Chapter 105 Are You Really Nolan?
Aurora's POV
Silk cut through my thoughts, echoing in my consciousness as I stared at the porcelain doll containing Nolan's trapped soul. "First target Nolan requires a seven-day stabilization period for complete body seizure. I recommend completing the first target successfully before initiating the second target."
"Seven days for one target means twenty-one days for three, plus however long it takes to corrupt the Sterling family's accumulated power," I said aloud, my voice sharp with frustration. "I can't wait that long."
"Premature targeting increases the failure risk," Silk warned.
"Time dragging on is the real risk," I shot back, already dismissing the warning. "The longer this takes, the more chances there are for accidents, for things to go wrong."
Another notification chimed in my head, and I felt my blood run cold as the information registered. "Matilda's favorability has decreased by three points."
"That damn old witch!" I hissed, fury rising hot in my chest. "What the hell is she playing at now?!"
This was exactly what I'd been worried about—this was the kind of accident that happened when timelines stretched too long. People's hearts were the most unpredictable variable, the easiest thing to change, and Matilda's sudden shift proved my point perfectly. I needed to act immediately before more complications arose.
I grabbed my phone and pulled up Matilda's contact, composing my expression into something vulnerable and longing as I initiated the video call. When her face appeared on screen after three rings, I let my voice carry just the right note of hurt affection.
"Grandma... I've been missing you so much."
"Aurora," Matilda replied. "How are you managing? Is everything alright with you?" The concern in her voice was there but perfunctory, lacking the genuine worry and tension she usually showed when we spoke, and I could feel the careful distance she was maintaining even through the screen.
"We're doing alright," I said softly, letting a hint of hurt seep into my expression. "Actually, I was hoping Nolan and I could come back to visit you soon—both of us together."
"These past few days the house has been chaotic because of Edwin and Moira dissolving their mate bond," Matilda said firmly, and there was steel beneath the polite words. "You should stay where you are for now."
She paused, and the next words came with deliberate emphasis that made my stomach tighten with wariness. "I need Nolan to come back alone. He left in the middle of handling pack business to run off, and Sebastian wants to have a conversation with him."
The call ended shortly after with brief pleasantries that fooled neither of us, and I threw the phone onto the couch with barely controlled anger.
I turned toward the doorway and called out sharply. "Get in here!"
The impostor appeared within seconds, moving with Nolan's characteristic confident stride, and I wasted no time on lengthy explanations. "You need to go back to the Pack House and see Matilda. Don't let anything slip, and after the body seizure is complete, bring back Matilda's doll for me."
He nodded with Nolan's easy confidence, that careless smile. "No problem~"
Oliver Blake's POV
The memories surfaced unbidden as I gripped the steering wheel of Nolan Sterling's luxury car, feeling the engine's power thrumming beneath my hands.
I had been nothing in my old life, less than nothing really, an Omega born into a struggling pack on the fringes of the alliance territories where survival meant taking whatever scraps the stronger packs threw our way and being grateful for even that small mercy.
I had spent my entire existence doing the kind of degrading menial work that Alphas and Betas would never stoop to, cleaning up after people with better bloodlines and keeping my head bowed while they walked past without even acknowledging my existence.
From childhood I had envied them with a burning intensity that never faded, watching those born into powerful packs with Alpha and Beta blood moving through the world with unconscious arrogance that came from never having to question their place in the hierarchy.
As an adult I'd lingered at the edges of their glittering social events, studying their mannerisms and speech patterns in secret, practicing the way they carried themselves with that unshakeable certainty of superiority. My Omega status had kept me trapped at the bottom forever with no hope of ever climbing higher.
So when Aurora had approached me with their impossible offer, I hadn't hesitated for even a second—why spend my entire life being trampled by everyone when I could simply take over someone else's life instead?
The excitement of driving Nolan's car had me grinning wildly as I pressed the accelerator and felt the speedometer climb past numbers that would have been unthinkable in my old life. By the time I reached the Pack House gates, I'd forced myself to calm down and slip fully into character.
I parked in his usual spot before making my way inside with measured steps. I reached Matilda's room on the second floor without encountering any obstacles. The door was slightly ajar when I arrived, and I pushed it open wider with what I hoped was Nolan's characteristic affectionate smile.
"Grandma..."
I moved toward the comfortable sofa when Matilda's voice cracked through the air like a whip before I could lower myself onto the cushions.
"Stand there! Don't sit!"
My body froze mid-motion as my mind raced through every possible way I might have already blown my cover in those first few seconds. I remained standing rigidly in place, afraid that any further movement would only make things worse.
"There are so many good girls out there and you just have to fixate on Aurora!" Matilda's voice rose with genuine anger, her face flushing with color as she continued her tirade. "She's your sister in name! How can you have those kinds of feelings for her?!"
Relief flooded through me so intensely I almost laughed. This was about Nolan's stupid romantic obsession with Aurora, not about my true identity being exposed.
"I absolutely will not approve of this!" Matilda declared forcefully, her tone leaving no room for argument.
That idiot Nolan's obsession with Aurora had nothing to do with me, Oliver Blake. I opened my mouth to try offering some kind of explanation when Matilda's cane connected sharply with my shoulder without warning.
The unexpected blow made my body sway, and I had to bite back the curse that wanted to escape as I forced out words through gritted teeth. "Grandma, things between Aurora and me aren't what you think. I don't have those feelings!"
Aurora was clearly a vicious woman with a heart of stone, just look at what had happened to poor Nolan who'd loved her so blindly. That kind of poisonous female was exactly the type I would never dare develop feelings for no matter what incentive someone offered.
"You don't have feelings?" Matilda's voice dripped with disbelief and accusation. "Then why did you eagerly bring her to live in your house?! You even wanted to secretly live together with her?!"
The cane came down again before I could respond, striking my back this time with enough force to send pain radiating through my shoulders, and I felt my carefully controlled temper starting to fray at the edges despite knowing I needed to maintain character. Another blow landed, then another.
"Old hag, that's enough!" The words exploded from my mouth before I could stop them, my hand shooting out to grab the cane before she could hit me again.
Matilda's face went pale with shock, all the color draining from her cheeks as her lips began trembling with what looked like genuine hurt and disbelief. I felt a sharp spike of panic wondering if I'd just exposed myself entirely with that outburst.
"For Aurora, you actually dare to yell at me like this?!" Matilda's voice shook with a mixture of hurt and mounting anger.
Relief washed over me as I realized she'd completely misunderstood my loss of control, and I quickly seized on the explanation she'd provided without thinking it through. "Just thinking about her makes me lose control of my temper. I'm not really that attached to her. She's the one who keeps clinging to me. From now on I won't pay any attention to her. Even if she goes out and breaks her leg, I won't care about her anymore."
Matilda's expression shifted from hurt to even deeper disappointment, her eyes filling with something that looked almost like grief."How did we raise such a coward! Listen to yourself! You won't admit your feelings, you blame everything on Aurora, and you have the nerve to curse her..."
The cane came down harder this time, striking with real force that suggested she'd stopped holding back, and my anger flared hot enough to override all remaining caution and common sense. I grabbed the cane with both hands and yanked it from her grip with more violence than necessary, throwing it aside.
"You think Aurora is such a good person?!" I snarled, my voice dropping to a harsh growl. "You're hitting your own grandson for some outsider bastard—have you gone senile, old hag?!"
Matilda pushed herself back against her chair, and I could see her staring up at me with her head tilted back. "You... are you really Nolan?" she whispered.