Olivia's POV
"Tell me everything." Asher's voice was sharp and cold. "Tell me why James Grant's devoted mate wants him destroyed."
I explained everything from the fake explosion notification, to finding James with Mia, the conversation I had overheard about the wolf essence experiments on my pups, and his plan to break our bond.
By the time I finished, tears were running down my cheeks again, and my wolf was whimpering in pain.
Asher was silent for a long moment.
"Do you have proof?" he finally asked.
"Yes." My voice was stronger now. "Medical records, bank statements, transfer documents. Everything."
"And you have fifty percent shares of his pack business?" Asher asked.
"He doesn't know about them. Nobody does." I replied. "I also have evidence of everything illegal he's done. But I can't use it alone. He has connections, pack lawyers, and my family—"
"Your family supports him?"
The question was like a silver blade to my chest, because the answer was a bitter truth.
My mother had never wanted me back.
I was ten when the DNA test results came back. Mia and I had been switched at birth because of an error at the pack clinic. We had been mixed up in the chaos of a full moon delivery.
When my parents came for me, I had been living in a small cottage by the pack’s border with a potion mistress who had raised me. We were not living extravagantly, but I was happy.
They took me to their mansion, but my mother couldn't let Mia go. She had raised Mia, bonded with her wolf.
So she kept both of us.
But there was never any question who she preferred.
"Olivia, fix your posture. You shift like a rogue."
"Olivia, control your wolf. Your lack of discipline is embarrassing."
"Olivia, why can't you be more like Mia? Her wolf is so graceful."
Nothing I did was ever good enough. I took shifting classes but I was too clumsy.
Mia's wolf was sleek and perfect, and my mother made sure I knew mine didn't measure up.
By eighteen, I had learned to stay quiet, to suppress my wolf, and to not expect love.
That's when I met James. He was charming, successful, an alpha wolf. And he looked at me like I mattered.
"Your wolf is beautiful," he had said, watching me shift under the full moon.
My wolf and I fell in love with him fast and hard.
When he proposed after six months, I said yes immediately.
My mother had pulled me aside the night before the ceremony. "Alpha James Grant is using you. But you're too stupid to see it. You are not up to his level"
I hadn't listened.
I had bonded with him, spent eight years trying to be the perfect mate.
And the whole time, Mia had been there, sleeping with my mate behind my back, and I had never suspected a thing.
My chest ached as I blinked hard, forcing myself back to the present.
"My family loves my sister. They'll side with him when he breaks the bond, and I can't count on pack support."
Asher was silent for a moment. "So you want revenge."
"I want justice," I corrected, my voice breaking. "He murdered my pups. He stole their wolf essence to cure my adopted sister's womb so she could carry his pup. He made me sign away everything I had, and now he's going to throw me away like some weak omega."
"And why did you come to me?" Asher asked curiously.
"Because you hate him." I replied desperately. "James told me to stay away from you. He said you would do anything to destroy him and this pack. That you're a ruthless alpha who shows no mercy."
He chuckled coldly. "What do you want from me, Olivia?"
I clenched my fists tightly. "I want to take everything from him, the way he took everything from me. His pack, his reputation, his freedom. I want him to lose it all. I have fifty percent of his pack assets. You're his biggest rival. Together, we can ruin him."
Asher was quiet, then finally he spoke. "If I help you, it won't be charity. I want something in return."
My stomach clenched at the tone of his voice, and my wolf stirred warily. "What do you want in return?"
"Become my mate."
"Your mate?" I repeated incredulously, my voice barely above a whisper. My wolf stirred.
"Yes," Asher said simply. "If I'm going to help you destroy James Grant, I want something permanent in return. Not money. Not shares. You. A true mate bond."
"But I'm already bonded—"
He interrupted. "And you'll break it soon. Think about my offer, Mrs. Grant. You have my number."
The call was disconnected.
I stared at my phone, my mind spinning. Become Asher Storme's mate? The alpha who was James's worst enemy?
I shook my head. No. I didn't need him. I had the evidence. I had the shares. I could handle this myself.
I would make sure James lost everything, the same way he'd taken everything from me.
