Noah barely had enough time to slump into his office chair when Enzo, his second-in-command, stormed into the office and slammed the door. "Dude, what the hell were you thinking? Have you lost your mind?" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
Though Enzo was walking on thin ice, Noah took a deep breath and clenched his fists to calm down. It was his best friend, not Beta, who stood before him now.
"First of all, you may be the Beta, but I have the power to change that in a matter of minutes, so next time, better knock before you barge into my office like that. And second, calm down; I did what I had to do." Noah did his best to sound calm and collected, despite how wildly his heart pounded against his ribcage and how much he wanted to tear his friend apart.
"I don't give a shit if I lose the Beta position; I never wanted it in the first place, so you have nothing to hold against me!" Enzo kept screaming, unbothered by the possibility of the pack members standing near their Alphas' office.
Noah knew how passionate his best friend could be, so if he allowed Enzo to act the way he did, in no time, the whole pack would hear him.
"Calm down, God damn it!" Noah groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew the headache was coming, and there was no stopping it unless Enzo lowered his voice.
"Oh, so now I should calm down, huh? You promised to tell her everything when she was ready, and now look at what you've done." Enzo stomped to the desk and slammed his fists against its surface. He hovered over the desk to scream in Noah's face, "You broke her, man! You gathered the public to confess your feelings to her, come clean with the family secrets, and if that wasn't enough, you humiliated her in front of the whole pack. Yeah, let's not forget the forced marking, no biggie, right?" A bitter chuckle left his lips.
In retrospect, Noah understood why Enzo was so upset about everything that had happened, but it wasn't like his best friend had the power to change his decisions.
"I hate repeating myself, and if anyone, you should know that by now! I did what I had to do; get over it!" Noah snarled and got up from his seat. As calm as ever, he walked to the office window and purposely turned his back on his Beta so Enzo would understand that their discussion was over.
"But why? Why did you do it, man?" Enzo whined, unable to let the topic go. He had to seek answers: to understand what was wrong with his Alpha and, most importantly, his best friend.
"I couldn't wait any longer."
Enzo sat in the chair across from the one Noah occupied just moments ago and let out a deep sigh. "Please explain; I beg you. We've been friends since I remember, and now she's my Luna; you know I'll take her side."
"I knew there was something special about her from day one. Of course, at first, I hated her for the attention and love she got from my parents. At the time, I felt like she was taking my family away from me." Noah spoke slowly; he didn't want Enzo to miss a word. If an explanation was what his friend wanted, it was precisely what he would get.
"Seriously? How old was she back then? Fifteen? She was disoriented and lost; she couldn't remember anything, and those injuries were wild. Besides, you have a six-year age difference; it makes sense that your parents focused more on her. They were trying to save a child. That's what Olivia was back then, brother; she was a scared, lost child." Enzo whispered.
Noah had to admit he had forgotten many things about when Olivia first came into their lives, including the details about her health. It was a memory he had tried to suppress for years.
"I was a jealous prick, alright? My parents had always been mine, and all of a sudden, I had to share." Noah thought of pointing out that he had grown since then, but instead, he kept it to himself and turned on his heel to face Enzo.
Since his best friend remained silent, Noah stepped closer and kept talking, "Over the years, I started developing feelings for her. At first, it was just a little crush, and I kept teasing her to get her attention. Of course, when she got better, her body changed, and I hated watching boys drooling over her. That's when I first experienced what it felt like to be jealous." He chuckled at the memory of anger he felt for the world back then. "I convinced myself that I wasn't jealous. It was just a healthy dose of possessiveness- to protect what was mine. I convinced my parents to send her away to keep her away from all those guys, but first, I had to confess my feelings. They understood me and promised to help if, in return, I would promise to always protect her. I guess I already broke my promise."
He felt a lump forming in his throat, and a sharp ping of pain hit his chest. Noah could only imagine how disappointed his father would be in him if he were alive and had to witness what his son did.
Olivia was the daughter he never had. His little princess, the pride and joy of the whole pack. Noah wasn't ashamed or hurt to admit that his father loved Olivia more than anyone else. Often, she came before his mother, and truth to be told, his mother loved that.
"I still don't get it. You kept her away for what?"
Noah took a moment to think. Why? Well, that was a good question. Why did he keep Olivia away from home for so long? "I wanted, and still want, her all to myself. The thought of someone other than me getting their hands on her makes me angry. I made sure nothing like that would happen while I was in Alpha training."
"So this whole thing was a set-up to keep her from men?" Enzo laughed at the assumption.
But he was right; that was precisely what it was. But aside from that, it was also Noah's selfish nature that wanted to ensure Olivia wouldn't give herself to someone else.
"Might as well say so. The thoughts of her got me through the worst days. Just the idea of returning home and seeing her kept me going," Noah admitted.
Enzo's eyes widened in shock as he slowly rose from his seat and stepped closer. "And you kept sleeping around. Hypocritical move, dude."
"I needed to get the frustration out. Give me a break. Whenever I had a woman with me, I thought of Olivia and only Olivia. You can't imagine how often I jerked off thinking about her." Noah figured that since Enzo wanted every dirty detail, he could as well overshare.
"Allison?"
"She was like a great secretary, always under my desk. She knew what a good blowjob was, but whenever her lips wrapped around my cock, all I could think about was Olivia."
"Bethany?"
"Quick fuck, again, only one woman on my mind."
Enzo parted his lips, ready to strike out more names, but Noah had none of it, so he interrupted his friend. "I don't care how sick and twisted this sounds, but I kept thinking about her. She's perfect, made for me and only me. I've studied her and kept imagining scenarios; hell, even now, I'm getting hard. I know her breasts will fit perfectly in the palm of my hands; I bet she tastes sweeter than honey, and damn, I can't wait to hear her moan my name." Noah admitted, possibly a little too excited.
He imagined scenarios about Olivia but tried to pull himself back to reality once he remembered Olivia had always been the main character in his thoughts. She had been for years; besides, he wasn't breaking any laws since she was his adoptive sister. He knew he had the right to love her, regardless of how sick and twisted he might seem.
Enzo slapped a hand over his mouth and nose. "Dude, calm down; I can smell your arousal from a mile away. Everyone knows I'm here. The pack members will think that the mark you forced on her was just for show when in reality, you're gay. Stop dreaming."
"They know I'm serious about her."
"Are you?"
"Yes, I am?" For some reason, what was meant to be a statement left his lips as a question. What was wrong with him?
"Then why did you force your mark on her?"
"To keep her all to myself, I already told you that," Noah repeated as he reached for the accounting folder.
"Let me get this straight- you marked her without her consent to keep her for yourself, yet let her leave?"
Noah dropped his hand on the folder and groaned, frustrated with his clueless friend. "That's right. She'll crawl back to me either way; it won't be long before she feels the mate bond forming." A grin spread across his lips. Olivia would run back home; she wouldn't get far. No matter how much she wanted to escape him, there was no escaping.
"Sure, before or after the heat?" Enzo's question caught Noah off guard.
"Huh?"
"She's marked; she'll go through heat within a week or two. As a rogue." As Enzo spoke, Noah could feel the colour drain from his face. No, anything but that. No!
Perhaps it took too much time for Noah to react, but once he shook off the initial shock and the weight of his careless actions, he stormed out of his office and took off. He didn't acknowledge the pack members in his way as Noah ran towards the stairs and up to the second floor. Noah thought the only place where he could find Olivia had to be her bedroom, but once he reached the door and kicked it open, he couldn't do as much as sense her presence. The room was neat and clean, but empty. If Olivia came here to grab her belongings, she had to leave some mess behind because Noah knew she would rush to get out. Moments later, Enzo stood behind him and scanned the room the same as Noah did. They didn't speak or share their thoughts, staring blankly at the room. Noah gulped and stepped inside to check if anything was missing. He was one of the few people who knew Olivia better than anyone else, and whenever she had to go somewhere, there was a handful of things she would always take w
Her life, her future and every dream were ruined. Olivia had hoped that breaking the ties with the pack would free her, but the plan backfired in the worst way possible. She became damaged goods: a marked woman who ran away. No pack in their right mind would take her in now, and no man could ever look her way. And worst of all, Olivia knew that even if a pack took her in, they had to announce her arrival to the man who marked her. The chances of getting away from Noah were close to none, but that didn't mean she would give up. No, she wasn't the scared little girl anymore and knew better than to give Noah what he wanted. She would fight for her freedom. So, once she saw a chance, Oliva stormed to her room, grabbed her wallet and sneaked out the window. Noah had gone to his office and would probably discuss what he did with his best friend- Olivia intended to use every minute they wasted to her advantage. She loved Enzo. He was Noah's best friend, but he was nothing like the feral
Two days had gone by since the day Olivia escaped her worst nightmare and ran straight into the arms of another one. She couldn't believe how drastically her life had changed in a matter of a few days. If Noah's doings weren't enough, now, she awaited a trial. Yes, exactly, a darn trial about her future inside or outside the territory she was kept as a prisoner. The funniest part of the mess was that Olivia couldn't understand how a man with such an honourable reputation and name could be so mean. He didn't spare a moment to listen to her or even consider letting her explain what had happened. "So much for the sanctuary for the lost and forgotten," she whispered, pulling her knees to her chest. The cells were cold and smelled worse than some public toilets she had used back in England. Olivia sat on the ground, which didn't have as much as concrete to cover the dirt; her back was pressed against the rock wall, and her eyes were closed. After two days without water and food, her sto
He tried to find her. Noah tried more than he had ever before, and if anything his mother used to tell him was true, it mattered if he tried his best. Yet, each of his attempts to look for her ended up with him stuck facing a dead end. Olivia disappeared; she managed to fade into thin air without one lead to track her down. "God fucking damn it!" Noah screamed as he grabbed a photo frame and threw it against the wall. He went as far as to spread Olivia's photos across the nearby packs, and against every instinct he had, Noah sent them to Landon's territory. He hated the man with passion, but he was so desperate that he had to cave in. Never before in his life had Noah felt so powerless. He was sure Olivia couldn't leave him even if she wanted to, but he knew he had to know better. Since he could remember her entering his life, she had always been as stubborn and unmovable as a brick wall. After everything he had already done, Noah decided to fly to England. If Olivia had somewher
When Olivia woke up, the first thought that crossed her mind was that she had to be dead. How else would she end up in such a bright space and sleep on something that felt like a cloud under her body?The last time she had slept so peacefully was back in England while she lived with her aunt. The memories hurt her; it was nothing but a constant reminder of how fake her happiness was. Luna Mira was the only mother Olivia had known, and she loved the woman, but the connection she had with Anne was something out of this world. The woman Olivia had called her aunt for years became another mother figure. Olivia didn't notice how she teared up until the tears started sliding down her cheeks. An annoying beeping sound next to her became louder, which alerted someone in the room."Thank God you're awake. You gave us some serious scare," a smiling woman hovered over her. Noticing the gentle look in her eyes, Olivia couldn't hold back the need to hear Anne's voice. She needed the reassuremen
Olivia sat up in the bed as she kept gazing at the stranger standing before her. She wasn't sure if she had ever met him before, but the more she tried to come up with any instance she might have met him- there were none. Surely, she would remember a man as inhumanly handsome as this stranger. If she thought Noah looked like a demigod, this man had to be too close or even better looking than her fake brother. Olivia's eyes darted to the nurse, who picked up some papers from the nightstand, bowed and left the room. Only when the woman was gone did Olivia dare to look at the man again. Yep, still nothing. She had no idea who he was and how he knew her name. Arching an eyebrow, she cleared her throat and reminded herself she must remain polite to prove them a point. "My apologies, I feel sincerely bad for saying this, but I don't think we have ever met before, so I have no idea who you are, sir." The man flashed her a blinding smile and shook his head. "No need to apologise, Oli
Once the confession left her lips, Olivia wasn't sure what she feared more: the possibility of making Logan angry or him sending her back to Noah. Though Logan looked like a good man, she couldn't tell if he had any ulterior motives when it came to her. All her life, Olivia had to be careful around people and hide her identity so that no one would think of using her against her parents. But then again, Logan knew who she was, and it didn't look like he needed more money than he had, so Olivia dared to assume he wouldn't act like this was some kidnapping case. Come to think of it, that was something she had to find out: how did Logan know who she was? Her parents had a habit of hiding her because of her unique looks, so there weren't many people who knew Olivia existed. Logan had an expression on his face that Olvia couldn't read, yet when he muttered 'so that's why', she had to question him. "Logan, may I ask how you know who I am? And what's why?" Olivia raised an eyebrow but t
Landon led the way as his son followed in his footsteps. The old Alpha knew he had little to no power over the pack and his son after he handed down the title, but this wasn't a matter of power play. There was no way he would measure dicks with his son to decide which one of them was more powerful or wiser. Landon could bet his head on one thing: his son was a competent and reasonable Alpha. Logan didn't utter a word. He knew better than to confront his father out in the open. The hospital wasn't the right place to start something none wanted to finish, so both men had only one goal in mind- the office. And as they got closer, Logan couldn't shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Though he tried to guess what it might be, Logan didn't believe the issue could be pack-related. No matter how desperately he tried to grasp on anything but Olivia's involvement in the issue his father might discuss, Logan couldn't. His father hadn't been acting like himself since Olivia