Chapter 203

Olivia

“Who could that be?” I asked, sitting up.

“I don’t know. Hopefully just Clint or Levi,” Nathan said with a sigh. “But most likely the Elders, coming to try to kick us out again.”

At the mention of the Elders, I felt my heart begin to race. “You won’t let them kick us out,” I whispered.

Nathan offered me a gentle smile and leaned across the bed, squeezing my hand. “Of course not, Liv,” he said quietly. “I won’t let anything happen to our family or our home. You know that.”

I nodded stiffly, swallowing.

Suddenly, the knock came again. This time it was louder, audibly rattling the glass in the doorframe. I jumped up and ran over to the window to peer out, my eyes widening as I saw three unfamiliar black cars in the driveway.

“I don’t think it’s the Elders,” I whispered, my heart pounding like a wardrum in my chest. “Or anyone we know, for that matter.”

Nathan slowly came over to peer through the window. Upon seeing the car, his own eyes widened.

The urgency in Nathan’s voice was unmistakable. “Stay here, Olivia,” he instructed, his eyes reflecting an intensity that only made me feel even more vulnerable.

Without waiting for a response, he descended the staircase, his steps deliberate. I felt a cold chill run down my spine, an instinctive reaction to the unknown threat below.

A few moments passed which felt like an eternity. I stood still and quiet, my eyes darting down the hall toward the nursery, as though I would witness an intruder carrying my children out. But there was nothing. No one. Just the sound of the door opening downstairs, and voices.

The muffled voices that drifted up to me were indistinct, but there was a tension in them that was unmistakable. And then, without warning, the voices raised.

“Get out!” I heard Nathan growl, his voice alone indicating that he was on the verge of shifting. “You’re not welcome here.”

Compelled by a force I couldn’t resist, I rushed down the stairs, my heart racing. The scene that unfolded before me was one I had never expected—Ryan, standing defiantly, albeit leaning heavily on crutches, his face twisted in a sneer. Nathan stood opposite him, his posture protective and assertive.

“R-Ryan?” I asked, drawing my robe more tightly around my shoulders. “W-What are you doing here?”

“He was just leaving,” Nathan growled under his breath, attempting to bar the entrance. But Ryan wouldn’t budge.

Ryan’s gaze shifted from Nathan to me, his eyes narrowing. “Where’s my son, Olivia?” he spat out with venom. “Let me see him!”

I stiffened, rage bubbling up within me. “He’s not ‘your’ son,” I shot back. “And I suggest you leave now.”

Ignoring Nathan’s warning glare, Ryan practically lunged towards me, thrusting a sheet of paper in my face. The official seal on the document caught my eye. It was a formal custody request, signed by Ryan and the Elders of his pack. My blood ran cold.

“I’m… sick, Olivia,” Ryan hissed, his eyes darting between Nathan and me. “I deserve to have my son with me. I need an heir to my pack. You’ve had your warnings, and you refused to answer.”

“You haven’t given us any time,” Nathan said. “If you had waited, you would know that we may have been willing to negotiate. Elliot isn’t just your son, Ryan. He’s Olivia’s son too, and mine by extension. We won’t hand him over so willingly.”

“What will it take, then?” Ryan asked. “Money? Was the threat of war not enough for you?”

Memories of his past negligence and disinterest in our children came flooding back. “You gave up any rights to him when you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with our kids,” I said, my voice trembling with fury.

“But things are different now,” he growled. His face was stony, but there was a hint of desperation evident behind his eyes.

“So make a new heir,” I said. “You look like you’ve got some time. Don’t come for my son, who you just told me months ago that you had no interest in whatsoever.”

Nathan studied him with skepticism, his gaze taking in Ryan’s haggard appearance. “Olivia’s right. You look just fine to me, Ryan. A bit roughed up, maybe, but nothing more. What’s stopping you from producing an heir before you kick the bucket?”

Ryan's expression turned cold. He gestured to one of the sleek black cars parked outside the house. Through the tinted windows, I could make out a shadowy figure—a driver, it seemed. Or rather, more like a bodyguard. All of the cars had similar men inside, each dressed in black.

I swallowed hard upon seeing those hulking figures, wondering how many of them were hiding guns beneath the dashboard, ready to attack.

“You think this is a game?” he asked, a wry chuckle escaping his lips. “I couldn’t even drive myself here. The accident… it took everything from me. Thanks to the accident that was caused after your baby shower, I can’t have my own kids anymore.”

My eyes widened. Ryan, seeing this, smirked somewhat.

“It’s true,” he said. “Elliot and Aurora are the only living heirs I will ever have. All I ask is for Elliot, my son, so that my bloodline may continue.”

“Is that so?” Nathan asked, folding his arms across his chest. “I don’t believe you. Until you can prove that you’re as injured as you claim, your threats mean nothing. Leave Olivia alone, and find a new heir. You made your intentions clear when you told her you didn’t want a part in her children’s lives.”

“Fine,” Ryan said, a ghost of a smirk playing across his lips as he leaned his wiry frame on his crutches. “Maybe I did say those things. I’m not denying it. But I can’t just find a new heir. I want my son, and I want him soon.”

“Or what?” I asked, taking a step forward as my body began to fill with the kind of rage only a mother could feel when her babies were in danger. “You’ll take him from me? You’ll start a war? And for what?”

“To continue my pack’s lineage,” he said. “My father is dead, Olivia. I’m the Supreme Alpha now, and you know as well as I do that my pack cares a lot about bloodlines. Save us all the trouble and give me the boy; you can keep the girl.”

A scoff escaped my lips. “You’re not taking my son, Ryan. You can forget it.”

As I spoke, Ryan’s face darkened. He took a hobbling step forward, pointing a finger at me over Nathan’s shoulder. Nathan tried to block the way, but I waved him away, allowing myself to stand tall in front of Ryan. I couldn’t show weakness.

“You’re not going to let a sick man take his son?” Ryan asked. “I lost a lung and a kidney to that accident. I’m lucky to even be standing right now, and the internal injuries… They were horrendous. My body is destroying itself.”

Despite the gravity of his claim, something about his story rang false. There was something in his eyes, something in the way that he uttered those words, that made even me question his story. For a moment, I had been somewhat sympathetic upon seeing Ryan on crutches, but now it all reeked of lies.

“I still don’t believe you.” Nathan’s eyes hardened. “If what you’re saying is true, let’s see the scars, then,” he challenged.

Ryan faltered, taken aback by the directness of the demand. His face turned an even deeper shade of red. “You dare question me, Ford? After everything?”

Nathan stepped closer, towering over Ryan. “Prove it,” he demanded.