Olivia's POV
The next few days passed quickly. I arranged a quiet funeral for Alice, inviting the close friends she had known.
James barely spoke to me. He was too busy fussing over Mia, making sure she and the pup had everything they needed for the gathering.
The day before the gathering, I found James in his office, going through arrangements with the event planner on the phone.
When he saw me, he held up one finger, gesturing to me to wait.
I stood there silently while he finished his call, discussing like he hadn't killed Alice.
Finally, he hung up and looked at me with irritation. "What is it?"
"I need you to sign these." I placed a folder on his desk. "For Alice's death certificate and burial arrangements."
He glanced at the papers without really looking at them. "Right."
He picked up his pen.
"I'm sorry about your foster mother," he said absently, signing the first page. "But it was her time, wasn't it? You said it yourself, the pack clinic called to tell you her wolf was fading."
My jaw clenched.
He kept signing and talking, not even reading what was in front of him. "These things happen. She was old. Her wolf was weak. She lived a full life."
He murdered her. And now he was acting like it was just natural causes.
"Here." He pushed the folder back to me. "All signed. Is that all?"
"Yes."
"Good. Finish everything quickly. We have the celebration tomorrow, and I don't want any negative energy affecting it."
Negative energy. That's what my grief was to him.
"Of course," I said quietly, taking the folder.
As I turned to leave, I heard Mia's voice from the hallway.
"James? Are you almost done? I need your opinion on my dress—oh." She stopped when she saw me. "Olivia. I didn't see you there."
"I was just leaving," I said.
"Wait." Mia stepped into the office, her hand resting on her stomach. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
I said nothing.
"I know you're upset about Alice," she said softly. "And I understand, because losing a parent is hard."
My hands clenched around the folder.
"But you have to remember," Mia continued, "Alice was my biological mother too. We shared the same blood. If anything, I'm in more pain than you are. My wolf grieves for the connection we never had."
I stared at her incredulously. Mia had wanted nothing to do with Alice after the DNA test.
"You only knew her for ten years," Mia said. "But she carried me for nine months. We had a biological connection that you could never understand. So really, I'm the one who lost a mother. You're just being dramatic for no reason."
Something inside me snapped. My wolf surged forward.
My hand moved before I could stop it.
The slap echoed through the office.
Mia stumbled back, her hand flying to her cheek. For a moment, she just stood there, shocked. Then she burst into tears.
"James!" she sobbed. "She hit me! She attacked me again!"
James was on his feet instantly, growling.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he roared, his eyes flashing gold.
"She was taunting me," I said, my voice shaking. "She said—"
"I don't care what she said!" He barked, and his hand flew through the air as he slapped me hard, no holding back.
The force of the slap sent me stumbling. I gripped the wall as I struggled to keep standing, my wolf whimpering.
"I was just trying to console her!" Mia wailed. "I told her I understood her pain, that Alice was my biological mother too, and she attacked me!"
"You're lying—"
James grabbed my arm roughly with his alpha strength. "Enough! I don't want to hear another word from you."
He shoved me toward the door.
"Get out of my sight," he said coldly. "And if you even look at Mia wrong again, I'll make sure you regret it."
I stumbled out of the office, clutching the folder to my chest.
Behind me, I could hear James's voice, it was soft and gentle now.
"Are you okay, sweetheart? Did she hurt you? Did she hurt the pup? Come here, let me see..."
I walked up the stairs slowly, my cheek throbbing where he had hit me.
In our eight years of being mated, James had never laid a hand on me.
Now he had hit me twice in four days, because of Mia.
I went to the bedroom and locked the door.
Then I opened the folder and looked at the documents James had just signed.
He hadn't read a single one.
He had signed the mate bond dissolution papers, and he had signed acknowledgment of my fifty percent ownership of the Blue Moon Pack assets.
He had signed his own destruction, and he didn't even know it.
I pulled out my phone and took photos of every signed page.
Then I sent them to Asher.
— He signed everything. The celebration is tomorrow. Are you ready?
His response came immediately.
— Everything is in place. Tomorrow, you leave that territory and you never look back. You'll be under my pack's protection.
***
The day of the gathering arrived. James and Mia had left the house several hours ago, leaving just my parents.
At 6 PM, my mother knocked on the door.
"Olivia, you need to start getting ready. We're already going to the pack hall for the gathering."
"Okay"
"Wear something appropriate."
I didn't respond.
She sighed. "James is trying very hard to make this a perfect evening. The least you could do is not ruin it with your mourning."
Then she left.
When everyone was out of the house, I moved quickly.
I pulled out the suitcases I had hidden in the back of the closet and loaded them in the hallway.
I arranged a large envelope. Inside were the mate bond dissolution papers signed by James himself, with implicating photos and videos of James and Mia.
The medical records showing what he had done to our pups.
Then the divestment agreement, showing that I had fifty percent ownership of the Blue Moon Pack assets, and I had pulled out my investments from his company.
Then other necessary documents.
I stepped back and looked at the envelope sitting there like a bomb waiting to explode.
By the time he opened these, I would be gone.
His pack businesses would be destroyed, and his reputation would be in ruins.
I pulled out my phone and called a loyal omega who owed me a favour to deliver the envelope.
Then I grabbed my bags and walked out of the front door.
A black car was waiting at the front door. Asher stepped out, opening the door for me. I was too exhausted to ask how he got into James’ pack territory unseen.
"Are you ready?" he asked quietly.
I looked back at the house one last time. At the life I was leaving behind.
"Yes," I said. "I'm ready."
I got into the car. Asher closed the door and got in beside me.
As we drove away, I pulled out my phone and sent one final text to the omega.
— Deliver the envelope now.
Then I blocked James's number, Mia's number, and my parents' numbers.
I was done.
"Where are we going?" I asked Asher quietly.
"My territory," he said. "Somewhere safe. My pack will protect you."
I placed my hand on my stomach, on the pup growing inside me.
"Good," I whispered.
As the car pulled away, I watched the house disappear in the mirror.
James thought I was stupid, a she-wolf easy to manipulate and discard.
He had no idea what he had created.
The she-wolf who loved him died the day I found him with Mia.
The she-wolf sitting in this car was someone else.
Someone who would make him pay for every lie, every betrayal, every murdered pup.
Alpha James Grant's perfect night was about to become his worst nightmare, and I couldn't wait to watch it all burn.
