CHAPTER 62: JEALOUSY, THAT’S WHY!

Lucas’s POV

How could Amelia do this? Despite Iris always speaking so highly of her in the past, calling her a friend, a sister even, when her memories were still intact. Now, I see Amelia for what she truly is, a hypocrite, shameless enough to throw herself at those triplet fools, Cade, Zane, and Kael, and now claiming she’s pregnant with their child. The audacity of her act, the sheer nerve to stand before the pack and spew such words, it churned my stomach and I am disappointed. She needed to be confronted, to face the weight of her betrayal. Iris, if she ever regained her memory, would be heartbroken. I am more disappointed, not just in Amelia, but in how easily people could discard their honor for jealousy or power. With this thought burning in my mind, I made my way to the pack’s dungeon.

The air grew colder, heavier, as I approached the cells. My hands were buried in my pockets, my jaw tight as I steeled myself for the confrontation. The moment she saw me, she looked surprised. She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, drying the tears as her face lit up in a smile, and scrambled to her feet, approaching the bar. I stopped a few feet away, my hands still in my pockets, my posture relaxed but my eyes hard as I stared at her.

"Alpha Lucas," she called, still smiling as if happy to see me as her fingers curled around the iron bars. "Thanks for coming."

I tilted my head, my expression cold. "I came to see the liar who betrayed who calls her sister," I said, my voice, cutting through her happy expression. "The same Amelia who Iris loves, who she called a friend. And now? You’re nothing but a disgrace. Do you know how disappointed she’d be if she could remember you? If she knew what you’ve done?"

Amelia’s face crumpled, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. She didn’t try to wipe them away this time, just let them fall. "I... I didn’t want to," she choked out, her voice breaking. "I..." she paused.

"Really," I snapped, taking a step closer, my hands finally leaving my pockets to cross over my chest. "Why did you do it, Amelia? You were warming the bed of those who caused Iris pain. What could possibly drive you to sink so low?"

She flinched at my words, her grip on the bars tightening. For a moment, I thought she’d crumble entirely, but then something shifted in her expression. Her tear-filled eyes hardened, replaced not just with courage but with something uglier as she snapped at me.

"Jealousy," she spat. "That’s why. How can Iris have them all to herself? Cade, Zane, Kael, they’re everything. Power, strength and status. And she just... she just waltzes in and takes them, like she’s entitled to it. Why not me? Why can’t I have what she has?"

What? Is she actually saying this?

I stared at her, disbelief curling in my chest. "You’re serious," I said. "You threw away your dignity, your honor, for jealousy? You did that all because you couldn’t stand Iris having something you didn’t?"

"Yes!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the stone walls. She pressed her face closer to the bars, her eyes blazing with a reckless fury. "Yes, I agreed to be a slut, Lucas! Is that what you want to hear? Is that what you see me as? Is that? Is that how lowly you see me? Letting my actions dictate who I am? Whatever you think of me, that’s what I am. I don’t care what anyone thinks! You should hate me too just as Iris would do the same."

Her words grated against my nerves, each one stoking the disgust rising in my throat. I took a step back, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. She’s got no shame. No remorse too. Just a pathetic, jealous heart that’s rotting her from the inside out."

"Those triplets will never value you, sorry to say. You are indeed a disgrace to friendship."

She laughed. "And what about you, Lucas?"

she sneered, her tears still falling but her voice sharp.

"You’re no better. Pining after Iris like some lovesick pup, knowing she’ll never be yours. You’re just as jealous as I am. You hate the triplets because they have her, because they’re everything you’re not. Don’t stand there and preach to me about honor when you’re just as broken!"

Her words struck deeper than I cared to admit, but I refused to let her see it. My jaw tightened, my eyes narrowing as I leaned closer to the bars. "I’m nothing like you," I said. "I’d never betray someone I cared about for power or attention. You’re a betrayal, Amelia, and you’ll rot in this cell for it. I can’t stand to hear another word from you."

Without waiting for her response, I turned and walked out. Her presence disgusted me, a stain on everything Iris had once believed in. I was a man of honor, and I wouldn’t stand for her evil.

Back in my room, I stripped off my clothes, the dress feeling suffocating against my skin. The warm shower did little to wash away the weight of the day. When I stepped out, I didn’t bother with a towel, walking naked to the window and staring out and admiring nature. My head was filled with thoughts of Iris, her smile, the way she’d looked at me before her memories were stolen. I had no access to her now, no way to reach out. The guards of Black Bane barred my path, and the only ones allowed near her were Alpha Darius, her false mother, her maid, and those damned triplets. The thought of them twisted like a knife in my gut, their smug faces haunting me. Trying not to dwell so much on it, I shoved the thoughts away, dressing in a loose shirt and pants before heading out to the open training field where a punching training boxing bag was located.

I needed to train, to prepare for the upcoming fighting challenge between pack warriors from different pack. The winner would lead all warrior werewolf clans, commanding the warriors of our generation. That title meant everything to me, a chance to leave my father’s pack, to claim my own territory, to start fresh where no one saw me as trash, as Liora’s unwanted stepbrother or the illegitimate son. I pulled off my shirt, tossing it aside, and began to pound the bag, my fists slamming into it with a steady force, pushing the chaos in my mind away when suddenly, I felt someone’s presence behind me and before I could turn, the person spoke.

"How do you feel seeing the slave you defended against us being our wife?" The voice cut through in a mock. I paused and turned to see Cade leaning against a nearby tree, his arms crossed, a smirk curling his lips. I said nothing, turning back to the bag, my punches resuming, harder now but he wasn’t done.

"How do you feel knowing we can have her whenever and wherever we want? Fucking her and your sister, Liora."