Chapter 33
Olivia's POV
I wandered through the sprawling garden at Ethan’s Pack house, letting the scents of the herbs and flowers in late bloom surround me. This small escape from the relentless tension was just what I needed.
I trailed my fingers across the plants, jotting down notes on my phone for potential scent combinations. There was a complexity in the layers of each scent that I just couldn’t find in a store.
As I moved closer to the house, I paused under the windows near Ethan’s office. The sound of raised voices froze me in place.
I could hear Ethan and Aiden inside, their heated conversation carrying through the open windows.
“Gideon’s vote,” Aiden’s voice was taut, brimming with frustration. “He’s mine, and we both know it. So, why is he threatening to flip on me?”
My heart stilled at the mention of Alpha Gideon. He was a powerful vote, one whose support could tip the balance Ethan’s way. But he was also a greedy male who had a high price.
Ethan’s tone was calm but edged with steel. “How should I know, Aiden? But I’ll take it. He made his choice, and it’s out of your control now.”
Aiden let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Oh, don’t pretend you’re so righteous, brother. What deal did you make with Derek for his help with Gideon? Was it power, or something – someone – that’s not yours to promise?”
A chill prickled down my spine. The implication wasn’t lost on me, and a wave of nausea rose in my stomach.
I forced myself to listen against every instinct urging me to barge in there and demand answers of my own.
Ethan’s voice grew harder. “Alphas make our own choices, Aiden. If you had a Pack of your own, you’d know that. They’re not so easily swayed by your empty promises.”
“Empty?” Aiden snapped. His voice was harsh with anger. “At least I don’t need to manipulate everyone around me to get what I want.”
“Is that right?” Ethan spit right back. “Then maybe it’s time you faced the reality of your own failures instead of trying to make them my problem.”
I held my breath, waiting, wondering if they’d say something else. It was Aiden who broke the silence, his words calculated and meant to dig under Ethan’s skin.
“You’ve done well hiding your… arrangement with Olivia, but there are whispers. And now Isabella knows. Did you ever consider her feelings?”
Ethan’s voice growled in warning. “Isabella and I have nothing to discuss. You don’t know the first thing about what happened.”
“Don’t I? All she needed to hear was that her Mate had been replaced with a… temporary arrangement.”
My heart dropped into my stomach and a fresh wave of betrayal settled in.
Aiden’s voice rose again, low and scathing.
"All this… for what? So you can play hero and swoop in to fix everything? Face it, Ethan, you’ve always wanted to take what’s mine.” His words dripped with venom, each one meant to lash and wound.
Ethan’s answering laugh was cold, without an ounce of humor. "Take what’s yours? Don’t flatter yourself. You had every advantage, and still, you threw it away."
Aiden scoffed, his tone mocking. “Yet here you are, clinging to this ‘marriage’ with Olivia, like it’ll finally make you whole. Do you think faking a bond can erase the fact that she’ll never be yours the way Isabella was?”
A low, feral growl rumbled from Ethan. “I’ll tell you one last time, Aiden. Leave Isabella out of this. And leave Olivia alone. Whatever power you think you have here, you don’t. You’re just too blind to see it.”
“Blind?” Aiden sneered. “I see perfectly well. You think loyalty to you means anything? This marriage is just another tool, and everyone knows it. If you think Olivia is safe just because of that, then you’re the blind one.”
The roar of Ethan’s wolf emerging shook the windowpane before a crash came from inside the room. “Get off my land before I bury you here!”
It was clear Ethan’s patience was worn razor thin, and the authority in his tone warned Aiden not to push him further. I’d never felt Ethan so uncontrolled.
The seconds stretched out until finally, I heard Aiden mutter something under his breath and storm out, his footsteps fading down the hallway.
Ethan’s window closed with a soft thud, and I jumped.
I couldn’t shake the dread pooling in my stomach.
I leaned against the stone railing, lost in thought, when I sensed Ethan’s presence behind me. He approached quietly, his steps deliberate.
I glanced up, and the look in his eyes told me he knew I had overheard his argument with Aiden. I felt a pang of guilt for eavesdropping, but his guarded expression softened as he came closer.
“You heard more than you meant to, didn’t you?” His voice was calm, but a shadow of weariness lingered behind it.
“I didn’t mean to… it’s just…” I hesitated, not wanting to pry further into something so deeply personal. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know but I had to ask. “Who is she?”
Ethan’s gaze drifted out to the gardens, his jaw tightening for a moment. “Isabella,” he said finally, his tone detached but raw with hurt. “She was… my Fated Mate.”
The words dropped like a bomb between us. Fated. He’d already found his Fated Mate.
Sourness grew in my stomach whether I had the right to feel jealous or not.
He was trying to keep his emotions in check, but I could feel the quiet ache radiating off him, a lingering hurt that had clearly left scars.
“She left,” he continued, his voice low. “When things got… complicated.” He didn’t elaborate, and I could sense that he wouldn’t, or couldn’t.
That didn’t stop the surge of questions flooding my mind, wondering what she’d meant to him and why she’d left.
But I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Not when I could feel the pain wafting off him, even though on the outside he had that classic Ethan coldness. Maybe she was why he was so cold.
I stayed silent, letting him share what he chose. After a long pause, he took a deep breath and looked at me. “It’s not something I like to talk about, Olivia. I don’t like to dwell on people who didn’t choose to stay.”
I nodded, understanding. It made sense now, this fierce independence, the way he held people at arm’s length, as if he were preparing for them to walk away.
I wondered if he saw that same potential in me as someone who would leave someday. And that thought stirred a pang of sadness in me.
“What happened with Gideon? What did he want from you?” I forced myself to ask.
Ethan’s expression shifted, a flicker of surprise crossing his face, as if he hadn’t expected me to ask about the Council vote in the midst of everything else.
He took a moment before answering, his gaze sharpening with a newfound resolve.
“I don’t know, it must have been Derek. Which means he’ll want his payment to keep Gideon’s vote,” he replied, his tone very matter of fact.
My heart skipped, caught between anticipation and wariness. “What will you do?”
Ethan avoided my gaze, an unusual shift that only made the knot in my stomach tighten.
He opened his mouth as if to respond, but the words seemed to catch in his throat, leaving us both standing there, suspended in a silence thick with everything left unsaid.
