Chapter 65
She was gone.
Ava, my dear friend, was gone.
The words echoed relentlessly in my mind, yet I struggled to accept the harsh reality.
Regrettably, I had only been unconscious for a brief moment before Benjamin shook me awake. I found myself sprawled on the couch indoors, answering his inquiries in a mechanical manner, lacking any semblance of emotion.
As I recounted Ava’s whereabouts and her current condition, Benjamin hastily departed to summon the patrol team scouring the vicinity for renegades. I disclosed the use of my dagger, the one I had left behind in the cave, and even mentioned Isabella. I described Isabella’s appearance, their previous location, and how I had urged Ava to speak with her.
Once I brought up the existence of the rebellious blade, my words seemed to vanish into thin air, disregarded by everyone present. Their immediate focus shifted to high alert, their attention fixated on hunting down the weapon itself rather than finding Isabella. It seemed that the fact my missing dagger was employed had led everyone to believe that the rogues sought vengeance for their fallen comrades.
And so, there I sat on the couch, a mere spectator to the unfolding pandemonium that encircled me for hours on end.
People scurried in and out of the house, delivering updates
and confirming the discovery of Ava’s lifeless body. The atmosphere grew increasingly frenzied as they desperately searched for any leads. Heated arguments erupted among the officials, each vying for the unenviable task of breaking the tragic news to Ava’s grieving family. The sheer weight of it all made my stomach churn with unease.
Yet, I found myself immobilized, unable to muster the energy required to be of any real assistance.
I sank into the cozy couch, observing silently. The whole time, a lifeless void consumed me, mirroring Ava’s fate, which was now my doing.
And the blame rested squarely on my shoulders. Ava herself had made it clear; it was my actions that had thrust her into this twisted reality. Perhaps, without my interference, she could have enjoyed a mundane existence, finding a regular partner, raising children, and passing away peacefully in old age-naturally. But now, she lay lifeless, a casualty of my ignorance.
Yet, I was oblivious to the consequences. I never anticipated that a simple request for her to converse with Isabella would set off this chain of events. I never could have foreseen the jeopardy that would befall her life.
“…Excuse me, madam,” a voice suddenly chimed in front of
In that moment, it dawned on me that I had been fixated on the midsection of an individual standing before me, for who knows how long.
I raised my gaze leisurely, blinking several times to bring my vision back into sharpness, and there stood Lily.
“…Madam, I’m here to escort you home,” she spoke softly.
Anxiety etched across her face, and I didn’t need to speculate why. Yet, it didn’t offer me any solace.
“…I caught sight of Isabella,” I responded in hushed tones, disregarding her previous statement. My voice seemed distant, still resonating with a raspy quality.
Her eyes widened, and a gasp escaped her lips as my words sank in. “Wait… Isabella?”
“…Yes,” I confirmed, my voice laced with a hint of mystery.
A heavy sigh escaped her, carrying the weight of a revelation. “Well, that might shed some light on a few puzzling things then.”
“Like what?” I pressed, curiosity brimming in my voice.
She hesitated, unsure of whether to divulge the information, but eventually, she yielded to the pull of honesty. With a touch of vulnerability, she shared her discovery.
“Just an hour ago, I stumbled upon the truth about our undercover detective,” she disclosed, her tone tinged with a mix of grief and concern. “Turns out he met his demise a couple of months ago in a nearby territory. The pack there has been desperately trying to reach out to us to uncover the details of his final case. Sadly, our secret identity was so impeccably guarded that they had no clue how to get in touch with us.”
I shut my eyes, surrendering to the overwhelming fatigue that washed over me like a relentless tide.
“…So it appears Isabella was indeed behind all of this.”
“Miss…?”
Although I had already harbored suspicions, this latest revelation only served to strengthen my conviction. Isabella had been the one responsible for Ava’s demise.
“She must have caught wind that someone was hot on her trail, so she maintained her distance until the investigator rendezvoused with you the last time. That’s how she managed to trace me back here. The investigator’s untimely demise was likely orchestrated to prevent him from alerting us when Isabella breached into Lock Heart’s territory.”
How much did she have me figured out back then? I bet she had her eyes on me long before the Golden Blade fiasco. If that’s the case, she probably had the lowdown on everything… about Ava, and maybe even Benjamin and Bash too. And that silver knife she had? Did that mean she was in cahoots with those renegades? Was Isabella a renegade herself? That could be why we never dug up any dirt on her pack affiliation.
But I never would’ve pegged her as someone capable of pulling this off. A sly, power-hungry devil? Absolutely.
But physically murderous and violent? … Not quite her style, I’d say.
In my previous existence, she embodied deceit and manipulation, orchestrating my demise with cunning finesse akin to a hidden serpent. Curiously, I remained oblivious to her active role in my downfall until I caught a glimpse of her smug expression just moments before my conviction. She had always masqueraded as the innocent, effortlessly captivating
This left me pondering her current intentions and whether she still harbored ambitions of becoming Luna. Did she not realize that, I could shift some of the blame onto her for Ava’s untimely demise? I could weave a tale implicating her involvement with the rogues, connecting her to the entire messy affair. Such an accusation would undoubtedly hinder her chances of ever being accepted into the pack.
However, a glimmer of doubt flickered within me when I considered my silver dagger. I had to acknowledge the possibility that the entire incident could be conveniently attributed to a rogue attack alone. Perhaps she meticulously orchestrated it in such a way. Moreover, recent sightings in the woods further complicated matters, making it highly improbable for anyone to believe me if I accused Isabella without solid proof. The only tangible evidence I could present was the fact that Ava had last been seen with her… and the unfortunate demise of the private investigator I had hired to locate her two years ago.
This alternative didn’t seem any more appealing, I must admit. Spilling the beans to my wolf pack about hiring a tracker to locate her would only stir up a frenzy of inquiries that I lacked the answers to. It would necessitate divulging the truth about my enigmatic past and elusive future.
A future that, apparently, eluded my sight now. It dawned on me that I had been utterly powerless this time to rescue Ava. No premonition had forewarned me, unlike two years ago. So why didn’t I perceive it coming? Where had I stumbled this time that my wretched gift failed me when I needed it the most?
1288 Vouchers ..But then a notion struck me. Perhaps, instead of obsessing over physical prowess to combat this ordeal, I should have invested some effort in understanding my adversary and its workings. I had always prided myself on rejecting any easy favors from the Goddess and had stubbornly forged ahead without relying on their assistance, just to prove a point.
…Could this be Selene’s way of teaching me a lesson? To demonstrate her omnipotence and make me realize that, in some manner, I begged her to survive?
”
