Chapter 12 The promise
Zoe's POV
"What more?"
Scarlett turned from the window. Her face was pale. Scared.
"You being here... looking exactly like Olivia..."
"What about it?"
"If the people who took her find out you exist..." She walked back to me. "They might come back for you."
My blood went cold. "Why would they want me? I'm not part of your pack."
"Zoe, this is more than being a pack member." Scarlett sat beside me again. "The whole pack was attacked. No one died and no one was missing aside from Olivia."
"So?"
"So I have a feeling they came specially for her... someone wants her gone. Completely gone."
She picked up the photo of Olivia and I.
"What if my feeling is right? They'll still have eyes out. Then what do you think would happen when they found out she has a twin..." She looked at me. "They'll finish what they started."
My hands clenched. "Let them try."
"Zoe..."
"I've spent my whole life training to fight. To kill. I'm not afraid."
"You should be." Scarlett grabbed my shoulders. "These people attacked the whole pack just to take Olivia. They're dangerous."
"Then I'll be more dangerous... I think it's time you hear this."
She looked at me. Eyes wide open. But she said nothing.
"I knew that Alpha Dylan killed my parents since I was a kid..." I studied her as I spoke and for some reason she doesn't look too surprised. "...When I grew up a bit, I became curious about my locket which made my foster father do some findings about it and he found out I'm from Lakewood. That I was royal blood. After he found out about my family story, I decided to take revenge on my father's killer... I realized he only has one surviving family. That's Jeremy. And I trained all my life to take his life."
"...Oh..." She said. "...That's how you ended up in Lakewood?"
I nodded. "And I'm not done with Jeremy but for now I need to face the Olivia situation on ground. I'll stay to get to the bottom of this."
She stared at me for a long moment. Then sighed.
"You sound just like your father. Brave and stupid."
"I'm not stupid."
"No. But you're reckless." She stood up. Paced the room. "You have a choice to make. Right now."
"What choice?"
"Leave tonight. I'll help you. Give you money, supplies. You can disappear. Live somewhere far away where they'll never find you."
I looked at the photographs on the bed. At my sister's smiling face.
"Or?" I asked quietly.
"Or stay." Scarlett stopped pacing. "Stay and protect what's left of our family and hope the attackers never come back."
I thought about Marcus. His little arms around my neck. His voice saying "I love you, Mommy."
I thought about Ryan. His tears. His relief. His broken heart trying to heal.
"If I stay... I have to pretend to be her? Completely?"
Scarlett nodded. "In every way. You'll be Olivia. Not Zoe."
"For how long?"
"I don't know. Until we figure out what happened to her. Until the danger passes. Until..." She trailed off.
"Until forever," I finished.
She didn't answer. She didn't have to.
I stood up. Walked to the window. Looked out at the pack grounds below. People were still celebrating. Still happy.
Because they thought their Luna came back.
"Ryan and Marcus can never know?" I asked.
"No."
"Nobody can ever know the truth?"
"Nobody." Scarlett came to stand beside me. "Can you do that? Can you give up being Zoe and become Olivia?"
I thought about my life. Training every day to kill Jeremy Dylan. To get revenge for my parents.
But what would revenge give me? My parents were still dead. My childhood was still stolen.
Here, I had a chance to save something. Someone.
A little boy who needed his mother.
An alpha who needed his mate.
A pack that needed their Luna.
"What about my revenge?" I asked. "Jeremy Dylan shot me. Left me to die. His father killed my parents. I also need to know who killed my sister and destroy them until they regret their life."
"Then we need to take that slow. I'll be with you on this journey throughout but we need to take it one step at a time."
I opened my eyes. "I'll stay."
Scarlett's face flooded with relief. "You mean it?"
"Yes. I'll be Olivia. I'll protect them." I turned to face her. "But you have to help me."
"Anything."
"Teach me. Everything about her. Her habits, her favorites, how she talked, how she moved."
"I will."
"And if Ryan figures it out..." I swallowed hard. "If he discovers I'm not her..."
"Then we deal with it when it happens." Scarlett pulled me into a hug. "Thank you, Zoe. Thank you for doing this."
I hugged her back. This woman who had been there for my sister.
But who also saved both our lives in the only way she could.
"I promise," I whispered. "I'll protect Olivia's family. I'll keep them safe."
The door cracked open and both of us froze.
Ryan stood there. Looking from me to Scarlett. His face unreadable.