Nightfall descended upon the council hall as the meeting concluded far sooner than Olivia had anticipated. Having spent the entire day organizing the proceedings without stopping to eat, her stomach growled with fierce hunger. Desperate for sustenance, she forced herself to gulp down the shellfish soup that had been prepared for the guests.
Almost immediately, unease crept through her body as hives began spreading across her skin. Frantically searching her handbag, she thankfully found some antihistamines. Olivia rushed toward the nearest refuge, an empty storage room stocked with bottles of water, and grabbed one. But just as she was about to open the bottle, the sharp clang of the closing metallic door startled her. She stumbled, and both the water and tablet tumbled from her grasp, the medication dissolving completely on the floor.
"You really have the nerve to show up tonight," came a cold voice from behind her. "I specifically took that dress from you to ensure you'd stay home, yet you still had the audacity to find something else to wear just to steal my spotlight."
"First it was my man, now my rightful position. You have no shame, do you?"
Doubling over as the itching intensified, Olivia began scratching frantically at her inflamed skin while fever gradually overtook her weakened body. Her voice emerged weak but defiant: "Mia, please, it's you Brown cherishes now. I'm nothing to him."
Mia released a cold, bitter laugh. "I'm not buying a word from you, you pathetic fool. Unlike you, I know when to retreat from loving a man who couldn't care less about me."
"By tomorrow morning, the headlines will read 'Olivia the Thief.' You'd better prepare yourself for the consequences, because from what I know, the Alpha King would never spare an intruder on his property."
"Please, Mia, don't lock me in here! Help... somebody help me!"
With a twisted smile, Mia hurried to the back door and informed one of the guards that she'd spotted an intruder entering the storage house.
The relentless itching prevented Olivia from calling for help as her body turned red and bumps formed from her desperate scratching.
When it was finally time for everyone to leave, Brown noticed Olivia's empty seat and grew concerned. Mia blinked at him with feigned innocence. "Browny, do you think she got upset because I wore her Luna dress? I would have chosen something else if I'd known."
Hearing this, Brown frowned. "Don't worry about that. I should have made you my Luna long ago anyway. You're so much better; you know when to give me space and never make me feel annoyed. Let's go home. I need to settle this once and for all." He interlaced his fingers with hers, and they departed together.
That night, Olivia remained locked in the prison cell until morning, deliriously mumbling about seeing the Alpha King. He hadn't attended the meeting. It was his Beta and the council elders who had presided, as the Alpha King had left to resolve an urgent matter.
The next morning at the prison, Olivia was barely recognizable due to the swollen bumps covering her face. The chief guard interrogated her about her identity.
"I'm Alpha Brown's Luna," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
The chief guard immediately alerted Elias, the Alpha King's Beta, who called Brown to explain the situation. As Brown's voice echoed through the phone, tears pooled in Olivia's eyes.
"I'm not married, and even if I were, it certainly wouldn't be to a lunatic," he said coolly before ending the call without hesitation.
He did this to avoid being associated with the theft allegations and to maintain favor with his uncle, harboring irrational fear of someone only a few years his senior.
"I reject you too, Brown," Olivia sobbed through her delirium.
Enraged by what he deemed a despicable lie, Beta Elias ordered them to confine her without food or water.
After days of dry fasting, her ears became blocked, her vision blurred, and her legs grew unsteady. She collapsed from exhaustion and high fever.
When she finally opened her eyes, a gray ceiling met her bewildered gaze.
"What happened to me?" she whispered as fragmented memories flashed before her. Suddenly, a dominating aura enveloped the entire room, making her wolf Jayla whimper. The dark energy radiating from the newcomer turned everything gloomy and cold.
Through the stench of her own blood, her nose detected his intoxicating, masculine scent. Olivia's mouth watered as she tried to whisper the word her wolf was screaming in her head:
"Mate!"
I have found my mate...
