Chapter 33: Echoes of Betrayal

OLIVIA

~Warmth. Safety.~

These were the primary sensations Olivia clung to as she woke, her eyelids fluttering open.

She rubbed her nose back and forth, a robust, masculine scent of pinewood filling her nostrils. The sleepiness wore off, and her heart pounded. She tensed in Alexander’s grip and then struggled.

His hold tightened around her, keeping her still.

“Livy?”

She looked up, gazing into his drowsy blue eyes. All his defenses were down, his mask was absent from his features. Genuine worry was evident in his eyes.

The same look he had when he discovered her in her apartment. She’d been so exhausted last night. It hit her like a flood of memories. The shower. She hadn’t been able to stand.

Her physical and mental energy had been sapped from her.

Everything she thought she knew. Everything she trusted. It was all wrong.

How could she have been so oblivious? How had she not seen this coming?

“Hey…”

His thumb gently swept across her cheek, catching a tear she hadn’t realized had fallen. She raised a trembling hand, her fingers curling around his wrist. She’d followed him without question.

She’d lain beside him…clung to him as if her life hinged on it.

She thought she knew Will—or at least she believed she did—and she had trusted him. She didn’t know Alexander. He was a paradox, warm one moment, cold the next.

He was kind and he was cruel at times. Yet, she’d trusted him without a second thought.

Even now. When she looked into his eyes, her chest ached.

A longing to nestle into his chest and remain there until the world made sense again. It was…frightening. She’d just lost her trust in someone and the ease with which she trusted him…

Was that her instincts guiding her?

Maya had told her that the wolf within her knew better than Olivia did. But, she’d never trusted her wolf. She’d never heeded her.

Now, she wondered how different things might have been if she had.

Would her wolf have identified Will as her attacker? Was that why he had restrained her? To prevent her from attacking him on the night of the full moon?

~No~. She couldn’t—she couldn’t dwell on this.

It wouldn’t change anything. Will was…a monster. He was what he had led her to believe Alexander was. So far, Alexander had been patient and…honest? He had disliked Will from the beginning. She could see why.

He’d deceived her, he’d manipulated her all because he couldn’t have his mate. Jess was his mate. It was the first time she’d heard the term. She tried to recall if Maya or Alexander had ever used it, but…~no~.

“C-can I ask you something?”

He nodded.

“What’s a mate?”

“W-what?”

There was a slight hesitation in his voice, a hint of surprise. “Will, he said Jess was his mate.”

His hold on her slackened and her eyes widened as she felt him withdraw. Had she said something wrong? Was this a taboo topic?

Even Will had never mentioned it until the day before.

He had told her Jess was the one, their relationship had moved quickly but... mates? Jess was human. How could a werewolf concept apply to her?

Alexander sat up, the blanket falling to his lap.

“Did he say anything else?” His lips were tight, his jaw clenched.

She shook her head before sitting next to him. “That she was his mate, that she didn’t know they were meant to be together.”

A wave of shame washed over her and she looked down at her hands.

She was ~the substitute~. “He thought I was her—that’s why—” ~That was why her life had been upended.~ Because she resembled Jess.

Sure, they shared similar features... but to be mistaken for her?

He muttered a curse under his breath, startling her.

“Is—”

“Every werewolf has a mate.”

“But Jess is human…”

He shrugged. “It happens. That’s why not everyone finds their mate.”

“So when you say mate, you mean like a soulmate?”

He nodded.

The idea that such a pure, romantic concept existed in the werewolf world was disconcerting. Then again, Will had nearly ~killed~ who he believed was his mate.

No, he had almost ~transformed~ her. It was unjust. All this time, Jess was the one who should have been enduring this nightmare, but instead, it was her. Perhaps it was selfish to think that.

But oh, how she wished she hadn’t ventured out that night.

Then Will wouldn’t have made a mistake.

“And everyone... ends up with their mate?”

“No. Sometimes they don’t find them, or they die.”

“And what’s the point?” There had to be a reason. She hadn’t given up her human life for nothing, right?

A look of pain crossed his eyes as he met her gaze.

He opened his mouth as if to speak but remained silent. ~They die~. Had he lost ~his~ mate? Was she being thoughtless?

“I—”

“It’s different with your mate. You have a bond, you understand them, you—the love is different. If the bond is strong enough, you can locate them... anywhere. You can share your thoughts.”

Could she really bare her soul to someone? The thought was daunting.

She wanted to believe that this pursuit of a partner had driven Will to madness, but the rest of the pack seemed perfectly sane.

Was it because they'd never faced rejection? And what did it feel like to discover your soulmate?

She'd experienced love before. Was it the same?

“Do—Do I have one? I wasn’t…born a werewolf.” He had mentioned that sometimes mates were humans. Could that have been her destiny? Until her fate took a different turn…

“Y-yeah,” he managed to utter.

Suddenly, he wasn’t looking at her. The self-assured, dominant, pain-in-the-ass Alexander was ~evading~ her. Once again.

“Do-do you have one? I mean, have you found her?”

He nodded.

She couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. As far as she understood, this bond was everything. Yet, that night at the hospital, he had been all over her.

What was the point of a soulmate if you could so easily betray them and be with someone else? It didn’t make sense. That wasn’t what soulmates were supposed to be.

“Is—did she reject you? Did she…” She swallowed hard. “Pass away?”

That could explain why he’d moved on from his mate.

He shook his head.

“Then I don’t think she’d be okay with what happened…” Or what ~kept happening~. “You kissed me the other day…and…”

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as he slowly lifted his head. His tormented eyes met hers. He remained silent. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

“I don’t think that’s very appropriate… I don’t think she’d appreciate…”

Her heart pounded in her ears and her mouth felt dry as he maintained their intense eye contact. He wanted her to join the pack. He never explained why.

He couldn’t leave her alone. She had gone with him when she should have been wary.

But that was because she was an omega and he was an alpha. Maya had said it. She was more susceptible to him. Right?

She swallowed, her throat moving noticeably.

“Al-Alex?”

“Damn. I—This isn’t how I wanted to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

Chills ran down her spine, and she knew her question sounded naive, but she didn’t care.

“Liv…”

“But you said I would know. ~I would know~.”

“Your wolf would tell you.”

“And I don’t listen to mine.”

She forgot how to breathe. Panic surged within her, consuming her. She—~what~ was she supposed to believe this? But—she didn’t understand. He blackmailed her. He—he responded when she called.

He followed her.

He kept forcing himself into her life where he wasn’t wanted. She couldn’t comprehend his fixation with her. Apart from the fact that she was an omega, it didn’t make sense.

There was always a missing piece.

Was this it?

“You—did you know all along?”

He nodded.

“You didn’t say anything,” she retorted. She was so damn tired of everyone withholding information from her.

If he was her mate and if she was destined to be his soulmate, why hadn’t he told her?

He rubbed his neck, his body tensing. “I thought you knew but then we had coffee and I realized you didn’t.

“You didn’t even know about it. You didn’t trust me. I—What did you expect me to do Livy? Declare that you’re mine and whisk you away?”

~Well~. No. Obviously not. “You could have explained it to me.”

“Could have listened? I had to coerce you to even meet me. Do you know how much self-restraint I had to exercise? To be around you and not claim you?”

When Will was rejected by Jess, he pursued her relentlessly.

Alexander had—well, he certainly hadn’t left her alone but he hadn’t harmed her. He’d been persistent, he’d been pushy but—but he hadn’t been a monster.

But was that all?

He had helped her, he had sought her out…because he was compelled to, and for no other reason?

He couldn’t love her… He didn’t know her. She didn’t know him.

“So—what does this mean? You’re gonna—I have to… I don’t get a say?”

His gaze hardened. “Are you asking if I’m gonna ~force~ you?”

She realized she’d hit a raw spot and instantly, a twinge of remorse washed over her. “I—”

“Do you have any idea how tough it’s been? Every damn day, I restrain myself. It’s not just because you’re my mate. It’s because you’re more human than wolf.

“I’ve been trying to do things ~your~ way. And now you’re questioning me if—” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply.

“I’m going to fetch some things for your back. You’ve got some injuries.”

Before she could utter a word, he was on his feet. “There’ll be someone outside the door, if you need anything, just holler.”

“Alex—”

“If I stick around, I’m going to utter something I’d rather not.” He pressed his lips together. “And you don’t need that right now.”

She watched him walk away, her heart feeling as if it was shattering.

She didn’t think she had the strength to run after him even if she wanted to. Her body was spent; she was worn out.

Will had bitten her.

Will had deceived her.

Alexander… was her mate.

She… didn’t have a place to call home?

How was she supposed to go home?

She recalled asking about Will’s fate last night. He was alive. But where?

She was plagued with too many questions and too few answers. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to know the answers.

For the moment, all she wanted was to burrow under the covers, away from the world.

What was she supposed to do now?