Expulsion….
“I don’t want to hear it! Get out!”
“No, please, try to listen to me. I am not the one, please,” I pleaded, trying to grab Lucas by his leg. He kicked me off, and I bruised my elbow from the impact with the ground.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Veronica with a victorious smile on her face. She flipped her hair as she rested against the wall while everything went down. I had thought a miracle would happen and my innocence would be proven one way or another. It had been some weeks since the day I spent with my mates, but now I was being thrown out as punishment for a crime I knew nothing about, let alone committed.
“Listen, Ashley, I do not want to hear anything anymore. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll leave this house as soon as possible. Otherwise, you’re going to see a side of me that you have never imagined, because what I’m going to do to you would be worse than death itself,” Lucas continued, staring down at me with so much anger in his eyes. Hot tears trickled down my face as I looked around, hoping for someone to help or support me. Unfortunately for me, everyone was against me, and I soon found myself with absolutely no one to have my back.
Looking over to Simon, I cried out, hoping he could at least help me this time, but he flared up almost immediately, picking me up from the ground with just one hand around my neck. I coughed, suffocating from his extremely strong grip, as he somehow managed to lift my entire body off the ground by my neck.
“P… please, Simon,” I gasped, letting out fresh tears as I choked from his grip.
“Listen to me, I don’t know who gave you the impression that I would actually show mercy, but if that’s what you think, then you’re clearly wrong. You had the audacity to work with one of our enemies all this while, and for what? Is their Alpha hitting the spot better than we have?” he yelled, throwing me back to the ground with full force. I hit the ground hard, and this time, my head began bleeding.
“You revealed so many of the mansion’s secrets under the pretense of not knowing who you are and being a vulnerable person who’s constantly a victim of circumstances. No one would have known the detrimental things you’ve been doing if Veronica hadn’t started noticing your actions and alerting us in time.” He turned to face Veronica as he spoke, and she instantly replaced the obnoxious smile on her face with a humble look, as if trying to plead for mercy on my behalf. My wolf was completely annoyed just watching her fake the whole thing, but I could do nothing to prove my innocence.
“Only the goddess knows what we would be saying right now if not for her. You didn’t stop there; you went on to kill an innocent woman-someone who had been loyal and dedicated to this mansion and the pack for more than 20 years. That alone is something the Moon Goddess will definitely not forgive you for. Let me tell you something, Mortica’s blood is on your hands, and it will haunt you for the rest of your miserable life,” he concluded, going back to sit where I had originally gone to meet him.
“Lu… Lucas, please, just try to listen to me. I had absolutely nothing to do with the leaked secrets, I swear on my life.” He gritted his teeth as I spoke, but I desperately needed him to believe me. Where would I possibly go if I got chased out?
“It was Veronica! She’s the one who sold the mansion’s secrets out to a man who has been threatening her for a while now. I heard her talking about it to her mom on the phone a while back.”
“What? Are you crazy or something? I get that you’re trying to clear your name and prove your innocence even when you are guilty of everything, but don’t you dare try to pin your actions on me, you criminal,” she fired back, and I shook my head as Lucas turned to face me, even more angry.
“Lucas, please, if not for any other reason, believe me because of the bond we share. I would never betray your trust, nor that of Simon’s or the mansion at large.”
“You know what? I think you have used this line way too many times already. Honestly, it has gotten really old if you’re not aware. I am really sick and tired of hearing this crap about our bond and whatever. I don’t want to see your face when I come back down here, period!” Simon said, storming off toward the stairs to go to his bedroom.
I turned to face Lucas again, but he had already turned his back on me. Wiping off the tears that had started drying on my face, I fearfully walked closer to him, contemplating whether to tap his back to get his attention.
“Lucas, please just give me a chance to prove myself. I know you’re angry right now, but I need you to calm down and let’s talk about this when you’re a bit cooler.”
“Calm down? Are you seriously asking me to calm down right now? The entire kingdom is now at risk. Some places are even already under attack because of your stupid and selfish interest, and you have the audacity to tell me to calm down?”
“No, no, I didn’t mean it that way. I understand that you’re dealing with a lot because of this, but I swear I had nothing to do with it.”
“I don’t want to hear a single word from you. The spy we caught mentioned your name, everyone in the mansion attested to you having a huge fight with Madam Morticia the day before her passing, and some even mentioned that you were the last person seen with her that day. Now tell me, if you both were not on good terms, why else would you have been with her?”
“Fine, I admit that Madam Morticia and I never liked each other that much, and yes, we did have a huge fight the day before she died, but I had nothing to do with her death. I just went into the outhouse because somebody mentioned that she needed help getting the bags in there. However, when I got inside, I was shocked to find her lifeless body on the floor with the blood-stained knife beside her.”
“You’re still lying? All the maids present mentioned that they saw you holding the knife when they got there. Nobody smelled any other wolves’ scent besides yours and Morticia’s, so what else do you have to say about that?”
“Please believe me, I’m telling the truth! I would never in my entire life think of hurting anybody, let alone killing them.”
“Right now, I am still in a good mood. Leave this house now that I haven’t started rough handling you, Ashley. If I lose the last string of patience I’ve been holding on to, trust me, you are not going to like the version of me you will see next,” he thundered, folding his arms while still having his back turned to me.
“Lucas, I think now you can see exactly what I have been talking about all this time. You’ve been putting so much trust in her, believing her words, and giving her so much attention that she’s now gotten used to it.”
“Veronica, if you know what’s best for you, you will stay out of this and stop instigating Lucas. You’re evil!”
“Evil? Coming from the person who has put the entire kingdom at risk, a murderer, and a traitor?”
“Stop!” I cried out, shaking my head as she folded her arms at me.
“Stop it, please! I am not a murderer, Lucas, you know me. I can’t believe you would actually think of me this way.”
“Oh my goodness, Ashley, will you stop already? When will you finally stop trying to act smart by emotionally blackmailing Lucas as you are right now?”
“Blackmailing?”
“Yes! That’s what you’ve always done, and now it’s not going to work. Lucas has finally seen the truth of everything I’ve been warning everyone about. You are a sneak and a snake; now your true colors have been exposed for everybody to see. Even though Lucas has such a big heart that he turned a blind eye to all your evil schemes, I could see through you all this time. You have been caught red-handed, and now you are trying to blackmail Lucas into giving you another chance. Do you take him for a fool? Why do you keep playing with his emotions like this?”
“No, I’m not! In fact, why are you even saying all of this? Oh, so it’s because Lucas is here right now that you can’t show your real self, right? You and I both know that you are the one responsible for everything that has happened, but you’ve somehow managed to turn everyone against me, including my own mates, so-”
“That’s enough! I don’t want to hear any more words from you again. This should be the last time I tell you to get out, Ashley,” Lucas interjected, turning to face us and grabbing me violently by the arm. I cried out in pain as he yanked me away, pushing me toward the door.
“Barry, RJ, come here now!” he called out, and two of the bulkiest guards in the mansion walked in. They both looked at me with the same expression-one of shock-and I cringed under their scrutinizing gaze.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“I need you two to get this woman out of this house within the next 60 seconds, or just forget about your jobs here in the mansion.” Instantly, they both panicked and walked toward me with the most threatening looks on their faces.
“Madam Ashley, I’m sorry, but you have to leave right now,” one of them said. I shook my head, resisting as they tried to grab me.
“No, please, no!”
“If this woman is still here after 60 seconds, then I won’t hesitate to feed you both to the wild dogs in the dungeon,” Lucas said, his tone cold and nonchalant to my pleas.
As the guards closed in on me, their hands reaching out to take hold of my arms, I felt a surge of panic rising in my chest. My heart raced, and my mind spun with desperation. I couldn’t let this happen-I couldn’t let them drag me out like some criminal when I was innocent.
“Please, don’t do this!” I cried out, my voice breaking as I looked at Lucas, hoping for even a flicker of compassion in his eyes. But his face remained hard, his expression unyielding.
The guards grasped my arms firmly, pulling me toward the door. My feet scraped against the floor as I tried to resist, but they were too strong. Tears streamed down my face as I realized how hopeless my situation had become.
Just as they were about to push me through the doorway, a sudden, deep voice echoed through the hall, stopping everyone in their tracks.
“Wait.”
The command was sharp, authoritative, and instantly recognizable. The guards froze, their grips on my arms loosening slightly as they turned to look in the direction of the voice. I followed their gaze, my heart pounding with a mix of fear and hope.
There, at the top of the grand staircase, stood Simon-his face holding absolutely no emotion written on it. . His presence was imposing, his tall frame casting a long shadow down the staircase. I smiled in relief as he walked towards us, his eyes fixed on me, but I couldn’t tell what could be going on in his mind as his expression was completely unreadable.
“What is going on here?” he asked, his voice low but carrying a weight that made everyone, including myself, tense up.
Lucas stepped forward, his earlier confidence now heightened , as he stood his ground, ready to stand up to his brother just in case he had changed his mind about my expulsion