Chapter 40

Olivia

It was a full moon tonight and for some reason, I didn’t transform. Since it was a horrible experience I'd gone through every month since I was sixteen, I waited in angst for the violent pull that always reverberate through my body. But it never came.

I hadn’t seen the baby yet but I already loved them.

I had noticed some changes on my body since the pregnancy had begun to show. I’d added on more weight and my skin glowed in a manner it hadn’t before. My senses were sharper, so sharp I could smell the chicken soup being prepared in the kitchen downstairs. Not only that, I could hear the cooking pots clanging.

It came in handy sometimes, but when I needed to rest, like now, it was a pain.

No matter how hard I thought about it, it just didn’t make sense that Elena would choose now of all times to confess her feelings for Lucien. The first time I met her, I remembered thinking the hostile eyes she’d given me had been one reserved for people she didn’t know until I noticed I was the only one she gave it to.

So yes, it had taken a while, but eventually I figured out she didn’t like me because she loved my husband. Still, they’d been close for years before I came into the picture. Why had she never said anything to him in all those times? Why now?

Was it revenge at Lucien for not reciprocating her feelings that had made her join hands with his mortal enemy, or was it hatred for me? I’d clearly heard her say I took Lucien away from her.

Inadvertently, there was no hope for them. Even if I wasn’t in the picture, save for a miracle from the Moon Goddess, an alpha could never be fated to a seer or a witch. A human, yes, or even half-werewolf like me but never a seer. They could never bear children because it would be a travesty.

Sighing, I settled on the bed, my back aching. She’d really banked everything on a fantasy. If anything, I felt sorry for her. Not only had she ruined an amazing relationship with the people who loved her, but her betrayal had made certain that never again would she be accepted into this house, into his life.

A knock on the door brought me out of my reverie.

“Come in.”

The doorknob twisted and Penny walked in with a glass of water placed on a small, round tray. “Hey, sweetie. I brought you some water.”

I sighed in relief, my throat already tightening in anticipation. “You’re a life saver, Mom. I’m so glad you’re here.”

She set the tray on the bedside table, then walked to sit next to me on the bed. “How are you? How’s the baby?”

“I’m good, I guess.” I grabbed the glass and lifted it to my lips, gulping generously.

“You’re what? Seven weeks gone?”

“Hm-mhm.” Nodding, I swallowed down the rest of the cool liquid and sighed audibly as it went down my throat. “I have no idea when the baby’s going to pop out, but I’m hoping it’s soon because I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

Penny chuckled, massaging my feet. “I’m sorry. I never bore children so I don’t know what it’s like.”

“Ahh. That feels good,” I murmured, my eyelids dropping. “You might have never given birth but you raised me as your daughter and I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Seems like only yesterday when you were a child and now you’re a pregnant woman.”

When I opened my eyes, the room was spinning. “Whoa.” I shook my head furiously but it only got worse.

“Are you okay, sweetie?”

The spinning got worse. I could barely keep my eyes open. The room was upside down, sideways, normal, and then upside down again. “What’s happening? The room won’t stop spinning,” I managed to let out, panic gradually slipping in.

Was it the baby? Was it time? Why couldn’t I focus my eyes?

“Lie down, sweetie. Maybe you’re just tired.”

I was fucking pregnant; of course I was tired. I was always tired. But this wasn’t anything like tiredness. It felt like I was being coerced into oblivion. Against my will, my eyelids began to droop. My body felt like liquid; I could barely move.

“Mom.”

I struggled to keep my eyes open but it was to no avail. I was losing the battle and I was losing fast.

Then everything blacked out.

****

Penny

It was time.

I stayed silent for a few seconds, just to be sure she was really out. I was going to kill her, but I had raised the little shit for more than twenty-two years. The least I could do was save her for last.

The drug had worked smoothly. Thank fuck a part of her was human because a full werewolf wouldn’t have been so easy to put down. A real pain in the ass she was, always talking about her child and her family like it was supposed to be some sort of achievement. Well, she’d rest easy knowing that she would be joining her husband really soon.

I left the room, summoning the rest of the pack. Being in cahoots with the elders had certainly made things easier. I didn’t have to convince the members of the pack that they needed a new leader because the elders had taken care of it. All I needed to do was lead and they’d follow.

Apparently, Lucien was not the leader they expected him to be. He was too soft, nothing at all like his strict father. In fact, they were more than ready to kick him to the curb.

It was almost too good to be true.

By the time the entire house was summoned, we were headed down to Lucien's study. I didn’t bother knocking, instead swinging the door open.

His blue eyes snapped up and he stood to his feet. “Penny? What is this?”

The witch, Sydney, was present as well. Good. Since Elena was out of the way, it would be easy to bring her down.

“Grab him,” I ordered.

“What?” he asked the second the werewolves began attacking him one by one. He dodged a blow, staggered back and kicked one of them in the stomach.

“Kill the witch.”

A small crowed immediately surrounded her and the fear in her eyes gave me what I’d been seeking for a very long time: hope. Hope that I could win this war that had been raging inside me since I was a child.

Sydney put up an impressive fight but she was only one person. My men had her pinned to the floor and her hands tied at her back so she couldn’t perform any magic.

Lucien, on the other hand, fought like a beast. As alpha, his strength was more than that of every member of his pack. I could see why he was termed the Devil Alpha. He wasn’t just fighting—every unfortunate wolf he’d taken in his grasp died—he was killing them.

“Why are you doing this, Penny?” He let out a pant. “Where’s Olivia?”

“Lucien!” The witch cried the ground. “Lucien!”

Another punch landed on a wolf’s nose and his neck cracked. I almost panicked, almost thought he would really kill us all until I realized I held all the cards. I could use his weakness against him.

“Stop or I’ll kill the witch.”

With a heaving chest and bloodied face, he paused, holding my gaze. Sometime during the fight, his fangs had come out. Terrifying, definitely, but I’d lived long enough to know that once a man had a known weakness, he was on the shorter end of the stick.

“Where’s Olivia?” he demanded. “I swear, if you touched a hair on her head—”

“I don’t like your tone.” I told him calmly. “That’s no way to talk to your new alpha.”

“What?” he echoed, his nostrils flaring. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

My chin raised proudly and I gave him a slow smile. “Your granddaddy never mentioned his other child, did he?”

The question in his gaze was evident. “If you have something to say, get on with it.”

He was scared. Good. Exactly where I wanted him to be. “She was just a maid, my mother. That was probably why your grandfather used her and threw her out like a rag. Left her full with his seed, living in poverty. Since they aren’t here to pay for their crimes, I’ll make sure you do.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

I held his gaze. Oh, how I’d waited for this moment—when I could finally look him in the eyes and make him pay for the wrongs his fathers before him had committed against me.

“Simply put, I’m your aunt.”