I didn’t respond. I wasn’t in the mood to argue with him. I just stared past him at the wall.
A tense silence hung in the air as neither of us said a word. The air in the room was heavy-almost too heavy to breathe in. I could feel Damien’s presence just across the room, sitting on the couch with that familiar stiffness in his posture, like he was calculating his next move.
And there… just a few feet away, I saw them.
The moment Lennox took the handkerchief from me, I spun around and walked away before I did something reckless. Luckily, he didn’t call me back. I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done if he had.
The pack was gathered-dressed in white, heads bowed, lips trembling. Some were crying. Real, heavy tears.
I woke up to a dull ache in my head and the cold feel of stone beneath my palms. My lashes fluttered as I tried to move, only to realize I was lying on the ground-on the floor of the garden.
Louis stood with his arms crossed tightly, jaw clenched like he was trying to hold himself together.
My head snapped toward him. “Hell no,” I snapped, my voice sharp. “You expect me to stand there and watch while they perform a funeral service for me when I’m still alive?”
My head lolled against his chest as he turned away from the garden, the funeral chants fading behind us.
He left before I could say another word.
But I couldn’t join them.
Then everything spun.
Everything stopped in me when I saw it.
But I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Damien’s eyes darkened with frustration. He stepped closer, towering over me. “You don’t have a choice,” he said coldly. “You’re no longer Olivia. You’re Rebecca. And you’re my wife now. So act like one. You have ten minutes. Be downstairs.”
“I told you not to come,” he muttered, his voice low but sharp enough to sting. “But you insisted, didn’t you?”
The Elder began to chant, starting the first funeral ritual. Everyone lowered their heads, murmuring the ancient words of passing.
Olivia’s POV
There were flowers, white cloth draped from the trees, candles flickering in soft circles. A large framed photo of me stood at the center of the altar, with a golden ribbon tied across it.
We walked through the corridor in silence, and then stepped out into the garden where the ceremony was being held.
Why did it take losing me for them to show it?
Before I could gather my thoughts, the door creaked open. Damien stepped inside with a familiar scowl on his face.
I dressed quickly and made my way downstairs, my heart thudding in my chest. Damien was already waiting by the entrance. He didn’t speak, just gestured for me to follow him.
The triplets.
He carried me up to the room we now shared, laid me on the bed with mechanical care. For a heartbeat, I braced myself for him to yell-ready to scream right back at him. But surprisingly, he didn’t. Instead, he moved to the couch and sat there across from me.
But suddenly, he exhaled and leaned back slowly against the couch, tilting his head to the ceiling like he was debating how much truth to spill.
My chest ached. My body felt like it was going cold. The weight of it all, watching people mourn me while I stood among them-was too much..
Shaking, I forced myself up and went to the wardrobe. My fingers trembled as I pulled out a white gown.
I sat up slightly, ignoring the pounding in my head. “Gabriel and his sister… they tried to kill me. And you know why.”
A long pause, and I thought he wouldn’t answer me at all.
I stared at him, stunned. “What…?”
“Don’t just stand there gawking,” Damien snapped at whoever was behind him. “Go back to the ritual. Show some respect.
He stood silently for a moment, then added, “You should get ready. We’re attending the first funeral ritual.”
The last thing I saw was Lennox’s face turning toward me-his eyes widening with concern.
Levi’s hand covered his mouth, like if he opened it, the sob might escape.
Lennox’s face was blank, but his eyes told a different story. Red, puffy, broken.
I wanted to tell him to stop lying, to scream at him that none of this was normal-that none of this was me-but my lips wouldn’t move. I could feel eyes on me. Whispers. Murmurs of pity. They believed his lies.
Still, he was silent, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands loosely clasped.
Did they ever love me like this?
How much longer can I keep this up?
“It’s because of your mother,” he said finally, his voice low.
Louis and Leyi arrived moments later, their presence filling the room with a tense, heavy energy. The door thudded shut behind them, and now it was just us-brothers, guards, and the traitor sitting in the middle of the room like a rat cornered in a trap.
But my mind… my mind refused to obey.
I didn’t respond to his anger. I simply stepped forward and looked down at him. “Why were you running, Silas? This is your home, isn’t it?”
I didn’t move.
Silas hesitated. His lips trembled. He looked between the three of us, panic rising behind his eyes.
That was all I needed to hear. My patience snapped.
Great-grandmother Hailee’s words kept haunting me.
And why did her voice echo louder now than it did in the dream?
I exchanged a glance with Levi and Louis before looking back down at him.
“The next one goes in your eye,” I said again, my voice low and deadly calm. “I swear to the Moon Goddess I will do it.”
“I didn’t-“
Finally, he lowered his head and whispered the words that turned my blood to ice:
Silas shook his head weakly. “No. I only wrote it. It wasn’t me who added the spell.”
“Something is coming, Lennox… Something that will shake you and your brothers. It will break you for a while. But don’t be afraid… it was meant to be.”
He nodded without another word and turned down the hallway.
Back in my room, I couldn’t stop thinking about Rebecca.
What did she mean?
I let out a heavy sigh and dropped onto the edge of the bed, burying my face in my palms.
I didn’t waste a second. I jumped down the stairs and hurriedly made my way to the throne room. I stormed into the throne room, my boots hitting the marble with a loud sound. The guards stood on both sides, stiff and alert, parting immediately as I entered.
And there he was.
Silas’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t-
I rose slowly, watching him writhe in pain, his breathing ragged and broken.
My heart thudded. “Good. Call my brothers. Now.”
Some pack members wanted to come up to us… to offer their condolences, share their grief, speak of Olivia. But we gave the guards strict orders to let no one through. None of us were in the mood to hear sweet words about someone we all failed to protect.
His body trembled. He tried to catch his breath. Terror filled his face now. He knew I wasn’t joking.
“What?” I jumped to my feet and crossed the room in two long strides. I yanked the door open and stared at him. “Where is he?”
Dustin stood straight. “They’re holding him in the throne room.”
The guards didn’t hesitate. One of them quickly left and returned moments later with a long rod, the tip glowing red-hot and the pot.
“Get me a hot iron,” I said coldly, turning to the guards. “With the fire pot. Now.”
“Alpha Lennox,” Dustin’s voice came from the other side. “The men have arrived. They brought Silas with them.”
“But you didn’t spell it?” Levi asked.
Silas’s eyes flickered-but he shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His lip curled. “Release me now. I’ve done nothing wrong. This is abuse of power.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.