#Chapter 13 Worlds Collide

Olivia’s POV
Out of everyone I’d expect to see at the hospital today, the last one I considered seeing was Herold Opal. He strolls into the lobby, looking lost and confused, until he meets my eyes from afar. I’ve been here for days trying to formulate some kind of plan on how to update the practices at the hospital and donate enough charity to make it happen; I don’t have time for this.
“Queen Luna,” Herold says, tipping his head at the sight of me.
I look up at his charming, endearing light eyes. He is exhausted, purple rings swollen under his heavy gaze, and his lips are formed into a tired frown.
“Ah, Herold Opal. Coming to ruin another one of my days?”
“I’m sorry, Queen Luna. I never intended for the funeral of my late wife to take place like that. It was in poor taste and disrespectful to your attendance. I actually came here to day to speak with her brother Reese. I heard he was transferred here.”
“He was,” I say simply, meanwhile I meander through my paperwork. “He is under better care, now that he is away from your pack, Alpha Herold.”
“I spoke with my brother this morning. I’ve learned things this week about my wife, about what all she has done for me, and it made me feel guilty for my actions. To make it up to Olivia’s honor, I want to make sure her brother is well taken care of.”
I can’t help but laugh. “What did your brother tell you?”
“He told me about how my wife was the one who helped me survive after my injuries. How she loved me and never touched another man in respect to me—” he looks downcast, something ill about his tone and his appearance. “I just want forgiveness.”
He seems sorry, Olivia, my wolf hums, feeling pity for this man.
I don’t feel bad for him, I say back simply. He could die right now and I wouldn’t feel sorry for him. Everything he feels now is his own doing. Never forget, we died over this man.
My wolf goes silent, thankfully.
“If you want forgiveness, then go beg for it. Go beg for it from the person you really hurt. She’s the only one who can forgive you, Alpha Herold.”
“If I ever see her again, I will, Queen Luna.”
I should stop now, but I can’t. my blood is running too hot. “You’re going to hell. You will never see her again, Alpha Herold. Never.”
“You’re right,” he says simply. “She was generous and noble and she is in a much better place than anywhere I end up. I know that now.”
His kindness is so new and frustrating.
I liked him better when he was miserable and making an ass out of himself.
“So, your brother, Eugene. You said you talked to him this morning?”
“Yes, Queen Luna. I did.”
I think of his brother, of the kind doctor who wanted to help me, who wanted to help my brother, and I wish he was commissioned to work on these pack grounds. I hate that he can’t leave his brother’s pack and come to this one. He would be better treated here. Granted, everyone would be better treated here.
“He was upset with my actions toward my late wife,” Herold says. “My brother was always partial to Olivia. He was also going to continue treatment for her brother without payment. He actually hit me for trying to pull Reese’s care away.”
“He hit you?” I breathe.
Alpha Herold nods.
I always knew I liked Eugene.
“Well, if you’re here to check on Reese, then go ahead. He’s on the fifth floor, room five-hundred and eleven. Go ask him for forgiveness. Maybe it will make you feel better about your misdeeds.”
He glances toward the elevator, hesitating. “Reese blames me a lot for what happened to my wife. He has every right to blame me, too. But that also means I’m probably the last person he wants to speak to right now. It would only upset him.”
For once, he sounds selfless. He is thinking of my brother and not his need to be forgiven. He has never been more interested in someone other than himself and his own self interests. I can’t help but watch him now, looking around the hospital, mulling over his intentions on being here today.
I just want him to suffer. I want him to pay for what he has done.
I look up, Gabriel entering the hospital now and walking straight towards me and my old mate. If only he knew the hatred I have for this man; he looks at me now like I’ve been on a date with Herold here all day instead of trying to get work done to better this facility.
“My dear,” Gabriel says, coming around to the back of my chair, his hands gently pressing into my shoulders. I mark off the next line of questioning under his watchful eyes. Since I stood him up at dinner, he has been making it a point to find me more often, to pass little touches off here and there and to find an interest in my new work. I was under the impression that he was never interested in his wife, so why he is trying to find an interest in me now is infuriating. “Alpha Herold. What are you doing so far from your pack?”
“I was just coming to see if Reese was here, King Alpha.”
“Olivia’s brother?” he sighs. “My wife had his care moved here, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did,” Herold says, flicking a look down to me. “I just wanted to make sure he was getting the best options available.”
“That’s commendable, Alpha Herold.”
I scoff, flinching from Gabriel’s touch. “Stop playing into his self-absorption, Gabriel. He is just putting this on for show. He was going to ditch Reese’s care at the mere request of his mistresses. He doesn’t deserve any adoration. Fuck him!”
“Hey, now,” Gabriel sighs. “Relax, my dear. You are being harsh with—”
“She’s right,” Herold says, waving off the attempt to save him. “She isn’t being harsh, King Alpha. I don’t deserve any praise for what I’ve done.”
I watched Gabriel take his words with praise.
It only makes my ferocity worse. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
Both Alphas look at me with wide eyes.
I throw my pen aside, standing quickly as I round the table and sling a finger in the face of the man who killed me. He never gave a damn about me and even in my death he does not get to walk around and act like the fucking hero.
I won’t allow it to happen. I won’t allow him to play nice with he Queen Luna knowing damn well I am only in her body now because he couldn’t use his brain against that stupid witch who wanted me dead.
Seething now, I think of everything I’ve ever wanted to scream in his face.
He speaks first. “Queen Luna, you said you were friends with my wife before she passed. She never mentioned it to me. I knew everything about my wife, too. I would have known if you were friends.”
That’s it.
I snap.