Chapter 24 The Reveal
The Reveal
Olivia's POV
Leaving Ryder's camp felt wrong, somehow, in a way I could not define. The forest surrounding me became silent, as if it were listening, and understood this moment was important. Ryder walked next to me to the edge of the trees; his hand was wrapped around mine; his thumb stroked my skin, almost memorizing it.
"You don't have to go yet," he said.
"I do," I replied. "Redcreek is my home. If everything is falling apart then I can't hide while the others suffer the consequences of my absence."
He halted and turned to face me; his eyes searched my face - serious, tired, but strong. "They are not going to stop looking for you."
"I know," I said. "But I won't disappear. Not from you."
He took a breath. "We'll find each other again."
I nodded. "We will. This isn't the end. It's just distance."
He pulled me down in his arms and held me tightly. I press my face against his chest and breathe in his scent, knowing that it will keep me alive for days, maybe longer. When we separated, I forced myself to turn away before I could change my mind. I did not look back.
The trip to Redcreek seemed to be longer than it ever had. Every sound was making my body tense. Every shadow was felt to be threatening. As I passed the familiar borders of my pack the air changed: dense with fear and anger. Wolves were racing past me in human and animal forms, their faces sharp with worry.
"She's back," someone shouted.
The pack grounds were in a state of chaos. Fires burned low. Guards moved fast. Elders argued in open-spaces, not caring if who heard them. No one prevented me from walking amongst the crowd. Some looked as though they were seeing a ghost; others looked away.
I had pushed through the pack house doors and stopped dead in my tracks.
The place was loud. Voices clashed. Furniture stood out of place. Papers littered the table of the council. It looked like a home that had been shaken good and hard and not put back together.
"She disappeared for days," one of them said.
"We thought she was dead," another one replied.
"The rogues—"
"The Lycans—"
My heart clenched.
Then I saw her.
My mother stood by the stairs, her back was straight, her hands were shaking at her sides. Her face was thinner, drawn tight with fear not before displayed. When her eyes met mine, everything else was forgotten.
"Olivia," she whispered.
She crossed the room in seconds and pulled me within her arms. As if she feared that I would disappear again, her hold was fierce. I received her breath on my shoulder.
"You're home," she said. "You're really home."
I clung to her and dug my fingers into her clothes, my body finally believing the truth that I was safe - for this moment. Around us the noise decreased, voices took lower tones, footsteps slowed down.
"I'm here" I said into her shoulder. "I'm not gone."
She kissed my hair, held me closer and for the first time since all this started, I allowed myself to breathe.
The council hall seemed small to me. Crowded faces - people who knew me since childhood - looked at me as though I was a problem to solve. I was standing in the center with cold hands, my back was straight and my heart was loud in my chest. My mother sat next to me on my right, silent. My father was sitting at the head of the table with a jaw tight to it. The rest of the room was filled with elders with eyes sharp waiting.
Alpha Harry cleared his throat. “You asked for this meeting. Speak.”
I nodded. “I will. And I won’t hide anything.”
There was the sound of a low murmur all over the room. I took a breath and began. “Jada Stone is a spy. She has been reporting to Rogue Alpha Max for months now. She fed him with information about our borders, our patrols, and me."
Gasps broke out. One elder leaned forward. “That’s a heavy claim.”
“It’s true,” I said. "She was the one who led me out the night I was taken. She knew where the rogues were waiting."
My father slammed his palm in the table. “Enough. You’re shaken. You’ve been through a lot.”
I met his eyes. “Don’t do that. Don't make this a fearful and confusing experience. You know I’m telling the truth.”
He looked away.
I pressed on. "Max is not some nameless vicious rogue. He is the son of the Alpha who was killed years ago. The one who was supposed to take the lead of Redcreek before everything changed."
The room went quiet.
"He grew up to be a rogue," I continued. “He hates Redcreek. He wants to demolish all the Alphas and rule by fear. He took me to make a point.”
One of the elders said, "And you know all this how?"
“Because he told me,” I said. "Because he wanted me to know why he thinks this land owes him blood."
I turned back to my father. “You knew his name. You knew his past. Don't pretend like you don't know anything about this." I accused him in disgust." I was so disappointed in him.
Alpha Harry’s voice rose. "I did what I had to do to save this pack."
“You lied,” I said. “And I know it. I don’t need you to confess. I see it on your face.”
The elders shifted. Some looked at my father. Others looked to me as if I had crossed a line.
I straightened my shoulders. “There’s more.”
A sigh moved through the hall.
“I'm bonded to a Lycan,” I said. “His name is Ryder. He saved my life. He did not treat me like a prize or weapon. He treated me like a person. I love him.”
The reaction was instant. Voices rose. Chairs scraped.
“A Lycan?”
“This is disgraceful.”
“Has she lost her mind?”
I stood my ground. You taught me to tell the truth." This is it.”
One elder pointed at me. “Lycans slaughter our people.”
"And we slaughter theirs," I answered. "That doesn't mean that we remain blind for the rest of our lives."
A piercing laugh interrupted the noise.
Tristan forced open the doors, face hard and eyes burning. “So it’s true,” he said. “You shame us openly now.”
"This is not your council" my father said.
"It has something to do with me," Tristan snapped. He turned to me. "All this chaos, all this blood, because you chose a Lycan over what you ought to do."
“I didn’t choose you,” I said. “That was never my choice.”
He stepped closer. “You belong to Redcreek.”
“I belong to myself.”
The elders shouted one over the other. Tristan's voice sounded above them. "Well you would bring war to our door."
“I didn’t start it,” I said. “But I won’t lie to stop it.”
Then my mother stood.
Her movement drew every eye. Lydia had a pale face and shaking hands, but a forceful voice.
"There is something that you all need to hear," she said.
The room fell silent.
Once she looked at me with eyes full of pain and love. Then she faced the council. "Olivia's grandmother was half Lycan."
The words landed like a blow.
“No,” someone whispered. “That’s impossible.”
My breath caught. “Mother?”
She nodded. "My mother was a carrier of Lycan blood, It was kept secret in order to keep her alive. To keep this pack safe.”
My legs felt weak. Everything I believed to be true of myself burst open.
The elders stared. Tristan looked stunned. My father said nothing.
I looked at my mother. “You knew.”
“Yes,” she said. “And I would protect you again.”
The room erupted but I hardly heard it. My blood felt loud. My world had shifted.
I was not who I thought I was.
And nothing would ever be the same again.