Chapter 47

Olivia

I froze like a deer in headlights.

Behind me, murmurs rose, spreading among the crowd. I thought I even saw Lucien shudder. I didn’t blame him; literal chills went through my body.

“It was you?” Xavier asked in bewilderment, and it was the first time I’d heard him really surprised.

“Oh, my God.” Sydney’s low whisper came next.

Even Mason sported a look of shock. I hated looking at him; nothing short of disgust filled me. He’d betrayed his own brother by working with the person that had killed their father. Marcus would be turning in his grave.

I hadn’t known Marcus Steele, but from what I’d heard about the man, although he had been somewhat lacking in the father department, he’d managed to score several points as Alpha of the year. Brutal yet brilliant, powerful and strong, he’d protected his pack like his life depended on it—which it probably had.

“Oh, boo-hoo, cut the crap.” Penny waved a disinterested hand, proving that she couldn’t care less what they thought of her. “His family treated my family like shit and he got exactly what he deserved. I should’ve done it sooner,though I definitely hadn’t expected it would be that easy to kill him. But the man didn’t know how to turn down liquor. Poisoning him had been almost too easy. Maybe I should’ve strangled him instead, you know? Watch the life drain from his eyes.”

Judging from what she was saying, during the time she’d poisoned him, they’d only just met for a business meeting so when had she found time to poison him in his own home? He had died in his sleep according to reports.

“You didn’t do it yourself, did you?” I held her gaze and when she smiled, I found the answer to my question.

“Of course not.” She gave Elena a knowing look. “I had plenty of help.”

At that moment, Sydney let out a sob. Elena had been the one to poison Marcus, under Penny’s orders. Her face was a mask of calm, and for the first time since I’d met her, I wondered if she had a heart.

“You say you love him yet you killed his father?”

“Do not question my love for Lucien. It is all I’ve ever known,” she retorted sharply, her eyes glaring daggers at me.

“No.” I shook my head at her. “No. you don’t know what love is. You have this sick image in your head of what it’s supposed to be but you really have no idea what love entails. Love is not selfish. You don’t hurt the people you say you love!”

“That is my prerogative, isn’t it?” For the first time, I managed to get a rise out of her. Her eyes widened and the veins in her neck popped.

“Come now, let’s not do this,” Penny cooed, massaging her forehead like she was having a migraine from all the arguing. “This is supposed to be a happy reunion. There’s no need for all these bickering.”

There was a question I had been dying to ask her. “Did you ever love me? Was any of it real?”

I wouldn’t admit it but her answer meant a lot to me. It would make or break me at this point. I’d refused to believe that the woman I grew up with was a monster and, even now, I still had reasonable doubt.

“Hmm, let me see.” She made a show of pretending to think and my heart sunk. “No, not really. I never actually cared about you, only what you could do for me. Awn, why that look on your face, you didn’t expect me to lie, did you?”

Oh, I did. I really did. But I didn’t reply to her taunt, and let the tears freely flow because there was nothing I could do to stop them.

“You’re a fucking monster.”

“And here I was, thinking I was a doll.”

Her sarcasm was not appreciated. “Give him to me and we’ll be out of your hair.”

“Don’t you get it? You’re not leaving here alive.”

“I’d sooner kill you.” I glared, wiping my cheeks.

Penny chuckled like I hadn’t just threatened her. “Sure sure.” She nodded. “Alright, enough with the theatrics. Since my dear nephew is too weak to continue his fight to freedom, you’ll take his place. That way it’s all fun and hey, if by some non-existent chance you win, I just might let you go.”

I knew she was lying. Or rather, she didn’t think I was strong enough to fight anyone in my condition and she was probably right. I couldn’t get more bigger than this or it would actually become a problem.

Yet I humored her, my mind desperately running in overdrive to find a solution out of here. It wasn’t like we could make a run for it. There were more than two hundred wolves here. Even with Ginny and Sydney’s magic, there was a likely chance we’d all be dead before we made it to the front door. And how on earth were we supposed to carry a wounded Lucien out of here? Even if by some chance we managed to leave, we’d have a fucking manhunt on our backs.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

Penny shrugged. “You don’t.”

So, she wasn’t going to make the decision easy. Alright. But what on earth did I know about fighting? I wasn’t even a full wolf; my human side was more prominent. Yes, since I'd married Lucien and gotten pregnant, I had noticed considerable change in both my body and my senses but that didn’t mean I could fight anyone.

Penny eyed me, amused. “Scared?”

To my bones. “You wish.”

She snorted.

“I’ll fight in her stead,” Xavier spoke up.

Penny looked at him in surprise like she hadn’t seen him before. “Who are you again?”

“Xavier Blaine, Alpha of the Zen Pack.”

Her eyebrows raised, “Another Alpha? How exciting. Oh, I remember you now. I saw you at the wedding.”

“I’m honored,” he replied wryly. “As I said, I’ll fight in Olivia’s stead.”

“No can do, sweetheart.” Penny shook her head. “This show’s fully booked.”

“Are you blind? Can’t you see she’s heavily pregnant?”

Shrugging, she replied. “I couldn’t care less. I didn’t knock her up. Let’s get on with it.”

I held Xavier’s hand, nodding at him. “I can do this. I have to.”

He gave me a quizzical look. “I’m sorry to say this, but you look like you can barely stand on your own. How on earth will you fight?”

“I don’t have a choice now, do I? Our lives depend on this.”

When he was somewhat sated, I let out a deep sigh. Chanting ‘no pressure’ repeatedly in my head did not help much as I felt a ridiculous amount of weight on my shoulders. Whether or not we walked out of here alive fell solely on the outcome of whatever Penny had in that twisted mind of hers and I was not going to give her the benefit of seeing me frightened.

“Alright,” I said to Penny. “Who am I fighting?”

A wicked smile lifted one corner of his lips. “Why, everybody, of course.”