I leaned over in a trance and grabbed Lucy’s arm. “You must have made a mistake. You must have remembered it wrong! What makes you so sure that it was her?”
Lucy impatiently shook my hand away. “I was in the imperial palace at the time of her persecution. However, everything happened so fast that I wasn’t able to keep up. By the time I tried to investigate more thoroughly, every single piece of information on her has been wiped out. Now that I think about it, someone must have done it deliberately to cover up for her.”
Lucy sneered before continuing. “Rufus has just proposed to that bitch right before the incident happened. He really cares about her. Everyone in the kingdom knows how devoted they were to each other.”
Hearing that made my heart freeze. When Lucy looked at me again, there was a hint of pity in her eyes. “Rufus completely changed after she died. It was almost like he had no memory of her at all. Laura then forbade anyone to mention her again, until the matter slowly faded into oblivion.”
I grasped at the most obvious mystery of all and blurted out, “But how is that possible? Why would Rufus suddenly forget about her just like that? Besides, I didn’t hear anything about him losing his memory before.”
Lucy snorted and rolled her eyes. “Shortly after Rufus succeeded Ethan, I managed to have an audience with him. I learned that he had, in fact, forgotten a lot of things. He knew nothing of his mate, as if she has never been in his life. Now that I piece it together, it’s clear that his memory loss is related to that woman’s disappearance.”
I pressed my lips into a tight line and headed for the door.
But Lucy acted quickly. She was on me in a flash, locking the door and throwing me aside. “What are you planning to do?”
“I’m going to test Rufus and see if he remembers Crystal.” I pushed her away and reached for the latch to unlock the door.
Lucy didn’t give in, though. She stepped right in front of me and dug her heels. Her voice was cold and ruthless when she said, “Don’t even think about mentioning the past or any of these conjectures to Rufus if you don’t want to die. Trust me, it won’t be good for either of us if he remembers Crystal.”
“I will be careful,” I promised casually before pushing past her again, but Lucy still stopped me. “You idiot!” she snapped. “If Rufus really remembers Crystal, then he wouldn’t give a damn about you!”
I frowned, the breath catching in my throat. “No, there’s no way… Rufus is still under the influence of the potion. He likes me! He thinks I am his mate! Besides, even if he remembers her, I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be with her. That bitch has sinned against the empire.”
Lucy poked me in the forehead, her nail digging into my skin. “Have you never realized that Rufus treats Crystal differently from others? He doesn’t even remember her yet, and he already gives her special treatment. When he does remember her, they’re bound to get entangled all over again.”
I fell silent, and my hand dropped from the doorknob. I was feeling upset and a tad defeated.
Lucy was right. I had noticed that no matter the circumstances, as long as Crystal was present, Rufus’ attention was always on her. And that kind of single-minded focus had only ever applied to her.
Lucy’s POV
After reasoning with her, Adela finally gave up the idea of sounding Rufus out.
I didn’t have the patience to pander to her idiocy much longer, so after giving her a few more words of comfort, I immediately sent her away.
Once she was gone, I went to the study on the second floor. I removed the knick-knacks lining one of the shelves and took out a metal key from a hidden grove. I inserted it to its designated keyhole and let myself into the adjoining secret room.
It was by no means a large space, just a cozy nook I used to store Kyle’s ashes.
Back then, I had sent someone to collect Kyle’s body in secret, but all that was left at the site were a pile of bones. He had long been devoured by wild beasts. I stroked the carved lines on the urn before pressing my lips against its surface. If Richard hadn’t meddled with us, I might have had a complete and happy family right now. Firman wouldn’t suffer public criticism and bullying, and we wouldn’t be living such a pathetic and miserable life.
I took a deep breath to steady my emotions. I had lost count of the times I had come here and wept, but I still cried whenever I thought of Kyle.
I missed him so much. I would give anything to have him back, alive and safe.
The only light in my bleak existence had come and gone so quickly, as if it were nothing more than a dream.
I hate them all-Richard, Rufus, Crystal, and my cruel bastard of a father.
Since Richard’s downfall, my father had disowned me and focused on his another daughter, hoping this new pawn of a daughter could help him achieved his ambition. No one cared whether I was alive or dead, and I almost didn’t, either. All I cared about was Kyle’s child.
Power was the currency in the imperial capital, and it was next to impossible to make a single move without a strong backer. Although Firman was acknowledged as a member of the royal family, his association with Richard deemed him deserving to be looked down upon. Even the son of a Beta from a small, unknown pack would have no qualms about bullying him.
The thought made me clench my fists. I wanted to punish everyone who had dared to lay a hand on my son. I wanted to kill them all!
What made my situation all the worse was the fact that I couldn’t even get back at those people.
Rufus was still the king. I would only be submitting myself to certain death if I was too hasty and careless.
It was a good thing that Rufus had never married or sired any children in the last five years. As long as Rufus never bore an heir, the throne would inevitably go to Firman-his brother’s son.
I had been drugging that moron, Adela, through the scented tea that she loved so much. She drank it every time she visited, not knowing that it would make her infertile. It was also one of the reasons why I helped her get to where she was today. I was secure in the knowledge that she would never pose a threat to Firman and me.
Of course, that idiot had no clue. She probably thought I was a kind, magnanimous person under my rough exterior. I counted myself lucky that she was so stupid, or my plan wouldn’t have played out so perfectly.
The only problem was that she was too vain and self-centered. I needed some time to rein her in and hone her wit to keep her from sabotaging herself.
I thought back to the encounter this afternoon, and my heart suddenly felt heavy inside my chest.
Despite Crystal’s claim that she was wearing a mask to hide her disfigured face, I knew that it was just part of her disguise. She was Sylvia-I was sure of that.
The smallest details and her unique mannerisms would fool no one, no matter how much her appearance might have changed.
I scoffed when I recalled how Crystal was still a goody two shoes. She had instantly softened after hearing that Firman was being bullied.
I initially had no intentions to do anything to her since she really helped my boy, but she had reappeared with Rufus’ child, which effectively messed up my plans.
If Rufus learned of this, he would surely make that boy his heir, and Firman would lose his chance to sit on the throne.
There was no way I would let that happen. The crown belonged to Firman alone, no one else.
Since I couldn’t touch Rufus, I would just have to settle with the boy. Crystal had done a good job of hiding him. Rufus was probably unaware that he had a son.
In that case, I should just get rid of the boy, and all of our problems would be solved. I would eliminate a threat to Firman’s ascension to the throne, and Crystal wouldn’t have to be worried about Rufus discovering the existence of his son. Really, she should thank me for my efforts.
Rufus’ POV
I took the medicine bottle and brooded in the study for what felt like hours. It wasn’t just the visions that had been plaguing me lately. I seemed to be losing control of my emotions, too. I was behaving outrageously and well without reason sometimes, and I was leaning more into the possibility that I had been bewitched.
The wizard had examined me thoroughly and found nothing wrong at all. Then again, if I had been administered a spiritual witchcraft or something, no amount of physical check-ups would be able to detect it in my body. Only the original caster of the spell could help me.
I stared at the blue vial in front of me. The wizard told me that if I had really been subjected to witchcraft, all I had to do was to drink the concoction then go to sleep. Whoever had cast the spell on me would appear in my dream, and I would finally know for certain who was bold enough to play tricks on me.
I sat and stewed for a long time as I hesitated. Although the wizard was a trusted affiliate of the lycan empire, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with this situation.
Since Noreen’s death, no black witch, or even just the common ones, had been sighted often in my life. I could bet that some believed they no longer existed.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply