Olivia's POV

Hours passed and the noise faded and the house went quiet. My parents took one guestroom. Mia took the other. And James... I knew exactly where he'd be.

My throat was dry. I needed water, but I waited another half hour, just to be sure.

I slipped out of bed, crept down the stairs, and entered the kitchen. I filled a glass from the tap.

I heard James's low voice coming from his office. "I don't care what it takes. Keep her sedated."

I froze, the glass halfway to my mouth.

"No, I'm not interested in her waking up," he said. "I'm paying you enough to make sure that doesn't happen."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"The monitoring showed brain activity? So what? Increase the suppressants. I don't want her conscious. Ever."

I set the glass down and crept closer. The office door was slightly ajar.

"You don't understand," James hissed. "Alice is dangerous. If she wakes up, everything falls apart."

A pause. Then: "Yes, I know it's illegal. That's why I'm tripling your fee."

Another pause.

"Because she saw me," he snapped. "She saw me with Mia months ago. She threatened to tell Olivia. So I handled it."

My hand flew to my mouth.

"The rogue attack was a lie," James said coldly. "I attacked her myself and injected her with silver. Her wolf should've died from the silver in her system, but the old bitch was tougher than I thought. Now she's in a coma with silver poisoning, and I need her to stay that way."

No. No, no, no.

"If she wakes up and tells Olivia what she saw, my entire plan falls apart. Keep her sedated with silver until after the gathering. After that... I don't care what happens. Let her die naturally, just make sure it can't be traced back to me."

The call ended. His chair scraped back.

I ran.

I flew up the stairs, heart pounding as my wolf howled in rage. I shut the bedroom door just as his footsteps echoed down the hall. I pressed my back against it, trembling.

James had tried to kill Alice.

He was keeping her sedated with silver.

He was going to let her die.

I grabbed my phone with shaking hands and dialed Asher.

He answered on the second ring. "Luna Grant. It's late."

"I need your help." My voice cracked. "Please. It's Alice—my foster mother. James attacked her some months ago because she caught him with Mia. Now he's paying her healer to keep her in a coma with silver. She's showing signs of recovering, and he's—he's going to let her die."

Silence.

"Please," I whispered. "I need to move her somewhere safe. But I can't do it alone."

"Where is she?"

"She’s in the pack clinic. Room 304. I don’t know how you can get into the pack without being seen."

"Don’t worry, I'll have her moved by morning," Asher said. "She'll be safe."

Relief flooded through me. "Thank you. Thank you so much—"

"But you know what this means, Olivia."

I closed my eyes. "Yes."

"Say it."

"I accept your offer," I whispered. "I'll become your mate."

"Good. I'll come get you in four days."

The call ended.

I sat there in the dark, phone clutched in my hand.

I had just agreed to mate with a man I'd never met. My husband's worst enemy. An alpha wolf I knew nothing about.

James didn't know it yet, but I just became his reckoning.

Olivia's POV

I couldn't sleep. My mind kept replaying everything I had just heard in James's office. My wolf paced restlessly.

Then I heard footsteps approaching, and a knock on the door.

"Olivia?" Mia's voice was sweet, concerned. "Can I come in?"

I didn't answer.

"Olivia, please. I just want to talk."

I stayed silent.

"Olivia, open the door."

She turned the doorknob and opened the door, stepping inside.

There was a pause. Then her voice changed, she dropped the sweet voice.

"Oh, you look so pathetic right now, sis." She drawled.

I didn't move.

She continued. "But I want you to know something. That pup in my womb is James's. He chose me. His wolf chose mine."

I sat up slowly, turning to face her.

She had a cruel grin on her face. "He told me how weak your wolf is. How you could never satisfy his alpha wolf."

My hands clenched into fists. My wolf snarled.

"And those pups?" She laughed. "Four chances, Olivia. And you couldn't even manage to keep one alive. What kind of she-wolf can't even carry her mate's offspring?"

My vision turned red. My wolf demanded blood.

"Your wolf must be defective," she continued, her voice dripping with venom. "Maybe it's the Moon Goddess's way of telling you that you would be a terrible mother."

Anger burned through me at her words, and I stood up, walking towards her with clenched fists. My eyes flashed as my wolf surged forward.

"James loves me," Mia said, with a nasty grin on her face. "He's having a pup with me. A real pup. One that will actually live, because I can give him what you never could, a strong bloodline."

I shoved her hard.

She stumbled backward, her eyes widening in shock.

"Get out," I growled coldly.

"You bitch!" she hissed. "How dare you—"

"I said get out!"

I slammed the door in her face and locked it this time.

There was silence for a moment, then the sound of footsteps walking down the hallway.

I walked back to the bed and sat down.

Then I heard a loud thud, and a scream.

"James! Help! James!"

My blood ran cold.

What did she—

The bedroom door flew open with such force it slammed against the wall. The lock of the door had been broken.

James stood in the doorway, breathing heavily. His face was twisted with rage, his eyes glowing gold. His wolf was close to the surface.

Behind him, my mother and father appeared, holding a sobbing Mia.

"You pushed her down the stairs?" James's voice was deadly quiet, filled with rage.

"What? No, I didn't—"

"She came up here to comfort you," my mother said, her voice shaking. "To try and make peace. And you attacked a pregnant she-wolf!"

"That's not what happened!" I stood up. "She was inside my room, insulting me—"

"That's not true!" Mia sobbed. "I just wanted to talk to my sister. To make sure she was okay. And she... she pushed me!"

"I shoved her away from my door! I didn't push her down the stairs—"

Before I could say anything more, James's fist slammed into my face. The blow sent me flying backward. My head cracked against the wall, and pain exploded through my skull.

Then everything went black.

When I woke up in the pack clinic, my head was pounding. My face throbbed, and I could taste blood in my mouth. I could feel my wolf working hard to heal the injuries.

I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't cooperate. Everything hurt.

"You're finally awake." James's voice was cold, emotionless.

I forced my eyes open. He was sitting in a chair by the window, watching me with those cold eyes.

The memories flooded through my mind, and tears welled up in my eyes. In our eight years of being mated, James had never hit me before, until now.

"James," I whispered. "How could—"

"Apologize to Mia."

"What?"

"You heard me." His eyes were hard and dark. "Apologize to your sister for attacking her."

"I didn't attack her!" I tried to sit up again, ignoring the pain. "She was taunting me, saying horrible things—"

"I don't care what she said." He stood up, eyes flashing—his wolf was still on the surface. "You put your hands on a pregnant she-wolf. You could have killed her pup."

"She threw herself down the stairs!" Tears streamed down my face. "She's lying, James. She's always lying—"

"Apologize."

"No." I said firmly, my wolf rising even with her weakness.

His expression darkened, his eyes flashing gold. "No?"

"I won't apologize for something I didn't do."

He stared at me for a long moment. Then he smiled. It was a cold, cruel smile that made my blood freeze.

"Fine."

He grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet. I stumbled, my legs were too weak to hold me up.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

He didn't answer, he just dragged me out of the room, and down the clinic hallway, his grip was tight and painful.

"James, stop! Where are we going?"

He kept dragging me, till we approached the ICU wing.

My stomach dropped.

"No," I whispered. "No, James, please—"

He ignored me as he dragged me to Room 304. Alice's room.

"James, what are you doing?" I was sobbing now. "Please, don't—"

He kicked open the door to Alice's room with force, breaking it off completely.

To my dismay, she was still lying there, pale and unmoving, surrounded by machines. Her heart monitor beeped steadily. Asher hadn't moved her yet.

A healer looked up, startled. "Alpha, we—"

"Turn off the life support," James commanded coldly.

The healer’s eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"I said turn it off."

"But Alpha, she—"

"Do it." His eyes flashed full gold, demanding obedience.

"Alpha, the patient will die within minutes if we—"

"I don't care." James's voice was ice. "Turn it off. Now."

The healer looked at me, then back at James. "Alpha, I need authorization from the head healer—"

"I'm the Alpha of this pack." His voice was quiet but deadly. "My authority supercedes every other person in this pack. If you question me again, I will exile you from the pack, and make you live the rest of your life as a miserable rogue. Do you understand?"

The healer’s face went pale as she quickly did as he said with tears in her eyes, unable to resist the alpha's command.

"No!" I lunged forward, but James caught me easily, holding me back.

"Please," I sobbed. "Please, she's all I have. She's my mother. Please—"

The ventilator went silent.

The heart monitor's beeping slowed.

"James, please!" I dropped to my knees, sobbing. "Please don't do this! I'm begging you!"

He looked down at me. "Apologize to Mia."

"I'll apologize!" I screamed. "I'll apologize for anything! Just please, James, please don't do this!"

He stared at me for a long moment.

"Turn it back on!" I screamed. "Please, turn it back on!"

But then a voice called from the hallway. "Alpha!"

Another healer appeared in the doorway, breathless. "It's Mia! She's having a panic attack! She can't breathe—"

James released me immediately. "Gather every healer in this clinic. Now. No harm must come to Mia or that pup."

Then he ran out of the room. To my horror, he dragged the healer from Alice's room with him.

I rushed outside frantically.

"Help!" I screamed into the hallway. "Somebody help me! Please!"

But everyone was gone, running to help Mia, on the alpha's orders.

I looked at the machines, at the buttons and switches.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to Alice. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how to—"

I tried pressing buttons, flipping switches, but nothing worked.

Alice's heart monitor slowed further, the beeping got fainter.

"No, no, no," I sobbed. "Please, Mama. Please don't leave me. Please—"

The monitor flatlined.

"No!" I threw myself across her body. "Mama! Mama, please!"

But she was gone. Her wolf's life force had faded completely.

I don't know how long I stayed there, sobbing over her body, my own wolf releasing a broken howl.

Eventually, the healers came back. They tried to pull me away, but I wouldn't let go.

Guards had to be called to drag me out of the room while I screamed and fought, my wolf thrashing.

James was in the waiting room with Mia. She was crying dramatically, my mother stroking her hair.

When James saw me being dragged past, he didn't even look concerned.

He just turned back to Mia and continued coddling her.

Alice was dead. James had murdered her.

Just like he had murdered my pups.

I pulled out my phone with shaking hands and texted Asher.

— He killed my mother. It's too late.

His response came immediately.

— What happened?

I told him everything.

There was a long pause before his next message.

— I'll make him pay, Olivia. I swear on my wolf's honor.

If James thought he had broken me, he was about to learn how wrong he was.

Olivia's POV

The next few days passed quickly. I arranged a quiet funeral for Alice, inviting the close friends she had known.

James barely spoke to me. He was too busy fussing over Mia, making sure she and the pup had everything they needed for the gathering.

The day before the gathering, I found James in his office, going through arrangements with the event planner on the phone.

When he saw me, he held up one finger, gesturing to me to wait.

I stood there silently while he finished his call, discussing like he hadn't killed Alice.

Finally, he hung up and looked at me with irritation. "What is it?"

"I need you to sign these." I placed a folder on his desk. "For Alice's death certificate and burial arrangements."

He glanced at the papers without really looking at them. "Right."

He picked up his pen.

"I'm sorry about your foster mother," he said absently, signing the first page. "But it was her time, wasn't it? You said it yourself, the pack clinic called to tell you her wolf was fading."

My jaw clenched.

He kept signing and talking, not even reading what was in front of him. "These things happen. She was old. Her wolf was weak. She lived a full life."

He murdered her. And now he was acting like it was just natural causes.

"Here." He pushed the folder back to me. "All signed. Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Good. Finish everything quickly. We have the celebration tomorrow, and I don't want any negative energy affecting it."

Negative energy. That's what my grief was to him.

"Of course," I said quietly, taking the folder.

As I turned to leave, I heard Mia's voice from the hallway.

"James? Are you almost done? I need your opinion on my dress—oh." She stopped when she saw me. "Olivia. I didn't see you there."

"I was just leaving," I said.

"Wait." Mia stepped into the office, her hand resting on her stomach. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

I said nothing.

"I know you're upset about Alice," she said softly. "And I understand, because losing a parent is hard."

My hands clenched around the folder.

"But you have to remember," Mia continued, "Alice was my biological mother too. We shared the same blood. If anything, I'm in more pain than you are. My wolf grieves for the connection we never had."

I stared at her incredulously. Mia had wanted nothing to do with Alice after the DNA test.

"You only knew her for ten years," Mia said. "But she carried me for nine months. We had a biological connection that you could never understand. So really, I'm the one who lost a mother. You're just being dramatic for no reason."

Something inside me snapped. My wolf surged forward.

My hand moved before I could stop it.

The slap echoed through the office.

Mia stumbled back, her hand flying to her cheek. For a moment, she just stood there, shocked. Then she burst into tears.

"James!" she sobbed. "She hit me! She attacked me again!"

James was on his feet instantly, growling.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he roared, his eyes flashing gold.

"She was taunting me," I said, my voice shaking. "She said—"

"I don't care what she said!" He barked, and his hand flew through the air as he slapped me hard, no holding back.

The force of the slap sent me stumbling. I gripped the wall as I struggled to keep standing, my wolf whimpering.

"I was just trying to console her!" Mia wailed. "I told her I understood her pain, that Alice was my biological mother too, and she attacked me!"

"You're lying—"

James grabbed my arm roughly with his alpha strength. "Enough! I don't want to hear another word from you."

He shoved me toward the door.

"Get out of my sight," he said coldly. "And if you even look at Mia wrong again, I'll make sure you regret it."

I stumbled out of the office, clutching the folder to my chest.

Behind me, I could hear James's voice, it was soft and gentle now.

"Are you okay, sweetheart? Did she hurt you? Did she hurt the pup? Come here, let me see..."

I walked up the stairs slowly, my cheek throbbing where he had hit me.

In our eight years of being mated, James had never laid a hand on me.

Now he had hit me twice in four days, because of Mia.

I went to the bedroom and locked the door.

Then I opened the folder and looked at the documents James had just signed.

He hadn't read a single one.

He had signed the mate bond dissolution papers, and he had signed acknowledgment of my fifty percent ownership of the Blue Moon Pack assets.

He had signed his own destruction, and he didn't even know it.

I pulled out my phone and took photos of every signed page.

Then I sent them to Asher.

— He signed everything. The celebration is tomorrow. Are you ready?

His response came immediately.

— Everything is in place. Tomorrow, you leave that territory and you never look back. You'll be under my pack's protection.

***

The day of the gathering arrived. James and Mia had left the house several hours ago, leaving just my parents.

At 6 PM, my mother knocked on the door.

"Olivia, you need to start getting ready. We're already going to the pack hall for the gathering."

"Okay"

"Wear something appropriate."

I didn't respond.

She sighed. "James is trying very hard to make this a perfect evening. The least you could do is not ruin it with your mourning."

Then she left.

When everyone was out of the house, I moved quickly.

I pulled out the suitcases I had hidden in the back of the closet and loaded them in the hallway.

I arranged a large envelope. Inside were the mate bond dissolution papers signed by James himself, with implicating photos and videos of James and Mia.

The medical records showing what he had done to our pups.

Then the divestment agreement, showing that I had fifty percent ownership of the Blue Moon Pack assets, and I had pulled out my investments from his company.

Then other necessary documents.

I stepped back and looked at the envelope sitting there like a bomb waiting to explode.

By the time he opened these, I would be gone.

His pack businesses would be destroyed, and his reputation would be in ruins.

I pulled out my phone and called a loyal omega who owed me a favour to deliver the envelope.

Then I grabbed my bags and walked out of the front door.

A black car was waiting at the front door. Asher stepped out, opening the door for me. I was too exhausted to ask how he got into James’ pack territory unseen.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly.

I looked back at the house one last time. At the life I was leaving behind.

"Yes," I said. "I'm ready."

I got into the car. Asher closed the door and got in beside me.

As we drove away, I pulled out my phone and sent one final text to the omega.

— Deliver the envelope now.

Then I blocked James's number, Mia's number, and my parents' numbers.

I was done.

"Where are we going?" I asked Asher quietly.

"My territory," he said. "Somewhere safe. My pack will protect you."

I placed my hand on my stomach, on the pup growing inside me.

"Good," I whispered.

As the car pulled away, I watched the house disappear in the mirror.

James thought I was stupid, a she-wolf easy to manipulate and discard.

He had no idea what he had created.

The she-wolf who loved him died the day I found him with Mia.

The she-wolf sitting in this car was someone else.

Someone who would make him pay for every lie, every betrayal, every murdered pup.

Alpha James Grant's perfect night was about to become his worst nightmare, and I couldn't wait to watch it all burn.