Chapter 65- Freedom

Lucien Volkov

We were seated in the senior doctor’s office while the doctor was going through my mother’s reports.

"Physically, Her Majesty is stable now," he said, closing the file, "But this wasn’t just exhaustion, Your Highness. The stress caused a sudden rise in her blood pressure. At her age, that puts considerable strain on the heart."

Beside me, Aliya remained silent. She hadn’t talked to me even once since we arrived.

"I’ve arranged the medicines. The prescription is here," He slid it across the desk, and Aliya accepted it without sparing me a glance.

"Will she be alright?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, Ma’am. She will be. Provided she avoids unnecessary stress and takes her medication on time."

Aliya nodded and got up, "I’ll go to her room now."

They all were mad at me and held me responsible for her condition. Maybe they were right. But I didn’t want to be unfair to Arabella. She already suffered a lot in her past life.

If they expected me to listen to their unreasonable demands, then they were wrong.

Leaning back into my seat, I sent a mindlink to the bodyguard who was assigned to Arabella.

"Where is Arabella?"

"She is in the garden, sitting on a bench, Your Highness," he reported to me. I wanted to give her personal space and had asked the guard strictly to maintain a certain distance from her.

"What’s she doing there?"

"She is having coffee with the former head warrior, Ms. Jasmine."

"She what?" I got up from my seat and cursed under my breath. What the fuck was wrong with her?

"Why didn’t you inform me?" I roared through the mindlink, and the poor man stuttered.

"Sh... she asked me not to..."

Arabella asked him not to? Did she have a death wish?

I walked out of my office, but my beast stretched in my head lazily, "Let her live her life, Lucien. Let her make her decisions."

I stopped in the corridor.

"But she’s with Jasmine, Zorro."

"So? Let her be. The bodyguard is there. And I don’t think Jasmine will try any stunt now. She is already suspended from her head position. If anything, she’ll be trying to earn our trust back. Have you forgotten how your mother complained when Jasmine came forward to support Arabella?"

I puffed out my cheeks, letting out a breath and then closed my eyes. I wanted to go to her, but my Lycan wanted me to stay back.

"Jasmine threw herself between our mate and the Queen. Spare her, Lucien! Just stay alert."

Zorro was right. Maybe I was overreacting.

With a sigh, I saw Amy coming towards me. One look at her face was enough. If looks could kill, I’d already be dead.

Like Aliya, she must be mad at me. They all thought I was responsible for my mother’s condition.

Disappointment, anger, and hurt. Everything was written on her face.

For a long moment she only stared and then let out a bitter laugh, "So... this is what you’ve become."

I frowned, "What do you mean, Amy?"

"What do I mean?" Her eyes glistened, "You used your Alpha command on our mother... because of a slave. Do you know how frightened she was?"

I let out a humorless chuckle, "Frightened? By slapping a slave? Have you ever wondered how frightened Arabella was?"

Amy kept watching me with fury, "Why is she so important to you, Lucien?"

I held her gaze, "You tell me something, Amy... Who nearly died protecting your child? And this is how you are willing to repay her?"

Amy got silent. She didn’t have words to answer me.

"Lucien. She’s just a—"

"ENOUGH!" The roar ripped out of my chest before I could stop it.

***

Arabella Toussaint

Talking to Jasmine had left me shocked. As I walked back to King Lucien’s quarters, my mind was still on our conversation. Her tears. The guilt in her eyes. Nothing about that felt fake.

I looked over my shoulder with a frown, "Did you tell the king about my meeting with Jasmine?"

The man stiffened visibly, "Y... yes, my lady," He admitted nervously, "His Majesty asked me where you were... I ... I had to answer."

I suddenly stopped walking and turned around, "So you report every single thing I do?"

Goddess. How will I explain this to him? A few days back Jasmine tried to kill me, and now I was having coffee with her.

My so-called bodyguard seemed confused, "No... only if His Majesty asks..."

I tilted my head and folded my arms across my chest, "Being my bodyguard doesn’t mean I need someone breathing down my neck every second of the day. I need my damn space! Didn’t I tell you that?"

The poor man seemed shocked and immediately took two steps back, "Sure... ma’am. But if His Majesty finds out that I wasn’t close enough..."

I raised my palm to stop him from speaking, "Then don’t let him find out!"

Sigh! What was I thinking? He was only following the King’s orders. If Helena and Lilith couldn’t afford to hide anything from him, how could he?

I needed to talk to Lucien about it. Or I would never be able to plan a smooth escape.

I resumed walking before adding over my shoulder, "One day I’ll climb a tree just to make you chase me."

After making that remark, I couldn’t help smiling. However, the smile didn’t last long as my thoughts drifted back to Jasmine. Even though I wasn’t planning to stay here, deep down it still hurt.

Everything about him seemed so genuine. I had truly believed he cared about me. It turned out I was nothing more than a tool to make Jasmine jealous. To bend her to his will.

He wasn’t interested in me. He was interested in collecting mistresses only to provoke the woman he truly wanted. In this story, I was the other woman.

Dante rejected me because he loved Vanessa. The King could never accept me as his mate because Jasmine was already a perfect candidate – a royal warrior who knew palace politics and its people far better than I ever could.

It felt as though the Moon Goddess herself was pushing me towards a decision.

Toward freedom.

Toward the life I had almost forgotten I deserved.