Chapter 75

There was silence in the air. It hung for a while as the name which Lucy uttered replayed in her mind. Isabella. 

Marie knew she could be right as Isabella was the only one who would do such a thing. She also knew that Leo, despite his attitude toward Lucy, would somehow protect her if it came to that as she had seen something like that before.

“Isabella… that wicked witch.” She squeezed her face, her hand swung in the air like she was imagining Isabella right in front of her and she, doing the needful. Marie kept and just fixed her eyes on something she could not even say. Something invisible not until Marie broke the silence.

“But Lucy… how did you do it? You said there were five of them. How did you fight them off? You're not even… I mean, you don't have your wolf yet.”

A smile curled at the end of Lucy's lips. “ I don't know… I can't even explain what happened,” Lucy admitted, her voice shaking. She brought her other hand down and held her laps firmly. “Something happened to me. Something I don't quite understand. It's like… like when I got angry at you that one time, remember?” She looked up at Marie, her eyes searching for validation. “It felt like that, but stronger. So much stronger.”

Marie stared at her, her expression unreadable. She didn't even blink, like she was trying to imagine that moment. “You're saying you had… what, some kind of surge of strength or what?” she asked, trying to be cautious with her words.

Lucy nodded slowly. “I don't know what else to call it. It was like my body moved on its own. I don't even have to think— I just… reacted.” She paused, her voice dropping lower. “And then… they left… I think they realized how different I was as they must have heard a different thing about me from the one who had sent them—Isabella.”

Marie leaned back a little bit, processing Lucy's words. “But… you didn't shift… no claws, right.”

Lucy nodded. “Yeah, nothing of the sort… I don't know what it was..”

Marie processed her words for a moment. She took a glance at Lucy's lips where she had touched when she told Marie about Aiden biting her there. She pondered about Lucy's curse, how the bite of her mate was the only thing that could unlock her wolf. But then, she had her doubts as Lucy didn't shift nor had any sign of her wolf revealing herself— and the only thing that happened to her was that she got stronger than before. And now, she could not heal. Her wounds were not closing up.

She wanted to talk about it but she changed the topic. “And what are we going to do about Isabella? She's not going to stop there. We have to stop her.”

“But how?” Lucy raised her head and made eye contact with Marie.

Marie nodded and looked away, knowing Lucy was right. There was no way they could fight Isabella back. There was nothing they could do since she was someone untouchable.

“I need to rest… we'll have a lot on our plate tomorrow… Isabella would love to stress us out.”

“Just sleep already, okay… you need it.” She helped her lay on the bed and covered her, up to her waist with the blanket.

Marie smiled and pressed her palm on her forehead like she was testing to see if she had a fever. “You'll be fine by morning but your wounds will take time to heal.” 

Lucy yawned and shut her eyes.

***********

Isabella laced the length of her room, back and forth, her footsteps muffled by the thick rug. Her hands were clasped behind her back and her fingers were twisting together in a restless movement like they were actually moving by themselves with her control. She fidgeted and brought her hands forward, biting her nails.

The dim light of the room cast her shadow on the wall. It looked bigger than her and more vivid. She walked up to the window and paused when she got there. She strained her ears as she heard the faint echoes of the guards’ patrols and distant murmurs that filtered through the air. It was a reminder of the commotion that had unfolded earlier—the screams, the hell, the sudden rush of movements. Her stomach made some sound like someone belching as she recalled the orders she had given to the omegas she sent.

“Why haven't they returned yet?” she muttered under her breath, glancing at the door as if she was waiting for them to knock or probably just come through the door and give her the feedback she was expecting. She went to the door as she was willing to open it to see if they were going to show up from afar but she stopped in her tracks, trying to avoid her presence being noticed by any guard.

She couldn't shake the unease creeping into her chest. The plan had been simple and she had been certain they would succeed. But now…

Her brow furrowed as she turned away from the door. What if something went wrong? she thought. Her mind spiraled with the possibilities she didn't want to accept. If the omegas were captured, they might talk. And if they did…

Leo's face flashed in her mind, his piercing gaze, the silent judgement she feared could erupt. She shook her head, trying to dispel the image, the picture of the scene that could unfold if that was to happen. “No,” she whispered to herself. “They won't get caught. They can't get caught. They know how to stay in the shadows. They'll do what I told them and come back… I believe they must have finished the job.”

With all her words and self-assurance, the gnawing doubt that crossed her mind with every passing second wouldn't leave her. She bit her lip and resumed pacing back and forth, her steps quicker now. The thought of the omegas failing was one of the things that scared her—as Lucy would still be alive to taunt her… and the other was Leo—what would happen if he was to find out she had orchestrated the attack. Her carefully constructed image would crumble. If the Alpha might think differently of her if he was to know about it also.

She looked up and turned, her eyes fixed on the door as a sudden knock broke the silence. The sound of it made her freeze mid-step and her heart seemed to leap to her throat. Fear gnawed with her as she thought about the omegas, if they had been caught already. But then again, she had this feeling like hope—that the omegas had come to give her the good news she had anticipated. 

For a moment, she just stared at the door, her chest rising and falling with shallow breath coming out of her nostrils.