Chapter 53

Sylvia’s POV

“Ollie! I was hoping this was the right place,” I say, keeping my voice light and my smile bright. While she must certainly be suspicious of my being here, I have no intention of giving myself fully away – at least, not yet. “I wanted to see where you worked.”

Ollie and her co-worker, whose nametag reads Nancy, look at each other.

“Who is this?” Nancy asks.

Irritation sparks inside of me. I’m practically the most famous woman in the Crescent Claw, the princess of the pack. Where has this girl been living? Under a rock?

Ollie opens her mouth, but I speak quicker, “I’m Sylvia. Sister of the four Alphas Kings.”

“Oh,” Nancy says, while giving me a bored expression. “You look different on television.”

What the hell does she mean by that? I should have her imprisoned for saying something like that to me. Someday I’ll have enough power to do things like that on my own without having to beg the brothers to do it for me.

For now, though, I need to maintain focus. I’m not here to deal with Ollie’s little friends. It’s Ollie herself who I want to ruin.

So I keep smiling, even as my face gets tight. I force a laugh. “You are so funny. Ollie, I didn’t know your co-worker is so funny.” I cut my laughter off and approach the counter. “I’ve been worried about you, Ollie. The things my brothers are saying… They don’t seem like they could possibly be true.”

“They aren’t,” Ollie says bluntly.

I hum. I had the suspicion that sweet, perfect Ollie isn’t actually the whore my brothers think she is. However, it’s better for me if they keep on thinking that. The more they are disgusted by her, and therefore ignore her, the more they’ll pay attention to me and the happier I’ll be.

If they kick her out of the house, that would truly delight me. However, despite their general dislike of her these days, they still feel honor-bound to give her food and lodgings. She would have to be accused of something extreme terrible for them to break that bond.

Eventually, I will make that happen…

“What are you really doing here, Sylvia?” Ollie asks me, her eyes narrowing slightly with suspicion.

“Just checking on you,” I say. I keep my tone friendly, but we’ve known each other long enough now that I can tell she hears the threat underneath. “I feel like you might be in over your head. Is your new boyfriend giving you trouble? You know you can talk to me about anything. I want to help you.”

“You can cut the act,” Ollie says with a frown. “The only thing you want is for –”

She cuts off abruptly as the door chimes behind me. Turning, I see a fairly plain looking guy walk through the door. His eyes dart nervously from me to Nancy to finally Ollie. Ollie immediately lowers her gaze away.

“Just leave, Jake,” Nancy says. “After what happened yesterday, you think you would give it a break…”

Jake? So this is Jake, Ollie’s mysterious, potential boyfriend. I look at him again. He’s not very impressive. A Gamma, probably? For even a Gamma to lower himself to try to romantically pursue an Omega is disappointing, but from the way he’s looking at Ollie, it can’t be denied.

Only… he isn’t looking at Ollie like an actual lover. He’s looking at her like a fool with a crush. As the pack princess, I know exactly what that look is. It annoys me to see someone else receiving it.

The brothers must have misread this situation, then, though it’s surprising Declan’s appearance alone didn’t frighten Jake off of his course in pursuing Ollie.

“Ollie, I just want to talk,” he says. “The way the Alpha talked to you wasn’t okay, and –”

“Jake, this is Sylvia,” Nancy interrupts, gesturing to me. “The Alphas’ sister.”

Jake freezes and looks at me. I give him my friendliest smile. Unlike Ollie and Nancy, Jake seems receptive to it, probably because I’m a pretty girl. Men are so predictable, especially those of the lower ranks.

“Hello,” he says to me.

“Jake,” Nancy says, more firmly. “Just go. Staying will only make things worse for Ollie.”

“Fine,” he says with a huff. Looking at Ollie again, who is still not looking back at him, he says, “I just want to talk, Ollie, whenever you are ready.”

Then, sighing, he turns to the door. When he reaches it, I say to Nancy, “I don’t think it was necessary to be that rude.” I make sure Jake hears before he walks outside. As soon as he does, I hurry to catch up with him.

He’s a fast walker, already a few feet away.

“Hey!” I call after him. “Jake!”

He stops at the sound of his name and glances back. He seems surprised as I hurry to catch up with him. As he should be. I don’t give my attention to just anyone, particularly a Gamma. He should feel beyond blessed to have this moment with me.

“I need to tell you something,” I say. His surprise continues as he gapes at me with a slightly-opened mouth. “Ollie likes you. It’s just… my brothers. They still look out for her, and they don’t think you are taking your pursuit of her seriously enough. So they are standing in the way of her feelings…”

He blinks. “Ollie likes me, too?”

Gods, so this really is just a crush yet. That doesn’t give me a lot to work with, but I’m creative. I can still turn this into something the brothers might kick Ollie out over.

“She’s too shy to act on her feelings, and she’s frightened for you, since my brothers don’t approve,” I tell him. I’m laying this act on pretty thick, but since I’m saying everything he wants to hear, he’s eating it up like the truth.

“She likes me,” he says, smiling to himself. Then he refocuses on me. “What can I do?”

This is almost too easy. Manipulating Jake feels like child’s play. Though why wouldn’t it? The only people who have ever really doubted me are Ollie and Ella. And now Nancy, I suppose.

“You can’t give up,” I tell him. “If you truly want her, you need to make your intentions as clear as you can. Show Ollie and my brothers that you are serious. Then, my brothers will respect you and Ollie will fall head over heels for you.”

He nods, then pauses. “How can I do that?”

Apparently, I need to think of everything. “Write her letters expressing your feelings,” I say. “And buy her things. Make sure they smell like you. Oh, and send things to the house so the brothers can see.”

His few brain cells finally seem to rub together when I say that. “You’re sure that’s a good idea. Alpha Declan seemed pretty mad at me…”

“I’m positive,” I say. “You only need to convince them that your intentions for Ollie are serious. Make sure you tell them you want to be the father of her children…”

“I…” He’s hesitating again. Was that too far? No, for my plan to work, he has to say so.

“You trust me, don’t you?” I ask and bat my eyelashes.

That does the trick. Just like so many other men, he immediately falls all over himself to please me.

“Of course I do!”

“Then you should take my advice.”