Chapter 676 - Luke's Child?
Paige's gaze darted between Olivia's eyes. She wished and hoped that Olivia didn't hold her guilty for stealing her brother's romance. "I— I didn't know anything about it. Ara hid it from me."
Olivia was stunned into silence. The fact that Ara was pregnant was a huge shock but the fact that Ara was pregnant with Luke's child was a greater shock. She didn't know whether to feel bad for Paige or to feel bad for her parents. They had loved Luke to the point that they even regarded her as a burden to carry. They mourned his death until they didn't. Her mother had gone into severe depression and it had been so difficult for Kaia to come out of it. The bitterness that Vaarin carried for killing his own son burned him from inside. He hated himself for so long even after he had become the Alpha of the pack. It was Olivia's pregnancy that they said was a fresh breather in their life. Both of them were looking forward to Olivia giving birth to her twins, and at the back of her mind Olivia knew the reason. They wanted to make her son the next Alpha of the Whiteclaw pack. She had openly discussed it with them because she was aware that they wanted Luke back in their lives and this time they would raise him with loads of love. Vaarin and Kaia were sure that they had done something along the lines of raising their son, else he would have never become a rogue.
And right in front of her eyes was Paige who just revealed that Ara was carrying Luke's child. The immediate burst of acidic hatred and bitterness rendered her speechless. Tears welled in her eyes. Her knees became wobbly, and before she could stumble backwards, Kaizan rushed to her side to hold her against his back. "Olivia? Love?" he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Ookashi rushed to Olivia.
Anastasia too came to stand next to her and gently squeezed her hand. "Would you like to sit down Olivia?" she said. Without waiting for the guard to get the chair, Anastasia flicked her fingers and two chairs appeared right behind Kaizan. He sat down on it and made Olivia sit on the next.
For a long moment there was complete silence. The air was filled with tension. Seeing that everyone's attention was on Olivia, Ara took a small step back. She had seen that on her left there was a gap from where she could escape through the thicket. She took another step back and still no one noticed. Ara had to escape because if she was caught, she was sure that they would throw in the dungeons. She never wanted to get inside because if she did, she was never going to see the light of the day. Finn had gathered indiscriminating evidence against her which was more than enough to prove that she was a rogue werewolf who supported the rebel mission. And rebels were against the kingdom. She would be indicted for of severe crime. She had played a high-risk game, but she didn't know that Kaizan would send Finn to dig information about her. She posed as Paige's depressed lover so that she could eat up everyone's attention. But the tables turned. She chided herself on the inside for asking for property so soon. Now the only way to save herself was to escape. Suddenly, she turned to her right and dashed for the thicket.
"Seize her!" Finn shouted when she had almost reached the thicket.
Everyone looked at the shock of a body moving towards the trees.
Ara ran as fast as she could without looking back. However, barely a few meters away from the thicket, she bashed into a thick air wall. It was as if the air had solidified and she couldn't enter it. "What the fuck is this?" she murmured and again tried to run through it, but she banged into hardness. Scared as hell, she looked back at people who were standing there. The guards had come dangerously close, but even that halted a few steps behind her. Her gaze darted to Anastasia. And that is when she realized that it was Anastasia who had created the wall. Her eyes were lambent and she had a stern expression on her face. Ara's stomach dropped to the floor.
Finn had come very close to her and this time he shackled her with manacles. He grabbed her upper arm and dragged her back. "You are in for a long, long time, Ara!" he hissed.
Seeing that she was completely trapped, Ara glanced at Paige with pity on her face. "Help me, Paige. I know you love me." She had to manipulate Paige in some way. "I will leave this place and go somewhere. I will never return to disturb you. Only this one, please help me Paige, please," she begged with big tears rolling down her eyes.
Paige wasn't even looking at Ara when Ara beseeched her. She just couldn't bring herself to talk to the woman who had betrayed her so heavily. She felt she had fallen into a deep dark well and there was no way to come out. Disregarding Ara, with heavy steps, she walked and knelt in front of Olivia. She took her hands in hers, and in a low voice said, "Will you forgive me, Olivia?"
Olivia closed her eyes as more tears rolled out. She took in a deep breath and after what seemed like eternity, she wiped her tears. When she opened her eyes, she cupped Paige's face and in a hoarse voice said, "This is not your fault. You fell in love and you fell hard. How can I hold you responsible for something which was out of your control?"
Stunned, Paige's eyes became wide. Olivia wiped away her tears. She leaned down and kissed her head. "Welcome back to the family, Paige," Olivia said with a smile. She knew that Paige needed a lot of reassurance at this time, but so did she. Perhaps the two of them would work out a middle path.
"You are not angry with me?" Paige questioned, not believing.
"Not at all," Olivia chuckled.
Paige gulped down her guilt and then pressed her face in Olivia's lap. "I am sorry…" Olivia stroked her hair gently. "I am sorry that because of me you could have miscarried your babies. I am sorry that because of me you are in this situation."
Olivia continued to stroke her hair. "Get up, Paige. We have to move on." Her eyes went to Ara who was made to kneel on the ground forcibly by Finn. She said, "Since she is carrying Luke's child, I am sure my parents would be interested in her. But I am no one to speak in the matters of law because Ara, the rebel, is a criminal on multiple charges. Not only did she infiltrate the General's house in order to kill his wife, she swindled Paige. Whatever, you all say will stand, but in all this drama, the child that is in her womb is innocent. But before we conclude that this is Luke's child, I would like to point out that she doesn't smell of Luke at all. If she is carrying his baby, why doesn't she smell like him?"
Kaizan grunted, "Because of—"