Olivia's POV

The pit of dread I’ve had since I hung up the call with Mia just kept growing. I knew whatever was waiting for me was going to be bad.

Lunera Beauty was my passion. I knew there were those in the Pack that thought I shouldn’t have a career, that being the Luna should be enough. I also knew people thought makeup, fragrances, and other high-end beauty products were frivolous compared to Pack business.

But to me, it was my one freedom.

Mia waved me into the conference room, and I blanched at the grim look on her face.

“Our accounts show a massive deficit. Babe, we’re a debt-ridden shell of a company. And…” She hesitated and my stomach dropped. “… and the Pack’s accounts are the same.”

“That’s not possible.” I shook my head in denial. “We’re set for our most profitable quarter yet, and the Pack is completely separate from L.B. There’s enough money in both.”

“Look, it’s all here.” Mia passed me a file and I felt my blood boil looking at the proof.

Aiden’s signature was on everything.

I was seeing red. “How the fuck did this happen?!” I knew it wasn’t Mia’s fault, and yelling at my best friend wasn’t helpful, but I was past reason.

“It’s legit. Last quarter we restructured so you could focus on product development and brought Aiden on to run the operations and prep for him stepping up as Alpha, as… your Mate.”

Mia’s tone had softened, but her eyes were hard with anger and betrayal.

A wave of emotion hit me with the realization that Aiden’s betrayal had gone beyond breaking my trust by cheating with Amelia. Now he betrayed my Pack and my business. And I let it happen.

The weight of guilt and responsibility pressed down like a physical thing. My body collapsed into a chair as my mind raced with the consequences of Aiden’s actions.

If Lunera Beauty couldn’t cover the financial gap in Pack funds, the Alpha Council would disband Thorne Ridge Pack as weak. My people would be divided among other Packs, assuming they would welcome new members.

No Pack would welcome a disgraced Luna. I would be a lone and vulnerable wolf. Or I’d be in servitude to the Alpha Council to be married off and bred to some asshole Alpha… like Aiden.

Did Aiden plan to take over my Pack without me? Or with Amelia? That thought was gasoline on my burning anger.

“Mia, I’m sorry. I should have listened to you. I shouldn’t have trust –” My apologies were cut short as Amela strode into the room and sat herself next to me, ignoring Mia completely.

“Oh, Olivia, I'm so sorry you felt hurt by all of this. I'm sure you'll understand I never intended to cause any rift between us. Aiden was just so worried about me that he had to pause the wedding and take me to the hospital..."

Mia rolled her eyes before she snapped at Amelia “Get out!”

I saw the crack in Amelia’s arrogant mask before she leaned in to whisper into my ear, “If you beg me, I might help you out of this whole mess.”

My wolf forced herself to the surface with a low growl and I snapped my teeth next to Amelia’s throat. “Get used to disappointment, Amelia.”

I let my Luna energy seep out as I rose to stand above her “Now, get out of my sight.”

Amelia’s face contorted into a sneer as the power of my command forced her to lower her head into submission. And she obeyed.

***

In the last week I’d exhausted every available option that Mia and I could come up with to raise funds. From bank loans to calling in favors, it was all dead-end. Meeting Kelvin at his office was my last hope.

“I’m really sorry, Olivia, but I can’t loan you the money. I just can’t afford to cross Aiden." Regret dripped from Kelvin’s every word.

I sighed and offered him a bitter smile. “Come on, Kelvin, you knew my father, and you know Aiden won’t take his seat on the Alpha Council.”

Truthfully, nobody knew that, but I just wouldn’t believe it. I was trying to manifest here.

“And you know I have to be hands-off. Until that leadership seat is filled any member acting for or against any candidate is tantamount to favoritism. And I’d have to recuse myself from voting.”

My laugh was bitter “Yeah, and potentially piss off the next leader. I get it, Kelvin. Thanks for seeing me anyway.”

“I wish I could help, Liv, I really do.”

I believed him, but still let my frustration show in the way I slammed the door on my way out.

The crisp Autumn air was soothing as I walked towards Witches’ Brew, the local coffee shop, to meet with Mia and figure out if we had any next steps.

Caught up with my thoughts, I barely registered my phone ringing, answering it on autopilot. “Hello? This is Olivia.”

“Hey sweetheart, how have you been?” Aiden’s voice dripped with mock concern.

“Don’t hang up,” I hated that he knew me at all, because that was exactly what I was about to do. “I still have feelings for you, and I want to work something out.”

My brain short-circuited and I stopped in my tracks.

“If you agree to be my mistress, I’ll let your Pack off the hook.” I couldn’t believe the nerve of this man. I couldn’t believe I ever loved and trusted him.

“Go to Hell, you bastard!” I seethed through the line, hung up on him, and threw my phone back in my purse.

The chime above the shop door jingled and my head shot up in fight or flight mode. I’d made it to Witch’s Brew and Mia was holding the door open for me with a look of concern on her face.

“Heyyyy, Liv. Everything okay?”

Nothing was okay, but I needed to focus. “Yeah, just Aiden trying to extort me into being his Mistress in exchange for helping the Pack. Asshole.”

Mia’s eyes went wide in surprise, and I noticed the newspaper in her hand.

“What’s that? You never read a physical paper.”

“Well, I have an idea, but it’s absolutely insane.” Mia grabbed my elbow and pulled me around the corner for some privacy. “There’s one more person who could help us, so hear me out.”

She shoved the newspaper into my hands and pointed one perfectly manicured nail at the image on the front page featuring Alpha Ethan Blackford at a charity event two nights ago.

My mouth watered remembering the wildness of his kisses. He looked really good dressed in a tailored tuxedo.

“We have no direct ties to the Storm Haven Pack, no ties to Ethan himself, and since he’s on the list for the empty Alpha Council seat, he can’t vote. There’s no conflict if he works for or against Aiden…”

Mia kept on about the virtues of the Storm Haven Alpha as an ally, oblivious to my internal conflict and traitorous body’s reactions. I never planned to see him again, but my clenching pussy clearly had other plans.

“... Olivia, are you listening? Ethan’s perfect!”

“Yeah, I’m listening. But I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Bullshit, it’s a great idea!” To prove her point, Mia pulled out her phone and started to g****e info on Ethan while I mentally calculated the merits of being a lone wolf.

Mia’s gasp pulled my attention to the article headline she had found online.

“So much for not having ties, Liv. What’s this?”

‘ELIGIBLE BACHELOR ETHAN BLACKFORD FINALLY CAUGHT?’

My eyes tried to scan the article, but I couldn’t tear them away from the blurry clickbait photos taken through the opening through familiar hotel curtains.

Splashed across the national gossip news for all to see were my legs wrapped around Ethan’s waist, him palming my ass while we’re locked in a passionate kiss. Like we were lovers who had been starved of each other’s touch, desperate for it and desperately in love.

Olivia's POV

“Yeah, that’s me and Ethan.” I admitted to Mia. “Believe it or not, with everything going on with Aiden and the money mess it hasn’t exactly been important.” I felt the need to explain so she wouldn’t think I was hiding things from her.

“I was hurt and messed up after the wedding, and the room I ended up in was his, not mine. I didn’t plan it, Mia, honestly, and I didn’t know it was him. I thought it was room service and well… I needed a little service.”

Mia’s face was frozen with a stunned expression, but at that she let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, I bet. Holy shit, Liv. Tell me everything.”

My face flushed glancing back at the images on Mia’s phone remembering – hazily – that part of the night.

“Well, there’s no doubt he’s an Alpha. He was great… really fucking great, Mia. The things that man can do with his tongue should be illegal. It was what I needed, but I told him it won’t happen again. It shouldn’t have happened at all.”

It wouldn’t happen again based on Ethan’s reputation alone. It was common knowledge that Ethan hadn’t taken any woman into his bed more than once. He didn’t do relationships, even the physical kind.

Mia’s confident smirk told me she disagreed. “Trust me, he’ll want to do it again. He’s never been with a Luna before, he’s never been with you.”

Ethan’s cold, distant demeanor when we parted flashed in my mind, just confirming his reputation. “He tried to pay me off with cash to keep the whole thing quiet. There’s no way he’ll help me now.”

“That just proves he has the financial means to help,” Mia snorted. “We should encourage this rumor.”

“There’s no need to respond to the rumors. They’ll blow over soon enough.” I hoped.

***

Ethan's POV

Marlus laughed and tossed the newspaper on my desk. “Well, it seems this woman is different. You didn’t throw her out, and you let the paparazzi publish these photos.”

My Beta could get away with teasing me to a point, but I wasn’t in the mood.

“Cut the shit, Marlus. I have bigger problems,” I snapped at him.

I shifted my glare from the compromising photos on page 18, to the latest letter from Kelvin Highmoor. Yeah, I had bigger problems, like another warning from the Alpha Council that my bid for one of the ten leadership seats was going to be rejected.

“They’re still going on about that?” huffed Marlus. He shared my frustration.

Packs needed balance to strengthen and grow long term, and Kelvin was doing me a favor by giving me an informal warning. My Pack – Storm Haven – was young, but we were strong. I was strong.

I was also unmated.

I couldn’t mate again.

“Dear Alpha Blackford,” I read aloud from the letter, “As you are aware, stability among the Packs is of utmost importance. Approval into the Alpha Council, and its subsequent leadership, requires the Pack to have both an Alpha and a Luna in active standing.”

They thought my lack of a Luna was a sign of instability in my Pack.

But they didn’t know my wolf refused to acknowledge any potential Mate bond. We were both wounded at my first Mate’s rejection, but he refused to go through that pain again.

I couldn’t argue with him either; I was in no rush to repeat the experience, even hypothetically.

Only Marlus knew what I went through. What I still went through with my wolf.

“There are only ten permanent seats and that empty one should be mine. I’m the strongest candidate by far. This Luna bullshit is the only reason Aiden was even being considered, since he was about to be Mated.”

I took a calming breath before I clawed my desk in half and settled for tearing the newspaper instead.

“This must be Chloe’s doing. Tipping off the paparazzi to catch me in a scandal with Aiden’s ex, it gives them more reason to deny my application. And to favor Aiden.” The bitterness I felt leaked into my words.

Marlus growled at the mention of my stepmother. Her betrayal was the reason I’d been kicked out of my birth Pack and rejected by my Mate. In one night, I went from future Alpha of the Jasper Pack to lone wolf.

Except Marlus left Jasper Pack with me. He was loyal and that’s why I made him my Beta when I started my own Pack.

“I wouldn’t put it past that bitch, Ethan. After accusing you of poisoning her with Wolfsbane and turning the Pack against you over a lie, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s trying to sabotage your chance on the Alpha Council in favor of her son.”

It made sense. Chloe hated me because I was my mother’s son; she’d jumped at the chance to become Luna when she died. Back then I was set to become Alpha, and she needed me out of the way.

And now I was set to become an Alpha Council Leader, and she needed me out of the way again.

I had problems, indeed.

“Marlus!” Grace’s voice stormed into the room before she did, carrying the same newspaper edition I’d just torn up. “Who is this woman?! She dared break into Ethan’s room, this is unacceptable.”

My Beta sighed and stepped between his sister and me to intercept her whirlwind of fury. Grace had joined me shortly after Marlus had. “Chill, Gracie. What are you talking about?”

She was talking about Olivia, but my mind had already started fitting pieces together. And I didn’t like what I was thinking.

Chloe wouldn’t put her son in harm’s way, and this scandal with me and Olivia would inevitably put Aiden into the public’s gossiping eye. Was it possible that Chloe wasn’t behind this?

My hand absentmindedly dipped into my pocket to fiddle with the diamond ring I’d been keeping there. The one Olivia had ‘paid’ me with and for some reason I had kept.

Gods, but she was beautiful. I wanted to taste her again, but there was no way I’d entertain that thought. I wasn’t open to another rejection.

Besides, Olivia had been with my stepbrother Aiden for the last year and was making him her Alpha. I didn’t want to get involved with whatever Aiden had no matter how beautiful she was. That was just asking for more trouble.

“She must have deliberately bumped into me to steal my keycard! – Well, Ethan’s keycard, I was bringing it back!” Grace shouted.

That snapped my head up and had my attention. I never did get the second keycard to my room. And I remember Olivia was confused and flustered that morning.

I thought she was just playing when she didn’t know who I was, but maybe that was true. Clearly Grace didn’t know who Olivia was now.

Had Olivia wandered into my room by honest mistake? My hand curled around the engagement ring as my mind raced with possibilities. This mix-up might be exactly what I need.

“Marlus,” I interrupted, “Where is that woman now?”

Olivia's POV

My fingers drummed on the polished mahogany table, desperately trying to keep my face unreadable against the insulting offer, and the cloying scent of stale cigars.

Sitting across from me and Mia, Alpha Gideon leaned back causally. I wanted to smack that smug look off his face. I chose to clench my fists under the table instead.

“I’m being generous, Olivia, considering your Pack’s… situation.” His words were laced with regret, but his offer and the calculation in his eyes said he didn’t feel that bad for me.

This formula was years in the making: a perfume that could change its scent based on the mood of the wearer. I wanted to make something that was reminiscent of my empathic ability. There was nothing like it on the market.

I wasn’t ready to sell, it was never perfect enough for my standards. But after so many rejections of financial assistance, I had to get creative. Selling my life’s work was my literal last chance.

I came to Gideon as a competitor to negotiate its sale; but this wasn’t a negotiation, it was robbery.

“Gideon, everyone knows Olivia’s formula is damn near priceless, this is just insulting!” Mia pushed away from the table to yell at Gideon in her frustration.

“That’s Alpha Gideon, Mia, you forget yourself,” he snapped. “Olivia, I’d say this is just business, but you know why nobody can help you and your Pack right now. If I’m going to cross the Alpha Council’s non-interference laws, I need to make it worth the consequences if I’m found out.”

“Oh, I know how business – and Pack business - works. I’ll take my formula somewhere else. Call me when you have a real offer.”

Mia slammed the office door behind us as we left the meeting. My frustration at yet another failed avenue barely contained. With every step away from Gideon, the weight of his insult intensified. It felt like salt in an open wound.

I pushed through the building’s glass doors into the evening air, Mia trailing behind muttering a stream of curses about Gideon under her breath.

The urge to join her in commiseration was strong, but I caught sight of something at the edge of the parking lot.

A crowd of camera-wielding paparazzi and news vans buzzed around like a swarm of hungry wasps just waiting to feast on the next scandal.

“That bastard,” I hissed, gripping my bag tighter. “Gideon must have leaked our meeting to stir up press around the formula.”

My phone rang sharply in my pocket, pulling both my attention, and that of the media crowd who started to close in on us. I fumbled to answer it and turned towards my car.

“Olivia Hartwyn?” The voice on the other end was tense. “I’m calling from Westside Memorial Hospital. You’ll want to get here as soon as you can. It’s your mother – she collapsed at home and was brought in a short while ago.”

The breath rushed out of me, replaced by cold panic. I can’t lose another parent, not now.

Mia must have heard the nurse because her hand reached for my keys and she nodded in support.

“I’m on my way.”

Mia and I exchanged a glance and steeled ourselves to push through the throng of paparazzi who peppered me with questions.

“Olivia! What’s your relationship with Ethan Blackford?”

“Was the wedding scandal a cover-up for your affair with him?!”

“Was your meeting tonight a foreshadowing of the sale of Lunera Beauty?”

“Any comment on the photos published a few days ago of you and Ethan?!”

I ignored the camera flashes and the questions, forcing it all to become background noise as we squeezed into the car and sped towards the hospital.

***

The buzzing of the fluorescent lights above grated under my skin and amped up the pounding behind my eyes with every passing moment. I sat on the cold hospital floor, my back pressed against the wall outside my mother’s room.

My pack – my family – could be torn apart, sold off like cattle or tossed out on their own if I didn’t find a way out of Aiden’s mess.

And my mother… I buried my face in my hands, guilt flooding through me.

She’d already suffered so much after losing my father. Losing a Mate was devastating, for both the shifter and wolf, and my mother almost didn’t survive it.

I couldn’t lose her too. Not when I was about to fail everyone I’d sworn to protect.

One week. That’s how much time the Alpha Council was giving me to cover the financial shortfall of my Pack, or they would force bankruptcy and disband Thorne Ridge.

I pressed my palms into my temples, trying to will the headache to stop.

A strong hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me to my feet.

Aiden pressed into my personal space; his face twisted in fury. “What the hell is going on between you and Ethan? I saw the photos, Liv!”

He snarled at me, his voice dripping with jealousy. “Was that who I smelled on you last week? Were you trying to make me jealous?”

I was already on edge and feeling raw, but Aiden had pushed my wolf too far. She surged to the surface, and I felt my muscles strengthen. Before it could register, I shoved Aiden away. Hard.

How dare he? After everything he’d done, after all the betrayal and theft and manipulation, he had the audacity to show jealousy and confront me like this, and here of all places.

Aiden’s eyes darkened and I saw his own wolf emerge. In an instant, his hand was wrapped around my throat pressing me into the wall.

“What did you do with Ethan? Have you been fucking my stepbrother behind my back?” he hissed and tightened his grip on my throat, cutting off my air.

I clawed at his arm, struggling for breath. Darkness threatened to take me under when a deep, menacing growl echoed down the hallway.

From the corner of my eye, I registered a fist connecting with Aiden’s jaw in one swift, brutal motion. He staggered back, releasing me, and I collapsed to the floor in a coughing fit.

“Olivia.” Ethan’s voice was low as he knelt beside me, his hand steady as he helped me to my feet. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, gasping for air.

Ethan stepped up to Aiden, keeping me behind his back. “I make the rules, darling” Ethan’s voice turned cold, his Alpha presence hitting me in waves, “Just say the word, and I’ll bury this pup six feet under… in pieces.”

The Alpha dominance Ethan was putting off was nearly as suffocating as being choked; I could now confirm. I knew Aiden could feel it too when rather than challenging Ethan, he muttered a string of curses and stormed off.

My voice came out hoarse as I spoke softly to Ethan’s back. “Why are you here?” I coughed and wiped the tears from my eyes before he could see. “Just the other day you treated me like a whore. So I know ‘Alpha Ethan’ wouldn’t help me for no reason.”

I couldn’t help the bitterness bubbling up inside me. “What do you want?”

Slowly, Ethan turned. His eyes locked onto mine with the intensity of his Alpha power.

“I want you to be my Luna.”