Right

Aljern took a drag from the cigarette in his hand while sitting on the bed, with nothing but a blanket covering the lower half of his body. He glanced at his pocket watch, then at the envelope from Solana that contained a large sum of money.

“Make sure you prepare what I told you. I’m getting impatient. I need that woman brought down already,” Solana said as she came out of the bathroom, her hair still wet and a white bathrobe wrapped around her body. She sat in front of the vanity mirror and picked up the hair dryer.

“You’re in too much of a hurry. They might notice your plan if that Amelia suddenly dies,” Aljern commented as he stood and walked toward Solana. He kissed her pale neck and looked at their reflection in the mirror.

“This money still isn’t enough for me to get what you want. You know I’ll have to buy those drugs on the black market,” he added.

Solana rolled her eyes and moved away from him as she picked up her clothes.

“I’ll send you more. I still haven’t received Antonio’s money, so you’ll have to make do with what I gave you for now,” she replied as she stood and began putting on the clothes scattered on the floor.

She had left days ago, already irritated and unable to wait for Amelia to disappear from their path. That was why she personally met with Aljern and searched for another way. She had discovered that Amelia was throwing away the drugs she had swapped with Amelia’s maintenance medicine. Solana didn’t know whether Amelia was already aware of her plans or if she simply didn’t want to take the medicine.

She had found the discarded pills in the trash inside Amelia’s room while placing Amelia’s card on the study table. She was shocked to realize Amelia wasn’t taking them at all and that their plans might fail.

She knew her stepdaughter was naive and foolish, but it was better to be certain. Lately, she had noticed changes in Amelia’s behavior—like reclaiming her savings account. That was why Solana had been forced to return the money she had stolen from it, just so Antonio wouldn’t notice her theft.

“Why don’t you just come back to me? You don’t look happy with your husband anyway. It’s obvious he’s lacking in certain aspects as a husband,” Aljern said, placing his hands on Solana’s waist.

Solana simply sighed. She knew Aljern was only good in bed and useless when it came to making a living. She didn’t want to starve and suffer like him.

“Fine. I’ll come back to you when you become an Alpha or at least a millionaire,” Solana replied as she removed Aljern’s hands from her waist. Once she was dressed, she headed for the door.

“Wait a bit before you leave. Someone might see us. I’ll just send the money once it arrives. And make sure you do everything I told you,” Solana ordered firmly.

Aljern lay back on the bed and waved at her.

“Yes, boss!”

Solana closed the door and walked down the hallway as if nothing had happened. She couldn’t hide the smile on her lips—she knew she was close to finally removing Amelia from both her and Olivia’s lives.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted inside the hunting ground when everyone saw Lorcan giving his hunted animals to Amelia. They couldn’t believe a well-known Alpha would give his catch to a mere omega. Because of that, their resentment toward Amelia only intensified.

“What does that woman even have?” people whispered.

After all, Amelia hadn’t only captured the attention of their Alpha Lucas—she’d also caught the eye of his youngest brother, Alpha Lorcan.

Lucas hurried back, intending to give his own catch to Amelia as he had done for years. He thought he would be the first to return to the hunting ground, but his brows furrowed when he saw his younger brother Lorcan carrying a massive elk and a fox—both notoriously difficult to hunt. In comparison, Lucas was only carrying a large female boar, not even half the size of Lorcan’s elk.

What angered him even more was seeing Lorcan hand those animals to his fiancée, Amelia. Shock was written on everyone’s faces. Even Amelia herself was confused by Lorcan’s actions, certain that he was once again plotting to ruin their happiness.

“What do you think you’re doing, Lorcan?!”

Everyone turned toward Lucas’s voice, and even Amelia was startled by the way the two brothers were acting. Lorcan seemed not to hear him at all. Instead, he stepped closer to Amelia and brushed the hair away from her cheek.

“Who did this to you?” Lorcan asked.

Only then did Lucas notice the redness on Amelia’s cheek and the blood at the corner of her lips.

Amelia immediately looked away, pretending she didn’t want the pack members to see the abuse Lucianna had inflicted on her. In truth, she wanted to destroy Lucianna’s image and gain Lucas’s sympathy. What she hadn’t expected was for Lorcan to notice first or for him to look so furious.

“It’s nothing,” Amelia replied briefly. Lucas immediately pulled her away from Lorcan.

“Tell me—who did this to you?” Lucas demanded. Amelia avoided his gaze, making sure the pack members who overheard her argument with Lucianna earlier could see that she was truly angry at Lucas for being a cheater.

“What’s the point? You don’t care about me anymore anyway, right?” Amelia said, shaking off Lucas’s grip. She walked away from the hunting ground, leaving everyone confused by the scene.

Lucas stood there, utterly bewildered. Just last night, he thought they had reconciled—yet now Amelia was pushing him away again. He guessed that his mother was responsible and that Amelia was taking out all her anger and frustration on him.

Lorcan watched Amelia leave. He waited for Lucas to storm off to confront whoever had hurt her, then followed Amelia himself. He timed his departure as the other contestants began returning, ensuring no one paid attention to him or suspected his intentions.

“Amelia,” Lorcan called.

He found her in the garden again, by the same tree—but this time, instead of kicking it, she was hugging it. Lorcan frowned, then laughed softly at her strange behavior, seeing sides of Amelia he had never seen before.

“Oh gosh!”

Amelia jumped back and quickly straightened herself, bowing her head to hide her face. Lorcan always seemed to catch her doing weird things.

“Hahaha, what are you doing there? Do you need a hug? Come here,” Lorcan teased, opening his arms invitingly. Amelia lowered her head even more—afraid she might actually run into his arms if she lost control.

“Can you stop? What’s wrong with you? Leave already—someone might see us,” Amelia said, though part of her didn’t mind if they were seen. She planned to use Lorcan for her schemes anyway.

“Are you sure you want me to leave? I thought you wanted my help,” Lorcan replied as he stepped closer.

Amelia looked up at him, struck by his height. Lorcan bent slightly, gazing at her beautiful, innocent face.

Unable to resist, Lorcan reached up and touched her face, wanting to memorize her features—so vivid he could see her even in his dreams.

“Lucianna did this to you, didn’t she? She’s the only one who would hurt her own pack members,” Lorcan said, gently stroking Amelia’s cheek and wiping the blood from her lip with his thumb.

“What do you want me to do to her?” Lorcan asked.

But Amelia’s thoughts drifted elsewhere—imagining a future beside Lorcan. She couldn’t help being drawn to the handsome Alpha who had once been her mortal enemy.

“You’re going to melt me at this rate. Your drool might start dripping,” Lorcan teased. Only then did Amelia realize she’d been staring at his face for far too long.

She quickly looked away, shoved Lorcan back, and flushed deeply from embarrassment. Lorcan laughed even harder.

“Tsk! If you’re going to help me with my plans, can you at least do it properly? Stop teasing me!” Amelia snapped.

“Well, you’re not exactly telling me the plan,” Lorcan replied. Amelia stared at him in surprise.

“So… you’re agreeing?” she asked. Lorcan stepped closer again. Amelia was getting irritated—every time she moved away, he moved closer. Worse, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to suppress her instincts as his fated mate and might kiss him.

“I’ll agree but there’s a condition. I’ll tell you what it is once I think of it,” Lorcan said. In truth, he already knew exactly what he wanted in return.

“Fine. But you have to promise in the contract we’ll make that you won’t hurt me or make me suffer,” Amelia said seriously, crossing her arms and staring straight into Lorcan’s golden eyes.

“Hurt you? Hmm… I can promise I won’t make you suffer. But I can’t be sure I won’t hurt you,” Lorcan replied, irritating her even more.

“Tsk. So you’ll hurt me too?” Amelia asked. Lorcan’s gaze drifted down to Amelia’s healthy chest. Noticing this, Amelia followed his gaze and gasped, hugging herself protectively while glaring at him.

“That’s exactly what I meant,” Lorcan laughed, stepping closer and whispering into her ear.

“I can’t promise I won’t hurt your body—especially if I can’t control how much I crave you,” Lorcan said with a grin before walking away.

Once again, Lorcan left her flustered in that same place, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

She wanted to chase after him and slap him but she couldn’t explain why, instead of feeling offended, her heart fluttered.

“Tsk! I’ll get back at you someday!” Amelia shouted. Lorcan glanced back and laughed.

“I’ll be waiting! Oh, by the way—I got your contact number from Mia. Let me know when your plans are ready. I’ll help you,” Lorcan said before continuing on his way.

As he walked off, he ran into Lucas, whose expression clearly showed his day was already ruined.

“Where did you come from?” Lucas demanded. Lorcan simply pointed behind him.

“Just there. Why? Do I have to report everywhere I go to you now?” Lorcan replied. Lucas grabbed him by the collar.

“Why did you give your hunting prizes to Amelia? Do you have something to say to me?”

Lucas’s true colors were beginning to show and he didn’t even realize it. Lorcan could only laugh as Lucas himself destroyed his image in front of the other pack members.

“What am I supposed to say? You know I love annoying Amelia. I was just teasing her. But why does it look like you’re the one who’s upset?” Lorcan asked, fixing his collar.

“I have some advice for you, Alpha Lucas,” Lorcan said softly, his next words only fueling Lucas’s rage.

“If you don’t want someone stealing your girlfriend, make sure you treat her right—so she doesn’t end up choosing someone else.”