Chapter 101- Two Statues

Arabella Toussaint:

Beta Bradley and I were seated on one of the sofas in the drawing room, waiting for Victor. The room hadn’t changed much in three years. I recognized the heavy curtains and the dark wooden furniture that I used to clean daily.

Sitting there again should have made me uncomfortable. Strangely, it didn’t. The door finally opened, and my father stepped inside.

For the first time in my life, my heart didn’t clench with fear at the sight of him, nor did I lower my gaze. Instead, I leaned farther into the sofa and crossed one leg over the other as a small smile touched my lips. "Hello. I’m here to talk to Victor."

Father stopped a few feet away. His eyes moved over me slowly before shifting toward Bradley. When he looked at me again, he raised one brow and a sarcastic grin appeared on his face. "And why would Victor meet you? He’s busy." He took another step into the room. "And why are you even here?"

I didn’t answer him. Instead, I turned toward Bradley. "Beta Bradley, can you please give us a few minutes alone?"

Bradley’s brows pulled together immediately. "I don’t think the king will like that, besides..."

"It’s okay." I didn’t let him finish and gave him a reassuring smile. "You can wait outside." He still didn’t move.

For a moment, I thought he was going to refuse outright. His gaze shifted from me to my father, and then he sighed. "Fine. I’ll be right outside," he finally said.

"Thank you."

Bradley rose from the sofa and fixed my father with a hard stare that lasted long enough to make the warning obvious, then strode out and closed the door behind him.

The moment we were alone, my father’s sarcastic smile returned. "Now," he drawled, "are you going to tell me why you’re here?"

I held his gaze, surprised by how little his tone affected me now. Three years ago, that same voice could make my stomach twist before he’d even raised it.

"I asked you a question too." I leaned back comfortably against the sofa. "Where is he?"

His face tightened. "Watch the way you speak to me, Arabella." He still thought I was a frightened little girl who would start shaking in fear.

I slowly rose from the sofa. "Then answer my question, Beta Rick. Where is Victor?" He seemed taken aback for a second. It was brief, but I saw it.

"Beta Rick?" he repeated, almost insulted by the title itself.

I tilted my head. "Why? Isn’t that how people address you?"

He took a threatening step toward me. "Suddenly you’ve forgotten who you’re speaking to? Don’t get ahead of yourself just because you’re walking around with the royal Beta now."

I didn’t move back. Instead, I stepped closer until I could look directly into his eyes.

"I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m actually trying very hard to remember my place." My smile returned. "You made that place pretty clear three years ago when you handed me over to pay for your son’s crime... Beta Rick," I purred with a smirk.

His nostrils flared and a muscle ticked beneath his eye. For once, he didn’t have an immediate answer. Then a scoff escaped him. "Still playing the victim, I see. Three years away and you haven’t grown up at all, Arabella." His voice dropped into a warning. "Whatever protection you think you have won’t last forever. When the King is done using you, you’ll be exactly what you’ve always been. A useless, wolfless embarrassment that nobody wanted."

A quiet laugh escaped me, and that wiped the contemptuous smile from his face. I was still looking at him with amusement when something on the side of his face caught my attention, and my smile slowly disappeared.

There was a mark near his cheek, close to his ear. Not a normal scar. It looked like something sharp had slashed through his skin, leaving behind a thin, ugly line that had never healed properly. My brows pulled together.

That was strange. Werewolves healed quickly, especially high-ranking ones like my father. Even a deep wound shouldn’t have stayed on his face unless someone used silver on him.

"What happened to ..." I trailed off when the door suddenly opened.

"Rick, I’ve been waiting for you. You said you’d return in five minutes, but it’s been much longer. What..." Vikki stopped midway when she saw me. She stood frozen, and her eyes widened the moment she saw me. "Ar...Arabella? What are you doing here?"

I couldn’t hear her question because my attention had already shifted to her face. There was a similar scar on her face too. It ran across the same side of her face, as though someone had deliberately attacked them in exactly the same place.

"What’s with that mark?" I pointed toward her face before turning my finger toward Beta Rick. "Why didn’t it heal?" He said nothing. Vikki, however, had never been very good at keeping her mouth shut.

Her face twisted with anger as she marched toward me. "Go and ask your King. He did this to us because of you!"

I placed my finger on my chest. "Because of me?" I stared at her.

"Yes, because of you!" She stopped a few feet away from me. "When you ran off to the humans, he thought we were hiding you. He thought we knew where you were and refused to tell him."

My eyes darted between their faces. Lucien had done that?

"And it wasn’t just us," Vikki continued bitterly. "Our Alpha and Luna carry the same scar. We all do."

I was dumbstruck, trying to process what she was telling me. Vikki touched her cheek, and I could see resentment burning in her eyes. "Thank Goddess he at least spared Vanessa and Dean."

What were they telling me? Lucien did this to them after I left?

Father suddenly let out a bitter laugh. "So that’s how you came back here? Sitting beside the royal Beta, dressed like a lady and pretending everyone has forgotten what you really are?"

I frowned while looking at him.

"Don’t look so fucking offended, Arabella. You lived in this house as a slave. I saw the way you used to lure every man who showed you the slightest bit of attention. The guards. The warriors. And then the future alpha of this pack. Dean." His mouth twisted with disgust. "And apparently, you finally got what you wanted. You spread your legs for the right man, and suddenly you’re walking into my house with royal protection."

Heat rushed to my face. Hearing those filthy words hurled at me left me burning with humiliation.

"Oh, Rick. Honey," Vikki muttered, but there was no real attempt to stop him.

"What? She wants to act important now?" He sneered at me. "You’re nothing but a cheap little whore who got lucky enough to catch a King’s attention. Exactly like your mother. She knew how to crawl into a powerful man’s bed too."

My entire body went rigid.

Vikki’s lips curled. "At least her mother had the sense to disappear afterward. This one keeps coming back like a fucking disease." She stepped closer, her eyes raking over me. "King Lucien has Lady Jasmine now. Everyone knows they’re getting married. So whatever little position you’ve earned by warming his bed won’t last. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this pack before you embarrass us again."

"You were born from a whore and grew up to become one," Father added viciously. "What else did you expect? You finally got what you wanted. You spread your legs for the right man, Arabella. Congratulations. Vikki is right. Don’t ever come back!"

Something hot rushed beneath my skin. The strange sparks returned, spreading so quickly that I barely had time to register them.

"Stop!" I couldn’t take it anymore and whispered again, "Stop, you Assholes!"

And they did.

Beta Rick’s mouth had already opened for another insult, but no sound came out. Vikki tried to speak too. Her lips moved once, yet the room remained completely silent. I stared at them.

For a second, none of us moved. My father’s face slowly lost its color as he looked at me, his anger giving way to something I had never seen directed at me before. Fear.

"Y-your eyes..." he finally managed, his voice barely making it out.

I didn’t know what he saw, and right then, I didn’t fucking care. The familiar sparks were still there, and all those years of swallowing their insults had finally reached its limit.

I stepped toward them. "Listen to me, you pathetic pieces of shit," I sneered. "I’m not coming back to this pack. Ever. Tell Victor to come and meet me at the palace. Got it?"

Neither answered. They just stood there, staring at me as if they weren’t quite sure if they were allowed to speak.

Father’s face had gone strangely pale, while Vikki’s mouth remained slightly open. Neither of them could even manage a nod. It seemed like they were under some spell.

"You two still disgust me!" I spat and walked out without a backward glance, leaving them behind like two fucking statues who were too terrified to move.