Olivia POV
“Sign it,” Herold insists, the packet weighing heavily on my hands.
I can’t get past the first page, seeing that this legal document is real. For a moment, I anticipated it to be false, for this to be a mistake, but Herold is sporting a callous frown—he has made no mistakes here.
“What—What happened? Why would you—”
“I learned today that it was you who whispered lies into my mother’s ear about being Luna of my pack, forcing Alicia to leave me,” he says, his teeth grinding. “You’re the reason everything is fucked up—you’re the reason I was forced into this false marriage.”
My mind is perplexed beyond measure. The story he thinks is true is nothing like what really happened. Herold was going to be Alpha soon, taking over his father’s spot, but he was hurt in a rogue attack. He needed a blood transfusion and I was a match.
I insisted on helping him, seeing at how his future Luna willingly left his side in a time of need. I may not have been so fond of him back then but I was a lowly hostage of war, brought from the rogues side and rescued from the abuse, only to be told I would marry the future Alpha by his Luna mother.
His mother saw Alicia leave his side because of his wounds, anticipating he wouldn’t survive. But that’s not how things went. I gave my blood, I agreed to be the Luna for Herold when he fully recovered, but neither his mother nor I ever knew that Alicia would return when his health got better.
Alicia is picking this narrative now, saying that I not only pushed her aside, but that I was probably the reason she couldn’t help him. None of it is true. I gave everything I had in order to save his life, and all I have now is a secret pregnancy and stack of divorce papers.
“It’s a lie,” I breathe, my hands shaking. “She left you when you were hurt, Herold. The Luna banished her from returning. She didn’t banish her to leave; Alicia did that herself.”
“Liar,” Herold snaps.
Both of us are distracted, Alicia clinging to the door frame of the bedroom with a pitiful look of exhaustion. Guilt doesn’t touch a monster like her.
“I won’t let you disparage my future Luna’s name like this,” Herold barks, suddenly so protective of his old fling.
His hand grabs for my arm, flinging me to the floor on my knees. I cough at the sudden kick of movement, my stomach heavy and throbbing in a dull ache. I shouldn’t be handled like this—it’s not good for the baby.
“Apologize to the future Luna at once! She has never lied to me. You, on the other hand, are full of nothing but spite and jealousy.”
“I did not lie,” I growl. “I saved your life. She left you behind at the first sign of trouble.”
Alicia falls into Herold’s grasp, her body flush with his. “So pathetic,” she mutters, her hands working tenderly at his shoulders. It does little to calm his fury and that’s exactly what she wants. She craves for him to hate me. “Just accept it, mutt. He knows the truth now.”
I struggle to stand, my throat still burning with the acid that dares to shoot out of my mouth at any moment. I’m too weak, too damn sick, and far too pregnant to be berated like this. I sit up, coughing until blood splatters over the back of my wrist.
For a moment, I catch a glimpse of concern cross my mate’s eyes. It’s short-lived. “Nice trick, but I don’t buy it for a minute. Your lies have been exposed. I think it’s time you start begging for forgiveness.”
“Never,” I breathe, finally at my breaking point.
I wipe the blood off my lower lip, smiling wildly at the proof he just can’t seem to digest. I am sick because of that witch, I was mated to him because of her abrupt departure and I’ll be damned if I’m upset because of her false lies.
He storms out of the room at once, my body finally relaxing to the floor.
Alicia stays, though, her domineering glare pelting me like bullets. “Meet me at the hospital. Tonight, at midnight. My mate will be on patrol. If you don’t show up, I’ll tell him you did nothing tonight but scold me for telling him the truth.
She whips her hair over her shoulder and waltzes from the room. I’ve been used a lot in my life, but never by someone as coldhearted and manipulated as that witch.
I meet the liar on the roof of the hospital, just like she requested. I would decline her offer any other day but as it would appear, Herold isn’t fond of believing anything I say now, especially if Alicia tells him otherwise.
She walks across the roof in a rhythmic pace, her features lighting up when I get up there. She holds a thick packet, clapping it against her other hand proudly. She smiles like a churlish child, being caught out by a lie but uncaring. At least with it just being us up here, we can drop the act. We both know who is at fault here and it isn’t me.
“So, little substitute Luna is pregnant?” Alicia mocks.
I stop cold in my tracks. “How did you—”
She waves the packet in the air, proudly smiling. “Pregnant and dying? This is too rich.”
“You shouldn’t have that, it’s a violation of privacy.”
She shrugs, tossing my file to the ground. “I was prepared for you to try and defend yourself to Herold, but this new discovery makes things a little more difficult. Getting him to reject his pregnant, sick wife is going to harder than I anticipated.”
“Then tell him the truth,” I growl. “Easiest solution there is.”
She reaches in her back pocket, her eyes glinting off a small, silver pocket knife that she holds up to the moonlight, admiring it like it’s a rare gift sent from the moon goddess herself. I pause, my hand brushing my stomach, scared she intends to hurt my unborn child.
“Olivia, Harold already knew you’re pregnant with someone else’s child, and he’s so angry that he cut off your brother’s medical bills. You don’t have to bother calling him anymore, he won’t answer. I’m here to help you- if you’re willing to leave the pack, I promise to offer the best medical solution for your brother.”
Alicia battered her eyelashes, a move that has worked on my mate, but not on me.
“If you know that I am pregnant, then you should know very well that it’s Harold’s child, Alicia. I won’t let you succeed; I’ll collect evidence of all your plots before and now and give them to Harold. You left Harold five years ago because you thought you’d have to deal with a disabled Alpha. Stop pretending you didn’t have a choice in staying or going. I’ll tell him everything and I’ll prove it to him. He will believe me. “
Alicia toys with the blade cunningly. “Well, Harold will be here any minute now. Will he believe you, or me?”
Olivia’s POVI watch helplessly as Alicia took the short blade and crossed it over her cheek. I have never seen such an act of spite, such lowly behavior in my life, but I know now why she is doing it. I ran to her, trying to stop this disgusting act of violence, but as I grabbed her hand and yanked the knife away from her face, the damage was done.The rooftop door is thrown open, Herold rushing over to split up the scene that unfolds. When Alicia and I are torn apart, she releases the blade, leaving the bloody tip of the knife in my hands now. Alicia tries to hide her smile, pressing her hand over her lips in some mock form of pain and anguish.“Thank the moon goddess,” she pants, her cheek streaked in crimson. “She said she was going to disfigure me, Herold. She’s so evil… thank you for finding me just in time.”“She’s lying,” I breathe, throwing the knife aside. “She tricked me up here and set this up to look like I attacked her, Herold, please believe me. I would never—”“She att
Third Person POVAlicia worked overtime trying to put Olivia out of the way and it finally worked.Reese had been spreading rumors for a while, speaking ill of the future Luna and how she never really helped Alpha survive, just doing some social damage control, but Reese knew the whole truth. he had spread it all over the pack by the end of the week and when warriors showed up at the hospital to take him to jail, Olivia had other plans.She knew her time was coming to an end anyways. She just wanted the baby to live and she counted the six months down slowly, knowing that as she rot away in jail, there was no chance of surviving this new trouble. She took Reese’s place in jail, taking the blame for the rumors, and as time crawled on, Olivia didn’t mind the jail cell too much.There was no Herold here, no Alicia, and that was all she needed.“She’s got it out for you, mutt,” one of the other she-wolves said, everyday walking by Olivia’s cell, threatening her endlessly. “Just wait until
Third Person POVThe moon goddess is what Olivia had always imagined she would be. Beautiful and loving. Since Olivia arrived in her world, the goddess has done nothing but profusely apologize for her treatment. She said she couldn’t watch her suffer any longer, and when the time came to choose for me to heal from my wounds or succumb to them, she chose the option that she thought Olivia would want most.But she was wrong.“It was my fault from the beginning,” Olivia breathes, looking below to see her brother far away in the distance. He leaves the beach after casting out the body, but the other figure on the beach stays. “I should never have trusted that monster.”The moon goddess, dressed in her silk white robes and combed back cyan curls, watches the same wolf kneel on the beach below and speak to himself about my death. “He’s sorry now,” she mutters, waving off Herold’s confessions to the moon. “He should have treated you better.”“I should have seen his true colors,” Olivia admit
Olivia POVIt’s hard to ignore the awkwardness that flooded the crowed surrounding us now. Some looked away, while others held a hand up to their mouth in shock. The King Alpha was respectively surprised, his face frozen in shock at the feeling of being slapped.“I’m your husband,” he mutters simply.The words hardly reach my ears. If this was true than the man before me really is the King Alpha and that means the body I’ve been given belongs to his mate, the noble Queen Luna. She was a beautiful creature from what I have known but it’s no secret that she had severe depression. I can only imagine that’s why she is in this condition.“You’re so pale, my dear. Warriors, get my Luna to the hospital immediately.”Soldiers had begun to swarm me suddenly, lifting my cold, wet exterior onto a rolling bed and carrying it through the rough sand. I stared at the stars for as long as I could, wondering if the moon goddess was watching over me still.She had done the unthinkable for me and I felt
Third Person POVIn the early morning of the royal palace, Olivia watched the news with awe and shock. She could see her face, her past life, and watched as the reports gave an update on the Luna’s funeral services. The date has changed several times now and each time it only infuriated Olivia more and more.She couldn’t understand why he was posturing like this, speaking to reporters about his sorrow, about the horrid murder of his mate, as though he hadn’t known all along that this was her fate. Olivia was dying anyways, Alicia just made sure it happened before she could give birth to the Alpha’s offspring first.Gabriel set nearby, flipping through his newspaper. “So sad about that Luna.”Olivia felt the fear strike up her throat. “Why do you say that?” Of course, to Olivia, she knew her truth. she knew Herold wanted her dead, wanted to divorce her, and had no use for her anymore. Watching him play this grieving Alpha only pissed off Olivia more. “It’s obvious that Alpha is faking
Olivia’s POVHerold was still staring at me, waiting for me to reply. I fear I have exposed my identity, seeing him step forward, almost sizing me up, and at last he broke eye contact, seeing Gabriel cross the room toward us. The entire wake had been watching and seeing the Alpha King march over now only caused the interest in the room to spike more.“Who are you?” Herold whispers, his tone harsh and taut.“I am the Queen Luna,” I say, sure of my words.Gabriel charges between us, snaking an arm around my hips and pulling me into his side charmingly. I find myself sinking into his grasp, comfortable with my mate; a feeling unfamiliar to me. He brushes his hand under my chin, sneaking a glare toward Herold in doing so, as though to mark his possessiveness over me in front of this falsely grieving Alpha.“Is everything okay, my dear?” Gabriel asks, his eyes soft and kind in this moment. “What’s going on with the Alpha? Why has he upset you?”I shake my head, trying to compose myself. I
Olivia POVI stood at last, helping Reese to his feet. I half expected Gabriel to be by my side after witnessing such an odd moment with someone he thought of as a stranger, but instead Herold made it to me first.His hand found my arm, pulling me out of earshot of the crowd. His crimson eyes held so much anger and confusion, I’ve seen it all before.“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re Olivia?”My heart sinks straight into my stomach, making me ill.“I know it’s you,” he huffs. “My wolf might tell me differently but it’s the only explanation. It’s the only way you would have known how to help him.”I yank my arm free of his grasp, hating the feeling of his hand on my elbow. “How dare you insinuate such a preposterous lie, Alpha Herold? You know damn well that you are the reason your mate has died. You are at fault for losing her. Don’t you dare approach me now as some form of healing for your broken, black heart.”He hardly flinches at my words, smiling coyly. “I’ve never heard you speak so b
Olivia’s POV“Please, consider going to the hospital,” I plead, seeing the color in Reese’s face drain.Being outside in the cemetery, it’s obvious his allergies have gotten the better of him. There are roses everywhere, bouquet of flowers hung all over the headstone and the casket, my old body waiting to be released into the ground forever.My brother twiddles his thumbs, sitting in the front row with me as he stares at the ivory coffin. I’m half shocked that Herold put any money into this ordeal at all, considering he was probably throwing cartwheels after finding out I was dead and out of his way. At least now, he won’t have to worry about the divorce papers and he looks like a saint to everyone else.Reese rubs his red, raw eyes, wheezing slightly. “I’ll be fine, Queen Luna. Thank you for helping me earlier, but I have to see this through. I loved my sister. This is the last moment I’ll ever have with her. I was the one who sent her out to the moon goddess. I need to be here.”I b