Chapter 553

Olivia

“Wakey wakey, little mouse.”

Before I could even collect my bearings of the strange and barren surroundings, a sharp kick to the backs of my knees sent me flying into the shallow pit. A pair of warm arms enveloped me, but did nothing to stop both of us from tumbling to the gritty soil.

Gritting my teeth against a cry of pain, I lifted my gaze to see Nathan holding me. His dress shirt from the ball now hung in tatters, dark stains of sweat and what I feared was blood covering the fabric once-pristine fabric.

And his face… oh god, his beautiful face was a battered mess of cuts and swollen bruises.

What had they done to him?

“Liv,” he croaked out, his voice cracking with a mixture of disbelief and bittersweet agony as our eyes met. In that moment, a dozen unspoken reassurances seemed to pass between us in a matter of seconds. Neither of us were alright, but we were alive and together—for now, at least.

Before either of us could say anything else, I felt the air grow cold as a tall figure emerged and stopped at the edge of the hole, blotting out the sun.

“Perfect. There’s just enough room for two.”

I craned my neck to follow the sound and felt my stomach drop. Perched on the very edge of the pit, looming over us like some kind of demented gargoyle, was the gray-haired man from before. I still didn’t know his name, but his face had been seared into my mind—right before he and his lackeys had dragged me kicking and screaming out of the mansion earlier.

His steely gaze raked over Nathan and I with obvious relish before settling squarely on me, those flat, dead eyes glittering with undisguised malice.

“Perfect timing, too. You two can finish digging together.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see this.” Dan materialized at the Alpha’s side, a sneer crossing his lips. “I should have brought a chair, Montgomery. I’ve been waiting to see this bitch eat her words for a while now.”

I opened my mouth, some blazing retort ready on my tongue. But before I could speak, Nathan tightened his arms around me.

“Don’t,” he whispered, slowly helping me to my feet. “It’s not worth it.”

The man, whose name I now assumed was Montgomery, let out a derisive chuckle. “Smart man. Get to digging.”

With that, the two men turned and strode off toward the two unmarked vans, where they stood and conversed quietly with the others that were already here. It wasn’t long before I heard laughter—laughter! Was this a game to them? Was it amusing to see two people forced into the dirt like this?”

“Nathan, what is…” my voice trailed off as I watched him pick up a shovel and continue to dig. “What is going on?”

He shook his head, using his foot to help him plunge the shovel deeper into the gravel. “What do you think?”

All at once, I felt as if the world was ripped away from me, leaving me floating in space. This hole… it was big enough for two. The perfect size and shape for a grave, just not deep enough yet.

We were going to die. But I supposed I already knew that much.

“I’m sorry,” I choked out in a ragged whisper. “Nathan, I never should have—”

“Shh, hey…” He paused his digging and reached out to grasp my filthy hand in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t you dare apologize, alright? This was never your fault.”

I shook my head, clenching my jaw to keep the tears burning my eyes at bay. “But I should have known,” I whispered. “I should have had a vision, or a… a dream, or something. That’s what the Ancient Wolf does, isn’t it? Sees things? How could I not have seen this?”

Nathan’s adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed thickly. In his eyes, I saw the reflection of my own doubts and fears swimming beneath their deep blue-green depths—a well of regrets, of what-ifs and could-have-beens, all converging into one unavoidable truth.

There was no getting out of this. Not this time.

Even as that grim realization sank in, Nathan simply offered me the ghost of his usual warm, lopsided smile. A smile I had fallen for a thousand times over, one that even now, had never changed since we were kids.

“It was worth it,” he said simply, giving my hand another firm squeeze before he continued digging. “As long as I got to spend the rest of my life with you, every second was worth it.”

Dan’s derisive snort cut through the weighty silence that followed. “How disgustingly sentimental,” he sneered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him pace around the edge of the grave, his smirk widening with each passing moment like a shark circling its prey. At last, he came to a halt near Montgomery, hands stuffed casually in his pockets as he surveyed Nathan and I with open disdain.

“You know, I never could stand that arrogant, holier-than-thou attitude of yours, Olivia,” he drawled, spitting out my name like it was venom on his tongue. “Always parading around, acting like you’re better than everyone. Like you were just so much smarter.”

I opened my mouth, wanting to retort more than anything. But the words wouldn’t come. Maybe the terror of impending death had torn them out of my throat.

“But this?” he crouched down, digging his fingers into the rocky soil, where he collected a handful of it. “Oh, I can’t wait to see your body collapse into this hole. I must admit, I will miss Nathan and his potential. But you? The thrill of watching you rot in an unmarked grave? Well… I have to say, it’ll be the greatest pleasure of my life.”

With that, he reached out, opened his fingers, and let the dirt and soil rain onto the top of my head. I winced, putting my arms up to shield my face. Beside me, I heard Nathan growl low and menacing. I instinctively flinched, bracing for another blow that was sure to come.

Instead, a dull thump and muffled shouts made me cringe. Blinking past the blur of tears stinging my eyes, I could just make out Nathan’s slumped form, having apparently tried to surge up at Dan only to be kicked back by the guards.

“It’s alright,” I rasped out, reaching out to grasp my husband’s trembling hand once more and help him to his feet. “It’s alright, Nathan. We’re together, that’s… that’s what matters.”

He didn’t reply. He just stood there, his jaw clenched and his legs trembling just from the effort of keeping his battered body upright.

“I think this is deep enough.” Montgomery’s booming voice caught my attention, and I turned to see him kicking at the edge of the grave with his foot. With nothing more than a mere nod of his head, the two guards that were here before suddenly jumped down into the grave and seized us.

In a blur of scuffling feet and choked yelps, Nathan and I were dragged out of the grave and forced to our knees by the edge. I called out desperately for my wolf in my mind, trying with all my might to muster up a shockwave or a commanding voice, but it was useless.

I had used all of my energy already. There was nothing I could do.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of agonizing silence, I felt the cold metal of a rifle muzzle press up against the back of my head. From the sharp intake of breath beside me, I knew Nathan felt the same.

In that moment, all of my bravado fled from my body. My throat worked uselessly as I swallowed back the lump of terror, hot tears leaking from beneath my tightly-squeezed lids. This was it—the end, our final moments.

All I could do was send a silent prayer out to my children, begging whatever higher power was out there to keep them safe. To not let our actions, our sacrifices, be in vain. If we had to die, at least let it be noble. Let it be for something.

And then, I braced for oblivion.