#Chapter 21 My Old Foe

Olivia’s POV

I carefully assess each wolf that stands before me. Gabriel is begging for me to join him, Herold doing the same, while Eugene hangs back behind me while trying to pull me to his car parked in the garage. I am almost too stunned to speak or move, eventually throwing my hands up in hopes that they all will leave me alone.

“I’m walking home!”

I turn on my heel, Reese’s file in my hands as I storm from the hospital and charge toward the palace. I feel them all watching me now, everyone in their cars hovering just behind me, as if they intend to protect me on the short distance back to the palace. I slip into a side street, exasperated.

I undress as fast as possible, shifting to my wolf and grabbing the file and my clothes in my muzzle. I don’t care who sees me in this form, the Queen Luna’s wolf a beautiful blond color with dark lashes. I feel free for the first time in a long time, sprinting all the way back to the palace until I’m alone in our lavish dining room.

The chef prepares some soup while I pull out my laptop and Reese’s medical folder.

I type around, searching for Alicia all over but no one has seen her since Alpha Herold apparently banished her from his pack. I’m half-surprised he would do such a thing. He let her kill me but now all the sudden he thinks sending her away is punishment enough for her heinous crimes. I can’t rely on Herold. I never really could, anyways.

Steps enter the room, Gabriel’s masculine smell swarming my senses.

“My dear, could you stop working for just a moment?”

I glance up from my laptop, frustrated already that I can’t seem to find out where Alicia ran off to. She has to be in a pack somewhere; she’s too cowardly to be a rogue. But I humor Gabriel for now, his icy eyes cold against my surface. He adjusts his dress shirt color, the lavender color only exasperating the dark black of his hair. He’s relaxed in this form, and he knows it, popping off the silver cuff links on his suit.

“What happened today? I wanted to pick you up and you walked away,” he says, his voice genuinely hurt. “Worst off, Alpha Herold was out there today as well as the palace physician. What were you and Eugene talking about today?”

I could delve into the truth about how my poor brother was poisoned by that horrible, heinous snake, or I could save the trouble and hold that information for myself. My fingers dance along the back of the laptop screen, my heart sinking into my stomach as I consider my options.

“Eugene was just telling me about how he thinks Reese was poisoned.”

“That’s horrible, my dear. I’m so sorry to hear that. Does he know who did it?”

After a long pause, I gasp alive. The truth aches me tremendously, even in this life. “That girl at Olivia Opal’s funeral, Alpha Herold’s mistress, it was her. I knew she was responsible for Olivia’s death but to go after her brother; she’s a snake.”

He nods, sitting down on the chair next to my own, his arm leisurely draped over my shoulders. “I’m sorry to hear that. That’s not right.”

“It’s not,” I hum. “She needs to be punished for it, too.”

“Is there any evidence? Maybe the vial she had the poison in?”

“No,” I admit. “But it’s clearly Alicia. She had been the one who tore Olivia from her mate so she could be Luna and then had her ultimately killed. Who else would go after her brother? You saw her at the funeral—she’s a viper, Gabriel.”

“But there isn’t any evidence to have her arrested, my dear. So for now I don’t think it’s fair for you to speculate like this. If word were to spread about you going after this girl, it could cause a frenzy to have her killed.”

I almost scoff in rebuttal, surprised he is so outright with his response to just let Alicia go. We both know who did this to Reese and if I never took him from Herold’s pack hospital, Reese would be dead right now. I can’t let her get away with what she did to me or my brother, no matter if the King Alpha agrees with me or not.

I gather my things, my jaw locked in fury.

Gabriel reaches for me, stopping me from leaving the dining room. “Where are you going, my dear? I thought maybe we could have dinner together and watch a movie.”

“I don’t want to stay here with you,” I bite simply. “I am going to your office to finish up my work. That includes giving Reese the justice he deserves.”

Gabriel stands, as if trying to position himself between the doorway and myself but I jump into the hall before he can stop me. his eyes are dull and gray, furious with my disobedience but I can’t listen to him talk about how Alicia should run free. She deserves worse than being arrested.

“Stop, please, my dear,” Gabriel begs, his hand snatching my wrist and pulling me to his chest. He holds me in a tight, warm embrace and if I wasn’t so annoyed, I would actually enjoy being held like this. It makes me feel safe but that feeling has always been fleeting. “Please, don’t go off to work tonight. Stay in with me. I want you here.”

“I want to make sure Reese is okay, that means tracking down whoever tried to kill him.”

“Why does this bother you so much, my dear? I understand you and Olivia were close but you are starting to worry me with this mild obsession of yours. It’s consuming our marriage.”

“Then divorce me!”

My voice carries shamelessly down the hall, echoing off every wall without mercy. Even Gabriel flinches at the noise, his grip loosening around my wrist and my hips until he lets me leave his embrace altogether.

“If it’s between letting you work on this project of yours,” he hums, his voice withering and shaky, “or filing for divorce, then I will gladly lend you my office for the night and for every other night you deem necessary until this problem is solved.”

I sniffle slightly, forcing myself not to tremble in angst. “Why won’t you just give up?”

“I will not give up on my wife, same as she will not give up on these problems that haunt her.” He reaches for me once more, his fingertips brushing my cheek so subtly that it forms chills down my spine. “Do what needs to be done, my dear.”

I turn fast, ripping myself from Gabriel. I can’t stand to talk about this anymore. He wanted a divorce weeks ago and now he is so adamant on staying married; I almost feel as though I’m letting the Queen Luna down on her last wishes. She was escaping this world from her loveless marriage and I can’t even finish that for her. I won’t fail Reese the same way.

Sitting down at Gabriel’s desk, I log online to the King Alpha’s network of information. Buried deep into the files of another pack’s information. Alpha Connor Jenkins of Hollow pack. It’s not far from the Royal pack lands from what I research but it would be a short run in my wolf form. I consider going out there and disconnecting her head from her body, but the stress of the day consumes me.

I lift my head off the desk, blinking slow as I wake up, a hefty hand pushing my shoulder sideways. My eyes are dry and itchy, seeing Eugene opposite of the desk, trying to wake me up without startling me.

“What—What’s wrong, Eugene?”

His features drop instantly. “It’s Reese. You should come to the hospital. Now.”

All at once, my worst fears have manifested.