Chapter Thirteen

Olivia’s POV  

I had always prided myself on being able to read people. It was a skill that had kept me alive in a world where someone like me—a soft-spoken omega—had no business existing.  

As I left Lorenzo’s office, closing the door behind me I found myself utterly lost.  

I had never seen him like that before.  

Cold. Distant. As if he was miles away from everything and everyone. 

It was as if I had done something to anger him, but I had no idea what it was I could have done. 

For years, Lorenzo had always treated me kindly. 

It was not the way he treated his men–with the harsh discipline of an alpha who ruled with an iron fist. 

He always treated me with a quiet sort of warmth,a patience that made me think, maybe, one day, he would see me the way I saw him.  

I wasn’t naive. I knew my place.  

Lorenzo was an alpha—the alpha of the South, a legit Mafia King. 

He commanded power, respect over thousands of people, sometimes even absolute fear.

 I was just an omega, the niece of one of his trusted advisors but an omega still. 

 I didn't have any real standing in his world so the thought that he would choose me was a bit far fetched.

But still… there had been moments.  

The way his eyes softened when I entered a room or he listened when I spoke, even when he pretended not to care. The way he never let anyone speak to me harshly in his presence.  

So I had let myself hope and now, for the first time, I felt like a fool for it.  

I wandered aimlessly through the halls of the pack house my mind spinning. It was late so it was a bit more quiet, I wandered around the hallways trying to think of what could have made him so worried. 

What had changed between the time he left the pack this morning and later on. He had left twice, could that be the problem. 

Was that why he was suddenly pushing me away?  

I needed answers first and I knew exactly who to ask.  

I took the stairs and walked down to the training facility, Alpha Lorenzo had built that when he had finished the house and most of the men loved to train there so I knew I would find him there and just like I thought I found Enzo in the underground training facility beneath the penthouse. He was ruthless, deadly when he needed to be but a joker all the same and entirely too amused by my presence whenever I sought him out.  

He was the alpha’s second-in-command, so he came after Rafe, Lorenzo beta and friend whom I definitely could not ask anything about this at all. Enzo was another matter as the enforcer of Lorenzo’s empire, him I could ask, he would laugh and make fun but I would take that chance. 

I found him immediately as I entered he was sitting on one of the benches near the boxing ring, wrapping his hands in gauze, when he spotted me. 

A slow smirk spread across his face.  

“Well, well,” he drawled, leaning back lazily. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure, little dove?”  

I scowled at the nickname. 

"Don’t call me that.”  

He chuckled looking back at his fist. 

 “You’re in a mood tonight.”  

I crossed my arms, shifting my weight from foot to foot. 

"I need to talk to you.” I muttered and Enzo raised a brow.

 “About what?”  

“Lorenzo.”  

That got his attention.  

His smirk faltered slightly, and he sat up straighter, cracking his knuckles absently. 

“What about him?” I hesitated.  

I wasn’t sure how much to say—how much of my own foolishness to reveal for him to exploit.

“He’s… different,” I said finally. 

"Colder than usual.” Enzo snorted. 

"The man is a walking ice storm. What else is new?”  

I shook my head. 

“No, it’s different this time. He was—” I swallowed, remembering the way he had dismissed me from his office.

 “He was just different I don't know how to explain it”  

Enzo studied me for a moment before exhaling heavily.  

“Ah,” he said, rubbing a hand over his jaw.

 “So you don’t know.” a pulse of unease shot through me. 

“Know what?”  

He looked at me like I was slow and I dislike that look at all 

"About his mate.” all the air in my lungs vanished and my heart stuttered in my chest.  

“What?”  

Enzo shrugged, as if he hadn’t just shattered my entire world. 

“The alpha found his mate.” I shook my head, my brain refusing to process the words or more unable to. 

“That’s not—” My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard. 

“That’s not possible.”  

Enzo gave me a pitying look, I hated that look even more 

"You think I’d joke about something like this?”  

I opened my mouth, then closed it again.  

No.  

Enzo wasn’t the type to lie, especially not about something like this.  

Lorenzo had found his mate.  

“Who is she?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.  

Enzo studied me for a long moment, then sighed.

 “Her name’s Arielle.”  

Arielle.  

The name meant nothing to me than maybe a pretty name for a child but now, it was the most painful word I had ever heard.  

I forced myself to take a shaky breath. 

"How– I mean why isn't she here then" I asked 

Enzo leaned back, rubbing a hand over his face. “Long story short? She’s a prisoner in Hell’s Pit. And the alpha is trying to get her out.”  

My stomach twisted and suddenly, everything made sense.  

The distance. The coldness. The way he had shut me out completely. He was worried about his mate. 

But a prisoner?  

That didn’t sound like the kind of woman Lorenzo would choose.  

He was the most powerful alpha in the South. He had his pick of strong, capable women even if they were not me.  

So why her?  

It didn’t make sense.  

Unless…  

Unless the bond had already been decided for him.  

Unless fate had stolen the choice away from him just like it had stolen my hope. I didn’t matter anymore.  

I never had.  

I was just a foolish omega who had spent years chasing a fantasy that was never meant to be real.  

The realization sent a sharp pain through my chest, worse than any physical wound and I felt like I was going to be sick.  

“He’s negotiating with Vincenzo for her,” Enzo continued. 

" Bastard wants the West Coast in exchange for her freedom.”  

Vincenzo.  

The name sent a shiver of fear through me the man was a ruthless monster even by our world’s standards.  

And Lorenzo was considering giving up his most valuable territory for this woman?  

For a prisoner?  

My mind went back to the question he had asked me earlier and the answer I have given him, it had all been for her, to know if he should save her. I started hyperventilatin,panic filling my gut like lead. 

I forced myself to steady my breathing, to just keep breathing deeply telling myself that maybe it wasn’t real.  

Maybe this was just some temporary infatuation and, once he realized what he was sacrificing, he would come to his senses.  

Because if he didn’t…  

If he really gave up everything for her…  

Then I would lose him forever. I swallowed hard, forcing down the lump in my throat.  

“Thanks, Enzo,” I murmured, turning away.  

He sighed. 

“Olivia—”  

But I was already walking out the door.  

I needed time to think. To figure out what the hell I was supposed to do now.