Chapter 568

Olivia

I gripped the edges of the podium, my knuckles whitening from the strain as I stared out over the sea of faces. All eyes were trained squarely on me, awaiting my words. But I was frozen.

A tremor of nausea wormed its way up my throat as I stared out at them. What was I thinking—how could I have ever agreed to this? Speaking to crowds had never been my forte; that was Nathan’s arena, not mine. I was just the woman behind the scenes, the young mom who had never gone to college, the one who had been handed her job by her husband…

Suddenly, a flicker of motion off to the side caught my eye—Nathan, standing just at the edge of the stage with his arms folded across his chest. Even from this distance, I could feel the weight of his steady gaze, that piercing Alpha stare that always seemed to see straight into the depths of my soul.

He must have sensed my faltering because, slowly, deliberately, he offered me the faintest of smiles and a single, reassuring nod.

And just like that, the panic ebbed away.

No. I wasn’t any of those things that I had heard other people say about me, and besides, this was about more than those petty insecurities of mine.

This was so much bigger—this was about giving a voice to those who had been silenced, spreading a message of hope and positive change to anyone willing to listen. I owed it to the victims to begin this project.

Sucking in a steeling breath, I tightened my grip on the podium and lifted my chin.

“Good after noone,” I called out. “And thank you all for coming out here today. I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for our special announcement.”

As I spoke, the crowd watched patiently. I felt my heart pounding in my chest, but I pressed on, not letting my fear stop me.

“In the wake of what has happened, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support—not just from our own people, but from folks across this entire region. And I think I speak for everyone—the victims of this horrible crime included—when I say how grateful we are for your support.”

“But the fight is far from over,” I continued. “There are still many marginalized people who are left without homes, without places to turn to, and they deserve a chance to place down new roots. To have the same opportunities as the rest of us…”

Turning, I gestured towards the far end of the square where a massive canvas banner was unfurled, the bold lettering emblazoned across its surface: The Willow Branch Sanctuary.

“This project, which we hope to begin work on within the coming weeks, aims to provide a safe haven for victims of abuse, trafficking, and marginalization—open to all without judgment or prejudice.”

Over the following minutes, I listed off the planned amenities and services—counseling, rehabilitation, even vocational training to help get people back on their feet. With every bullet point listed, the crowd grew more and more intrigued, shifting and murmuring in their seats.

When I was finished, I was met with a deafening roar of cheers and applause that erupted from every corner of the square and left me taken aback. Beaming faces stared up at me, my final words having been received ten times as well as I could have hoped.

But above it all, one face stood out amongst the rest. One pair of green-blue eyes grinning up at me, a head of tousled blond hair rippling in the wind.

…

Dusk had long since fallen, bathing the festivities in a warm, flickering glow cast by the towering bonfire at the center of the square. I leaned back against the rough bark of an oak tree, letting the sounds and laughter wash over me.

A familiar silhouette appeared in my peripheral vision, tall and broad-shouldered. My lips curved upwards as Nathan sidled up beside me, extending a bottle of beer toward me.

“Drink?” he asked.

I took the bottle with a smile and clinked it against his.

We sipped in companionable silence for a few moments, just watching the festival. Children darted through the crowd, lively music drifted through the night air, and vendors called out their wares.

As the music swelled, Nathan snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me up against his side. “Dance with me?” he murmured into my hair.

I laughed huskily, wrapping both arms around his neck as we began to sway together. “Something tells me I don’t have much of a choice.”

“Nope,” he chuckled, his hands roaming across the dip of my spine. “The Luna has an obligation to indulge her Alpha.”

“Is that so?” I quirked a brow as my smirk grew. “And what if the Luna refused anyway?”

“Then I’ll just have to be… persuasive,” he hummed in response.

Punctuating his words with a devilish smirk, he dipped me theatrically, eliciting a squeal of surprise from my lips as I nearly spilled my drink. When he pulled me upright once more, my head was left spinning.

“You’re impossible,” I teased, swatting at his chest.

“Maybe,” he conceded, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear before we fell into another comfortable silence.

Eventually, the noise and bustle of everything else faded away until all that remained was just the two of us. I leaned my cheek against his chest, but before I could pick up the sound of his heartbeat, his hand was slipping beneath my chin and tilting my head back.

Without a word, he leaned forward and kissed me tenderly, as though he were kissing me for the first time again. The kiss was tentative and sweet, like my lips were new territory all over. I leaned into his arms, just enjoying the taste of him and the feel of his sturdy frame against me.

When we finally pulled apart just enough to breathe, he murmured, “I love you, Liv.”

“I love you too, Nathan. Forever.”

All too soon, though, the spell was broken by a chorus of high-pitched shrieks and giggles. Nathan and I pulled apart to see Angela and Levi running toward us with the twins on their shoulders, twirling and laughing in the night air.

“Well, well,” Angela said as she approached, Aurora’s tiny hands tangled in her hair. “We’ve been wondering where you two went.”

“Turns out you were hiding from us,” Levi teased, then nodded toward the beer bottles in our hands. “Couple of drunkards, too.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Angela foisted Aurora into my arms, and Levi did the same with Elliot and Nathan. I scooped my daughter up into my embrace, reveling in the sound of her toddlerish babbling. When her fingers reached for my beer bottle, I quickly yanked it away and shook my finger at her, laughing when she giggled in response.

It seemed, though, that Angela and Levi hadn’t come alone. I looked up to see Clint and Dianna walking up behind them, with Clarissa at Dianna’s side. All three of them were wearing flower crowns from one of the vendors.

“Did the ladies convince you to wear one of those?” Nathan teased, nodding his head toward Clint’s crown.

“Oh, please.” Clint adjusted his crown with a smirk. “I was the one who had to convince them. Don’t I look fabulous?”

“You look as handsome as ever,” I retorted.

“Actually,” Dianna chimed in, holding up a film camera that she had in her purse, “I was thinking… For my next art project, you know?”

“Oh, Dianna, you old softie,” Clint teased, draping his arm around Dianna’s shoulders. “It’s alright to admit that you just want a family photo.”

Family.

The word made my heart swell in my chest, and I swore it grew two sizes in that moment. As we all squeezed in for the most haphazard, beautiful, chaotic picture that had ever been taken, I felt as though my chest might burst.

I felt Nathan’s free arm snake around my waist, and I looked up to see Elliot now propped up on one of his shoulders, and I knew: we were family. We may not have been bound by blood, but we were bound by love, and that was all that mattered.

“Say cheese!” Nathan said, pointing ahead of us at the camera.

“Bees!” Aurora cried out in her hilariously tiny voice, causing us all to burst out into peals of unadulterated laughter.

The camera flashed, blinding us and capturing us in a moment that would never be forgotten.