Chapter 154

Olivia

The door closed behind me, sealing my fate and finalizing the goodbye. With my head hung low, I walked down the steps to the sidewalk and began my walk of shame back to the villa.

The setting sun cast everything in a warm orange glow, but my insides felt cold and blue like the deepest waters of the raging ocean. Why wouldn’t Nathan understand that I wanted him close to me? Why did he have to push me away like this?

Angela had said that Nathan and I were like two peas in a pod, completely inseparable. But we had been separated for ten years, and now we were separated once more.

Something in me told me that we wouldn’t find our way back to each other again, not with our lives moving in opposite directions.

“Angela won’t be so sure about Nathan and me now,” I muttered to myself, shoving my hands into my pockets as I walked. A stone laid in my path, and with a grimace I gave it a solid kick, watching with angry satisfaction as it skittered across the pavement and fell into a storm drain with a plunk.

But then, out of nowhere, I felt a sudden and unexpected connection to my wolf.

I stopped in my tracks, a feeling of confusion and surprise washing over me.

“My wolf?” I whispered to myself, feeling the presence within me for the first time in years. It wasn’t a simple scent or a feeling. It was a solid presence. I could feel her, every bit of her.

Her voice was strong, full of certainty and determination.

“You’re making a mistake, Olivia,” she growled, her voice echoing in my mind. “You can’t walk away. You have to go back.”

My eyes widened at her words. For the first time in years, I was hearing my wolf’s voice inside my mind. It felt oddly foreign and familiar at the same time. Was this it? Was my wolf back for good?

“Where have you been all this time?” I demanded out loud, my voice choked with tears and frustration. “Why now? Why here?”

But instead of an answer, her voice began to fade, the connection slipping through my fingers like sand. Panic welled up inside me, and I tried to grasp onto her, to hold her close, to understand what she was trying to tell me.

She was gone.

All that remained was a wonderful scent coming from Nathan’s apartment. It was intoxicating, tantalizing, pulling me towards it with an irresistible force. It was more than the mere fragrance of grapefruit salt.

It was a calling, a yearning, something primal and powerful that I couldn’t ignore.

Without even realizing it, I found myself running back up the stairs to Nathan’s apartment, my heart pounding in my chest, the scent driving me forward, compelling me to act. My wolf’s warning, her plea for me to go back, was still ringing in my ears, but it was the scent that had complete control over me.

I reached his door and without a moment’s hesitation, I began to bang on it, desperate to see him, to tell him that I couldn't accept this separation, that we were meant to be together.

“Nathan!” I called out, my heart caught in my throat like a lump of lead. “Nathan, I need to talk to—”

But then, at the last moment, just as I heard his footsteps approaching the door, the scent began to fade.

The intoxicating fragrance that had driven me to this point was now gone, leaving me standing at his door, my hand raised to knock again, my mind reeling.

The door swung open, revealing Nathan’s worried face. “Olivia? Is everything alright?” he asked, his blue-green eyes scanning me. He leaned to the side to peer behind me, probably worried that I was being chased.

I stood frozen, my mind a whirl of confusion and doubt. What was I doing here? What had come over me? The connection to my wolf, the scent, it all felt like a distant dream, slipping away from me.

“Olivia?” Nathan asked again, concern evident in his voice.

My heart ached, my soul torn between what I felt was right and the fear of losing him forever. My wolf had warned me, but now she was silent, leaving me alone and uncertain.

“N-Nevermind,” I said, swallowing my pride. “Just… Just thought I left something behind.”

“Oh.” Nathan shot me a worried look, but took a step back and began to shut the door. “Be careful walking home.”

I nodded stiffly and forced a weak smile. “I will, Nathan,” I replied. “I’ll see you later.”

The door closed. I heard the lock slide through the deadbolt, a thick wall between us once more.

With a heavy sigh, I turned away from the door, my head hung low. Tears welled in my eyes as I stumbled down the stairs, each step taking me further away from Nathan, from the life we could have had together.

I could have told him. I should have told him. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it; he would just think that I was being desperate.

As I walked down the steps, I didn't look back. I couldn’t. The pain was too raw, the confusion too great. My wolf had been my guide, my companion for the briefest of moments, but now she was silent once again and I was left alone to navigate these stormy waters.

I reached the bottom of the stairs, where I allowed myself one last glance at his apartment door. It remained closed, a barrier to a past I had to leave behind, a future I had to face without him.

I walked into the night, the echoes of Nathan’s voice still haunting me, the scent still lingering in my senses, a ghost of what might have been.

It was over. There was no going back. My wolf had tried to warn me, to guide me, but in the end, it was my own fear, my own doubt, that had kept me from taking the leap.

I was alone once again, my wolf silent within me, the tantalizing scent a fading memory, and the future an uncertain path stretching out before me.

I had lost my nerve, lost my chance, and all that was left was to move forward, to try to find my way without Nathan, without my wolf's guidance.

I pulled my coat tighter around me, feeling the chill of the night, the chill of a life without Nathan. The emptiness of the house was nothing compared to the emptiness in my heart.

And as I walked away from his apartment, away from the life we could have had, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had made a terrible mistake, that I had let something beautiful slip through my fingers.

But it was too late. The moment had passed, the opportunity lost.

All I could do was keep walking, keep moving forward, and hope that someday, somehow, I would find my way back to myself, back to my wolf, and back to the love that had almost been mine.

The scent lingered in my senses, a bittersweet reminder of what I had lost, a haunting melody that would stay with me, always just out of reach, a dream that could never be.