Olivia stayed in her sister's room well past midnight, watching her sister sleep, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took in. She was relieved that Maribelle was doing well. She rose from her chair and went to Maribelle's balcony doors, opening them wide to let the cool, summer breeze flow through the room. It was warm during the day and at night, it was easier to sleep with the windows open to allow the air to move through the rooms.
She sat back down in the chair next to her sister's bed and pulled a book out to read. She didn't want to return to her room tonight, dealing with Simon was more than she could handle after the day she had. She was better off leaving him for tomorrow. She'd be damned if she went to his room tomorrow night. She would fend him off as long as she could, and if there really was to be a wedding, then he could wait until their wedding night.
As she sat there, holding her book in her hands, fuming over Simon her mind turned to Ben. She hadn't seen him for more than five minutes but she remembered every detail of his face, of the way he smelled. That smell would haunt her for the rest of her life; it was incredible. It was delicious and perfect. The way he had helped them, knowing they were humans, it would stay with her forever. She didn't understand it, she was taught that all werewolves were evil and wanted to kill them. They were always taught, from a young age, to stay away from wolves. Yet, one moment with a wolf and she was desperate to run back to the wall and seek him out.
There was no rational thought associated, she was beyond rational thought. She was so fixated on the memory of Ben that she considered going that night to see if she could find him again. It didn't make sense, it was after midnight, but she decided it was worth a try. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she stood from her place by her sister. The curtains of her sister's balcony doors fluttered in the breeze as Olivia walked toward the doors leading outside. There was no way down from the balcony, but she and Maribelle had climbed the terrace so many times, it was second nature to shimmy to the ground floor from their rooms.
She crept onto the balcony and listened quietly to the sounds of the night sky. There were crickets chirping in the distance and dogs barking a few streets away. The land on her father's property stretched far into the back of the manor, but the house was on a busy street, surrounded by other large homes. Olivia heard voices below, she hid behind the curtain and waited, hoping it was just the night guard walking by. She could creep past the night guard, as she had done in the past, she just needed to wait until they reached the other side of the yard.
"We're going to launch a counterattack in the morning. We will be heading out at six, hoping to catch the remaining wolves off guard and kill as many of them as we can. By then, they will be tired and Richard thinks it will be the right time to attack," a deep voice spoke. Olivia looked out around the curtain and saw the night guard, Zac, talking to another guard, Rocco, as they walked around the perimeter of the house. Olivia knew from past excursions they would circle the house once an hour during the night. They spent the rest of the time in the guardhouse by the front of the house.
"Kill those bastards, is what I say," Rocco replied.
"I think that's the plan. The more we get, the better off we all are," Zac agreed.
Olivia's eyes went wide. She remembered the look in Ben's eyes. It hadn't been evil or vicious. She should warn him. She didn't know why she thought she should, but she didn't want him to die. She was going back to the wall to find traces of Ben for her own curiosity, but now she had a purpose. She waited until the guard's voices faded into the night air and then she counted in her head to 200, enough time to make sure the coast was clear. She peeked out of the room and looked around the yard. She couldn't see anyone. She slowly crept down the trellis, carefully placing her feet on the wooden frame as she crept down the wall. When she reached the ground, she jumped lithely onto the ground and crouched behind the bush, waiting to see if anyone had heard her.
When she was sure the coast was clear, she crept away from the house and into the gardens, sticking close to the bushes and trees, where she knew no one would see her. Before too long, she reached the forest and walked through the trees toward the village beyond. There was a small section of forest which then joined with buildings and houses on the far side of her father's land. Then, she would come upon the stone walkway next to the wall, which the wolves had blown up earlier that day. She ran through the woods. She was tired, and her legs ached from carrying her sister through the rubble toward the house earlier that day, but she pushed on.
She couldn't explain the draw she had, but it was pulling her forward. Not just the desire to warn Ben, but the desire to see him again. She needed it, as much as she needed to breathe.
When she reached the far side of the forest, she came upon the rubble from the stone walkway and wall beyond. She stepped gingerly around the wreckage, being careful to not slip and fall. She thought she was being quiet but as she climbed around a particularly large stone, a hand wrapped around her throat, holding tight.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" a deep voice asked. Olivia froze in fear.
"I'm looking for someone," Olivia said timidly. She wasn't sure if she was being held by a werewolf or a human, but it was best to play dumb until she could be sure.
"Who are you looking for?" the voice asked.
Olivia found it hard to breathe as the hand tightened on her neck. She coughed in protest and cleared her throat.
"I'm looking for someone that I met earlier today. His name is Ben," she said vaguely.
"What do you want with Ben?" the voice replied.
It was then that she caught the scent that had haunted her all day. She had been so overwhelmed with fear that she didn't catch the scent right away.
"Ben?" she asked timidly.
"Why did you come back here?" he asked her, releasing her neck and swinging her to face him. His brows were creased and he studied her intently.
"I needed to see you again," she said automatically. She couldn't help herself, the words just flew out. She blushed as she registered what she said. She shook her head and corrected herself. "I needed to warn you."
"Warn me?" he asked, watching her closely.
"They're going to attack you here in the morning. They plan to come at 6. They assume you'll be digging all night and then you'll be too tired to fight. You have to go home before then, you have to get out of here before they come, or you'll get hurt," Olivia said in a rush.
Now that she had told Ben what she had heard she felt foolish. She had betrayed her people for a wolf that she didn't know, a wolf that had saved her and Maribelle, likely in a moment of weakness. She was standing in front of him right now, and she could feel a pull, a draw to him, but she couldn't understand why she would betray her people to save a stranger. An evil stranger at that, she thought as she watched his eyes flicker between golden brown and pitch black. She shuddered at what she saw.
"Why would you tell me that," Ben asked, tilting his head to the side to study her.
"You saved me and my sister. I can not tell you how grateful I am," Olivia said softly. She glanced uneasily to each side, expecting to find Simon staring at her with disdain. Seeing no one, she glanced back at Ben timidly.
"I just moved a stone," Ben said with a shrug.
"You kept your men from attacking us, you helped us get home in time to tend to Belle's ankle. You were kind," Olivia said shifting uncomfortably where she stood. "That's not something we are taught to expect from wolves."
Ben's jaw tightened at her words. "And just what exactly are you taught to expect from wolves?" He spit the words out distastefully.
Olivia watched Ben, taking in his stance and his expressions. She reached up and touched his cheek with her palm. At the connection, sparks flew between them and she gasped in surprise. She whispered, "We're taught to fear you. We're taught that you are evil, ruthless, brutal monsters and you deserve to die." She paused as she watched the emotions play across his face. She was afraid of him, but she was so drawn to him, she would let him destroy her if he asked it of her at that moment. She continued, her voice barely a whisper, "But, that's not who you really are, is it? You're not what we're taught. You're so much better."
Ben reveled in the touch of her hand on his face. He allowed himself a few moments of reprieve before he shook his head and stepped back from her. "You should fear us."
"Why?" she asked, disappointed at the break in contact.
"We are sworn enemies. Humans and werewolves will never get along, no matter how hard we try," Ben said firmly.
"I don't believe that," Olivia whispered.
"You should. It's true. Our alpha will never broker peace with the humans and your father has the power among humans. Do you think he will ever accept peace with the wolves?" Ben asked, shaking his head.
"How do you know who my father is?" Olivia asked.
"An educated, albeit lucky, guess," Ben said.
"I can not believe you could be so evil after you helped us," Olivia said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"This is not a fairy tale, there is no happily ever after in this world," Ben said firmly.
"Did you finish the trench?" Olivia asked, her chest constricting in disappointment at his words. She knew that there was little hope for them to be friends, but she felt the rejection deep in her soul. It was as if he had ripped her in two and the pain coursed through her.
Ben struggled to answer, but finally he nodded his head yes.
"Do you not have water?" Olivia asked, wondering why they would risk so much for a trench.
"No, we haven't had water in weeks. Our wells have dried," Ben admitted, looking at her with an honest gaze.
"How do you survive without water?" Olivia asked, glancing around the area, trying to find the river.
"We go south to the mouth of the river, where it exits the wall, but it's a long trek from our homes," Ben said honestly.
"How long did it take you to build this? You must have been working for weeks," Olivia said, walking toward the rubble in the wall.
Ben nodded. "We've been building the trench for a few weeks. It goes for a few miles south and then opens to a lake."
"A lake?" Olivia asked, turning her head in astonishment.
Ben nodded. "It will give us a reservoir of water to use. We built another trench from the lake back to the river on the south side."
"So, both humans and werewolves will have water," Olivia said softly. She was starting to understand the man standing in front of her and he wasn't evil at all.
"I was not being kind to the humans. It was the only way," Ben said sternly, wanting her to understand he was not weak.
Olivia looked at him in surprise, his tone was angry and she pondered what he was saying. She couldn't help but feel that she understood him and his reasoning. She wanted to believe the best in him, and at the moment, she did.
She looked toward the trench. It opened to the river and water was flowing freely through the newly dug river away from the wall and toward the werewolf half of the city.
"Do you swim?" Olivia asked recklessly. She knew she should go home, but she couldn't. She wanted to stay with him longer, to stay in this bubble of bliss where she felt at home.
"Swim?" Ben asked, confused. He was walking along the path with her and they had reached the newly dug river. She was looking into the water, considering her options.
"Yes, swim. Do you swim?" Olivia asked, gesturing toward the river. The water was not flowing quickly, it was a slow steady movement through the trench.
"I suppose I have before," Ben said, shaking his head.
"Come on, then," Olivia said with a grin as she ran into the water, splashing behind her toward Ben.
Ben stood with a stoic expression, watching her as she splashed in the waves. She was mesmerizing. He held his breath as his eyes roamed from her head down. He let out a reluctant laugh as she rose from the water and called out to him.
"Seriously, you can not tell me that you are that serious all the time. You must let loose sometimes?" she asked, calling out to him. "Come in, it's hot out tonight and the water is amazing. Come swim with me."
"I hardly know you," Ben said, reluctantly taking off his shoes and jacket before he walked toward the water.
"I'm Olivia," she said in reply, grinning up at him. She was neck deep in water, treading to keep her place, swimming against the slow moving current so she didn't get washed down toward the werewolves lake.
"I'm Ben," he said in reply, giving her a smile.
"I know," she said cheekily as she splashed him.
He froze, one eyebrow rose in challenge and she got a panicked look on her face as she smiled.
"Now, look here, it was just a splash," she said with a gasp. Ben dove underwater and swam toward her. Olivia looked around the water in alarm, knowing he would be near her soon. She let out a small squeak when she felt a hand grasp her ankle. She took in a deep breath, knowing what was coming and was pulled under, two arms holding her waist.
She kicked to the surface and sputtered as she came up above water next to Ben.
"You rat. You know very well how to swim, look at you. Here I thought you were some novice, barely able to keep your head above water and you practically drown me," she said with a light laugh.
"Careful how you challenge me, Olivia. You will find yourself surprised," Ben said with a smirk. He pulled her toward the side of the river where they could reach the ground.
"This is really deep, you must have been digging fast," Olivia said, observing the new section of river.
"Wolves are quick," Ben agreed. "It's over fifteen feet in the middle. We needed enough room to keep the humans from filling it in quickly and blocking our efforts."
"You seem to have succeeded," Olivia said.
"We have succeeded." Ben agreed, correcting her.
Just then, he put his hand over her mouth and motioned for her to quiet. He had heard something. Olivia couldn't hear anything in the night air, it had to be almost 2 am. Her hearing was not as keen as a wolf's. She listened to him though and nodded her head softly.
"Who's there?" a foreign voice called out. "Who's in the river there?"
Olivia froze. She didn't know what to do. She was in a river, swimming with a wolf that she couldn't stop thinking about and they were about to face either a wolf or a human, she wasn't sure which. "Xander?" Ben called out. "Ben?" the voice replied. "Yeah, it's me. Are you on patrol next?" Ben asked, putting himself between Xander and Olivia. "Yeah, I am. Who's that in the river with you?" Xander called out. Olivia could almost see his face in the darkness, but he was definitely a wolf. "Just a minute," Ben said to Olivia as he climbed out of the river. He reached down to pull her out and helped her to her feet. She was standing just a few feet away from the second werewolf that she had met in the past twenty-four hours. He was handsome. Not as handsome as Ben, but better looking than the human men she met on her side of the city. Ben shook his dark hair out and looked at Xander, something passed between them. "This is Olivia," Ben sai
Olivia buried her head under her hands, her tears streaming down her face as she listened to the clash behind her. There were gunshots firing at regular intervals and growls piercing through the night. She wanted to get away, but she didn't. She needed to know if Ben was there and if he was hurt. She couldn't explain the draw she had, but she felt the need to help him. She couldn't do anything to help him now, but she couldn't force her feet to leave him behind without knowing his fate. She buried her head deeper, willing the sounds to quiet, hoping beyond all hope she had reached them in time. Then she thought of all of the men she knew that were fighting against the wolves. They weren't all bad, but she had sealed their fate if the wolves killed them. She was the one that would have their blood on her head. If they died, it was her fault. They were going into an attack thinking they had the upper hand, but they didn't. Because she had warned the wolves. She had gone
"Where have you been?" Richard asked as he stood from his desk and rushed around the table toward Olivia. She walked into the room to meet him, watching as the other people in the room moved out of the way to make a path for him. He came up in front of her and held her forearms in his hands, looking her up and down, studying her. "I went on a walk. I couldn't sleep," Olivia said, her voice quivering. "Please, daddy, can we talk privately?" She hoped he would send everyone away so they could talk without an audience. She breathed a sigh of relief when he nodded and sent everyone out of the room. "Call off the search, tell them she's been found. No one is to disturb me for the next half hour," Richard said sternly as everyone filed out. His secretary nodded and closed the door behind her with a small smile directed at Olivia. She cringed back, her weak attempt at a smile. "Sit down, Olivia. Tell me what happened. Why weren't you in your bed this morning
Olivia woke several hours later. She had slept the morning away, the clock showed it was past two in the afternoon. She heard a soft rustling at the door as Mary slid through the opening and walked up to her bed. "Good morning, sleepyhead," Mary said with a bright smile. "You're awfully chipper," Olivia said with a groan. She rolled over, trying to hide her head under the pillow. "Oh, no, you don't get to go back to sleep. You need to wake up, your sister is calling for you," Mary said, smiling down at Olivia as she walked to the bed and sat on the edge. "Belle? Oh my goodness, I forgot to check on her this morning. I promised her I would. She's going to be furious," Olivia said as she jumped out of bed and rushed around the room, throwing clothes on. "She's ok. She's looking a little under the weather, but the doctor thinks it's from the excitement of the day. I took a tray to her room just now and put your lunch on it. I figured you'd be hun
"Alpha," Ben said calmly as he walked into the alpha's office. He greeted their leader with a nod of his head. The alpha was pacing around the room. He had been raging for almost an hour, wanting an update on the ambush that had hurt his men. "What happened? Tell me. Now!" Alpha Samuel said, glancing angrily between Ben and Xander. Ben stood calmly and addressed the alpha as he recounted the events of the last day, leaving out details of the human girl that had helped them. "The blast was successful. Xander's explosives took down a very large section of wall and we were able to complete the connection between the river and our trench. Water is flowing down the trench now. We anticipate it to take a few days for the water to flow fully through our river and fill the lake. We have men watching the progression. They will make adjustments to the depth as necessary," Ben said, standing straight, addressing the alpha. "We caught sight of humans near t
Olivia woke slowly, her head groggy and her back sore. She had slept in a chair by Maribelle's bed. She looked at her sister, sleeping peacefully in her bed, and sighed in relief. She was ok. Olivia looked closely at Maribelle's head and noticed there was a sheen of sweat at her hairline. She leaned forward and put her hand on Maribelle's forehead. Her sister was burning up. She sat up quickly and pain shot through her abdomen and groin. She winced as the memories of last night flooded through her mind. Tears welled in her eyes and despair spread through her chest as images of Simon pressing her down flashed through her memory. She cringed and pushed the images away. She wasn't equipped to deal with the emotions that wanted to spill forth. She pushed it down, she pushed the memories away and the pain away. She pretended she had a particularly tough ride on her horse the day before and allowed her mind to block the rest of the images. If she told herself the lie long enough,
Olivia sat in a chair in her room, staring into the flames. She couldn't move, she couldn't get up and do anything. She knew she needed to check on Maribelle, but seeing her sister one more time, her face flushed with fever, would break her. So she sat in the chair by her fire and waited. She didn't know what she was waiting for. Maybe she was waiting for the next attack that the fates were going to send her way, or maybe she was waiting for someone to come and save her. She couldn't be sure. She just waited. A soft knock sounded at the door. Olivia didn't look away from the flames, but she spoke. "Enter." Her voice rang out through the room, breaking the silence with her soft whispers "Olivia?" Simon's voice rang out through the room. Olivia stiffened as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him. "Your sister was calling for you. Where have you been all day? I expected to see you at dinner," Simon said reprovingly. Ol
Olivia ran back. Mary stayed behind as she pushed onward toward home. She didn't care that she left the maid behind without waiting. She was going to get as far away from Ben and Xander as she could. She couldn't believe she had helped them. She was going to go straight home and talk to her father. She would tell him about the wolves, she would tell him that they planned to steal the weapons and attack the city. There was no way she would sit back and let the wolves kill innocent people. Those were her friends. Her family.She reached the edge of the gardens and rushed into the house, not caring to climb the trellis or be quiet. She raced toward her father's study. He would be awake, she was sure of it. There had been too much conflict with the wolves recently for him to be sleeping peacefully in his bed. He had foregone a honeymoon in order to organize the attacks on the wolves.Olivia's chest hurt, she stopped and grabbed the wall, gasping for breath. She walked slow