Chapter 112

Olivia POV

With new eyes, I stared at Denis. I knew he wasn’t my fated mate or any of that other nonsense, but somehow he was right that my wolf knew him.

Why? And how?

I started with something small, relatively speaking. “So, you’re working with Ravencrest?”

He smiled. “I have found their counsel surprisingly pragmatic.”

I snorted, and I didn’t care how unladylike it sounded. “I’m sure.”

“So what does Ravencrest think they’re getting out of this?” I asked.

Now he snorted. “What? I’m the villain who’s been cornered and is about to spill his secrets?” He laughed quite loudly. Everything about him was loud. “I will proclaim my reformations when the time is right.”

“Ravencrest has always been content to spend their time in the shadows,” I said. “Why are they making such a bold move with you?

Denis laughed. “Because they’re finally backing a winner, of course.”

I thought about it and shook my head. “That still doesn’t sound like them.”

He frowned at me, which was the most understandable expression he’d ever given me. For a moment, I was fooled into thinking he was rational.

“Ravencrest has spent centuries working in the shadows,” I said. I set my face into a sneer. “Why would they break out into the spotlight because of you?”

I could tell he was furious, but then he obviously schooled himself. I could not help but think that of all the emotions Elroy had ever shown me, this overt struggle not to be violent against me had never been one of them.

Goddess, I missed my mate. I wanted him here next to me.

Now.

“What have they been doing to help you?” I asked, though it was just to have something to say.

“There is no ‘Ravencrest,’ you silly Luna,” he said, shocking me. “And the sooner you learn that, the better. All those little packs Lunaris keeps picking up? They become Ravencrest, and let’s face it, they bring that lack of loyalty with them!”

He laughed again.

“You think White Paw is going to integrate into Lunaris because you actually recognized the shit they’ve been through? Wait until they find out what else has been going on. Wait until they find out what alphas are really up to!”

He howled this time, and I couldn’t help but think there was a note of hysteria in it. I didn’t want Denis to be hysterical. I wanted him to be rational. I wanted to explain reality to him.

And even as I wanted that, I knew it was impossible.

One of my first lessons as a future Luna was about difficult conversations. People could talk about anything calmly as long as it meant nothing to their identity. But when something threatened to change their core sense of who and what they were, any rational conversation was pretty much over.

So, I knew we were dealing not just with people who had aligned themselves with whatever cause Denis had convinced some in Ravencrest to support. I knew he had made part of their identity to be “rebels” against Elroy and me.

How could I fight that?

Do not fight his truth,” my wolf whispered.

What truth? I almost wailed back to my wolf. I wanted her to be quiet, which is pretty much the worst thing someone could feel about their wolf.

But no, that wasn’t right. What I really wanted was for her to explain herself.

What do you mean? What truth? I insisted.

I felt a strange contempt coming from my wolf, and then I heard the most incongruous noise I had ever heard from her. It almost sounded like a mouth fart.

What the hell was that, you useless beast?

“My dearest Olivia,” Denis said with an almost gentle smile. I noticed he was half-hard in his pants and wanted to vomit. “Please understand. I realize this isn’t the path you thought your life would take, but it is the best path, I promise.”

“Your promises mean nothing to me.”

He spread his hands again. “Soon now, your current mate will fall on the battlefield. That is his destiny, what the Goddess desires. And then on the same day I become Alpha of Lunaris, you and I will marry, and you will take your true place as Luna.

“Together, we will make Lunaris the paradise on earth our Pack has been waiting for. Ravencrest and I have been working on plans that will amaze you. We’ll reinstate the laws for alphas, betas, and omegas that allowed us to live together without conflict. We’ll make sure everyone has what they need to give what they can for the good of the Pack.

“We’ll restore the schools to their pure states, where wolves mingle with their own kind to learn what the Goddess desires. We’ll ensure alphas throughout the land will embrace their wolves fully to achieve their true power.”

His smile turned suggestive, and his eyes looked me up and down, making my skin crawl.

“And together, we will sire a multitude of pups, a strong core of power for the Pack, a dynasty for the future of Lunaris.”

I laughed at him, hearing a little hysteria from my own mouth this time.

“You don’t have a clue what Elroy’s destiny is, and you’re delusional to think for a second I would join with you or make a child with you.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you high on something, or were you just born insane?”

I could see the casual insult stung. I took the seconds it bought me to dig as deeply down into myself as I could. I sought my wolf and the power she could use through me. I sought the power that had come to me when I was named Luna.

I sought myself, and in doing so I felt that I had been lost for years. I felt the gap between myself and my wolf, and I could sense it stretched out for years, a part of me severed from the core and locked away to wither.

My wolf whimpered, still out of reach no matter how hard I struggled.

Denis shrugged. “Of course, we’ll need to remove my brother’s spawn in your belly first. But then all will be well.”

I stared at him in shock, needing several seconds to understand what he was saying. Then rage filled me: white hot, blood red.

For an instant, I was no longer standing in front of Denis. I was in strapped to a table in the middle of a white room that stank of chemicals, terror, and shit. I knew the betas who stood over me, looking down through their plastic face masks as they drew blood from my arm. I knew their cruelty; I knew what they wanted from me.

I knew I could never let them have it.

I felt the moment I caged my own wolf so many years ago to protect her from these white-robed monsters, and now I felt the instant she broke free.

The arc of silver light from my body struck Denis in the chest and dropped him to his knees. He howled in pain while my wolf howled in triumph.

I was whole again.