loved her in return.
“I don’t care. Moreover, he chose his duties to his Alpha over me. Didn’t even hesitate.” Ashley sulked.
“Who is he?” I asked, insisting on knowing the identity of my sister’s mate.
“Caleb.” She said, tonelessly.
“Caleb? Caleb? I don’t know any Caleb. Who is he and which pack is he from? I am sure he is not from ours.” I said, impatient and slightly upset that she was being so stupid about something that could actually be so easy for her, unlike me.
“He is one of Alpha Rolan’s men. They came together. He was also the person who delivered the letter to me. I knew he was the one who led the Alpha here because it was the very next morning after he delivered the letter that she was trailed down to the field.” She explained.
“Ashley, do you have any idea what you are saying? Pandora is his mate. The pregnancy that she is carrying is for him. How could you ever think that he would leave her for you? Or pick you over her? You are just 21. You still have your whole life ahead of you. I advise you to be of good cheer and utilize this opportunity to train in one of the best schools. You will not be doing this for just yourself, you will be doing it for me and for your pack. Focus, Ashley!” I chided her.
She brought out a cigarette and handed one over to me.
“I told you that I stopped smoking Cigarettes.” I protested, but she passed me a blunt immediately.
“I know you. I brought something I know you will want. I don’t want the moral police around me right now. Smoke up, and then we can have this conversation again.” She said and I took the blunt from her.
After some minutes of smoking, she went to my mini-bar and poured two shots of whiskey.
“Here!” She said and handed one of the cups over to me.
“Ashley, high or not, I am not going to support you doing anything to hurt Pandora. She was never bad to us. And you know that she does not deserve that, most especially not from us. We saved her life. Taking Rolan away from her is taking the life that we had saved earlier. Think really well about whatever decision you want to take.” I cautioned and continued puffing out smoke.
“I brought you the good stuff. You should be fine soon.” Ashley said, and I did not understand what she meant until my legs suddenly felt heavy, and my hands fell weakly to my sides, the blunt I was holding slipped out of my fingers to the ground.
“Ashley, what the fuck? You drugged me?” I managed to say, feeling myself losing control of my speech too.
“What did you give to me?” I yelled, even though it merely came off as a barely audible babble.
“Just weed. Does it not feel like it? You took it from my hands.” She said and pushed my chair away from the front of the laptop on my desk. She inserted a flash drive into the system and went to the folder where I kept the new hospital plan alongside its leadership.
“Mom put you up to this? I told her it was time to retire. Do you have any idea she is killing those children? She is lacing their medicine with narcotics.” I choked out, my heart broken that Ashley would succumb to doing something like that.
“I’m sorry, brother.” She slammed the door of my study after she was done copying the documents, and sending out an edited version to the board.