Olivia took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down as she glanced around the breakfast table. Simon sat across from her, eating his breakfast silently. He looked at her periodically, giving her a small smirk when he caught her looking nervously at him.
"What are your plans for the day, Olivia?" Simon asked.
Richard looked at Olivia with interest. She had not yet decided what she wanted to tell her father she was doing, but she knew that she needed to figure out an excuse to get into town.
"I'm going downtown to shop, I think," Olivia said, glancing at her father. "If that's alright, daddy?"
"Yes, of course, Olivia. You don't need my permission to shop. Who are you taking with you?" He asked, taking a bite of his food as he waited for her response.
"I'm going to take a kitchen maid I met last week with me. She was telling me about a fabric shop and I'd really like to look through their fabrics. I need a new dress made," she let her voice t
Olivia was glad that she had worn a dark gray dress that day. It was the right color to make her blend in with her surroundings. She typically wore bright, cheerful colors but she had not felt in the mood to wear anything cheerful that morning. So, gray it was. And it was a good thing, too.She and Mary crept around the train cars, trying to hide in between the trains and peek within the carriages. So far they had found nothing."What if they've moved them?" Olivia whispered."Well, we need to try our best to find them if they are still here, we still have some time left, let's check the rest of this train and then go along the next two. There are still three left to look in," Mary whispered back.Olivia nodded and crept between the carriages to peek out to the other side. Seeing no one, she quickly rushed along the side of the final cars in the row, peeking in to find them empty. She scrunched her face in frustration as she shook her head and looked at M
"My dear, did you find the fabric you were looking for?" Simon asked without preamble as he sat across from Olivia. She glanced up at him nervously and he smirked at her discomfort."Yes, I did. The modiste is going to arrange all of the things I need for our," her voice broke as she choked out the last word, "wedding.""That is good to hear. Your father is quite pleased with the arrangement, we wouldn't want him disappointed. What else did you get up to today, that was a rather long trip just to be spending time at the modiste," Simon said."Mary and I walked in the park, it was refreshing," Olivia said evasively."Walked in the park?" Simon asked."Mm-hmm, the park behind the modiste, we went for a walk to clear our heads," Olivia said, not looking at Simon. She was watching the city pass by as they rode toward her house."The park by the train depot," Simon asked.Olivia glanced at him quickly, alarm on her face. She quickly compos
Olivia woke to a loud commotion in the yard outside her window. She jumped out of bed and walked toward her window, listening to the shouts in the yard. "They're going to pay for this," Rocco said darkly. "Richard is going to make sure they pay. We're going to smash all of those fucking bastards!" Olivia's eyes went wide as she stood just out of sight of the yard beyond. She needed to find out what was going on, what had caused so much turmoil outside. She heard more murmurs but nothing useful was forthcoming. She peeked outside and gasped in surprise. There were easily fifty people in the yard, gathering and talking in angry tones. She didn't see her father so she rushed to dress and go downstairs. She walked into the dining room, slowing down so as to not cause suspicion. Her father was finishing breakfast when she sat. Simon was nowhere to be found but Susan had finally joined them, looking weak and slightly peaked. She was nibbling on toast
"You have a werewolf mate?" Olivia asked in surprise. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open as she glanced between the doctor and Mary. Mary did not seem surprised. "Did you know?"Mary nodded. "I knew his mate before I moved here, she is a kind woman but she lives in fear of being caught.""Fear of being caught?" Olivia asked."Fear of being caught with a human. It is why we are not able to be together, her Alpha would kill her if he found out we were mated," the Doctor said softly."He can not be so cruel as that?" Olivia asked."He is that cruel, even worse," the Doctor said."And he wants my father? He wants to kill my father?" Olivia asked."Yes, much like your father wants to kill him. They are sworn enemies," the Doctor replied."What caused the rift?" Olivia asked."No one knows for sure," the Doctor replied."But you have a suspicion?""I do, yes," he said with a nod.Olivia waited exp
Ben looked around the packhouse. They were coordinating the attacks from the war room. They had launched the attack on the human side of the city that morning but now they had retreated and were ready to launch the second part of their attack. The Alpha looked positively thrilled with how things had been progressing. He sat at the head of the table, listening to updates and watching the attack play out. "We lost Richard," Brent said as he walked into the war room. "He and Simon both got away. We almost got his daughters too, but they somehow slipped through our fingers." A second warrior, Rikard nodded in agreement. "We slaughtered most of their staff, their kitchen staff and maids, they're all dead, lying in a pool of their own blood." His voice held grim satisfaction as he relayed the details of the attack. The Alpha grinned in wicked pleasure but Ben listened in horror. "We weren't going to hurt the innocent, I thought you agreed the innocent would be left
Olivia sobbed in relief, clutching Ben with all her might. She felt instant relief when his arms held her tight to his chest and he held her head in his hand, breathing in deeply as he buried his nose in her neck. She shuddered in desire, even here in the midst of destruction, she wanted him. "I need to get you to safety," he murmured as he pulled back from her and looked around. "Where's Mary, did you see her at the manor? Is she ok?" Olivia asked frantically. Ben sent a mind-link to Xander. 'Is Mary alive?' he asked. 'Yes, she's alive, but she got hit hard on the head, she'll be out for awhile. I'm taking her back to your place to Heidi,' Xander replied. 'You need to use the tunnels. The Alpha will be watching what we do, we need to be careful. Meet me at the southern gate, there's an entrance near there,' Ben replied. 'On it,' Xander replied. "Mary's fine, Xander is with her and he's taking her to my house. My
Ben caught Olivia just as she fell, she had passed out from the wound in her side. He hadn't even noticed it. How had he missed something so important? "I should have known she was hurt," he murmured as he lifted her into his arms and held her close. "Get my bed ready, Heidi, we need to dress her wound." Heidi rushed up the stairs ahead of him and he followed closely behind, setting her down gently on the bed in his room. He wasn't about to let her out of his sight now that he had her in his grasp. Heidi grabbed her dress and ripped with her claws, the fabric falling away and exposing her pale, porcelain skin. Her breasts fell out of her dress and Ben growled when he realized there were others in the room. Xander looked away and Flor smirked as he glanced at her chest. "Look away or I will rip your eyes out of your head right here," Ben said, growling under his breath. "One should never look at another man's mate," Flor said under his breath.
Olivia woke with a start. She felt her abdomen but it felt fine, as if nothing was wrong. She looked at it incredulously. She could have sworn she had been standing in Ben's house with a handful of blood just before she passed out. She remembered seeing the blood and feeling light headed, then blackness. She shook her head. It had been a long, stressful week. Maybe she had imagined it. She stood up from the bed and remembered the attack on the city. The train depot had been demolished. She had seen it happening. She had almost been demolished with it. She walked toward the door, wanting to find Ben. She needed to get back to her sister. Maribelle was ill and she wouldn't be happy waking up in the doctor's basement without a friendly face. Her stomach twisted at the thought of Maribelle all alone, scared, with only the doctor to keep her calm. She needed to get back to her sister. She needed to be with her. She walked toward the staircase and made her way down