Chapter 84: A Reckoning Approaches

OLIVIA

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

I assumed that if Alex didn’t come to see her, he’d send ~Maya~.

Olivia straightened her shoulders, keeping her eyes ahead as she collected the used gauzes and supplies. She’d managed to treat everyone and leave them in a decent condition.

Despite what Alex had told her, it didn’t wipe away the guilt she harbored within her.

That pack came ~for her~. Everyone got injured protecting her. Even if they would have done it for anyone else, in this instance, she’d been the target.

And they had risked their lives for ~her~. Unless they were hiding the truth from her, it didn’t seem like they lost anyone.

The same couldn’t be said for the other pack. Alex hadn’t spared anyone.

“All done?”

“I know you’re here because of Alex,” she noted, clutching the white plastic garbage bag.

Maya chuckled. “Jason’s the lackey. I came because you’re my friend.”

“I’m fine.”

Maya continued her stride into the room until she was standing beside her. Her arms were folded across her chest, her eyebrows arched. “Is this one of those ~repeat-it-enough~-and-it-becomes-true situations?”

“No, I’m genuinely f—”

“Fine, I got it,” Maya interrupted. “Sure. Who wouldn’t be fine?” she questioned, her shoulders lifting in a shrug.

“You offed your ~former~ best friend twice. The guy who played mind games with you. Deceived you. The person you once trusted more than anyone else. ~Fine~ is an apt word choice.”

The sarcasm in her voice was unmistakable. “I’ve been through this before.”

“Sure, and Alex had to put you back together bit by bit.”

“It’s not the same this time. I knew what I was getting into.”

“That doesn’t make it any less difficult.”

“Maya…”

“Have you taken care of yourself?”

“What?”

“Your injuries.”

“They’re not that serious.”

“Sit down.”

“Maya—”

“~Sit~.”

She knew she wouldn’t have the same influence over Maya as she did with Alex. She sighed, tilting her head back as she released her grip on the bag, letting it fall to the floor.

She held onto the counter as she hoisted herself onto it. The vital parts were okay; she was alive, and her stomach was unharmed. She’d taken a few hits, but at this point, she couldn’t confirm anything.

Perhaps an ultrasound at a private clinic? Would her baby even resemble a ~baby~? She wasn’t sure.

She recalled Alex mentioning that the little ones struggled with their transformations but...did that apply in utero?

She’d never considered it, and she’d never thought to ask.

Olivia couldn’t help but grimace as Maya started cleaning her wounds. Her friend continued to dab at them, undeterred by her flinching. She’d distract herself with something else.

“Did Alex heed my advice, or is he preoccupied?”

Maya looked up to meet her gaze. “Busy. They’re trying to decide what to do with the remainder of the—the rest of that ~pack~.”

“What did they say?”

“I could only hear bits and pieces through the door,” she admitted with a shrug. “Normally, I’d guess Alex would be lenient but…”

“But it involves ~me~.”

“Right. He feels responsible, you know. Like it’s his fault that jerk survived. I don’t think he wants to repeat the same mistake.”

Olivia felt her throat tighten as she swallowed hard. So his solution would be to annihilate the pack entirely.

If he left no survivors, there would be no one left to betray them later. It was a logical approach but—was it ethical? Did they all want this or were they just following their alpha? Was it just to punish them all for the actions of a few?

A chill ran up her spine as she thought about ~them~. They’d seized her as if she were an object, a tool for their own selfish desires.

They hadn’t cared that she had a life, that she was a person. They had wreaked havoc and destruction, ready to kill those she loved, all to gain a new plaything.

Was the crime severe enough to justify taking no risks?

“What choices does he have?”

“Liv…”

“Maya, I need to know.”

She sighed, her arms falling to her sides. “You are such a pain in the ass,” she responded with a chuckle.

“You’re going to make me tell you and then you’re going to feel guilty about it.” She shook her head, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “He can kill them, take them in, send them to other packs, or force them to live in isolation.”

“So, that pack, it’s—”

“Finished, yeah. The alpha’s dead and no one’s stepping up. No one would want that kind of ~stained~ legacy. They’d be even weaker initially and with Alex out for blood…they wouldn’t stand a chance.

“It’s that or nothing.”

“And what’s Alex going to do?”

“That’s what they’re trying to figure out.”

“Maya…”

“Alex is predictable, ~I know him well enough~. He won’t opt for mercy.”

Olivia wasn’t naive.

She was aware of the pack’s intentions for her. She knew they had assaulted her pack, causing injuries, and their goal was to eliminate anyone who resisted.

She was fully conscious of the fate that could have been hers.

She also understood Will’s manipulative charm. His words were like venom. He had done it to her. Slowly, subtly.

His influence had spread, he’d used the right words to deceive her, to keep her oblivious. He knew how to weave tales, how to exploit human emotions.

They might have been desperate, and he might have used that to his advantage.

Perhaps some of them were bad seeds, inherently evil. But maybe some of them obeyed because they trusted their alpha, or because they feared the consequences of betraying their own.

She had resisted Alex for a long time. All because Will was familiar, the reality she believed in. She’d been mistaken. She’d been played for a fool. Maybe there were victims among the wolves they captured.

Did they deserve to die?

Some people did.

Will ~did~.

That’s what she kept telling herself. The only way to be free from Will was for him to be dead. She got it. She was fine with what happened. She was.

~Truly~.

“Where is he?”

“Livy, I don’t think that’s wise.” Maya sighed, her shoulders drooping. “Look. He didn’t get to finish off Will. He feels like he failed to protect you. Earlier?

“Your stubborn ass didn’t heed ~his~ stubborn ass. Now you’re saying you want to go in there and dictate the ~alpha~?” She raised an eyebrow. “Does that seem like a smart move to you?”

No.

“I have to try.”

Maya used her middle finger to massage the space between her eyes, wrinkling the skin as she repeated the motion several times.

“Just be smart about it. I don’t know, wait until he comes to bed, wait for him naked. You know, divert the blood flow.”

“It might be too late then.”

Maya let out a sigh, her chest rising and falling.

“Shit was a lot simpler when the biggest issue you two had was non-stop fucking.”

The endless heats, the pregnancy. All that seemed secondary now. She felt…~isolated~. Sad? She couldn’t pinpoint the right word.

It was simpler. Back then, she didn’t anticipate a threat, she didn’t think Will was alive.

“Where are they, Maya?”

“Basement.”

“Thank you.”

She didn’t have a plan. She didn’t have a strategy, a speech—nothing.

Maybe Maya was wrong. Maybe Alex would be more receptive to her than she thought.

~Hopefully~.