Chapter four

Olivia POV

 

Hero's eyes darted to mine. “Did you hear that sound?” he asked.

 

I nodded. Of course I heard it. He immediately pushed me to his back, pointing his gun in all directions.

 

We aimed directly as footsteps approached; I could feel our hearts beating faster as the mysterious person walked in. What if it was Grim? No, it can't be. I would be dead if it happened to be the ones.

 

Just as we were about to shoot, Lia and Conrad surfaced, blood stained on their shirt. Conrad immediately ran to me and engulfed me in a tight hug. 

 

“I thought I lost you,” he whispered against my ears, kissing my forehead.

 

My heart warmed up as I watched him place soft kisses on my head. A ray of hope appeared in me. He still cared. He had not yet given up on me.

 

“Where did you go? You wasted so much time, and we went to look for you only to meet someone from the vale pack. I don't know how she smelt us, but we killed her right on the spot,” Lia asked, panting.

“I was going for a walk when I saw someone. I saw Grim in the woods and”

 

“What?” Conrad asked, raising his eyebrow.

 

I nodded, “Yes. He almost caught me, but I cleverly ran away,” I said and went further to narrate all that happened.

 

“Fuck!” “I am sure Alpha Killian knew about it. That fucking twat knew that we could be killed and still sent us!” He shouted.

 

Lia shrugged. “He is our Alpha; you should be used to him by now. He would send anyone just to get what he wanted. I am sure that is the reason why he told us to not come back if we don't get it done" 

 

I nodded, even though pain filled my heart. This was not the first time our Alpha tried fighting the vale pack, and so far none of them have survived.

 

He was so desperate to take the iron throne that he would do anything to get it. 

 

“We have to get in there one way or the other and get that spoilt brat out of the pack. We just need to be careful, very careful,” the hero said, and we nodded in agreement.

 

Surprisingly, getting into the vale pack was easier than we thought. We stopped a food truck driver, killed the driver, took over the truck, and drove straight into the palace.

 

We joined the other staff who were preparing for Dean's wedding; all through the day, my thoughts bounced back to Grim. I found it really frustrating that I could not get him out of my thoughts.

 

We were immediately assigned our duties and began immediately.

"Are you new here?” One of the maids asked politely. 

"Yes, we came today,” I said, pointing at myself and Lia, who was on the other side watching plates with the rest.

"Oh, that's nice. My name is Laura,” she introduced with a broad smile.

"Olivia, but people call me liv.” 

She nodded as we continued cleaning the plates. The place seemed more busy than usual, as if they were preparing for an event.

"Is there an event coming up?” I asked.

"Yes. Dean is getting married to Sandra; she is from the Crane pack. I think he wants to get married to her quickly so that they will crown him the Alpha,” she informed as she cleaned the stacks of plates.

I knew he was planning on marrying Sandra, but why was he in haste? Is there something he is trying to achieve with this marriage? I turned to her and asked “Why? I mean, why is he in haste to be crowned the Alpha?”

 

"Well, you know Grim is a hybrid and the eldest son, but he is illegitimate. His mother was a servant, and you know, in our park only fully blooded royals can assume the throne. The elders are divided. Some are saying he can assume the throne; if the goddess did not want him to be recognised, she wouldn't have given him the white hair, the symbol of royalty,” she explained.

I nodded, so there was a power struggle going on between the two sons. No wonder Dean was in haste to get married to someone else after his mate was killed.

 

If Grim knew that his position was being threatened, why was he hiding in the woods? He could have just openly challenged Dean; after all, he is a hybrid. Something did not sit well with these arrangements.

"Does he have a mate?”

"Yes, her name is Theresa. She is such a sweet soul, and I am sure she would make a good Luna. She treats us with respect, unlike Sandra. I pray she dies in her sleep,” she said with disdain.

I shrugged without replying to her. She was wishing for Sandra’s death when her brother sent five of his men to save her. Unfortunately for Laura, her wish would not be granted; by the next morning, Dean, Theresa, Grim's mother, and whoever is a royalty would be dead and Sandra would be gone.

 

We quickly retired to our rooms and waited for a while for the men to join us. Immediately they came, and we closed the door behind us.

Conrad rolled out a map and placed it on the table for us to see.

"I have managed to go around the palace and know all the routes around, making our job easier. We are going to focus on how to get to the main palace, which is the one at the centre.

 

Then we would quietly kill all the guards outside as the royal members slept on the first floor. Just either use a gun injected with wolfsbane or a knife. 

 

Aim for their heart; we won't want to take chances. Immediately we get up, we disperse ourselves. Lia and Olivia would go to the two rooms at the end; Grim's mother and his mate have been locked there with no guard.

 

It would be easier to kill them. We would go to Dean's room and kill him while we were there. You would go and take Sandra out. We all know how stubborn she can be, so we would sedate her if she tried to refuse.

 

We pass through the back door, and we are out before the next morning, “he explained. “Is it clear to us?” He asked.

We nodded. It looked so easy with the plan; I pray it works out as we have planned. 

"And how would we know if one of us got into trouble?” Lia asked.

"We are not going to be separated. We are going in pairs,” Conrad assured us.

 

Lia nodded, and the rest of us waited for the arrival of midnight. At exactly twelve o'clock. We changed into our outfits and made our way towards the main palace.

 

Slowly and steadily, we killed all the guards guarding the entrance of the palace and made our way to the first floor as instructed by Conrad.

"Be careful,” Conrad whispered into my ear before we got separated.

Lia and I immediately made our way towards the room at the edge, as Conrad said there were no guards guarding them. We quickly took out our earplugs and opened the door

"You kill the old woman, and I kill his mate,” she whispered to me as we entered. I nodded quickly, grateful that she had asked me to kill his mother instead of his mate. I was sure my heart would weaken if I saw the sweet girl Laura talked about.

His mom was sitting on a chair, her hands tied to the back. She was sleeping peacefully. It made my job easier; nothing annoyed me more than people begging me to spare their lives.

I waited for some minutes for Lia to come out. She entered the room where I was with pale skin and trembling hands.

Something must have gone wrong. "Lia, what happened? Did she stab you? Are you hurt?” I asked, searching around her body for any marks.

She took in a shaky breath and curled her hands into a fist to calm herself down. “She was not there when I entered, but there was a coffin, brown with a golden design. After searching around for her, I opened the coffin only to find her dead with her eyes still open and she was tied. When I touched it inside, it immediately itched me. Do you know what they kept inside her coffin?” She asked me in a trembling voice.

I shook my head, unsure of how to handle this news. “wolfsbane, liv. It seemed as if they tied her and kept her inside there to die a slow, painful death,” she explained with a trembling voice.

Lia was still shaking even though she tried to calm herself down. The sight must have been horrific. I immediately pulled her into a hug to calm her down.

"Search round! There are intruders!” A voice said, drawing my attention. 

 

Oh no. I think they have found out about us. I immediately dragged Lia out and ran towards the princess room, but it was locked.

"We need to leave; let's go through the back door; they will join us,” Lia said with urgency.

Without thinking, we immediately ran towards the back door, only to come face-to-face with some guards. They immediately grabbed us and sedated us before we could stab them.

I tried to stay awake for a while even though my eyes felt heavy. I could not stop thinking about Conrad. Was he killed? Did they catch them? Are they going to kill us?

"Two of them are dead already. We have sedated the third man just as you asked,” one of the guards said.

 

"Good. Take both of them and burn them before they wake up.”

Burn them? I tried to move but to no avail. I closed my eyes and watched myself fall into the abyss of death.

 

“Liv! Liv!” A distant voice shouted. I tried to open my eyes, but it was too heavy.

 

"Liv! What did you do to her? Liv!” The voice shouted again, closer this time. It took me time to recall who was shouting. It was Lia.

 

I slowly opened my eyes; my eyes met with Lia's worried eyes. My head was seriously banging. My eyes scanned the room. Three huge men stood watching us; Conrad sat adjacent to us. His eyes softened with worry immediately he met mine.

"Love, are you okay? Say something!” Lia urged me to shake my body. Fear dripped from her eyes.

"I'm fine,” I said. Lia let out a sigh of relief. Conrad closed his eyes for a minute and took a deep breath before he opened them again.

I immediately sat upright; images of what happened before flooded my head. Conrad was alive; he was not dead.

"Good. Now that you all are alive, we will interrogate you before we kill you,” one of the guards said in a deep voice that sent chills to my skin.

"Who sent you?” He asked.

We searched each other's eyes, not sure if we should expose our Alpha. What if they attacked him, but we were already in a horrible situation?

"Alpha Killian,” Conrad said without mincing words. “He wanted us to avenge the death of his uncle and take his sister, the one Dean took,” he said boldly.

What the hell was wrong with him? This was not the time to be bold. This is the time to beg, to plead for our lives, not to challenge people who held our death verdict in their hands.

 

"And by avenging, you mean killing one of the prince's mothers and his mate?” The guard asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

Conrad remained silent even though he was glaring at him.

"Who killed the Grim's mate and mother?” He asked.

I swallowed hard, and Lia gripped my hand in fear. I opened my mouth to say something, but Conrad interrupted.

"I did. I killed both of them" 

My eyes widened. What the hell was he trying to do? Was he trying to take the blame for us? He would get killed. 

I tried locking eyes with him to communicate, but he avoided my eyes.

Hmm, the guard nodded and turned to us.

"What was your role then? Who did you kill?” He asked.

"They did not kill anyone. They only got information for us to work with,” Conrad answered and met my eyes this time, pleading with me not to say a word.

But I couldn't; he would get killed for no reason. If they could not kill Dean, it only meant one thing. They attacked them before they could do anything. He was innocent; Lia was innocent. The only guilty person was me. I was the only one who deserved to die. Not him, not Lia.

 

"I killed them. Only me. Conrad did nothing, nor did Lia,” I blurted out.

"I see,” the guard said. He walked towards me and squared to my level, his broad chest hovering over me. “Are you trying to play some sick games with us?” He asked.

"No. I did not like him"

"Liv, what are you saying?” Conrad asked, his voice filled with sadness. I avoided his gaze and instead met the guard's eyes. I deserved to die not him but Lia chipped in.

"Being in love doesn't mean you would lie for him. We both know Conrad did it. No need to lie, "Lia said.

I turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. What was she trying to do? Why was she lying?

"So they are lovers?” The guard asked Lia.

"Yes. But he killed them, not us. We are girls; how could we kill?” She asked him to feign innocence.

The guards stood up and turned to him, “Take him away and kill him. Let him join the other bodies,” he ordered.

The two other guards nodded and grabbed Conrad. He stared at me once more and mouthed “I love you” before leaving.

My heart broke into pieces immediately. He was the only one who had ever truly loved me. Who had truly cared about me even though I was an omega? 

No, no. They can't take him away. “No! Let me die in his place. He is innocent, please!” I screamed at the top of my voice. The guards took one glance at me and left, locking the bars behind him.

I rushed towards the bars. “Please! He is innocent! Conrad is innocent! I killed them! Not him! Please!!!!” I screamed, hitting my palm on the bars.

"Please!" I kept on begging till there was no strength in me again to beg. Conrad was gone, and he was not coming back.

"Liv, I am so sorry,” Lia said as she walked towards me, where I sat completely hopeless.

She tried to reach out for me, but I flinched.

"Don't you dare touch me! You knew Lia; you know I am the guilty one, so why lie against him?” I asked.

I would have been the one there, not him. 

"I am sorry. I can't bear to lose you. I can't be alone,” she said, her voice breaking with pleading.

"He wanted to go. Do you think he would have survived without you?” She asked.

"And do you think I can survive without him? He was my everything! He loved me even when my parents did not! He was the only

"I loved you, Liv! You are my best friend! I am an orphan! You are my best friend, my sister, my all! I can't just watch you sell yourself! She screamed on top of her voice.

The bars opened, revealing the guard.

 

He threw a necklace and a bracelet at me

 

"From your lover,” he said.

I pressed it into my hands; they were actually Conrad’s necklace and bracket. I actually gave him this necklace for his birthday.

Tears flooded my eyes as I stared at the necklace. He must have asked them to give me to make sure I don't forget him. A fresh needle of pain pierced my heart.

He threw two new clothes to the both of us. I examined it, and disgust covered my face. I did not need anyone to tell me that it was meant to seduce someone.

 

“You would be satisfied with Grim on his bed. Allow him to fuck you the way he wants; that is the only way you can be free,” he said and turned to Lia.

 

“You would satisfy Hunter, his best friend. Let's put these murders to use,” he said with a disgusted face and walked away.

 

Chills ran down my spine; memories of the past rushed through me. What the hell am I going to do? I can’t let Grim touch me. 

 

He is a beast, and I am sure his nature would apply to his life. Right there and now, I made up my mind to rather kill myself with any chance I get than let another man touch me.