CHAPTER 152: TRACING THEIR SCENTS

Allison’s POV

I turned to look at him, surprised he would say that. I was pretty popular, and it seemed as if every wolf knew my story already, except I’m just assuming.

"What do you want to know about me?" I asked, managing a smirk.

"How you...what pushed you into the hands of Jackson, perhaps if I’m not prying," he replied, twisting his lips a little.

"It’s a long story, but I’ll tell you bits and pieces of it. Well, first off, I had known Jackson since I was a little kid.

He always fought with my brother for treating me harshly. His father worked with my father as militants protecting this kingdom, so we grew very fond of each other.

But we grew, and as we grew, things started to change. His father wanted more power than he already had, manipulating other wolves under my father against him.

When my father learned of the rebellion that was going on, he punished him by stripping him of his office and casting him away from our pack.

Young Jackson watched this happen to his father. I never knew the extent of the damage until now.

I sneaked out from my father’s house each evening to where Jackson and his father now lived, and consoled him, promising to bring him back to the pack.

My father and brother found out about my secret movements and restricted my movements. They didn’t want my association with Jackson, but Jackson was the only one who made me feel wanted.

Dad always loved the stronghold business and forced all his kids to participate, but I was slacking. I couldn’t handle the kingdom’s duties as effectively as Aven, and soon I became the neglected child.

Still, I found a way to get to Jackson. One day, Jackson noticed my coming to his house wasn’t as frequent as it used to be, and I guess he feared he would lose his access back to the pack, so he proposed a false bond.

I loved Jackson; I felt he was different from his monstrous dad, who had turned into a rogue, gathering other wild stray wolves to his side, but I guess I was wrong.

He is just as power-lustful as his dad, as vicious, manipulative and sinister as his dad."

I didn’t want to say anything further than this; I hated talking about it. It made me recall times I wished I had never spent on him.

" It is indeed a long, sad story. If I went with the rumors, I would have bought the story that you had forced yourself on a wolf that isn’t your mate and had rejected you several times," he replied, shaking his head sideways disapprovingly.

"You are my mate now, I’ll teach that motherfucker a lesson for tampering with my mate in such a manner," he growled softly, gritting his jaw.

It was at that moment that I understood the rumor behind him not being able to smile because he looked so natural and in his element with his angry face.

Just then, I scanned the crowd for signs of Jackson where he once stood, but I couldn’t find him. I also looked around for Aria, and I couldn’t see her either.

Something must be wrong somewhere.

"I can’t find either Jackson or Aria, my friend," I burst out before I could hold back myself.

I reached out to my phone, dialing Aria’s number, but she wasn’t picking up. I couldn’t have called Mel as she was still busy on the stage and could not respond to calls at that moment.

I dialed Aven; she is probably with him, but Aven didn’t pick up.

"They aren’t picking up their calls. I think something is wrong somewhere," I said, pacing in a panicked manner.

"Do you think you can trace her scent to where she might be now, or perhaps trace Aven’s scent?" he suggested.

"I don’t have a keen sense of smell, but I can trace my brother’s, I’ve been with him for a long time," I replied to him.

"Then let’s go find them."

We pushed through the crowd. I kept straining my nose to see if I could get Aven’s scent, but I couldn’t until we started moving towards the dormitory area.

"Can you sense his scent yet?"

"A little, I can sense his scent a little at this spot," I replied, looking at the handsome figure I had just met this night, who had decided to help me find my friend.

I wasn’t used to this. Jackson couldn’t care less if anything were to happen to me or anything that was linked to me.

To him, I deserved any bad thing that happened to me, for I was being paid back in the same coin my family had dealt with his family.

The scent led us to the male’s dormitory, and soon I began to wonder what my brother could be doing in the general male dormitory; he had no friends there.

"I haven’t seen a day my brother decided to come to the general male dorm," I blurted out. "I think this is strange or else..."

The scent kept leading us towards the path leading to Jackson’s apartment, and then it dawned on me that he had tracked Aven to his door.

I heard muffled voices as we drew closer to his door, and as we got close, I noticed it was a tense environment.

There were Liara, Jackson, Aven, and Aria.

"What is going on here?" I asked

"You shouldn’t be here, Allison, "Aven spoke up immediately as his eyes met mine, "If the event is over, you should head to bed."

"Why should I? I know the reason for this little meeting was because of what had happened earlier to me, so I have the right to know what happens to the two of them," I replied sternly.

Aven noticed I wasn’t budging and decided to let me be.

"By the way, meet my fated mate, Khalil of Westbrook," I said, an evil smirk appearing on my face as I saw the blood drain out of Jackson’s face.

"Khalil," I said, turning to him. "The male wolf who spoke to me is my brother, the she wolf beside him is his mate, Aria. While the other two are my ex-mate and his new mate, who tried to kill me this night."

Khalil didn’t wait for me to finish what I was saying before he charged forward, towards the two of them.

The corridor grew more tense than when we met it. "I demand answers," Khalil stated, his words bouncing out from his mouth coated with a firm aura.

"I don’t think you deserve any answer from me. I’m Princess Liara, and I answer..."

He didn’t let her finish before landing a slap to her cheeks. "You are just one naive prey, thinking she has the world at her feet because she is the daughter of the king and has got another she-wolf’s mate."

She held her face in her hands for some seconds before trying to retaliate, and as she raised her hands to strike him back, Aria was faster and snatched her hands mid-air, twisting them till she brought them down.

"Liara, how could you? I trusted you. You know how much I hated bullying and violence; I never walked in that way.

How did you turn into this whole new personality? If I were told earlier that you could do what you did this night, I wouldn’t have believed it.

Liara, tell me, was it his idea or yours?" Aria asked, her face filled with hope that her friend Liara was somehow still inside the shell of nothingness that had overcome her.

"The Liara you knew is gone, or never even existed. You should either come to my side, let’s fight her, after all, she was once your rival, you can’t tell me you fell for a pity story.

If you were in her shoes, would she have been this good to you? Would she have chosen you over her friends Tricia and Alexa?

I doubt that Ari, wake up and see, she would rather hand over Aven immediately to her friends, and make your life a living hell in the process," Liara yelled, bursting into tears.

She was telling the truth. I wasn’t such a nice one. I blindly loved Tricia and Alexa, so I thought dealing with Aria was coping with the bad guy.

"You are right, Liara, but is your grievance or your attitude towards me because of an insinuation, or did you actually want to frame your ex-friend, so that her mate would be torn away from her.

You have always silently envied Aria, but had pretended all along until you found your footing in Ashwood. But for me, I was told a lie about how vicious Aria is, and that was why I fought her at all. Unlike you, I’m not envious of my friends; I’m just the way I am.

I guess, you and Jackson are birds of a feather; you two deserve each other, one pretender to another, the moon goddess knows best.