CHAPTER 149: THE KISSING BOOTH: WRONGLY ACCUSED

Andria’s POV

"Have you seen the middle-aged woman who’s new here?" I asked the lady at the reception.

"I don’t know who you are talking about. Did she give you a name?"

I was stunned for a while. I knew her name was Eskareth, but I wasn’t so sure that was what she bore here.

"I think her name is...

"Diane," Lady Eskareth answered from behind me, cutting me off.

Relief washed over me as I rushed towards her. "I think there’s an emergency needing only your attention."

I noticed the lady at the reception staring at us with so much interest. I’m sure Lady Eskareth noticed that too and drew me to a corner.

"What’s that about?..." She paused, then studied me. "Oh, I see, someone is in danger. Hold on," she said, turning away from the corridor.

I sat down there and waited just for a few minutes before she returned. She had a bag with her this time. "Let’s go," she said, gesturing for me to lead the way.

We walked hastily to the classroom. Aven, Tristan and Damon were pacing frantically.

"The chains she was bound with were made with a spell, and we need to break the spell to let her loose," I explained to Lady Eskareth, pointing towards Allison.

The successors looked astonished, their faces full of questions.

"Who is this? Can we trust her to help? Why a nurse at the sick bay?" the questions poured out from Aven’s mouth. I ignored his questions. I was still furious about his earlier outburst, and I’ll need an apology after this, or else there would be no difference between Zade and him.

I’ve never seen Aven this unsettled and upset before. I wondered how he would have felt if his sister were the one under the series of attacks I have been under since I got into Ashwood.

Lady Eskareth started pulling out some of the potions in her bag. She muttered some words and poured it on the chain. Something that looked like steam came out of the chain.

"You can untie her now and pull out her gag," Lady Eskareth commanded. Before she could even finish her sentence, Aven rushed to her side and unchained her, wrapping her in his hands, before turning to me.

"Thank you," the words slipped from his mouth coldly.

"I deserve more than that," I said sternly, then turned towards Lady Eskareth, "Thanks for helping me."

"Always and anytime, my daughter," she said and then left the classroom.

"Ari wasn’t the one responsible. They wore masks, but I was sure that they were she-wolves," Allison spoke up.

Aven turned towards me, realizing he had made a huge mistake and a significant assumption. For the first time, I saw him in his most vulnerable state.

"Ari, I could..."

"Let’s talk about this some other time. We want to find out who set this up," I interrupted his apology speech.

I wasn’t ready for his apology yet. I was more interested in finding the culprit and dealing with them, but I was sure that I wasn’t the only one who wanted to deal with the culprits.

"Did you notice any clue, a birthmark somewhere, their scent, their voices?" Aven asked, gritting his jaw.

"Their scents were masked, but I could tell one distinct voice," she paused and coughed, "I heard Liara’s voice."

Liara? How can that even be possible?. I didn’t know Liara was capable of such evil.

"Liara ?" Aven’s face reflected my feelings; I was sure everyone here was surprised Liara could do such a thing.

"I’ll be right back," Aven said, signaling Tristan and Damon, who, as if on cue, followed him.

"Are you sure about what you heard?" I asked Allison.

Deep within my heart, I knew the two of them were strong rivals now.

I didn’t know who to trust: my former rival, who could easily frame her new rival, or my former friend, who has become not only my former rival’s rival but has also drawn the battle line between us.

"I heard her voice clearly," she replied.

"Well, are you strong enough to join the kissing booth?" I asked her, although I was prepared for her to refuse.

"I’m good, I came out for the event before this happened," she replied, her voice suddenly picking up excitement.

We walked out of the school building to the field, and everywhere was still full of excitement, oblivious of what had happened.

We walked up to the backstage area where Macy and Jason were.

"You made it to the kissing booth, what a pleasant surprise, thought you wouldn’t come," Macy voiced out cheerfully, offering her a seat.

"Ari, where did you find her and how long did it take you to convince her to be here?" Jason teased.

"You will be surprised if I tell you, but it’s a long story for another time," I replied.

"Is it too late for me to volunteer?" Allison suddenly spoke up, breaking the brief silence that once existed between us.

"What did I just hear you say?" Jason asked, astonished.

"Never knew a day would come when Allison would volunteer for such an event. It’s a little bit late, but maybe I can put in some words to Mel on your behalf," Macy said, standing up and heading toward Mel.

She whispered the plea to Mel, who received the news happily. "We have one last, unexpected volunteer, her name is Allison."

The whole crowd erupted in cheers, and some started whispering amongst themselves.

I know the stigma that comes with one’s mate publicly rejecting them.

Allison stood on the kissing stand for a while, and yet no wolf was coming.

She chuckled nervously and was almost stepping outside the stand when a tall, muscular wolf emerged from the crowd.

He was so handsome and well-built that you could tell he had a strong wolf just from a glance.

He had the aura of an Alpha. He walked up to her and, for a moment, he just stared at her.

She began to move her hands as if she could feel his presence until she touched his arm.

And just then their lips touched. I looked at the crowd and noticed Jackson staring at them with a face of disgust before walking out of the crowd.

"He might be the one who orchestrated what happened to Allison earlier," Athena whispered to me.

"Really?" I asked her.

"I perceived a residual scent on Allison that is similar to Jackson," she explained.

"You mean Jackson was probably there, but she didn’t know?"

"The scent on her body says so," Athena explained. I quickly ran down the stage, dialing Aven’s number.

Me: I think we have another clue on who was also involved in what had happened to Allison.

Aven: Who?

Me: I’m following him right now; her ex-mate might have been involved.

Aven: Where are you right now?

Me: I’m on the way that leads to the male dorm area.

I hung up immediately, and just a few minutes later, Aven was by my side.

"You aren’t with the other two," I asked, referring to the other Alpha successors.

"No, this is my fight. I’ll handle it alone," he replied and walked faster. "By the way, I haven’t found Liara anywhere, even in the royalty dorm area."

"We should get Jackson first; we will return to Liara later," I replied to him. We caught up with Jackson in front of his dorm.

"You have the effrontery to not only reject my sister but also tamper with her in such a manner," Aven burst out, his eyes turning into a furious furnace.

Jackson turned around, shocked that we followed behind. We had hidden our scent and had masked our footsteps so that he wouldn’t have noticed he was being followed.

"Your sister? I have nothing to do with your sister since the day I rejected our bond," he replied in a ridiculing manner.

His reply drove Aven to near insanity as he wiped his hands across Jackson at once. Jackson reflexively pulled back, clutching his face in his hand, but charged back at Aven.

He tried to land a hit many times on Aven, but he missed all of them. The corridor was tense, with a furious Alpha aura of rage engulfing the whole space.

"Enough, I screamed," my voice carrying the weight I never assumed it had.

They paused and turned towards me. "Jackson, why did you do that to Allison? Has she wronged you in any way?" I asked.

I knew that my empathy and the benefit of hearing others’ side of the story could be a flaw and might be dangerous. But I couldn’t help it, just as it has its negative side, it has its positive side.

"Don’t flatter her, she wasn’t all that good, even to you," he said, giving me an evil grin. "Besides, what will I still be doing with..."

"Done," a feminine voice I knew to be Liara’s announced as she walked in on us.

"What is done?" I turned to face her.