Chapter5
848 Words
Meanwhile, the main hall of the Black Forest Palace had turned into a battlefield. Alpha Xavier's roar made the chandeliers tremble violently. With a single punch, he shattered the massive oak table before him into pieces.
"How? How did that wolfless Omega escape my tight security?" Xavier's voice sounded as if it were rising from the flames of hell.
Four of the pack's most formidable bodyguards knelt before him, trembling in fear. Xavier walked toward them slowly. His eyes were no longer gray; they were now blood red. His wolf, Kane, was completely in control.
"Alpha... last night everyone was a little distracted because of the Blood Moon Festival... and Lucas said she was dead..." one of the guards stammered.
Before he could finish, Xavier grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. "Lucas said? Is Lucas the Alpha of this pack, or am I?"
He slammed the guard hard against the wall. The sickening sound of breaking bones echoed through the hall. Xavier's anger wasn't just because Aria had escaped. The real reason for his rage was his pride. A mere slave had deceived an Alpha like him and escaped. If the other packs found out about it, he would be humiliated before them.
Sophia stood in one corner of the hall, watching everything. A cunning smile curved the corner of her lips. Aria's escape was the best news for Sophia. But she knew Xavier was not someone who accepted defeat easily. As long as Xavier kept searching for Aria, Sophia's position would remain unstable.
Sophia wiped away her tears (artificially) and walked toward Xavier with an innocent expression.
"Xavier... calm down. Don't torture yourself like this," Sophia said softly as she placed her hand on Xavier's.
Xavier jerked his hand away. "Calm down? Sophia, that girl survived my rejection and now she has escaped! She is a disgrace to this pack!"
Sophia let out a deep sigh and began poisoning his mind.
"Xavier, do you really think Aria escaped alone? She's just an Omega. She doesn't even have a wolf. I think... she had already planned to run away with someone. Maybe she has an illicit lover within the pack who helped her escape."
Xavier froze. A terrifying glint flashed across his eyes.
"A lover?"
"Yes, Xavier," Sophia leaned in closer. "Besides, didn't you notice? For the past few days, she kept placing her hand over her stomach. I suspect... she was carrying someone else's child and trying to defile our pack. That's why she ran away out of fear."
Sophia knew there was no way Aria could be pregnant (she couldn't even imagine that Aria's night with Xavier had been successful). She only wanted to fill Xavier's heart with the utmost hatred for Aria.
"And one more thing," Sophia added. "Marta said Aria stole your mother's sacred diamond necklace before she left. She's not only a liar, she's also a thief!"
Xavier's jaw tightened. Every word Sophia spoke pierced his heart like poison. He began to believe that Aria had not only deceived him, but had also planned to disgrace him and his pack before the entire world.
Xavier and Sophia reached the edge of the forest. Lucas and the other wolves were already standing there. On the ground lay a torn piece of Aria's Omega dress, soaked in blood.
Xavier bent down and picked up the piece of cloth. As the scent of Aria's blood reached his nose, the wolf inside him flinched in pain. But Xavier suppressed that feeling with hatred.
"Alpha, the footprints lead toward the Forbidden Forest," Lucas reported. "No one survives there. Perhaps the wild demons have already torn her apart."
Deep inside, Sophia prayed that Aria was truly dead. Resting her hand on Xavier's shoulder, she said, "You see, Xavier? She ran to a place where death is certain. She will never come back. It's better to forget her."
Xavier crushed the bloodstained piece of cloth in his fist. He looked toward the dense darkness of the Forbidden Forest and let out a sinister smile.
"Forget her? No, Sophia. Aria Lewis cannot die so easily. Even if she is dead, I will drag her soul back. She stole my property. She disgraced my pack."
Xavier looked up at the sky and let out a terrifying roar. The entire forest trembled at the sound.
"Listen, everyone! From this day onward, Aria Lewis is dead to this pack. But if anyone finds any trace of her, bring her to me alive. I want her to live, so I can show her that the punishment for running away from Alpha Xavier is more terrifying than death!"
Sophia smiled to herself. Xavier hated Aria now—that had been her only goal. Xavier believed Aria was a thief and an adulteress, and that belief would never allow him to feel sympathy for Aria again.
But Xavier didn't know that beyond the Forbidden Forest, a new sun was rising in Aria's blood. He didn't know that Sophia's conspiracy would one day confront him with the gr
eatest mistake of his life.
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