Chapter 71: Soft-hearted
Caroline's POV:
That morning, it was the pain that jolted me awake.
When I opened my eyes, I saw bruises all over my body, some of which had scabbed.
My body shook in fury.
Austin was a bastard! How dare he keep me prisoner and humiliate me like this? I had no choice but to swallow my anger and pride, and beg him to let me out.
In order to escape confinement, I had to seduce him and lie to him that I would cooperate with him. I could take advantage of Austin to separate Anthony and Jennifer, but I would never really be loyal to a pervert like him.
But I remembered that he said he had something that he could hold against me, so I had to tread lightly for the time being.
Finally, I was released from the secret room that I was imprisoned in.
I heard that Elizabeth had woken up, so the first thing I did was rush to her room to see her.
There were many lycans stationed outside her room.
Most of them were guards that had been selected to protect her.
I knew that they were Anthony's private guards.
When I entered the room, I found Elizabeth taking her medicine.
She glanced up at me and then looked away before lying back down on the bed, as if I didn't exist. "Mom, what's wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable? Or did I make you angry again?" I asked anxiously.
She squinted her eyes at me, as if she was trying to see through me.
"Caroline, why would I get kidnapped in the fitting room that day? It's too much of a coincidence.Don't say that it had nothing to do with you.How can I trust you again?"
Damn it! It seemed that she had begun to suspect me.This was not a good sign.
If I lost Elizabeth's trust, it would be even more difficult for me to achieve my goals in the future. "Mom, what are you talking about? How could I harm you?"
I asked, blinking my eyes innocently as if I felt wronged.
Elizabeth was softhearted, so I knew that I could win back her trust.
Her reaction to my words was lukewarm, so I decided to play my trump card.
I cried, "Before, I couldn't accept Jennifer being with Anthony, and I was fooled by Austin's sweet words.After you disappeared, I went to Austin to ask him for help.Do you know what happened to me?"
I rolled up my sleeve, revealing a splatter of bruises on my forearm.
As I expected, Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock, and she seemed to let her guard down.
"What happened to you? How did you get hurt?"
As she spoke, she leaned over with concern to check my bruises.
I was secretly pleased with her reaction.l rolled my sleeve back down quickly, as if I was scared to let anyone else see the bruises.
"What did he do to you?"
As soon as Elizabeth said that, I knew that her attitude towards me had softened.
I had to squeeze as much sympathy as I could out of her at this moment, so I began to cry.
While wiping my tears away, I replied, "He locked me up in secret a room and raped me many times.You're the only person I can turn to.If you refuse to help me, I'd rather die.”
I channeled a look of despondence on my face, so as to evoke even more pity from Elizabeth. Sure enough, she bought my act and thought that I wanted to commit suicide.She hugged me tightly.
I knew that she trusted me again.
"Don't worry.Soon, we won't need to be afraid of Austin any more Everything will be fine once Anthony and Jennifer come back," Elizabeth said comfortingly as she stroked my hair.
But what did she mean? Why would everything be fine once Anthony came back? Had he finally made up his mind to usurp the throne? There was a time when I had looked forward to it, and I had thought that I would be by his side as his queen.
But now that Anthony was with Jennifer, I knew that even if he succeeded, I wouldn't be the one standing beside him.
It left a bad taste in my mouth.Nevertheless, if Anthony had indeed made up his mind to overthrow Austin's rule, it was a huge decision.It was so shocking that I still needed time to digest it.
And with everything that had happened recently, I had almost forgotten about Jennifer.I raised my head to look at Elizabeth, keeping my expression neutral.
"Mom, where is Jennifer?" Elizabeth smiled at me.
"She's with Anthony, of course.l forgot to tell you.If everything goes well, the two of them will be engaged soon.This will be a big deal for all the packs.”
What? Had I heard her wrong?
Jennifer, that bitch! Was she really going to marry Anthony? As long as I was alive, I would never allow that to happen.
Anthony's POV:
The news that we received was true.
Colored Flowers Pack was indeed being invaded by the vampires.
When Jennifer and I arrived there, we happened to see many vampires besieging the pack.
When it came to battle, Jennifer and I had developed a good tacit understanding with each other. We each led a small group of elite werewolves to take on the vampires.
With us attacking them from both sides, we managed to trap them.
It turned out that these vampires were not at all strong.
The werewolves of this pack had only been at their mercy till now because they were outnumbered. But since Jennifer and I attracted the main force of the vampires towards us, those werewolves were soon able to escape.
I was afraid that, having gone without training for a while, Jennifer would not be as strong as she used to be.
But to my surprise, she charged right into the vampires’ circle and attacked them head-on "Anthony, I haven't fought for a long time.I feel so alive.It's their bad luck to meet me today." Jennifer looked over at me and grinned.
As a result of the fierce battle, her hair had come undone, and was falling loose over her shoulders. She looked more beautiful than ever.
"Jennifer, be careful.Don't get yourself injured.”
While fighting against the vampires, I couldn't help but keep an eye on Jennifer.
She had gone through too many problems recently.
Maybe it was a good thing for her to take this opportunity to vent her emotions, but I was afraid that she would disregard her own safety while fighting the vampires.
But after a while of watching Jennifer, I realized that she wasn't as reckless as I feared, and still remembered the skills she had learned through training, so I withdrew my gaze and let her have the main battlefield.
It didn't take long for us to turn the tables.
After a few minutes of battle, the remaining vampires didn't even dare to approach Jennifer.
The werewolves of the pack who had been trapped before also turned into their wolf forms to support me and Jennifer.
Realizing that they were outmatched, the vampires finally chose to run away.
"Jennifer, you were so reckless just now.What if you'd hurt yourself?"
After the battle was over, I took Jennifer's hand and looked at her with concern.
She stuck out her tongue and made a face at me.
"Don’t worry, honey.It's just this time. won't do it again.”
"You..." I reached out and poked her nose affectionately.
Just as Jennifer and I were about to leave, the werewolves of the pack approached us.
One of them asked, "Which pack are you from?"
I was about to speak when they all started praising Jennifer.
"Miss, you are so powerful.l have never seen a she- wolf as strong as you before.”
"Yes.Watching you took my breath away."
Those werewolves spoke one after another, not giving me a chance to chime in at all.
"Which pack are you from? Do you have a mate yet?"
"Excuse me, I'm her mate,”
I finally interjected, pulling the werewolf closest to Jennifer.
Then, I looked at all of them and announced loudly, "Her name is Jennifer, and she is with me, Prince Anthony of Osman Kingdom."
When those werewolves heard that, they were dumbfounded.They bowed their heads respectfully and didn't dare to approach Jennifer anymore.