(30 Private Conversation
30 Private Conversation
Olivia POV
“Are you ready to head back to the Beta floor,” Ace asks, bringing me out of my thoughts. Amber has received three bags of fluid and her vitals look good, but she hasn’t woken up yet. Her repeated labs showed the wolfsbane levels are dropping, but we won’t know if she will completely recover until she wakes up. “Do you think we should leave her here alone? What if she wakes up?” He smiles as he comes to stand in front of me.
He offers me his hand and I take it. He pulls me to stand wrapping his arms around me. “I’ve already spoken
to the nurse assigned to her, and she knows to call me immediately if Amber wakes up. It would be better for
us to be rested if something changes with her condition,” he says. “She is alone, Ace. How do the people meant to love her treat her so badly?”
“I don’t know, but she won’t be alone now. With Bart gone, she can spend more time with me and Della” he
says. I look into his eyes. “She can spend time with the three of us. I know what it is to feel alone. If it wasn’t
for Becca I probably wouldn’t have gotten through it. We can do that for Amber.”
He cups my face in his hands and presses a soft kiss on my lips. He pulls back before pressing his forehead
against mine. “You are amazing, you know that. After everything you’ve been through, you didn’t let it jade
your heart. You still care about people. Even people you don’t know. I honestly have been avoiding spending
time with pack members because I’m so angry with myself and Candace. It’s gotten better, but until today it
still lived right here,” he says, pointing to his heart.
Hay my hand against his chest over his heart as he continues to speak. “The only time I wasn’t angry was
when I was with Della. Otherwise, I hated being around everyone who knows what happened,” he says. My chest aches for my mate. Danica flashes images of finding that b**ch and beating her a**.
“I feel like either the pack members feel sorry for me or they think I was a fool for thinking a human deserved
a mate. I am so grateful that the goddess brought you back to me, Olivia. I will spend the rest of my life
showing you just how much you mean to me,” he says. “We are both blessed to have this chance, Ace. We won’t waste it.” He pecks my lips again, and I check Amber one last time before we head back toward the
pack house.
Ten minutes later we are stepping into the pack house. As we make our way toward the Beta floor, a loud
growl has my steps faltering. Without a second thought, I head in the direction of the sound, which happens
to be toward Connor’s office. Why the hell is he still awake? It’s almost eleven.
The closer we get to the door, I realize it’s cracked open. Connor sounds angry, and it doesn’t take long for me
to realize why. “You have no proof that Bart was the one dosing her with the wolfsbane. What you are saying
is all speculation. Wolves are innocent until proven guilty,” Xavier says. “You have to be kidding me. Who the hell else would be poisoning her,” Connor asks. I ball my fists at my side as he once again defends those
a**holes.
Ace wraps his hand around my forearm. I’m not sure if it’s to ground me or to stop me from rushing inside. “I’m simply saying we need more proof before we even think about involving the werewolf council. Besides, you’ve banished him. If he did do it, he can no longer harm her,” Xavier says. “I don’t understand why you are so opposed to involving them,” Connor asks. What the hell is the werewolf council? There is so much I don’t
know.
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< 30 Private Conversation
“Connor, I need you to trust me. There are things I can’t tell you yet, but I promise you that everything I’ve done
is to protect Olivia. I know she will never see me as anything but the man that destroyed your family and took your father from her, but my wolf and I consider her our pup. I accept that she will never forgive me, but I refuse to put her at risk,” Xavier says.
I take a step toward the door, but Ace holds me in place. I look at him and he presses his finger to his lips.
“Xavier, I do trust you, but I need to know what the hell you’re talking about. Hell, so does Olivia. Keeping secrets from her is what caused her pain years ago, and I refuse to let you do it again, even under the guise of protection, Xavier” Connor says.
My heart is ready to beat out of my chest. What the f**k does he mean I’m at risk? At risk of what? “Fine, but i need to make some calls before we talk to her. Hell, she might not even want to hear anything I have to say, Connor” Xavier says. He sounds sincere, but after all that’s happened, I can’t bring myself to trust this man. “I’ll talk to Oli, but there better not be any half-truths, Xavier. Whatever you say better be the whole truth. My sister isn’t weak. She is one of the strongest people I know,” Connor says.
Tears run down my cheeks listening to my brother. “I never thought she was weak Connor. I had no idea how to deal with an angry teenager who had every right to hate me. I screwed up at every turn. I won’t lie to her, Connor,” Xavier says. The sound of the chair scraping against the floor has me turning toward Ace. We make
our way toward the stairs, my mind reeling after hearing that conversation.
When we step inside, I smile seeing Rain and Della sound asleep on the couch. Ace moves around me
grabbing a blanket to cover them. He turns taking my hand and leading me down the hallway toward the room I showered in earlier. We step inside, and he closes the door behind us. “Are you alright, Olivia?” I turn to
face him.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure how I feel. I just don’t understand what the hell he could be protecting me from. I don’t trust Xavier. Everything that happened in the past won’t let me. He and Evelyn are selfish. I have to believe that whatever he has to tell me serves some purpose for him.”
He pulls me into his arms and I melt into him. I feel complete and safe as he holds me. My mind quiets as I
take in his scent and a wave of exhaustion overwhelms me. Without warning, Ace lifts me bridal style and carries me over to the bed. My heart starts to race again as he lays me down. I’m not sure exactly what I expect, but him basically tucking me in isn’t it. He leans down and presses a firm kiss on my lips.
When he pulls back, he looks into my eyes. “When I make love to you for the first time, we will be completely alone and won’t have to rush. You’re exhausted Olivia and need sleep,” he says. A shiver of anticipation runs down my spine. He presses a kiss to my forehead before he stands to his full height. When he steps toward
the door, Danica whimpers. I can’t help the disappointment I feel. I don’t want him to leave.
“Ace, we may not be making love tonight, but there is no reason you can’t hold me while we sleep. I really
don’t want you to leave. I need you.” can’t see the expression on his face, but I giggle as he rushes back toward the bed. He pulls the covers back and slides in next to me. I snuggle into his side and lay my head against his chest. No matter where it is, this is all I want. We will have to talk, but we will figure it out because, no matter what, I’m never giving this up.
Candace POV
I can’t believe that pr*ck banished my sister and father in one night. Roman was more than happy to take them in, but they will hold no rank in our pack. I’ve set them up in one of the nicer cottages for now. My head is still pounding from listening to my sister whine. I head into the bathroom intending to soak in the tub while
< 30 Private Conversation
Roman is out patrolling. My phone ringing is doing nothing to help the pounding in my head.
I pull it from my pocket and smile when I see Ebony’s name flash on the screen. “Hi Eb, tell me you have good news.” “The b**ch broke my nose. I thought you said she was weak and had never trained,” she says. “She hasn’t lived in the pack the past five years. She can’t have trained. What the f**k happened?”
She tells me about them showing up at the hospital and her claiming Ace. I may not want to be with him because I want an Alpha mate, but that doesn’t mean I want that b**ch to have him. I knew at that damn ceremony when she looked at him, they were mates. I expected her to tell him, but instead she walked away. She was probably afraid he would reject her for me, which he would have. Ace has been in love with me since we were fifteen.
“You need to try again. You want to f**k him, don’t you,” I say through gritted teeth. I don’t want Ebony to f**k him, but I need her to get him to betray his bond with that b**ch. Right now, he intends to move her in and have her take my place. That isn’t f**king happening. Zila growls her agreement. She grew to love Ace, but like me she wants the title of Luna. We were made for better things than to be mated to a lowly omega or
human.
“You know I do. I’ve wanted Ace as long as you have. Even if he isn’t a wolf, he is s*xy as f**k. I just don’t understand why you are encouraging this Candace. You clearly aren’t happy about the thought of him f**king me,” she says. “I’m not, but I need his bond broken. I refuse to allow that b**ch to have him. He will always be mine” I growl. “Fine, but it won’t be easy. He made it pretty clear he only wants her,” she says. “Then we will have to make sure that we find a way to make him want you just as much as he wants her.”