Chapter 113: Sacred Grounds
Chapter 113: Sacred Grounds
(Lucas’s POV)
“She’s ready to be discharged,” Dr. Marcus Fletcher informed me, his expression professional but relieved. “Her physical recovery is remarkable, though I’d recommend continued emotional
support.”
I nodded, watching Olivia through the glass partition as a nurse helped her gather her few belongings. Even in a hospital gown, her quiet dignity remained intact.
“I’ll take care of her,” I promised, my voice leaving no room for doubt.
After completing the discharge paperwork, I escorted Olivia to my waiting vehicle. Thomas Griffin stood beside it, opening the door with a respectful nod.
“Are you hungry?” I asked as we settled into the backseat.
Olivia hesitated before nodding slightly. “A little.”
“Amber Crest Restaurant,” I instructed Thomas. “The private dining area.”
The restaurant staff greeted us with discreet efficiency, leading us to a secluded table overlooking a peaceful garden. I ordered a selection of light dishes, watching carefully as Olivia picked at her food.
“Try the venison broth,” I encouraged, serving her myself. “It’s gentle on the stomach but nourishing.”
To my satisfaction, she took a small sip, then another. By the end of the meal, she had eaten more than I expected, color gradually returning to her pale cheeks.
“Thank you,” she said softly as we finished. “For everything.”
I simply nodded, unwilling to accept gratitude for what any decent person would have done.
Back in the car, I turned to her, choosing my words carefully. “Olivia, could I visit Lily’s grave?”
Her emerald eyes widened in surprise.
“I’ve watched her Thanksgiving Moon Ceremony video many times while you were sleeping,” I explained. “She was… special.”
It was true. The little girl’s bright smile and thoughtful nature had touched something deep
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within me. Her sweetness, her obvious love for her mother – I couldn’t help but feel protective
of her memory.
“I’d like to go too,” Olivia admitted, her voice barely audible. “Yesterday, when I… when I jumped… I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’d missed my medication, and the grief just overwhelmed
me.”
She twisted her fingers together in her lap. “But I can’t leave yet. Not until I’ve avenged her.”
I directed Thomas to Sacred Moonlight Cemetery, a peaceful area nestled among ancient trees. We walked in silence to a small grave marked with a polished moonstone.
I knelt before the tombstone, arranging the gifts I’d brought – sweet treats, white mourning flowers, fruits, and small toys. With gentle hands, I cleaned the already immaculate stone.
“Hello, Lily,” I said softly, feeling Olivia’s gaze on my back. “I’m Lucas. I’ve heard so much about
you.”
I placed a silver plush wolf at the base of the stone. “You liked the silver plush best, didn’t you,
little one? I remember from your video.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw tears welling in Olivia’s eyes as she watched from a respectful distance. I continued my one–sided conversation with Lily, telling her about her mother’s strength, promising to look after her.
As dusk settled over the cemetery, Olivia finally approached. She knelt beside me, her fingers gently caressing the photograph of Lily embedded in the stone.
“Baby, Mommy’s going home now,” she whispered, her voice breaking slightly.
I reached out, touching the stone myself. “Lily, I like you very much. I hope you like me too. I’ll come visit you again with your mother next time.”
The walk back to the car was silent but comfortable. I opened the door for Olivia, helping her
inside with careful movements.
Before starting the engine, I turned to face her. “Olivia, that night, you waited for me in the rain, asking to borrow money to find that man. Were you trying to find out who was responsible for Lily’s death?”
The image of Roland Warner lying in a pool of blood flashed through my mind. I remembered Olivia’s desperate plea for the dying man to reveal a name.
“In the emergency room, he called you in at his final moments. Did he tell you who was behind this? Is that why you suddenly left the hospital and went to Rosewood Haven…?”
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She had maintained emotional distance since waking up, never addressing my confession of
feelings. But after nearly losing her to Silvermoon River, I wouldn’t allow her to push me away
again.
(Olivia’s POV)
I pressed my lips together, reluctant to involve Lucas in my painful quest. He had already done
so much for me. This burden was mine to bear.
“It’s getting late,” I said, attempting to change the subject. “We should-”
“Was it Victoria Frost?” Lucas interrupted, his tone certain rather than questioning.
I stared at him, shocked by his perception. “How did you know?”
Hope flickered within me. Perhaps Lucas had evidence that could finally bring justice for my
daughter.
(Lucas’s POV)
I took her small hand in mine, my thumb gently stroking her knuckles. Her skin was soft
despite the hardships she’d endured.
“Olivia, it’s just a guess. I don’t have any proof,” I admitted, hating to diminish the hope in her
eyes.
Her shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment.
With my free hand, I cautiously stroked her hair, the silky strands sliding between my fingers.. “But justice will prevail. If she did it, she must have left traces.”
I held her gaze steadily. “Even if she covered her tracks this time, an evil person won’t stop at
one act. As long as we keep watching her, we’ll find her weakness.”
My conviction was absolute. “Olivia, you have to believe that justice will catch up with her. We
will avenge Lily. Victoria Frost will face judgment for what she’s done.“,
(Olivia’s POV)
Meeting Lucas’s determined gaze, I drew unexpected comfort from his words. Tears filled my eyes as I nodded firmly.
“Yes!”
Lucas squeezed my hand gently. “Promise me, don’t shoulder everything alone. You have me
now.”
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His tenderness touched something within me that I thought had died with Lily. I nodded again,
cautiously accepting his support.
To my surprise, Lucas linked his pinky finger with mine – a gesture that reminded me painfully of Lily’s habit from the video he’d watched.
“It’s a promise,” he said solemnly.
A rare smile touched my lips. He was trying to connect with Lily’s memory, and the gesture
meant more than he could know.
(Lucas’s POV)
I drove Olivia back to her cottage in Maple Grove, parking close to her door. Though reluctant
to leave her alone, I respected her need for space.
“I won’t do anything foolish again,” she assured me, correctly reading my concern. “You’re
right. If I haven’t avenged Lily, how can I face her?”
Relief loosened the tension in my shoulders. “My phone is on for you day and night. You can call me anytime, anytime!” I emphasized, needing her to understand my commitment.
“Okay,” she replied softly, her emerald eyes reflecting gratitude that made my chest tighten.
“Good night,” I said, reluctant to part from her.
“Good night,” Olivia responded, her voice stronger than it had been in days.
I waited until she locked the door before turning to leave, my resolve hardening. I wouldn’t let
this fragile woman slip away again.
(Ethan’s POV)
The Maybach purred quietly as I parked beneath Olivia’s cottage in Maple Grove. My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles white with tension.
I wanted to go to her, to apologize, to explain that I hadn’t known the donor kidney had been meant for Lily. But what difference would it make?
The result remained unchanged: I had secured preferential treatment for Emma, leading
directly to my own daughter’s death.
The weight of this knowledge crushed me more thoroughly than any physical blow. My wolf howled in anguish within me, the pain almost unbearable.
stayed in my car for hours, watching the light in Olivia’s window, unable to summon the courage to face her. What could I possibly say to the woman whose child I had unwittingly
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helped to kill?
Eventually, I drove back to my residence, my heart heavier than it had ever been.
+15 Points >
In my private quarters, I reached for the strongest alcohol I possessed, pouring glass after glass despite knowing the danger to my werewolf physiology.
–
The burning liquid did nothing to ease the pain in my chest – a blade twisting in my heart with every breath. As the night deepened, my body finally rebelled.
Blood rose in my throat as I stumbled onto the balcony. The last thing I remembered was collapsing onto the cold stone floor, darkness claiming me as blood pooled beneath my face.
(Maxwell’s POV)
“Alpha Stone?” I called, knocking on the bedroom door. No response.
After three unanswered calls to his phone, concern had driven me to check on him personally.
The door was unlocked, the bedroom empty.
I spotted him through the open balcony doors. “Alpha!”
Ethan lay unconscious on the Stone Residence Balcony, blood pooled around his head. The
stench of alcohol and blood filled the air.
My fingers trembled slightly as I checked his pulse – weak but present. I immediately called Dr. Harold Bennett, the Stone family’s personal healer for over twenty years.
“It’s the Alpha,” I said tersely. “Unconscious, blood loss, alcohol poisoning. Prepare the
medical den immediately.”
Within the hour, Ethan lay pale and weak in a private room at the Silvercrest Pack Medical Den. Dr. Bennett worked efficiently, his experienced hands preparing healing salves and
medicinal infusions.
“Will he recover?” I asked quietly.
Dr. Bennett nodded grimly. “Physically, yes. But this goes beyond the body. His wolf is in
turmoil.”
I stood guard by the door, watching over my Alpha as he drifted between consciousness and
oblivion.
(Ethan’s POV)
Through the haze of pain, memories surfaced – fragments of a life before Victoria’s return.
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Olivia’s gentle hands supporting me after I’d come home intoxicated from a pack gathering.
Her patience as I growled irritably at her concern.
Lily’s small fingers trying to wipe my forehead with a cool cloth. “Daddy sick?” she had asked, her emerald eyes – so like her mother’s – wide with worry.
I had pushed her away harshly. “Leave me alone!”
The hurt in her tiny face haunted me now. Tears had filled her eyes, but she hadn’t cried. Even
at four, she had learned that Daddy didn’t like tears.
Olivia had sent her to bed, then returned with special healing tea, massaging my temples until
I fell asleep.
I longed to relive those moments, to treat my wife and daughter with the kindness they
deserved. To undo my mistakes, to prevent Lily’s death and Olivia’s despair.
But time moved only forward, carrying the weight of my failures with it.
(Maxwell’s POV)
Ethan’s eyes fluttered open, immediately seeking me out. “Maxwell.”
“I’m here, Alpha,” I responded, moving closer to his bedside.
His voice was weak but the authority unmistakable. “Call Olivia.”
I hesitated, remembering her last words to him. But a direct order from my Alpha couldn’t be
ignored.
I stepped into the hallway, dialing her number. She answered on the third ring.
“Mrs. Winters, Alpha Stone is in the medical den. He’s asking for you.”
Her response was cold and flat. “Is he dead? Call me back when he’s dead.”
The call ended abruptly. I returned to Ethan’s room, dreading his reaction.
“Mrs. Winters says she’s busy…” I offered weakly.
Pain flashed across his face before he masked it with a nod. “Of course. She has her own life
now.”
I updated him on pack business matters, grateful when he seemed to focus on the reports. Suddenly, his head turned sharply toward the window.
(Ethan’s POV)
Movement outside caught my attention. I turned toward the glass, suddenly alert despite my
Chapter 113 Sacred Grounds
weakness.
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Through it, I spotted a familiar figure entering the medical facility. Olivia, carrying her Thermal
Food Container, her chestnut hair catching the morning light.
A spark of hope ignited within me. She had come after all.
