Olivia POV I’m not even sure how long I lay on the floor of the bathroom after I cried myself to sleep. Pushing myself up and trying to stretch out my muscles, I try not to think about the ache in my chest. I move to the shower and turn it on as hot as I can tolerate. Stripping out of my clothes and stepping under the spray, I can’t keep my mind from replaying Xavier’s words. In my heart I knew that nothing was going to bring my family back together, but I never expected my mom to marry him three days after she divorced my father. Pushing the thoughts of my f**ked up life away for now, I scrub myself. Letting the water soothe my aching muscles, I focus on what I need to do to survive the next six months. I step out and wrap myself in a fluffy blue towel. I move to the door, placing my ear against it. The room is quiet. I pray that no one is out there as I push the door open. My steps falter when I see Rebecca sitting on my bed. “Why are you in my room,” I snap at her. I see hurt flash in her eyes. This girl didn’t do anything to me and it’s not fair of me to be hurtful to her. “I’m sorry Rebecca. You don’t deserve my anger. I just really want to be alone.” She stands from the bed and takes two steps toward me. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have barged in here even if I just wanted to check on you. I heard the Alpha and Luna yelling at each other and I knew it was about you,” she says. “Can I ask you a question, Rebecca?” “Absolutely” she says with a sincere smile. In any other circumstances, I think we could be good friends. “I heard Xavier call himself the Alpha and my mother call herself the Luna. Now you just called them that. Why?” She looks startled by my question. She goes to open her mouth, but a knock interrupts her before she can answer. I make no move to open the door, and I’m grateful when Rebecca doesn’t either. A few seconds later there is another knock before Connor’s voice breaks the silence. “Olivia, I know you’re in there. We really need to talk. I know you’re upset about mom marrying Xavier, but once you know everything you’ll understand,” he says. Anger bubbles to the surface as I move to the door. I throw it open not caring I’m still in a towel. “F**k you, Connor.” Rebecca gasps from behind me. “Just because you replaced our father doesn’t mean I have to accept a thing about this situation.” “This is the last time I’m going to tell you. I no longer have a brother or a mother. I am a prisoner here until I turn eighteen. I’ll be perfectly happy to sit my a** in this room and never come out until the day I can leave. Do not try to talk to me again. Forget that I exist.” I turn back to Rebecca. “Rebecca, I would really like to get dressed for bed and spend the rest of the night alone. Maybe we can talk another time when I’m not feeling so volatile.” “Of course,” she says, and I expect her to head to the door, but instead she walks toward me and wraps me in a hug. I stiffen at first but then relax. I don’t return the hug, but I don’t push her away. When she releases me, she turns walking to the door. Connor’s eyes meet mine. “No matter how you feel about me, Olivia, I still love you,” he says. I make my way over and close the door without responding. Locking it, I lean against the door and take a deep breath. After I few seconds, I move to the only door in the room I haven’t tried. I assume it’s a closet. When I push it open, my mouth gapes open. It is stocked full of clothes. As I move closer to them, I realize they all still have tags on them. Anger immediately bubbles up inside me. If he thinks buying me sh*t will change how I feel it won’t. I move back out of the closet and over to a large dresser. The drawers are full of underwear, panties, and pajamas. I grab a pajama set and drop my towel to the floor. I have no choice but to use the clothes but if Xavier thinks things will soften me he is sadly mistaken. I grab the towel and throw it in the hamper in the corner of the room. As I make my way to the bed a wave of exhaustion washes over me. I slide under the cool sheets and grab the phone from the nightstand. It rings twice before my dad answers. “Oli girl” he says his words slurring. “Dad, are you alright?” “I’m fine sweetheart. Just had a little to much to drink. I love you Oli girl” he says. My chest aches as his words have me fighting a sob that tries to escape me. My dad doesn’t drink. “I love you, too, dad. I just wanted to tell you good night. I’ll call you tomorrow morning.” “Alright Oli. Goodnight sweetheart” he says before the call disconnects. I curl on myself and let the tears I was fighting fall. The Next Morning The light shining through the window is warm on my face. I stretch and reach for my phone. I’m shocked to see it’s nine. That means I slept for twelve hours. I wish I could say it was restful but I was plagued by nightmares of losing my dad. A knock on the door brings me out of my thoughts. “Olivia, I brought you some breakfast” Rebecca says. Just as the word breakfast leaves her mouth my stomach growls. I throw off the blankets and slide out of bed. When I reach the door I touch the handle. “Are you alone Rebecca?” “I am” she says. I pull open the door and step aside so she can come in. The smell of eggs and bacon has me salivating. I lock the door and take the plate from her hands. “Thank you” I say as I sit down on my bed. I immediately dig into the food. Rebecca sits on the bed and crosses her legs in front of her. We sit in comfortable silence while I continue to eat. She finally breaks the silence. “Olivia, can you tell me why you’re so angry with your brother, mother, and Alpha Xavier” she asks. “I’m surprised my brother hasn’t told you.” “He said he wasn’t ready to talk about it but I have a feeling he is scared to tell me” she says. I place the empty plate on the table by my bed before I focus back on Rebecca. “A month ago I had the perfect family. Don’t get me wrong we had our fights but we loved each other. My mom and dad always seemed so in love. Then one day I came home from school and found my mother kissing Xavier. A few days later I’m being told that my parents are getting a divorce. My mother and Connor effectively replaced my father. If that wasn’t bad enough I was forced to leave my father alone because my mother and Xavier took my father to court for custody.” “My father was heartbroken. First he lost his wife and son. Now they have taken me leaving him to face all of this by himself. When I talked to him last night I could tell he was drinking. My father never drinks. He is drowning his sorrows. How can my mother and Connor just cast him aside like he means nothing?” Warm tears flow down my cheeks. I don’t think I have cried this much in my whole life. Rebecca moves closer and pulls me into a hug. “I’m so sorry that their decisions have hurt you and your father. Neither of you deserve this pain. I know now there are things that they haven’t told you because I asked your brother why you didn’t know what a Luna and Alpha are, but that doesn’t excuse what’s happened. I may be your brother’s girlfriend but I hope to be your friend Olivia. Some day I hope you will consider me your sister,” she says. I pull back and she giggles. “You look like one of those goldfish with the big eyes” she says. “I’m just shocked to hear you talk about marriage. How long have you two been dating?” “I know you don’t want to but you really need to speak to your mother about this place and Xavier. You don’t have to forgive her but you deserve answers and unfortunately I’ve been ordered to not spill any secrets” she says. “Ordered, what the hell is this place, a cult?” She throws her head back and laughs. “I promise it’s not a cult. Please just think about what I said. What do you plan to do today” she asks. “I’ll probably just watch TV or read books on my phone. I’m in the middle of a biker romance on the Dreame app called The Biker’s True Love. It is pretty steamy.” “Sounds like my kind of book. Are you sure you don’t want to get out of the room for a while” she asks. “Not today. I’m not ready to face anyone else right now.” “That’s alright. I’ll be right by your side when you’re ready. How about if I bring you lunch and we veg out and watch movies” she asks. “Are you sure you don’t have plans with Connor?” “Connor is on my sh*t list right now. I would much rather spend time with you today.” “Then I’ll see you at lunchtime.” She squeezes my hand before she slides off the bed and leaves my room. I lay back and pray I’m not making a mistake by letting Rebecca in but right now she is the only one I feel like I can trust.