A MAZE OF GREED

Elsie and Lester were speechless. They could not look at Eloise after knowing that she planned to put Ruth in a trouble. And she did that because of that fight and Ruth's support to their relationship?

Elsie cried silently, too stunned to say anything. If not for Lester's arms, then she would have fallen on the ground like a broken twig.

Eloise gulped down her saliva in nervousness when Edwin finally turned to face her. But this time, it was not his human but his wolf who glared at her with his obsidian eyes. The blue streaks in them looked like blue flames of fire.

He slowly stalked towards Eloise. His hands twisted into fists at his sides.

"Edwin, please calm down!" Lester warned.

His warning alerted Elsie. She had faced Edwin's wolf and, that was not a pleasant experience at all. And this time, the situation was completely different and worse. Only Moon Goddess knew what he would do with Eloise in his rage.

Hurting a werewolf's mate was something that was forbidden in their world. That move was even considered unethical and was avoided most of the time during wars.

And hurting a Luna was something unheard of.

Eloise instinctively took a step back but, then she had to face him now or later. She was convinced that she did no wrong, so she did not need to be afraid of him. He was her cousin after all!

Edwin stopped near her, leaving a safe distance between them. Although his wolf was awake, his human was still in partial control. He had learned his lesson the time he hurt Elsie.

"Brother Edwin... what are you doing?" Eloise put up a brave face.

"Why are you so upset over a valueless maid? She is not working here even more than six months. She does not deserve any of the attention and fuss you are creating."

Elsie trembled in Lester's hands. Why was her sister adamant about digging up her own grave?

"Sister Eloise! She is my head maid! You can not talk about her in such a disgraceful way." Elsie said.

Eloise scoffed. The colour in her eyes changed as she saw Lester holding Elsie close to him. His mark on her neck made Eloise want to strangle her.

"I can not believe that my own family is fighting against me over a maid! And Elsie... you can not have everything at once. You have already stolen precious things from me and now you want me to surrender my authority too?" Eloise forgot that Edwin was still there. She did not care if Lester witnessed her bitterness.

She had finally got a chance to speak up her mind. At least that bitch Ruth came to some of her use!

"Eloise, stop covering your mistakes! What you did with Ruth is wrong... very very wrong and unfair!" Lester frowned.

"Unfair?" Eloise's eyes shifted to him.

"That was unfair, you think Lester? Then let me tell you what is unfair. Moon Goddess choosing Elsie as your mate is wrong. How it affected me is unfair! Everyone is happy for both of you.

But has anyone thought about me even for a minute? No! No one did! Even you brother Edwin."

She then glared at Edwin with teary eyes.

"If it was Elsie in my place, would you have left her alone to cry her heart out? Would not you have said something... anything to console her? If it was her, then the whole manor would have sat by her side and, calmed her.

But when I was bearing all that pain, who was there for me, huh? No one! Because nobody cared! That maid laughed at me. She made fun of me because she never wished for me and Lester to be together."

Eloise was crying and sobbing. But her words cut through their chests. The guilt worsened for Elsie and also for Lester. Eloise was not completely wrong after all! They indeed wronged her in a way.

"And now you all are cornering me for that maid? Do you think it is fair Lester? Was not it Ruth who told you that you are better than me Elsie? Did not she help you to voice your thoughts? Was it not she who filled your ears about how you deserve Lester more than me?"

"Eloise you are not making any sense here. It is not Ruth who made us fall in love with each other. It is written in our fate and the Moon Goddess chose it for us! Why can not you understand this simple thing?" Lester was now moving past that guilt and was irritated with her case.

"But still you could have loved me Lester! People had done that before. If only you had goven me a chance. But that bitch ruined everything and-"

Before Eloise completed her sentence, a slap fell on her cheek. That was the first slap she had ever received in her life. It was always another way around- she slapped people whenever she pleased.

But she had never imagined how it would feel to receive a slap.

She moved her hair that fell on her face due to impact to see furious Edwin. With a twitch in his jaw, he held her chin tightly with his fingers. His nails dug into her skin.

Her pale face reddened because of all crying and now by the slap.

Taking a step ahead, Edwin's animalistic eyes bore holes in hers.

"I do not fucking care about how much you want Lester or how much you hate your sister. All I care at this point is what you did with Ruth!" He gritted his teeth as the anger bubbled inside him.

"How can you side with that bi- woman?" Eloise immediately corrected herself before she messed up more.

"That...is not your concern. All you should remember from now onwards is that if I see you anywhere near that WOMAN, hear you bad-mouthing about her or creating any kind of problems for her, then Eloise..."

Edwin pulled her head up by her chin and, she whimpered in pain.

"I will forget that you are a part of my family!" Edwin hissed deadly.

More tears rolled down Eloise's eyes. She could not believe Edwin would say that to her.

"B-but I am your cousin! You... you can not do that with me."

Elsie cried, pleading silently to shut Eloise her mouth. The anger radiated in waves from Edwin. It made both Elsie and Lester's wolf shudder in fear. They were surprised how Edwin was still controlling himself from doing something unforgivable and regretful with Eloise.

She should not have to taste his patience though!

"As my sister, you must know how possessive I am about the things I like."

"So is she another Florence for you, brother Edwin?" Eloise asked in the challenge.

Lester saw Edwin's nails drawing blood from Eloise's cheeks.

"Edwin please stop!"

When he did not listen, Lester reached him through the mind link.

~"Edwin... stop before you do something that you will regret later. Eloise is behaving that way because she does not know that Ruth is your mate. If she knew then would have she done that?"~

~"Brother Edwin, please! Sister Eloise made a mistake in her jealousy. She is not aware of the truth. Please spare her this time. Please!"~ Elsie begged.

Edwin's whole body shivered in anger. His wolf did not see his cousin in front of him. He saw a culprit who dared to hurt his mate.

But then again, Edwin was not only a werewolf but also a human too. Although his powers and thoughts were of a werewolf's, his emotions were of a human's.

He cared for Eloise as much as Elsie, even though he was more partial towards Elsie. But that did not mean, he differentiated between them.

Lester was right. Eloise did not know who Ruth was and why he was so possessive of her. He hated these human emotions. The times they overpowered his wolf's judgement, they made him feel conflicted.

He shut his eyes close. Taking a handful of air in then releasing it, he tried calming down. It was hard to put back his wolf to sleep. But he had mastered that technique the last time.

Five minutes later, his hold loosened. When he opened his eyes, they were back to their original cerulean blue colour. Elsie and Lester finally released a breath of relief.

"I am leaving you for this once Eloise. You have committed a crime by putting a person in life-threatening danger. Ruth could have died there. You have to understand the severity of implications of your actions." Edwin said now in a calmer tone, yet one could easily detect anger in it.

He drew back his hand.

"I hope you will not repeat this mistake. Because if you think of it then remember my previous words. If you try to hurt Ruth in any way possible or get involved in such things directly or indirectly... I will forget that you are my family!"

With that said, he walked out of there and started marching in the direction of the old building. Lester and Elsie also left wordlessly, carrying a mixture of many emotions with them.

While Eloise stood rooted to her place, having a hard time believing what just happened. And, It all happened because of Ruth!