Chapter 239

Julian’s POV

A minute passed. And then another.

Tony continued to stare at me with blood red eyes in his feral wolf form.

But I was patient. I had been there beside Amber as she had developed this cure. I knew that it was going to work. It had to.

Then, just before any doubts could start to creep in, I saw the change.

Tony blinked a few times, his eyes losing the red sheen. Slowly, his fur started to retract, his claws became fingers once more, and his massive bulk diminished down, down, until he was just his usual lanky form.

The chains around him mostly fell down, prepared to withhold a much bigger person.

Tony looked down at his body and the chains and then up to me.

“Tony?” I asked. “You alright?”

“Julian?” he replied. “Where am I? What happened?”

From the doorway, the council members cheered. “It worked!”

Tony only looked more confused.

I tried to explain. “We were fighting – the challenge, remember? – and you went feral. Do you remember that at all?”

He closed his eyes and his brow furrowed as he frowned. “I don’t remember making it to the ring.”

“What is the last thing you do remember?” I asked him.

“I was…” He hesitated. Opening his eyes, he looked around. “I guess there’s no point in me hiding it now, is there?”

“Just tell us,” I said. “You are no longer feral, but you will still face consequences for what you’ve done. You still have been poisoning my mother, and there will be punishment for that. But, the more you help, perhaps the more lenient I will be in your judgement.”

Tony nodded. “I was with Olivia. She gave me a potion that was supposed to give me an edge.” He looked down. “You are more powerful than me, Julian, and always have been. As much as I was trying to convince myself otherwise, I knew I wouldn’t win our fight without help. Olivia found that help.”

“The potion she gave you did give you an edge,” I said with disgust. “Feral werewolves are more powerful than most.”

“She didn’t say anything about how it would make me feral,” he replied. “It was only supposed to make me stronger.”

“She lied to you then,” I said.

“Maybe,” Tony said with a huff. “She could be ruthless. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was still out there plotting her next move, even with me in here. I was probably just one more pawn in her grand plan.”

“She’s not doing any plotting now,” I said. “She fell from a ten story building to her death.”

That surprised Tony, who looked back up at me. “She died? You have her body in the morgue?”

“Yes, she died, but no we don’t have a body,” I said. “It was gone when we went to recover it.”

Tony shook his head. “Then you don’t know she’s dead.”

“She couldn’t have lived through that fall,” I said.

“Julian, you know Olivia,” Tony said. “She’s stubborn and determined. I don’t think she would let anything, not even death, stop her from getting what she wanted.”

“It’s just not possible,” I said.

“Nothing is impossible with her,” Tony said. “Until you can find her body, you have to assume she’s still alive. If you let your guard down at all, that’s when she’ll get you.”

I hated that he was right. I had been ready and willing to write Olivia off as dead, not wanting to deal with her any further. But she was vindictive and malicious enough to survive out of sheer spite. And if she did, my family would be the first ones she would go after, hoping to finish the job she started.

“Thanks for the warning,” I told Tony.

Tony nodded, even as his face started to fall. Looking around, at the steel cell, at the chains weighing down his body, he seemed like he might cry.

“Do I have to stay here?” he asked.

“We can have you moved to a more comfortable cell,” I said and motioned for the guards to come in.

“Can I see my family?” Tony asked.

“When you are set up in a different room. In the morning, I will let them know that you are here, and they will be able to visit.”

Some relief passed over Tony’s face. “Thank you, Julian. You… saved me.”

“Amber saved you,” I corrected.

“Please thank her for me.”

Not wanting to disturb Amber’s sleep, I waited until morning before going to her room again. In the meantime, I checked in on Alice, staying with Aunt Kathy and Penny. I assigned more guards to watch them, though they already had a few.

I also assigned more guards to my estate as well, having it watched even if no one was there. Olivia wasn’t going to get inside, even if the house was empty.

With no idea what she was planning, I had to be overprotective of everything. If she really was alive, I wasn’t going to give her any more opportunities to hurt my family.

I returned to the hospital just as some of my family arrived, so I told them about Tony. Many were excited to visit. A few even cried, and insisted I hug them. I did so willingly, happy to keep the bonds of my family strong, especially after Tony did so much to try to break us apart.

Then, I went to Amber’s room. She was just waking up, poking at her breakfast yogurt with her spoon. Her eyes were tired, but they brightened when she saw me enter.

“Julian! Tell me what happened.” She wanted to know every detail, so I told her. For her sake, I had even timed how long it took for the cure to kick in, knowing she would want those facts to perhaps better the cure.

When I’d finished explaining everything, she seemed satisfied. Even pleased. “I’m just relieved it works.”

“You knew it would,” I pointed out.

“Yes, but it’s still nice to hear successful results.”

I nodded, glad she was happy with her work. But this good mood of hers made it more difficult for the part that had to come next. Now, I had to tell her everything that Tony revealed.

I really didn’t want to share with her my new suspicions about Olivia, but I didn’t want to her either. Amber had gone through so much at Olivia’s hands. She shouldn’t have to worry about her. But if Olivia was still a threat, then it was dangerous to keep Amber in the dark, knowing she was likely still a target.

“Something’s wrong,” she said, watching me closely.

With our connection strengthened, it really was no wonder that she could see straight through me. She could probably even feel my uncertainty through our bond.

“Tony didn’t remember a lot about the fight,” I told her, “But he did share some things about before. Olivia gave him a potion that was supposed to help him but didn’t mention that it would make him feral.”

“It’s as we suspected then,” she said, then tilted her head. “But that’s not what is bothering you.”

I sighed. “Yeah, he reminded me a few things about Olivia’s tenacity. I’ve been thinking about it and… Without a body…”

Amber’s eyes went a little wide. “You think she’s still alive.”