Chapter 114

Wes’s POV

The house is unusually quiet for this time of the evening. Conrad is at hockey practice, and Hugh is at some bar. Declan is locked away in his room. These things alone around unusual, but the house itself is still too silent.

If I sit and stretch out my Alpha senses, I can hear Sylvia in her room, talking with one of her friends on the phone. Ella is in her rooms, her pencil scribbling over paper. Her parents and my mother are all already asleep. Some of the servants are having coffee, others are resting in their rooms.

There’s one room that feels particularly quiet. Strange. Usually Ollie stays up late typing away at the keyboard of her laptop.

She could have gone to bed early tonight…

Perhaps I should check.

Resolute, I leave my room and head down the stairs. I shouldn’t care what Ollie does. After it was revealed that she had betrayed us all by lying about her birthright, I had sworn off caring for her. It had been difficult at first, made easier only with the distance I kept between us.

I don’t want to believe Hugh’s accusations, that Ollie might be Angel. After the way we’ve treated Ollie the past few years… if she actually were our fated mate… Gods, could she even begin to forgive us?

And should we then consider forgiving her for her own deception?

Unless… she’d been just a child when our parents plucked her from the orphanage. What if she truly had no say in the lies that had been weaved around her?

What if, instead of the scent of family, my brothers and I even then had detected hints of our mate…?

When I reach the basement level, I go straight to Ollie’s door and push it open. It’s not locked, and the lights are off within. Once more, I stretch out my senses, but I don’t have to go very far to realize that the room is entirely empty.

Ollie hasn’t come home yet.

I shouldn’t care. I don’t.

Except I’m headed toward the front door before I even realize that I’m moving there.

Sylvia, likely on her way to the kitchen for a snack, sees me and starts following me. “Where are you going, Wes?”

“Ollie isn’t home yet,” I say. “Something could have happened to her.”

“She’s fine, I’m sure,” Sylvia says. “Let’s watch a movie. I’m lonely.”

“She has a curfew,” I say. “She’s always back on time.”

Sylvia grabs one of my wrists with both of her hands, stopping me. “She’s a big girl, Wes. If she wants to stay out late and break curfew, that’s on her. Punish her when she gets back, but don’t ruin our night over it. I want to watch a movie.”

If Hugh didn’t put thoughts into my head about Ollie being Angel, maybe I would have listened to Sylvia… but I doubt it. There’s always been something about Ollie. Even when she is frustrating us, or lying to us, I still feel compelled to make sure she’s safe.

Maybe it’s because she is still under the family’s protection, but I’m not so sure anymore. It feels more than that, like a need rooted deep down into my bones. To protect her feels like a fundamental part of me, even if that doesn’t make any sense.

Gently, I untangle my arm from Sylvia’s hold. I look at her, hoping she will understand. “I won’t be gone long. But I need to find her.”

Sylvia frowns. “But Wes –”

I cannot stay to argue. Each minute I’m busy here is a minute more that Ollie could be in peril.

Outside, I try to think of where she could be, and make my way to the university campus. Hugh has already warned my brothers and me that Ollie seems to have a budding friendship, if nothing else, with Professor Hunter.

At the time, despite Hugh’s obvious disapproval, I didn’t think much of it. Professor Hunter was sympathetic to omegas, so of course an omega would feel more comfortable reaching out to him.

Yet, as I hurry now closer to campus, my own stomach starts to churn. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood everything…

Professor Hunter is in a position of power over Ollie. What if he’s using that position to his own advantage?

By the time I reach Professor Hunter’s office door, I’m so riled up that I burst through it, breaking the lock. The room is empty, which is only a small relief.

I’m about to turn away when a note on the desk catches my eye. The desk light is on, the only light in the entire building. Moving closer, I see the paperwork on top of Hunter’s desk includes Ollie’s name a dozen times over.

When I’m close enough to read, I freeze.

…Ollie’s wolf is stronger than any omega I’ve encountered in the past…

…her ability to hide her scent is also remarkable. She has a truly incredible force of will that leads me to believe…

I can’t believe what I’m seeing, and need to read it several times over.

Ollie has a wolf? And she’s hiding it?

Ollie’s POV

The couches in the library are quite comfortable, and before long, I drift off to a peaceful sleep.

In my sleep, I dream.

I’m laying down on a plush surface when Wes leans over me, covering me with his body. Even in the dark, his eyes are filled with the same affection he shows Angel, which pleases me when I reach up and realize I’m not wearing my mask.

“Ollie…” he says, and my heart sings.

I’m so full of love and affection for this man who finally sees me for the person that I truly am. Overwhelmed, I feel powerless to do anything but reach up, wrap my arms around his shoulders, and pull him down for a kiss.

He comes willing me, returning my kiss in earnest, his tongue slipping eagerly between my parted lips.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispers between kisses, as his hands start to roam my body.

I tangle my legs with his, keeping him close as I claw my fingers down his back. I hate this shirt he’s wearing and tug at it.

Taking my hint, he leans back, pulls the shirt over his head, and then tosses it to the side. At once, he’s back on top of me, kissing the air straight out of my lungs.

Without the shirt in the way, I dig my fingers into the meat of his back, delighting in the way he groans against my lips.

“Did you think I wouldn’t want this? That I wouldn’t want you?” he says, his voice a low growl.

“I want you,” I beg. For a sex dream, this is taking too long to get to the action. Why are we even wearing clothes? I want him inside of me now. “Wes, please…”

“I’ve got you,” he says. His hands go to the bottom of my shirt and start tugging it up. With my bra exposed, he leans down to nuzzle at my breasts. “Release your scent, Ollie. Let me smell my angel…”

The words send a jolt through me. Angel? Why would he bring that name up here, now, in my dream?

I blink a few times, looking around.

Wait.

I’m in the library.

Then, all at once, a chill runs down my spine and I realize.

This isn’t a dream.