Chapter 435

Olivia

I rushed outside, my heart pounding with fear, and knocked on the car door where Nathan was slumped over the steering wheel. “Nathan!” I called out, my voice filled with panic. He didn’t stir despite my knocking, and I tried the door handle, finding it locked.

“Nathan, open up,” I begged, knocking harder.

Still, there was no response. I began to fear the worst; perhaps he had somehow been drugged, or passed out completely from exhaustion, or… what if he had a heart attack or something from all of the lack of sleep?

Cursing under my breath, I was just about to turn on my heel to run back inside for the spare car key. But finally, Nathan stirred, lifting his head with a groggy and confused look on his face. He blinked, his eyes focusing on me standing outside. “Liv?” I heard him say, his voice muffled through the car door.

“Open up, right now,” I demanded, feeling a sense of relief mixed with frustration wash over me. Quickly, he obliged and unlocked the door, and I almost fell into the car in my haste to check on him.

“Nathan, what the hell was that? Are you okay? You scared me half to death!” The words poured out of my mouth, and I began looking him over, searching him for any signs of injury—a bump on his head, maybe, or a foggy look in his eyes.

He rubbed his eyes, clearly disoriented but otherwise unharmed. “God, I’m sorry, Liv,” he mumbled, his voice hoarse from sleep. “I was just so tired... I closed my eyes for a moment, and…”

“And you fell asleep at the wheel!” I scolded, my mixture of relief and frustration still evident as ever in my voice.

“But I was parked in the driveway—”

“It doesn’t matter,” I scolded. “What if you had closed your eyes while you were driving? You could have been hurt, Nathan. This isn’t okay. You can’t keep going like this.”

Nathan stared up at me for a few moments before he slowly climbed out of the car, his movements stiff and robotic. “I know, I know,” he sighed, his face drawn with exhaustion. “It’s just... everything’s been so hectic lately.”

I sighed, and without a moment longer of hesitation, I reached out and threw my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. His scent enveloped me, a comforting feeling when I needed it the most.

After all we had been through together, I had really feared the worst for a moment. During those moments, it had felt as though we were back where we had been just a few months ago, back when Jenifer’s hex had worked its dark magic on Nathan and he had been plunged into a terrifying—albeit temporary, thankfully—coma.

It had almost made me wonder again if the hex was still potent, if the dark magic swirling around my unborn baby hadn’t really been cleared after all.

When we pulled away, I looked up at Nathan with a stern look in my eyes, holding his shoulders tightly.

“You really need a vacation, Nathan. You need to rest,” I insisted, my concern for him outweighing my frustration. “At least take a weekend off, or something before you get seriously hurt.”

He gave me a weary smile and kissed me softly, his lips tasting strongly of coffee—which was only a further testament to the fact that he had been filling up on caffeine to get through the days recently.

“I know, and I will,” he said gently. “I promise. After the interview with the Alpha association, I’ll take some time off. We’ll go on a beautiful honeymoon, just you and me. Okay?”

My heart ached at his words, both for the promise of some quality time together and the worry of his current state. The thought of spending our days somewhere nice, perhaps on a warm beach or even holed up in a cozy cabin, was a nice notion; but it was outweighed by my fear for him.

“You keep saying ‘after this, after that’,” I said softly. “I just... I want you to be safe, Nathan.”

He reached out, his hand gently cupping my cheek. “I will be, Liv. And if it makes you feel any better, I’ve actually been looking at some vacation spots lately. Somewhere we can really relax.”

My eyebrows raised. “You have?” I asked.

He nodded. “I wanted it to be a surprise, but I’ve been looking at this resort down south,” he said. “Nice and warm, and the beaches are beautiful. Two weeks, just you and me. I just need to get through this interview, and then we’ll go.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought, the image of a peaceful getaway offering a brief respite from my worries. But, at the same time, there was always the looming doubt; what if he didn’t get onto the association, and therefore he decided not to give himself a break? Or, even worse, what if something happened in the meantime due to his exhaustion, and he got hurt or made himself sick?

But I couldn’t voice those thoughts. For now, it was cold outside, and it was beginning to snow.

“Come inside,” I said with a soft sigh and a weak smile. “Dinner’s ready.”

…

Later that night, Nathan and I were standing in the kitchen. He was tending to the twins, and I was finishing up the dishes. My idea about the auction kept floating through my mind, and I couldn’t contain it any longer.

“So, I was thinking,” I said cautiously, glancing over my shoulder, “I want to start another project for our town.”

“Oh yeah?” Nathan asked, feeding Elliot a spoonful of baby food. “What sort of project?”

I swallowed, feeling oddly silly. The comments from earlier still swirled around in my mind, reminding me that I wasn’t trained for something like this, and that maybe, just maybe, it was nothing more than another vanity project.

But Angela’s words rang out above the rest, reminding me that my hard work deserved to be acknowledged.

“I was thinking of running an auction,” I said. “Something for the local businesses to get involved in. People could bid on locally made goods, vouchers, experiences—I thought it would be something that would draw more people to our area, and it would be a good way to fundraise for the pack.”

Nathan paused, meeting my gaze. “Wow,” he said softly. “Liv, that’s an interesting idea. But… it’s also a big plan. You know I won’t be able to help much with the interview coming up.”

“I know,” I said with a nod. “I figured as much, and we don’t need to do it right away. Hell, you could even give the idea away to someone else, like the PR team. It’s just an idea, and maybe it’s too much for me to tackle anyway.”

“Why don’t you meet with the PR team?” Nathan suggested, placing a hand on his hip. “You should meet them; you could even collaborate with them on it.”

The idea made me blanch. “I don’t know—”

“Liv, just try it,” Nathan said. “Besides, I think you’ll get along with the team. And if it doesn’t work out, then that’s okay, too.”

I swallowed, nodding as Angela’s words from earlier floated back through my mind, once again drowning out the noise of the nasty comments.

“Alright. I’ll give it a shot.”

…

The next morning, I found myself walking into the Council building with a binder of plans tucked under my arm, wearing a blazer and tailored trousers. I wanted to look professional, show everyone that I was serious about this.

Nathan was in a meeting, meaning that the secretary had to lead me to the PR office, which only made it all the more nerve wracking. I swallowed as I followed her, carefully checking my hair as I passed by a nearby mirror.

“And here you are,” the secretary said, opening the door for me.

“Thank you.” I offered her a pleasant smile and stepped into the room, immediately feeling my heart pound faster than before. I looked around to see an official-looking conference table in the center of the room, where a team of five people was seated around it, clearly waiting for me.

“Hello,” I said as I entered. “I’m Olivia.”

The team looked at me expectantly, their greetings scattered. My footsteps seemed to echo in the room as I walked up to the head of the table, setting down my binder. “So,” I began, hoping that they couldn’t see the way my hands were trembling, “I wanted to meet you all to discuss…”

As the morning went on, our meeting unfolded. I was pleasantly surprised by the team’s openness and enthusiasm for the auction.

Everyone seemed excited to begin the project, and after a couple of hours of intense brainstorming, we had finally hashed out what felt like a solid plan for the auction. Of course, I felt a little out of place and inexperienced, but the team was gracious and always willing to offer pointers.

All except for one of them, anyway.

There was one woman, a dark-hair woman named Vanessa, who seemed to stand out from the rest.

“So, you’re the Luna,” Vanessa said as we packed up for the day, her eyes scanning me with an unreadable expression behind them. “I must admit, I wasn’t expecting you to be leading a project like this.”

“Oh, I’m not leading. I’m just contributing,” I corrected, offering her a polite smile. “I’m here to work with you all, as a team.”

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Well, just so you know, I was up for a promotion. But now, with you here, I guess things have changed.”

I felt a pang of guilt. I didn’t know that I was potentially blocking anyone out of a job. “Vanessa, I’m not here to step on anyone’s toes,” I said. “I just want to help. Please, don’t let me get in the way of your promotion, and I wish you all the best.”

She gave a non-committal shrug and turned her attention to packing up her things. I watched her go, saw the way that she cast me a dirty look before pushing through the door.

And then, I heard her utter something that made my heart sink.

“This whole department is gonna go up in flames,” she whispered to another team member as they walked through the door. “All thanks to the Luna getting involved in things she knows nothing about.”