Then she looked down, her brows still drawn in as she thought.
The healers gasped, while my brothers and I just stood silently… watching.
“I’m not ready to talk about it,” she muttered, her voice low but sharp. “There were reasons I left, Damien. Things you wouldn’t understand.”
“You told him we were the ones who said it,” I said, pointing to myself and my brothers. “He blamed us. Accused us of betraying him.”
We all froze.
I flinched, not understanding what he meant. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“If this video somehow reaches them-if they’re watching… I just want them to know I love them. I don’t understand why my father was alive all this time and never came for me. I don’t know why my mother stayed silent… why she kept that truth hidden.” My voice cracked a little. “But… I forgive them. Both of them.” (1
“What do you want from me?” I asked, my voice weak. He leaned in closer, his eyes narrowing.
My body ached from the awkward position I was tied in. My wrists burned, my shoulders were sore, and my stomach kept twisting from hunger and dread. But more than anything, it was my heart that hurt. Because somewhere deep inside… I already knew. Damien wasn’t coming for me. He wouldn’t. I was just a piece in his game. A bait. Not a person worth saving. He had Sofia now. The one he truly loved. The one he thought he lost. And now that she was back, I was… replaceable. Disposable.
“Where is Sofia? Are you holding the both of us?” I asked, panicking… strangely, I wanted to meet her.
Time passed-I didn’t know how long-and then the door opened again. It was him. The same man from earlier. He walked in casually, tossing his coat over the back of the chair like we were old friends. Then he pulled out a phone and handed it to one of the guards.
“I hope one day they find peace. I hope they learn to love without hurting… and live without hate. I hope they remember me for who I was before everything fell apart.” I hesitated for a second, my voice dropping to a whisper. “Please… tell them the truth someday. All of it.” 2
Olivia’s POV
“You’re awake,” he said simply, his voice calm. Too calm. I said nothing. I couldn’t-my mouth was taped shut.
This… this was where I die. The thought settled in my chest like a heavy stone, and I couldn’t stop the tears from falling quietly down my cheeks. I didn’t sob. I didn’t scream. I just… cried in silence. 1
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man frown slightly, but I didn’t stop.
The man scoffed. “No…. Since she is not important to Damien, I decided to release her back to him and take you instead,” he said simply.
The two men exchanged glances but obeyed, stepping out and closing the door behind them. Now it was just me and him. Alone.
“Leave us,” he ordered.
My eyes widened as everything dawned on me… this was the same man who had Sofia.
“I believe by now you must have received Sofia,” I said slowly, my voice no more than a whisper. “Congratulations on that.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I know my life doesn’t mean much to you. And I know… you’re not coming to save me, Damien. But please,” I paused, drawing in a shaking breath, “let. my parents go. I kept to my part of the deal.”
My lips trembled as I took another breath. “I wish things could’ve been different. I wish I had more time to understand, to ask why… but I don’t.”
“Start recording,” he said simply.
A gasp of fear escaped me, but he wasn’t bothered. He just turned to the guards. “Make sure she’s comfortable. Feed her. Keep her alive. She’s more useful breathing.”
“This is your chance,” he said softly. “Look into the camera. Cry. Beg Damien to save you. Plead for your life. Show him how much you need him.”
He tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was some strange puzzle. “You look really pretty,” he muttered. “No wonder Damien married you.”
I stared at him for a moment. Then slowly, I turned to face the camera. But I didn’t cry. And I didn’t beg. I stared straight into the camera, ignoring the burning in my throat, the sting in my eyes. My heart was racing, but my voice stayed steady.
I winced at the pain. I coughed a little, then whispered, “Who are you?”
Then I turned to the man. “I’m done.”
The splash of a bucket of water slammed me back to consciousness. For a moment, my vision swam, blurry shapes shifting until my eyes adjusted, and I realized two men were standing right in front of me. My eyes widened in fear as I looked around and saw
I was in a dimly lit, empty room, tied tightly to a chair… my lips sealed shut.
He stood up, buttoning his coat slowly, never breaking eye contact with me.
And with that… he walked out, leaving only the chill of fear behind. I stared at the door as it slammed shut. The two tall men stood like statues in front of me… their eyes were blank, like they’d done this a hundred times before.
“I’m going to remove the tape,” he said. “Don’t scream. There’s no one here who’ll help you.” He nodded at one of the guards. A second later, the tape was ripped off my lips.
“Not much,” he said. “Just to use you… as bait. Damien steps down, and I send you back to him… if he doesn’t, then I kill you.” eyes of I looked back at the camera, at the little black lens that somehow felt like the everyone I’d ever loved. “And to the triplets-Lennox, Levi, Louis…” I said their names slowly, gently, like a prayer. “I wish I could tell them this face-to-face, but I forgive them too.” Tears began to spill quietly again, this time without shame.
The guard lifted the phone and pointed it at me. The man walked up and crouched in front of me again, tilting his head up at me. Up close, I noticed how handsome he was- how that made him all the more terrifying.
The man chuckled softly. “Let’s just say… I’m one of Damien’s enemies….” I froze. “But first,” he added smoothly, “I’ll be back to make a video of you to send to your husband. If he loves you as he claims, he’ll step down. If he refuses…” He paused, letting the silence settle like a blade at my throat. “Then I’ll kill you and send your body back to him.”
A gasp escaped my lips as realization sank in. Sofia had been sent back to Damien. That was Damien’s plan all along, and it had worked. Now I was the bait-and I knew, deep down, Damien would never come for me.
He didn’t move right away. He just… stared at me. His expression unreadable. Then he gestured to the guards with a sharp flick of his hand.
I watched the two men, who seemed like guards, move aside and a man seated on a seat across from me came into view. I stared at him, confused. He wasn’t like the others. He looked to be in his early thirties. Clean-shaven, sharp suit, piercing gray eyes that never left mine. He leaned forward slowly, resting his elbows on his knees.
I sat there in silence, hours ticking by like years. The guards didn’t speak, didn’t move -they just stood there like shadows, breathing but lifeless.
He looked up at us, the weight of it all finally sinking into his eyes. “One of them is responsible,” he said. “But I just don’t know which.”@
Dustin hesitated. “Alpha Damien, your uncle.”
Lennox nodded tightly. “And he doesn’t deserve her.”
We all leaned in. I read the line out loud. “Medical examiner’s report… subject: Olivia. Cause of death… beheaded. Additional findings… pregnancy, approximately two months.” Everything in the room went still. 2
Dustin walked forward, voice steady but tense. “The trackers covered all ten surrounding packs-each of the territories Olivia could’ve passed through when she left Gabriel’s pack… but none of them held her scent. Not a trace.”
“What?” Levi frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”
Damien frowned and glared at the three of us. “That is none of your business… and you know what? You three should stay away from this case. Rebecca is my wife, and I will bring her back safely… so stay out of it. You three have your mourning to do.” He spat and walked out on us.
Our heads snapped toward him. Without hesitation, Lennox snatched the file from his hand and flipped it open.
“I don’t trust anyone anymore,” Levi added. “People fake things… anyone could be responsible.”
The moment Sofia announced Rebecca’s fear to us… we panicked. I could see the worried look on my brothers’ faces… we looked even more concerned than her so-called husband, who had forgotten about her the moment the love of his life appeared.
“I know,” Dustin replied. “But that’s the only location where her scent was found. And it was faint-almost like someone tried to mask it.”
Louis POV
“Because her scent was only detected in his pack and… Gabriel was the last known contact before she disappeared.”
Levi didn’t speak, but the way his jaw clenched said it all-he agreed.
Dustin let out a slow exhale.
We all stiffened at once. “What?” Levi choked out. Dustin nodded. “Yes… the spies suspect him. And they have solid reasons for it.” 4
Dustin nodded. “Which is why the spies didn’t stop there. They added two more suspects to the list. Alpha Caleb… from the Brooks Pack. Remember? He hates you three… you won that land deal over him- a hundred plots of land gone overnight. He’s hated you ever since and might have done this out of revenge.”
Just then, the door opened again. Dustin stepped in, holding a file in his hand. “I’ve gotten word from the trackers and spies you placed… regarding Olivia.”
“But he seemed to be in love with her,” I said.
Olivia was our mate. If she’d slept with another man while we were still bonded, we would have felt it… we knew she made out with Gabriel while she was still mated to us, but we knew they didn’t have sex… There was no way Olivia would have been with someone else without us feeling it- unless… one of us did it behind the others’ backs. “What’s the third name?” Lennox asked.
We exchanged puzzled looks. “Except,” Dustin continued, “for one place. Gabriel’s Pack.”
We stood there in silence, each lost in thought, then Levi spoke. “Why did you marry her if you never loved her?” Levi spat, sounding frustrated.
I stepped forward, unable to hold back anymore. “Then give us names. Who are your strongest opponents right now?” Damien sighed heavily, dragging a hand down his face. “There are three Alphas who would gain the most if I stepped down.” He began listing them.
“Alpha Timothy of the Peculiar Pack-he’s been against my leadership since the last summit. Alpha Neo from the Shifter Pack-he’s desperate for power and known for dirty games. And Alpha Calvin of the Nightshade Pack. Ruthless. Calculated. He’s the type to pull something like this without blinking.”
“What?” Levi breathed. “That… can’t be right,” I said slowly. “Olivia was a virgin. We all knew that. She never left the pack, and it didn’t even take a week after she left us for her body to be found. How could she be two months pregnant?”
Lennox flipped through the file, his eyes darting quickly across the page. Then he froze. “What’s this?” he whispered.
Hooked at Lennox accusingly, and he instantly understood. “NO… I swear I didn’t have sex with Olivia… we kissed… made out, but no sex…” I believed him and turned to Levi. He shook his head. “I didn’t… we only kissed and made out… nothing else.” I sighed. “I also didn’t sleep with her, so if none of us did, how could Olivia be two months pregnant?”
“Who do you think took Rebecca?” he demanded. Damien blinked, caught off guard. “I don’t know.”
We all stared at each other, confused.
“Agreed,” I said quickly.
We left the room, all three of us, walking down the hallway in tense silence. The air around us was thick with anger, frustration, and fear. The moment we stepped into the study and closed the door, Lennox turned on Damien.
Lennox slammed the file shut. “Fuck him! If I find out he is responsible, I will chop off his head and that of his entire generation.”
“You don’t know?” Lennox snapped. “She’s your wife, Damien. You should at least pretend to give a damn!” Damien’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t argue. “I don’t know,” he repeated, a little more firmly. “But I’ve already sent my men to look into it.”
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.