"And I said no." I looked at him coldly, my own wolf surfacing also. "I came to dinner like you asked. I heard the announcement. Now I'm leaving."
I turned and walked out of the dining room, feeling the weight of his alpha power trying to force me to submit. But the rage I felt gave my wolf strength to resist.
Behind me, Mia's voice wobbled with fake tears. "She hates me, Mom."
"Don't worry, sweetheart," my mother soothed. "At least, thanks to her, you're now pregnant..." Her voice dropped, too low for me to hear.
My breath caught.
They knew. My parents knew what James had done—and they supported it.
I went upstairs and shut the bedroom door. I lay there, staring at the ceiling while laughter, clinking glasses, and music drifted up the stairs. They were celebrating my pain.
Soon, they would have nothing left to celebrate.
Olivia's POV
Hours passed and the noise faded and the house went quiet. My parents took one guestroom. Mia took the other. And James... I knew exactly where he'd be.
My throat was dry. I needed water, but I waited another half hour, just to be sure.
I slipped out of bed, crept down the stairs, and entered the kitchen. I filled a glass from the tap.
I heard James's low voice coming from his office. "I don't care what it takes. Keep her sedated."
I froze, the glass halfway to my mouth.
"No, I'm not interested in her waking up," he said. "I'm paying you enough to make sure that doesn't happen."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"The monitoring showed brain activity? So what? Increase the suppressants. I don't want her conscious. Ever."
I set the glass down and crept closer. The office door was slightly ajar.
"You don't understand," James hissed. "Alice is dangerous. If she wakes up, everything falls apart."
A pause. Then: "Yes, I know it's illegal. That's why I'm tripling your fee."
Another pause.
"Because she saw me," he snapped. "She saw me with Mia months ago. She threatened to tell Olivia. So I handled it."
My hand flew to my mouth.
"The rogue attack was a lie," James said coldly. "I attacked her myself and injected her with silver. Her wolf should've died from the silver in her system, but the old bitch was tougher than I thought. Now she's in a coma with silver poisoning, and I need her to stay that way."
No. No, no, no.