Dustin nodded obediently. “I’ll make the arrangements. Quietly. No one outside this room will know.”
I closed my eyes briefly. The thought of her being alive was driving my wolf restless.
C
He was howling inside me. Despite the broken mate bond, he still felt attached to
Olivia.
Louis spoke. “But we carried a DNA test on it, and it came back positive, and our seer told us it was Olivia,” Louis sounded more confused.
The words landed like a blade straight into my chest. I looked away. I couldn’t answer him. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t know how to.
“What should I do?” I whispered to my wolf.
Louis whispered, “It was shaped like a crescent wrapped in flame.
Louis swallowed hard. “And if the mark’s not there…?”
Levi’s fists clenched. “What if it’s one of the Alphas? What if she’s being held in one of their packs?”
I looked at each of them slowly, then said, “Do you remember… Olivia had a dark god mark? On her lower back. A distinct one. It was there since birth-regardless of what happened to her, that mark couldn’t disappear.”
“Whoever has her…” I said slowly, my voice full of rage, “will pay for it.”
Lennox’s POV
I blinked. “What?”
I nodded, though part of me already knew. Deep in my gut, in my soul. I knew she’s alive. And I would burn down the world to bring her back.
He responded immediately. “Follow your guts.”
“I want to check something,” I responded.
After Dustin left the room, a tense silence hung in the study… My brothers and I were consumed by our deep thoughts.
Louis frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would Damien be there?”
The silence returned. Only this time, it was heavier.
Louis rubbed his face harshly, pacing a few steps. “If she’s alive, then someone has been keeping her from us. Someone powerful enough to hide her. And fake her death.
He stopped himself. But he didn’t need to say it. We all felt the same.
Levi stepped forward, his eyes clouded with confusion. “What if that body isn’t Olivia?” He said exactly what I was thinking.
Because everything in me still screamed mine when I thought of Olivia. Even after all this time. Even after all the pain. Even after discovering things that should’ve made me back away.
“What… what are we going to do if we find her?”
Levi’s eyes weren’t angry anymore. They were tired. Confused. “We already believe she’s alive,” he continued, glancing between us. “And deep down, I think we are right. So… if we do find her, then what?”
Levi’s brows shot up, realization flashing across his face. “That’s right…”
Then Levi broke it again-his voice soft, almost hesitant, like he wasn’t sure if he should even say what he was thinking.
Louis broke the silence. “She’s still Olivia,” he said roughly. “No matter what. She’s still the same girl we-” 1
I looked at my brothers. They both looked confused but also angry. I glanced at the file again and shook my head. “Olivia can’t be two months pregnant,” I said in disbelief.
“First,” he said, “the day Olivia’s body was found at the border… Damien was seen in Alpha Gabriel’s Pack.”
My heart twisted painfully. I looked up at him, but his eyes were already on me- haunted, afraid of the answer.
I met his gaze, my heart racing at the thought of it,
Levi’s voice broke a little. “Are we going to see her differently? Are we going to love her differently?”
“Exactly,” Dustin replied. “He had no official reason to be there. But according to the trackers and a few insiders, he came with a few of his men… it was late at night… which made me wonder why he would pay a visit to Gabriel at such a time.”
Because how do you explain loving someone so deeply… when fate keeps pulling you further from them? How do you hold on when everything around you keeps trying to tear it apart?
Levi didn’t stop. “Are we going to tell her the truth?” he asked quietly. “That we’re related? That we share bloodlines with her?”
Louis and I both looked at him.
Dustin spoke. “I’ll prepare the site. By midnight, we’ll know the truth.”
My jaw clenched as unease settled in my gut. “That’s not a coincidence.”
“Exactly,” I said. “If that mark isn’t on that body, then we’ve been mourning the wrong person all this time.”
My throat tightened.
“Are you serious?” Levi asked, stepping closer. “Why would we do that?”
I turned away from them both and whispered so softly I wasn’t sure they even heard me- “We find her first.” O
Then maybe-maybe-we’d figure the rest out.
Dustin nodded. “So these are the three suspects we have in hand. What do us to do?” Dustin asked. you want
I forced my voice to stay calm. “Then we’ll earn our place back in her life. No matter how long it takes.” 2
But I couldn’t. Neither of us could.
“What are the reasons?” I asked eagerly.
My heart beat hard in my chest. What do we do if she’s alive? I didn’t have an answer. So I stayed quiet.
The thought of that brought a sweet, bitter feeling. The idea that Olivia might still be alive… it was mesmerizing, like a dream I didn’t dare believe. But if she is alive, then where is she? How is she doing? My throat tightened.
Louis’s eyes widened. “What?”
“No,” he said. “Not unless you give me a reason to.”
His voice was low and tight, almost shaken as he stared.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, his voice dangerously calm.
The guard laughed cruelly. “You think he cares what I do with you? He’s not coming back for hours. Now open your legs.”
I hesitated, but something in her tone-so kind and motherly-made me trust her. Slowly, I sat up with a wince, biting back the pain. My hands shook slightly as I reached for the back of my torn dress, pulling it down with effort.
The walls were made of polished stone and dark wood, with glowing orbs of light floating near the ceilings like silent sentinels. Rich tapestries decorated the halls. Marble floors gleamed underfoot. This wasn’t just a pack house-it was a palace.
The door creaked open again, and I tensed, my heart skipping-but this time, it wasn’t a guard.
Calvin turned to me, still breathing hard, his eyes glowing in rage-but not at me.
His claws retracted, and with careful hands, he began loosening the restraints that had bound me for hours. His touch was surprisingly gentle, despite the dried blood on his fingers.
And then he was gone, leaving me stunned. I looked around the room as I wondered what was going on. Why did he suddenly have a change of heart? Was this a trick? But the look in his eyes… that look of concern in his eyes tells me I might be wrong.
Blood splattered the wall and floor.
I couldn’t answer. I just stared at him, dazed and scared… If he hadn’t come when he did… I shivered.
He raised his fist and slammed it into my ribs. I gasped, something inside me cracking as white-hot pain spread through my chest. I choked on my own breath, my own scream, tears burning my eyes.
As we moved deeper in, servants caught sight of us. Some gasped softly. Others simply bowed their heads in respect to Alpha Calvin, their eyes flicking toward me, confusion in their gaze.
He carried me out of the dim room, while I stayed frozen in his arms, unable to look at him, so I turned my face away, staring at the shadows on the walls.
“You’ll open one way or another,” he growled, grabbing my throat. “Make it easy-“
He left the room, and I was left stunned… numb. I still couldn’t believe what Alpha Calvin had said. That he was related to the triplets. Sharing the same great-grandmother? How? Did the triplets’ great-grandmother have another child with a different man? If so, why had I never heard of this? Why had they never mentioned anything? I had grown up beside them. I knew them-or at least, I thought I did. There was never any mention of someone like Alpha Calvin. No gossip. No hints. Was he lying? Was this some twisted game?
Didn’t blink.
But he didn’t look at her. His eyes were solely focused on the lower part of my back- on the dark mark etched into my skin.
The body dropped with a lifeless thud.
A mark shaped like a crescent wrapped in flame.
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.