Chapter 115

Olivia

The night air whistled past the car as we sped down the road, a harmonious blend of dread and relief knotting my stomach.

My fingers tightened around the little wooden box, the secret within serving as a physical reminder of the danger we were in. It was smaller than I had imagined, and it had an ornately carved lid. It looked as though Alvin had purchased it overseas during his time in the military.

Its contents, however, were of far more interest to me than its exterior; and its oddly disconcerting lightness filled my stomach with an eerie feeling.

I had never thought that I would be holding my friend’s severed hand inside a little wooden box that I had just dug out of the ground.

In the dim light of the dashboard, Nathan's face was a mix of concentration and worry.

“We’re almost at the meeting spot,” he murmured, his eyes darting to the rearview mirror every so often. “I hope Angela got away.”

I nodded, praying along with Nathan that Angela had made it to our rendezvous spot safely. “She’ll be there. She’s strong and fast,” I reassured him, though in truth, I was trying to convince myself more than anything.

We drove for a little while longer in silence, scanning the side of the road for any sign of Angela or her pursuers. We saw nothing, and I felt my heart sink.

But then, a shadow moved ahead, and the faint outline of a white wolf with a distinctive black spot on her forehead came into view.

Nathan pulled over swiftly, and in a moment, Angela shifted back to her human form. She practically threw herself into the back seat of the car, breathless and disheveled.

“Drive,” she panted, glancing nervously over her shoulder out the back windshield. “I think I lost them, but we can't be too sure.”

Nathan wasted no time, pressing on the gas and merging back onto the road.

"Are you okay?" I asked Angela, concern evident in my voice.

She gave me a weary smile. “A few close calls, but I’m fine. Managed to lead them on a wild goose chase. It was sort of fun, actually… I feel like I’m in high school again.”

Nathan chuckled. “You were a goodie-two-shoes in high school,” he teased as he guided us further away from danger. “Don’t act like you were out doing this sort of stuff back then.”

Angela stuck her tongue out at him. “You don’t know me, Nathan,” she chided.

I let out a relieved sigh. “Well, good job, Angela,” I said, smiling. “We got the box.”

Angela shot me a curious glance. “You found it?”

I nodded, holding the box up for her to see. “It was in the very first place we dug.”

Angela’s eyes darted between Nathan and me, sensing an unspoken tension. “Alright, what did I miss?”

Nathan cleared his throat but didn’t speak, his gaze still fixed on the road.

It was up to me to fill in the blanks. “Just... memories,” I murmured, the weight of the past pressing down on me. Angela shot us both a strange look, but said nothing more.

A little while later, we had returned to town with no one on our trail; and it seemed that Colin and Jen were none the wiser to our little escapade.

Nathan dropped Angela off at her house, and the car was silent as we watched her exhaustedly slump inside. It was still silent as we left and began to head back to the villa for the night.

As we pulled into the driveway, the villa’s familiar surroundings were a stark contrast to the night’s events. The porch light bathed the driveway in a soft yellow glow, making the dangers we faced earlier feel like a distant nightmare. Folly, even.

We entered the house, the door clicking shut behind us. Nathan sighed and sank down onto the couch, exhaustion evident on his face. There was a bit of dirt on his cheek from digging earlier, but already he seemed to be falling asleep.

For a few moments, I stood there looking at Nathan. He looked so weary, and it made my heart throb for him. I didn’t know what to say, how I could ever thank him for risking his own skin over this.

But he seemed to be asleep already, and so I decided that my gratitude would have to come tomorrow.

I started for my room, but Nathan's voice stopped me before I could reach the stairs. “Liv?” He called out, causing me to freeze. “Can we talk?”

I hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Sure.”

We moved to the kitchen, the cool tiles sending a chill up my spine.

It was only when we flicked the light on and Nathan’s eyes traveled down to my torso that I realized that I was still holding the dirt-covered box tightly against my chest, as though I was clutching the most precious thing in the universe.

Blushing, I placed the box on the counter, trying to avoid Nathan's intense gaze.

“So,” Nathan began, leaning against the counter, his arms folded. “I can’t take this anymore. How did you know it was there, of all places, under some random tree?”

I looked away, feeling a rush of heat rise to my cheeks as the memory of our innocent childhood kiss burned brightly in my mind. “It was nothing. Just an old memory,” I mumbled, hoping that would suffice. “I barely remember it, honestly.”

But Nathan wasn’t going to let it go. “Liv, I’ve known you for years. I’ve never seen you blush like that over just any memory, and I think you do remember more than you’re letting on. What aren’t you telling me?”

His voice, usually so composed, wavered slightly, betraying a mix of curiosity and concern. It made my heart race, the weight of my little secret pressing down on me.

"It was nothing, just a silly childhood memory,” I deflected, trying to divert the conversation.

But Nathan wasn’t buying it. He took a step closer, his eyes searching mine. “Olivia, tell me. I think that, after all of this, I deserve to know.”

There it was again: his Alpha demeanor, slipping out when I least expected it. He towered over me, his eyes flashing with command. There was something both attractive and terrifying about it, and for a moment, I recalled our night of passion together. More heat crept into my cheeks, and I quickly took a step away, averting my gaze to the ground.

I couldn’t bring myself to keep this secret any longer.

For all I knew, it was bound to come out eventually, and it was better now than later. And it was better for it to come from me than Alvin.

A deep breath. A long exhale. “Fine,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “It was the spot... where Alvin and I... shared a kiss. When we were kids.”

There was no answer. Only hard, bitter silence.

I chanced a glance at Nathan and regretted it instantly when I saw the expression on his face.

His face, normally warm, had drained of color. His eyes held a mixture of disbelief, hurt, and something else I couldn’t quite place. His hands were curled up into fists at his sides.

“Olivia?” he murmured, taking a step back. “Are you… telling the truth? You kissed Alvin?”

——————

To be continued