259 Invited
For the past hours, we have sat in silence, each of us lost in thoughts.
“I know who took Rebecca,” she announced, her voice firm.
I looked up at my brothers and cleared my throat. “What are we going to do… if it really is her? And what if our parents weren’t lying? What if she’s really our distant relative?”
My heart ached at the thought. I wanted to hold her close, to tell her I’m sorry for everything–for not protecting her, for letting her go. But then… I remembered something.
Levi’s POV
“He is going to deny it.” Louis sighed.
None of us answered right away. It felt strange. Wrong. Was it a trap?
I stared at her, unsure how to tell her the truth–that the woman she thinks is Rebecca wasn’t her friend. That Rebecca… was already dead. But that could wait. First, we
needed to get Olivia back.
Lennox didn’t answer right away. He stood by the window, arms folded tightly across his chest, jaw clenched.
He turned to face us, his eyes dark with emotion.
He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.
“Come in,” Lennox called out.
“It’s an invitation,” Lennox said slowly. “From Alpha Calvin.”
Lennox’s eyes turned cold. “Then it’s war.”
“What is it?” Louis asked.
The door opened and, to our surprise, it was Sofia. She stepped in and closed the door behind her, walking straight toward us. Before we could even ask why she was here, she spoke.
“And if he refuses?” Louis asked.
<
259 Invited
It didn’t matter because, for Olivia, we were really ready to do anything.
My parents. Their words. They told us once that Olivia was our distant cousin. That we weren’t supposed to feel anything beyond family love for her. That what we had for her wasn’t right.
“I just want you to see her,” Sofia added quietly. “There’s so much I need to ask her. So many things I don’t understand.”
Before either of my brothers could respond, a knock echoed at the door. We all exchanged quick glances. It was still early–who would be knocking at this time?
She looked hurt. Broken. Betrayed.
As soon as the door closed, Lennox let out a groan, dragging his hand down his face.
I looked between them both, the weight in my chest growing heavier. First Olivia. Then the truth. And only after that… would we know who we were really allowed to love.
“God help him,” he muttered. “If that’s really Olivia, I swear I’m going to kill Damien with my bare hands.”
I frowned. “Then we show him the dead body.”
“I think we should just confront him already,” I said sharply.
Lennox opened it and read quickly. His eyes narrowed.
My brows furrowed. Calvin was one of the people Damien had mentioned as a suspect before… so maybe Sofia was telling the truth.
But deep down, I already knew. No bloodline could ever change what I felt for her.
Finally, he spoke. “I don’t want to think about that right now,” he said sharply. “I don’t even trust them.”
“What?” I asked, frowning. “We don’t even know him. We’re not friends. We have no alliance.”
“Who?” we asked at once, panic tightening our chests. We already knew the woman wasn’t Rebecca–it was Olivja.
“Alpha Calvin,” she said. “Of the Nightshade Pack. He was the one who held me captive.”
259 Invited
“We need evidence against Damien… there has to be something” Lennox muttered again, for what felt like the hundredth time.
Dustin nodded without a word and walked out, leaving the three of us in heavy silence.
“Exactly,” Louis added. “Why invite us?”
“And when we get there,” I added, “we demand the release of Olivia. We don’t care what silly games he is playing with Damien.”
“You need to see this,” he said, walking in and handing it to Lennox.
Sofia nodded. “I’m sure of it. I saw him. I remember everything now.”
“Calvin?” I repeated, frowning deeply.
Louis nodded slowly. “We’ll make them talk. No more lies.”
I sat back down, but my mind wasn’t calm. What if it really was Olivia? How would I even react? Would I hug her? Would I kiss her? Or would I freeze, like a fool, unable to believe it was really her?
“We’re going,” Lennox said after a moment.
I turned to look at my brothers. Lennox’s jaw clenched, and Louis looked just as shocked as I felt.
“Thank you, Sofia,” Lennox said with a nod. “We’ll bring her back before the day ends. That’s a promise.”
Before I could go deeper into my thoughts, the door opened again—this time, it was Dustin. He held a letter in his hand.
I let out a deep sigh and leaned back in my seat, thinking about the discovery we had made just hours ago. Everything pointed to Damien–but we couldn’t confront him without solid proof. Still, we were getting impatient. Very impatient.
“He’s inviting all Alphas to his pack,” Lennox continued. “He says it’s for the ‘welcome–home‘ party of his long–lost little sister.”
Sofia gave a small nod, then turned and quietly left the room.
That name made all of us freeze.
259 Invited
“First, we find Olivia,” he continued. “Then… our parents are going to prove everything. Who she really is. Where she came from. Who her real family is. And if they can’t… if they lied to us-‘
I stared at the wall, lost in thought. What was our uncle trying to gain from all of this? How did he change her appearance? Her smell? Subdued her wolf? parade her as his wife? And more than that… why did Olivia stay quiet? She had so many chances to speak. Did he threaten her? Was he blackmailing her?
But it felt right. Everything about her felt like mine. Like she was made for me, carved out of my ribs and stitched into my soul. And no matter how many times I tried to smother it, the feeling only grew stronger, wilder, and impossible to deny.
The moment she said that, all three of us jumped to our feet.
I turned to Dustin. “Arrange our best guards. We are attending.”
