OliviaEverything was dark, so dark that I couldn't see an inch in front of me. My mouth snapped shut just as I was about to tell Nathan that I loved him, leaving me shocked and confused.“Whoa, what happened?” I blurted out, swiveling my head around.For some reason, I found myself gripping the amulet that Layla had given me.Maybe it was because the room was suddenly so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat, or maybe it was because the room instantly felt several degrees colder, as if an icy wind had just blown its way through, despite the fact that the doors and windows were closed and that it was only mid-September.Nathan chuckled nervously through the darkness, pulling away from our embrace. “Looks like the power went out. Just stay here, Olivia. I’ll check the fuse box in the basement.”But something didn’t feel right. A tingling sensation was emanating from the amulet in my palm, stronger than before, a feeling that had me on high alert. Instinctively, I reached out, grabbi
OliviaI felt like I was going insane.After throwing up that... stuff, that black ink-like substance, my entire body felt like a live wire. Every cell screamed that something was wrong, but I had no clue what. It wasn’t just me, though. Even my wolf, usually a reassuring presence, felt sick and disoriented.“Nathan, I don’t know what's going on. What did she do to me?”Nathan ran a hand through his hair, clearly frazzled. “Olivia, we need to get you to the hospital. This isn’t normal.”I shook my head, already knowing what that route would entail.“And tell them what? That I threw up black gunk after a witch visited my house? They won’t be able to find anything wrong with me. It’s got to be some hex or something. Medical tests aren’t going to show that. She’ll definitely make sure of it.”He sighed, visibly frustrated but knowing I had a point. “So, what, we just sit around and wait for something to happen?”“I don’t know, Nathan. I don't know, okay? But right now, I’m not getting an
OliviaFor days on end, I had been waking up with this nauseous, flip-flopping feeling in my stomach.It was like riding a roller coaster on an empty stomach, but without the thrill. I found myself rushing to the bathroom every morning for four days straight, thinking maybe I had been hexed by the witch after all.But it wasn’t black stuff coming up anymore, and the amulet had been silent for days. It was all really weird.“Girl, you’ve been hugging the toilet bowl more than your man lately,” Angela said, stirring her coffee as we sat in my kitchen. She was in her nurse’s scrubs, visiting on her lunch break.The twins were blissfully napping in the next room, giving us a rare moment of quiet. Nathan was away at the Council building on Alpha duties, and had been mostly oblivious to my nausea spells because I had decided to keep it to myself for the time being, hoping that it would pass.I laughed, trying to shake off my friend’s accurate but also unsettling observation. “Don’t even jok
OliviaI still couldn't believe it. Four positive pregnancy tests were lined up on the bathroom counter, contradicting everything I had said to Angela.Nathan was staring at the tests, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Another baby?” he finally repeated, his voice a mixture of disbelief and something else I couldn’t quite place.“I guess so,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. My heart was pounding so loudly I could hear it echoing in my ears.Nathan’s gaze moved from the pregnancy tests to me, his expression softening. “Wow. Just wow. Liv, this is—this is amazing.”“Amazing?” I echoed, surprised at his enthusiasm.He nodded vigorously, his hands reaching for my shoulders. “Yes, amazing! We’re going to have another baby, Liv. A baby that’s biologically both of us. Don’t you see how incredible that is?”I smiled, touched by his excitement but also a little overwhelmed. “I do see it, Nathan. It’s just all so sudden. I mean, we’ve got the twins, you’re busy as the Alpha, and let’s forge
OliviaThe day was a whirlwind of activity. The twins were particularly fussy, almost as if they had sensed an upcoming shift in the family dynamic. Finally, after a lot of trials and tribulations, it was dinner time. The sun was setting, and the energy in the house felt as if it was calming down, and yet I felt anything but calm.I was sitting on the bed, thinking about everything. Nathan was downstairs, giving the twins their dinner, and I could hear the sounds of his voice emanating through the walls. Hearing the way that he spoke so lovingly to them should have filled me with comfort, but right now, that was impossible.The knowledge of this new pregnancy was exciting, but I couldn’t get the witch off of my mind. A ‘gift’, she had said. Was this it? Was this her version of a ‘gift’? Was this yet another way for her to control me, to control us? And if I kept this so-called ‘gift’, would it put Aurora in danger?Suddenly, Nathan appeared in the doorway. “Hey, I was feeding Elliot,
OliviaThe therapist’s office had a calming energy, filled with muted colors and soft, plush chairs that seemed designed to absorb tension. A diffuser filled the air with a faint scent of lavender, adding to the tranquil atmosphere.Despite this, my wolf was pacing inside of me, just as uneasy and restless as I felt at that moment.When Nathan had first told me that he wanted to try therapy, I was utterly taken aback. He had seemed so averse to the idea when we took our trip to the city, and yet now here he was, wearing a button-down shirt and slacks for our first appointment.“I want to make a good impression,” he had said that morning as we were getting ready. “If this therapist is gonna become… well, ‘our’ therapist, then I want to create a nice image.”I had chuckled. “Nathan, it’s therapy, not a job interview,” I had teased. “You can relax. Really.”It was clear to me that Nathan had never been to therapy in his life. I had gone for a few years during and after college, when I ne
OliviaThe air inside the car was stifling, like we were both holding our breath, waiting for the other to exhale. I was still clutching the pamphlets Dr. Lewis had given us, my fingers imprinting little crumples into the paper. Nathan’s remark had thrown me off balance.“So you think this is silly, huh?” My voice sounded oddly calm, a stark contrast to the tumultuous thoughts inside my head. “And you’re gonna give up? Just like that?” I snapped my fingers.Nathan scowled. He looked an awful lot like a little kid who was being forced into something that he definitely did not want to do, which was a huge change from how ‘open’ he had supposedly been to the idea just a few hours ago.“Yeah, Liv, just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers back.“But why?” I asked. “What changed, Nathan? I thought you wanted to do this, not just for us, but for the kids.”Nathan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s just… exercises? Homework? Really, Liv?”“Why? What’s wrong with that?”“I
OliviaNathan opened the sliding door that led to the backyard, the cool night air hitting my face like a splash of cold water.The stars were out, twinkling overhead, and the silhouette of the old oak tree with its treehouse stood like a sentinel in the far corner of the yard. For a second, I hesitated at the threshold, half-expecting him to reveal some grand romantic gesture, roses leading to a candle-lit table or something equally cliche.Instead, Nathan just stood there, hands in his pockets, looking back at me. “Well? Coming?”“Where are you taking me, Nathan? Don’t tell me you’ve buried some relationship-fixing treasure in the backyard.”He chuckled. “No, nothing like that. Just follow me.”I stepped out onto the patio and followed him into the yard. The grass was slightly damp beneath my feet, an earthy smell rising from the ground.Finally, he stopped near the old oak tree and turned to me. “You remember this tree, don’t you?”“How could I forget?” I asked. “We used to play he
OliviaI gripped the edges of the podium, my knuckles whitening from the strain as I stared out over the sea of faces. All eyes were trained squarely on me, awaiting my words. But I was frozen.A tremor of nausea wormed its way up my throat as I stared out at them. What was I thinking—how could I have ever agreed to this? Speaking to crowds had never been my forte; that was Nathan’s arena, not mine. I was just the woman behind the scenes, the young mom who had never gone to college, the one who had been handed her job by her husband…Suddenly, a flicker of motion off to the side caught my eye—Nathan, standing just at the edge of the stage with his arms folded across his chest. Even from this distance, I could feel the weight of his steady gaze, that piercing Alpha stare that always seemed to see straight into the depths of my soul.He must have sensed my faltering because, slowly, deliberately, he offered me the faintest of smiles and a single, reassuring nod.And just like that, the
Olivia I looped my arm through Nathan’s as we stepped down from the podium, the applause from the crowd and the flashing of cameras having finally subsided after what felt like an eternity. “It’s over,” Nathan beamed, giving my arm a squeeze. “That wasn’t so bad.” I couldn’t help but grin back at him. “No, it wasn’t. You were great up there.” And he really had been great; the press conference had been an overwhelming success—any lingering doubts or trepidation we had harbored before had been utterly blown away by the sheer force of the crowd’s enthusiastic response. For so long, it had felt like we were fighting this battle alone, like the victims who had suffered under Dan’s horrific operation were little more than nameless, faceless casualties. But today, we had finally given them a voice. Their stories had reached the masses, had resonated and struck a chord with everyone who watched. Nathan had handled all of the questions that were thrown his way with poise and ease
OliviaI rapped my knuckles lightly on the door to Nathan’s office. A moment later, his voice called out, “Come in.”Stepping into the room, I placed my hands on my hips upon seeing the scene in front of me: Nathan was standing in front of the mirror, his shirt still untucked and his tie loosened. His desk was a mess of papers and folders, and it was clear that he had been checking over his notes last-minute before the press conference.
OliviaI wiped a bead of sweat from my brow, slowly turning to survey the progress that had been made in the park. The banners we had hung were a bold purple color, signifying our support of the women who had been affected by the trafficking ring.I couldn’t help but smile a bit as I looked at our progress. With the press conference today, followed by a festival to help raise funds for the shelter we were building, the park was bustling with activity as our pack members worked hard
NathanI leaned back in my chair with a weary sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose in a futile attempt to stave off the encroaching headache. Spread out on my desk was an array of file folders, legal pads scrawled with notes, and printed transcripts—a minefield of information that would need to be carefully navigated on the day of the upcoming press conference.It had been two weeks since Dan and Montgomery’s bodies were found in the confinement pit, and it had been a dizzyin
OliviaMy hands shook uncontrollably as I stepped up to the edge of the pit, clutching the metal grating until my knuckles turned white. A thick, cloying stench wafted up from the darkness below—the unmistakable reek of death and decay.Despite the waves of nausea already roiling in my gut, I leaned forward for a closer look.
OliviaThe air coming through the open windows smelled like the fresh sea breeze as we made our way from room to room, touring every nook and cranny of the newly completed cottage. It was perfect—cozy and quaint, while still boasting all the modern amenities one could want. But more than that, it was a sanctuary, a haven.A fresh start.
OliviaThe sound of power tools outside streamed in through the window while I folded the laundry, a distant backdrop to my swirling thoughts. I had grown used to the sound, and actually kind of enjoyed it. It was a reminder that life went on, that our family was growing.It had been a couple of weeks since I had made the decision to take a temporary leave from work in order to really focus on my family—on rebuilding that long-severed bond with my mother—and I was glad I did.
NathanI couldn’t stop the rage from simmering just beneath the surface as I made my way through the darkened forest toward the confinement pit. No one knew I was here—I was coming under the cover of night, my hair and face concealed by a hood.But I had to come. I couldn’t stop thinking about Dan and Montgomery, and I needed to see them.