Snap That Neck

The boiling anger inside her made her kick the small table. It toppled over, and the glass surface shattered. Everything on it fell down. After that, she threw the flower vase that was beside her hand.

Before she could move on to destroying the couch, a pair of hand grabbed hers. Irritated that her movements have been disturbed, Ashlyn glared at the woman.

“Now, Ash, remember how your pocket is empty? What will you do when Beta Elijah asks you to pay for the damage? Remember how he made you clean the entire pack house for not being able to pay for the damage.”

Hearing the name of that man got her only to be more provoked. How was she always vulnerable to him?

“Shut the fuck up!”

She was about to go back to breaking things, not caring about the consequences, when the woman grabbed on to her waist.

“Alright, that’s enough now. You are actually falling right into his hand by doing this. Why don’t we do something more practical with your strength?”

Ashlyn raised an eyebrow at the redhead.

°°°

The corner of her lips twitched.

“The brilliant idea you had was to make her move the shelves?”

She would have considered it to be a better idea if the redhead, Leah, offered her to break the wooden shelves.

The beaming redhead patted on Ashlyn’s muscular arms and voiced out, “Yeah, put this to good use. Now, hurry up. You have to help me put up the books later on.”

“I am not doing that,” Ashlyn grumbled.

“But I can’t reach the top row,” complained Leah while staring at Ashlyn pleadingly.

“Use a ladder or whatever you got there,” Ashlyn responded with hint of annoyance in her voice.

Leah laughed as though Ashlyn brought up something foolish.

“Now, silly, why would I need a ladder when you are there? And put that height of yours to use for once.”

Ashlyn scoffed but didn’t argue.

Leah always got her way.

She silently carried out the old shelves from inside the library. The bookshelves were worn down due to age. Because of how they became unstable, they were being replaced by new ones.

The library wasn’t one of the most frequented places in the pack. Most werewolves preferred action related activities rather than sitting at one corner silently and flipping through the pages of historical classics— that’s what at least most of the library was filled with.

The building used was constructed at least a century ago and appeared to be shabby. But it had its charm according to the librarian, Mrs. Bennett— a chirpy woman in her eighties who wore weird glasses and could go on forever about her love for books.

Ashlyn once had to sit through her session on how books brought one to an entirely different universe and could easily make one feel better, letting their mind slip away from their current predicament— a perfect distraction in her opinion.

Ashlyn of course begged to differ.

After that entire lecture of one hour, instead of feeling peaceful, the desire to destroy the world became stronger within her.

Maybe that’s why, Leah went along with Mrs. Bennett. Both of them were dreamy and had their heads in the cloud. They made Ashlyn roll her eyes.

What’s the use of dreaming if the possibility of it being a reality was highly unlikely?

“By the way, what happened with your dear mate today?”

At the mention of that word, Ashlyn glared at Leah. Her fierce expression made Leah raise her hands.

“Sorry. That slipped. So, what did he do that you were willing to put your already empty wallet into risk?”

“I don’t have an empty wallet.” She growled.

Leah chuckled.

“You ate the meals in pack house the entire month because you can’t afford food,” Leah pointed out.

“You are looking for death, aren’t you?”

“I am sorry. Now, quickly, tell me about it.”

Ashlyn placed the shelf down and ran her hand through her hair before revealing, “Tasked to escort Erin to Blueheart pack and train squad 10.”

Holding back that laugh which was persisting to be released, she commented, “Hey! That’s not bad. At least you are not locked up in the dungeon this time. As for Erin, you might gain a tip or two on how to make money.”

Ashlyn scowled.

“We’re werewolves, not human s. Being obsessed with money is shameful.”

Leah teased, “Says you who can’t afford a meal. Honey, times have changed. The world revolves around money.”

Ashlyn’s position as a commander allowed her to make enough money, but the issue was her lacking ability to manage it properly. On top of that came the damage she had to pay fine for each month.

Ashlyn merely scoffed.

“By the way, you should have explained how that bastard drugged countless female werewolves and raped them. That disgusting scum also blackmailed them and forced them to pleasure others. Makes me want to throw up.”

Ashlyn remained silent.

That could have been done, but all those women were emotionally scarred. They were both with mates and mate-less. If this information were to spread, this could jeopardize their future. More than the victims, the society emphasized on purity.

“So, that was the truth,” came a soft voice.

This made Ashlyn whip her head.

Standing behind her was a wide-eyed petite women. Her golden locks fell in waves, landing on her waist, and they framed her face delicately. Those blue eyes of her sparkled under the sunlight. A look at her made one feel instinctively protective.

“Forget what you heard.”

Ashlyn’s voice was dripping with hostility as she stared fiercely at the lady— the intensity enough to bring an average wolf to its knee.

However, as though oblivious to the tension, she tilted her head in confusion and asked, “Why?”

She then added, “It’s not fair for you to get punished when you were trying to protect others. And if you want, I can talk to Elijah about—”

Before she could carry on further, her throat was grabbed by Ashlyn, and she slammed the woman against the wall. An involuntary wince escaped from her mouth.

Ashlyn sneered.

“Listen, I had no intention of protecting others, so don’t paint me according to your imagination. He pissed me off. That’s why, I killed him.

He simply happened to be a sick bastard. Don’t go running off your mouth. It’s unpleasant. It makes me want to snap that pretty little neck of yours.”

Ashlyn’s presence was pressurizing. It made her lower her head, unable to voice out anything due to the fear gripping her chest.

However, that’s when Ashlyn’s hand was pulled away, and a harsh voice fell.

“What do you think you are doing? Attacking a pack member— do you think your punishment was too less?”

Elijah held her hand and brought Elaine to stand behind him, bearing a protective posture. This made Ashlyn’s eyes turn cold.

“Wouldn’t that had been an issue if the princess kept herself from meddling,” she pointed out.

Elijah growled at it.

Both of them were involved in heated glaring session at each other.

Ashlyn was about to make wry comments when Leah grabbed her hand, preventing her from acting rashly.

“Come on, there are too many books inside the library. Sun will set soon.”

Relaxing her posture, she nodded.

When she was about to leave, Elijah brought up, “The vase was an antique. The bill will be sent to you soon, and the more time you take to pay back, higher the interest rate.”

He walked off following that with Elaine in his arms.

Seeing how he treated caused her heart to sink.

It would never be her.

Would it?

“Looking like a lost puppy abandoned by its master, those longing eyes of yours— how long are you going to torture yourself? Break the truth to him,” Leah said.

This made Ashlyn snap out of it, and her gaze hardened.

“Do I need to give you a demonstration of what Elaine went through?”

That solemn tone of Ashlyn coupled with her sharp gaze was enough for Leah to shudder and immediately shake her head.

“By the way, the vase was an antique. That would cost a fortune. How are you going to pay for it?”

“I will figure out a way.”

“Putting that vase in the living room, wasn’t he asking for the vase to be broken by you?”

That scheming bastard.

Not that Ashlyn was surprised.