Chapter 118

Declan’s POV

The confirmation of Angel’s true identity is a surprise, and not one that I would have chosen for myself. But now that we know its Ollie, I find that I can’t truly be disappointed. This revelation adds context to my previous obsession with Ollie, and my desire for her to not date anyone.

But, as my brothers bicker, and I slowly accept this new reality, Sylvia’s sudden appearance sends us all for a loop, as does her accusation that we don’t love her.

We all must have been so caught up in our own heads that we hadn’t noticed her arrival. I’m usually the first to notice these things. I could kick myself now for allowing such distraction. Because of our carelessness, Sylvia has gotten hurt.

“Of course we love you,” Wes says at once, moving to our sister’s side. He envelopes her in a side hug, pulling her against him. She looks up at him with those doe eyes of hers.

“Then what are you talking about?” she asks.

Wes looks over to us, and I immediately recognize his hesitation. I, too, am not looking forward to Sylvia realizing that she might not have credence over our full attention for much longer.

Conrad clears his throat. Making the executive decision as he usually does, he says, “We believe we have found our mate.”

The blood drains from Sylvia’s face, making her pale as a ghost as she sways on her feet.

“Sylvia?” Wes asks. His hand around her is keeping her steady.

“You can’t be serious,” Sylvia says, her voice growing tighter and shriller. “I won’t accept this!”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Wes says. “You will always be our sister…”

“You have to reject her!” Sylvia demands at once.

The rest of us still. As I was already not moving, it’s not great effort to continue not to do so.

I love Sylvia as a brother would a sister, but her tangents and moods have not been lost on me. I’ve tracked them all, noticing how they’ve become more frequent lately, as my brothers and I have spread our attention to other places.

We’ve always doted on her, giving her everything she ever asked of us. Maybe that was a mistake. Perhaps in spoiling her, we have created a creature unwilling to share.

Despite the close connection I feel with my brothers, I cannot read their minds.

Conrad started to say that this revelation isn’t a choice between Sylvia and Ollie, but what would they choose if Sylvia made it so?

What would I choose?

Ollie is not the mate I would have chosen for myself, but thinking now, back on the moments I shared with Angel… Replacing that masked face with Ollie’s is no great feat. Her image easily slips over the memory, and my body reacts, desiring Ollie as much as I did Angel, if not more so, now that I could see her face clearly.

But Sylvia hates Ollie perhaps even more than Ollie hates Sylvia. My brothers might have been blind to some of Sylvia’s actions, but I was not. Though too often, my love for my sister had me turning my head away.

If Ollie is to stay with us, Sylvia has to accept her, and vice versa. Ollie is not the only problem in this.

Glancing at my brothers, I see that their desire to reject Ollie is as nonexistent as my own. Yes, the revelation came as a shock to us all, but Ollie is still ours.

One does not reject their fated mate lightly, even one so unexpected.

“You cannot ask that of us,” Conrad replies. It’s odd for any of us to stand against Sylvia. She’s had such a terrible time of it, a horrendous childhood where we did not know to search for her. Yet that guilt cannot outweigh the desire we feel to possess our fated mate.

“You will learn to accept her,” Wes says.

“I won’t!” Sylvia says, pushing away from Wes. “She’ll come in here, and she’ll steal you from me! You have to reject her, or… or I’ll never forgive you!”

“You are acting like a child,” I say, then startle at my own words. My brothers look at me strangely too, as if surprised I would have the nerve to say such a thing.

Sylvia is our beloved sister, and I care for her dearly. But my patience for her has been waning.

To try to force us to choose…

I can no longer tolerate her behavior, especially not if it continues to antagonize Ollie.

“I won’t let go of our mate,” I say. “So you will have to get along with her.”

Tears streak down Sylvia’s face as she looks at me, stricken. The expression cuts me deeply. I don’t want to hurt my sister, but she has to finally see the boundary line here.

We’ve indulged her too much and for too long.

She stumbles back a step, then looks at my brothers. “You all… feel the same?”

“We love you,” Hugh says. “But she is ours.”

“She is a gift from the Moon Goddess,” Conrad says.

“Our love for her does not change our devotion to you, sister,” Wes adds. “We are simply gaining our fated mate. This isn’t a bad thing.”

“It is,” Sylvia says. “It is!” She turns and dashes from the room.

At first, we all tense as if to follow her, as has been our way since she came to us and we accepted her as our sister.

But now…

“She will learn to understand,” Conrad says. “They both will.”

Sylvia’s POV

I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this!

And I won’t accept it!

I’ve worked too hard for too long to throw in the towel now. The quadruplets are mine, and no one else’s. Not Ollie’s. Not some mystery mate’s.

Whoever she is, she’s trouble. The brothers have never spoken to me like this before, casting aside my concerns, not immediately caving to my wants and desires.

This has to be her influence!

I will not share them, not with anyone.

After running back to my room, I wait, expecting the brothers to follow me and throw themselves down to beg for forgiveness. Each moment I wait only makes me more and more angry.

They aren’t coming. Maybe I’ve already lost my control here.

No. I can’t let go so easily.

But if they won’t listen to me, I’ll need help.

As I’ve never been the most loyal sort, I don’t have many allies. Fewer still that would help me manipulate the pack’s alpha leaders.

But there is one person. Someone whose been pulling the strings from the start.

I’m loathe to call them now, knowing they relied on me this far and would now be disappointed that I’ve let things slip this much. But if I don’t reveal the state of things, then I could risk losing everything.

I can tarnish my pride if it helps me keep the things I desire.

So I pick up the phone and I call a number I’ve never been able to forget.

A voice on the other end picks up right away. “This is the orphanage.”

“It’s Sylvia,” I say. “We have a problem.”

The familiar voice pauses, then says, “What kind of problem?”

“The brothers have found their mate.”

The voice curses softly before sighing and sobering once more. “Then there’s only one thing to do, to keep this hold you have over the alphas.”

“What’s that?” I ask, though I already know the answer.

“We have to kill their mate.”