James was in the waiting room with Mia. She was crying dramatically, my mother stroking her hair.
When James saw me being dragged past, he didn't even look concerned.
He just turned back to Mia and continued coddling her.
Alice was dead. James had murdered her.
Just like he had murdered my pups.
I pulled out my phone with shaking hands and texted Asher.
— He killed my mother. It's too late.
His response came immediately.
— What happened?
I told him everything.
There was a long pause before his next message.
— I'll make him pay, Olivia. I swear on my wolf's honor.
If James thought he had broken me, he was about to learn how wrong he was.
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.