Chapter 59

Olivia

The sound of silverware being tapped loudly against the sides of glasses floated across the air to us.

“Come on,” Nathan said, with an oddly relieved expression on his face. “We have to go inside now. My dad’s supposed to give a speech.”

Before I could even speak, Nathan turned on his heel and headed inside. With a sigh, I followed in his footsteps, my heart aching for the words that kept going unsaid between us.

Our best friend, the missing piece to our puzzle, was sitting all alone in his dark house, and Nathan seemed to have no desire to try and talk to him. He kept saying that it was dangerous, that Alvin was different… But I didn’t believe him.

Surely, if we both went to Alvin’s house and tried to talk to him, he would open up to us. Maybe together we could get to the bottom of what was going on with him, and we could help him. But it wouldn’t work if Nathan kept refusing to even try to help his friend.

As we walked back into the banquet hall, the clinking of silverware and the hum of conversation were slowly dying down as Colin rose to his feet. A hush fell over the room, and all eyes turned to him.

Nathan and I quietly made our way back to our table just as his speech began.

"Thank you all for joining us today," Colin began, his deep voice resonating with authority. "As we gather here, let us not forget the sanctity of our pack, the bond that unites us all."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as Colin's gaze swept over the room. It felt as if his eyes lingered on me a moment longer than necessary.

“The sanctity of such a bond can never be broken,” he continued, his cold, icy gaze ripping away from me. “All those who try to break it, those who don’t cherish the pack bond that we’ve been blessed with, will be cursed to live a life of suffering.

My mind raced, wondering if he was somehow directing those words at me… At my father. As his eyes scanned the crowd again and fell on me once more, my suspicions were all but confirmed.

I knew that Colin hated me for what my father supposedly did — and probably even well before that, if I was being honest with myself — but to covertly target me during his end-of-luncheon speech made me feel oddly sick to my stomach.

Colin continued his speech, his words blending together as I struggled to focus.

“That is what my father, and his father before him, always taught me,” he said, his deep voice booming clearly throughout the banquet hall without so much as a microphone. “And it’s a lesson that I have vowed to take very seriously, to teach my heirs, and I would hope that they will teach their heirs.”

Suddenly, Colin’s eyes landed on Nathan. I felt Nathan stiffen beside me, and instinctively, I reached out and touched his knee beneath the table.

He seemed to relax a bit at my touch, too preoccupied with his father’s cold and calculating gaze to remember that he was annoyed with me.

Clearing his throat, Colin continued. “It is days like today that we can all come together and be reminded of the sanctity of our bond. Let us drink to that bond, and go home with a renewed sense of community.”

The room was filled with polite applause, followed by the toast. Finally, the luncheon drew to a close. I exhaled a sigh of relief, eager to escape the scrutinizing eyes that seemed to bore into my very soul.

As Nathan and I made our way toward the exit, the sea of unfamiliar faces seemed to blur.

Instinctively, and forgetting momentarily about our disagreement regarding Alvin, I reached out and latched onto Nathan's arm, seeking solace in his reassuring presence.

I felt safer beside him, as if his strength could shield me from the judgments and suspicions that haunted me.

We stepped outside into the warm afternoon air, and I climbed into the passenger seat of Nathan's car. He started the engine, and began to drive down the road.

“That was an interesting speech,” I said, partially just wanting to break the silence between us and partially because I needed to get my fears off of my chest. “Is it… always like that?”

Nathan shrugged and shook his head. “It’s different every year,” he replied, guiding the car around a curve in the winding road. The road was lined on either side by trees, which had the beginnings of spring buds on them.

“You don’t think he was—”

“Targeting your father?” Nathan interrupted.

I nodded.

“If he was, I wouldn’t worry about it,” Nathan reassured me, casting me a friendly smile from the driver’s side. “It’s not like you did anything wrong.”

Suddenly, I felt myself surge with annoyance. “Neither did my father,” I said. “He didn’t do anything wrong. It was your father—”

“Olivia, do we need to talk about this right now?” Nathan asked. “We don’t know the details.”

I felt a knot form in my stomach. “I know, but it’s just frustrating…”

However, my voice faltered when I saw what Nathan did next.

We had only been driving for ten minutes at the most. Suddenly, Nathan veered off to the side of the road. My eyes widened in confusion as he pulled up to the shoulder and looked over at me.

“Get out,” he said.

I felt a lump rise in my throat. “W-Why?” I asked, my mind scrambling to come up with a reason. “Is it because I brought up my dad? I thought that you, of all people, would understand why I’d feel the need to defend his honor.”

Nathan shook his head. “It’s not that, Olivia—”

“Then what is it?” I interrupted, feeling my voice raise an octave as worry took over my senses. “Is it because of Alvin? Look, I’m sorry that I keep bringing him up, but I care about our friend. And you should, too—”

Before I could finish, Nathan shook his head with an exasperated sigh and shut the car off. My eyes were still as wide as ever as I watched him circle around the car, then open my door.

“Get out,” he repeated, his tawny hair ruffling in the soft breeze as he looked down at me.

"Nathan, what's going on?" I asked, my voice tinged with concern.

But Nathan just chuckled at my fear. There was a hint of a mischievous smile that flashed across his lips, and I felt my shoulders slump with relief.

“Nathan, you’re such a jerk,” I chided, climbing out of the car and smacking him firmly on the arm. “Don’t do that kind of thing to me. You got me, okay? Can we go home now?”

Once again, Nathan chuckled. “We’re not going home,” he replied. “Not yet.”

I furrowed my brow in frustration and folded my arms across my chest. “Nathan, what the hell are you doing?”

“Just quit complaining and walk with me,” he said, extending his hand toward me. “I want to show you something.”