63. Not Everyone Is Like You

~Alpha Bruce Mansion~

A few days later...

Aurelia was relaxing beside the pool when Kaspar arrived and settled on the vacant sun lounger beside her.

"Is my husband gone?" Aurelia asked, taking a sip of her favorite Chardonnay wine.

"Yes," Kaspar replied, smiling, holding the wine bottle and pouring the liquid into the empty glass.

"You were looking preoccupied when I came. What are you thinking?" Kaspar asked, sipping his wine. "You still can't get over your suspicion that the mysterious bride who refused to remove her veil for you on her wedding day was your former best friend Clarice?"

"Yeah," Aurelia answered, nodding her head. "I got those Clarice vibes from her. I just can't shake off those feelings. It lingers in my head, eating me inside. I need to see her again to prove myself that I'm wrong. That's the only way I can have peace of mind."

Kaspar shakes his head. "Don't be ridiculous. If she is indeed Clarice, she has already waged war against the Bloodhound Pack since her husband is the notorious leader of the rogue pack. Do you think she will stay silent after what we have done to her?"

Aurelia breathed heavily, an uneasy feeling gripped her heart. She felt restless inside. "And what if I'm right? What if she is indeed Clarice, and she was just waiting for the perfect time to take revenge on us?" she blurted anxiously. "We should just initiate the first move before she can do harm to us."

Kaspar sighed. "You worry too much. As far as I know, although Alpha Callum of the Savage Howl pack has a savage reputation, in reality he is a peace-loving leader and doesn't want to start a war with anyone. Therefore, we are safe. So stop worrying about that issue. You are just killing yourself with stress. Clarice will never rise again after the damage we caused her. We broke her spirit. She won't be able to survive the poison I inflicted on her body," he assured her a thousand times.

Aurelia looked at him sharply. "Are you sure she won't survive the poison you gave her?"

"I'll give her a few months to live in pain and misery, and after that she will die a painful death," he said confidently.

"But how come no one found her dead body? We didn't hear any news about her disappearance. That bothers me every single day," Aurelia said nervously. "What I'm scared of the most is... what if she was saved by a powerful healer and slowly recovering in some cave somewhere in the jungle, and she would return here and make us pay for the crime we had committed against her? I had recurring nightmares at night because of her," she said in a voice filled with anxiety.

Kaspar rolled his eyes, sipping his wine. "You worry too much. It's just your overactive imagination giving you nightmares. Just stop thinking about Clarice and enjoy life without worries," he said calmly.

"I can't help it. I just want to see Clarice dead with my own eyes!" Aurelia said fretfully. "Until now, we haven't solved the puzzle of how Clarice and Lorey disappeared without a trace? Nobody saw them leave. Who helped them escape this place? Did you ever think of the possibility that we had a hidden enemy beside Clarice?"

After hearing Aurelia's fear, Kaspar fell into deep thoughts, thoroughly analyzing the past events in his mind.

Aurelia felt annoyed that Kaspar was ignoring her. "Do you hear me? Who do you think is the person who helped Clarice and Lorey escape this mansion?"

Kaspar shifted his attention to Aurelia. "I don't know. All I know is that Clarice was very weak at the time of your wedding, and the poison I fed her was toxic. She won't last a day, no matter how strong her body is. Therefore, I can conclude that someone took her away while everyone was busy with wedding preparations. And the question is, who has the guts to save a dying woman? Was it an inside job or did the help come from an outsider?" he asked.

"No one would help her because we told everyone that she was a carrier of an infectious disease, and they would be afraid to get close to her and become infected. So it must be an outsider, a distant relative, a friend or someone we haven't met yet. Her savior could be anyone. We don't know for sure who that person is," Aurelia said in puzzlement, sporting a troubled look on her face.

"Alright, since we don't know who is helping Clarice, we will just double the number of our bodyguards when we go outside. To be safe, we will just limit our time spent outside to prevent Clarice from taking revenge on us," Kaspar suggested.

"Coward!" Aurelia hissed angrily into his face.

Kaspar was shocked by her outburst. "What did I do? Why are you suddenly mad at me?" he asked quizzically.

"If you just wait here and do nothing, fine! I will go out there and find the truth! I can't just do nothing and wait for my death. If Clarice miraculously survives, we must find her and kill her first before she can kill us!" Aurelia said, her eyes blazing with evil intent.

"Here we are again," Kaspar sighed, rolling his eyes.

Aurelia glared at him. "What are you complaining about?"

Kaspar shrugged. "Nothing. You are a worrywart. That's what I'm complaining about."

"You can't blame me, the coffin we buried in the cemetery is empty. My instincts tell me that Clarice is still out there, alive and healthy. I can feel it! And Alpha Callum's mysterious bride gave me a Clarice vibe, especially her voice. When she refused to take off her veil, my suspicions intensified. We must see her face!" she insisted, wearing a determined look on her face.

Kaspar heaved a sigh. "You have already sent her the invitation. I'm sure she will reply soon. After meeting the bride, and your suspicion is wrong, you can finally stop worrying about all this nonsense," he said wearily.

Aurelia shifted her attention to the trees surrounding the outdoor pool. She couldn't calm down the uneasy feeling in her stomach after meeting that mysterious bride whose voice reminded her so much of Clarice.

Kaspar and Aurelia's minds were both preoccupied, busy thinking about what happened to Clarice all this time.

Silence hung heavy in the air.

A maid arrived at the pool area and handed Aurelia a white envelope. "Luna, a letter has arrived for you."

"You may go now," Aurelia dismissed the maid with a wave of her hand after accepting the white envelope with the Savage Howl Pack seal. She opened it right away, curious to know the contents of the message.

"This is it!" Aurelia said, waving the letter in Kaspar's face.

He quickly responded, "Read it aloud."

The moment Aurelia read the message, her face turned sour.

"What happened?" he asked.

Aurelia's eyes flashed furiously. She felt insulted. "Dammit! That is outrageous! She refused to attend the Luna Association meeting. She explained in her letter that she did not wish to become a member of the association and was not interested in my invitation. Such a stupid woman she is! How could she miss something so important? All Luna are desperate to be invited and willing to compete for the Supreme Luna position!" she exclaimed, nostrils flaring.

"Calm down, not everyone is like you," Kaspar said, annoying Aurelia even more.

She glared at him. "This letter means that the woman is afraid to see me because she fears that her secret will be revealed to everyone that she is Clarice. I'm sure of that now. I want to see her face with my own eyes!" she insisted vehemently.

"Can't you see? That woman doesn't like you and doesn't want to be associated with you and the entire Luna Association. So let her be, stop pestering her," Kaspar interjected. "Stop looking for trouble!"

Aurelia ignored Kaspar's scolding, fuming in anger.

A few minutes later...

Aurelia started grinning wickedly after a brilliant idea popped up in her mind. "I already know how to meet this woman face to face. I already had a plan."

"How would you do that? Would you storm into Alpha Callum's mansion and create chaos there? Aren't you afraid they will kill you for trespassing?" Kaspar warned her against acting upon such stupid ideas she had created in her mind.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Aurelia laughed, amused. "For your information, there are so many ways to slaughter a chicken," she said with a wink, grinning like a Cheshire cat.