Chapter 70 Wound and 

Chapter 26: Wounds and Memories 

Chapter 26 Wounds and Memories 

(Olivia’s POV) 

Pain shot through my face as I shifted in bed. I accidentally brushed against my bruised cheek. 

“Ow-“I recoiled. The sharp sting cleared the fog of fever from my mind. 

The bedside lamp clicked on, bathing the room in soft golden light. I squinted against the brightness. My vision slowly focused on Ethan’s face hovering above me. 

His amber eyes narrowed as they traced the stark bruises marring my skin, His jaw tightened with tension. A muscle twitched beneath the surface of his skin. 

Without a word, he turned and left the room. His footsteps echoed down the hallway, heavy and purposeful. 

Through my fever haze, I heard him on the phone. His voice was a dangerous, controlled whisper that sent chills through me despite my feverish state. 

“Maxwell, I need you to find out who laid a hand on Olivia Winters in Shadowfall Detention Center.” 

A pause followed as he listened to his special assistant’s response. My heart raced despite my exhaustion, wondering what he planned to do. 

“Take care of them inside, a hundredfold,” he commanded coldly. The deadly promise in his voice made me shudder. This was the merciless Alpha King that other packs feared. 

The floorboards creaked as he returned to the room. He held a small bottle of Moonberry Fever Reducer in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He set both on the nightstand before carefully sitting on the edge 

of the bed. 

“Open your mouth,” he instructed, uncapping the fever reducer. “Take the medicine.” 

Those simple words triggered something dark inside me. Suddenly, I wasn’t in my bedroom anymore. 

I was eight years old again, huddled in that dank orphanage basement corner. The head caretaker loomed over me with that sickening smile. 

“Take your medicine, little wolf,” he’d cooed, eyes glinting with malice. “It will make you feel better.” 

I’d been naive enough to believe him then. I opened my mouth obediently. The bitter liquid burned going down, leaving me disoriented and weak. 

Too weak to fight back when the whip came down across my back. Too weak to escape the predatory gaze 

that followed. 

I 

“No,” I whispered now, clenching my jaw shut. My entire body trembled as I pressed against the headboard, 

I putting distance between Ethan and myself. 

Understanding flickered in his eyes. Without warning, he placed the medicine in his own mouth. 

Before I could process what was happening, his lips descended on mine. I whimpered in protest, struggling 

weakly against his chest, pushing at him with what little strength I had. 

He deepened the kiss, ignoring my resistance. One hand cradled the back of my head to hold me still while 

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© Chapter 26 Wounds 

the other pressed firmly against my lower back. 

“Swallow,” he murmured against my lips. His thumb stroked my throat to encourage the reflexive action, leaving me no choice. 

The medicine slid down my throat with his breath. When he finally pulled away, something unexpected flickered in his eyes – desire that hadn’t been there in years. 

His gaze lingered on my flushed skin, traveling down to where my sweat–soaked nightgown clung to my body. The intensity of his stare made me feel exposed and vulnerable. 

“You need dry clothes,” he said, his voice husky with an emotion I couldn’t name. “You’ll get sicker otherwise 

I was too weak to protest as he helped me into a fresh nightgown. His fingers brushed against my skin with surprising gentleness, leaving trails of heat that had nothing to do with my fever. 

Each touch sent conflicting signals through my fevered body. Comfort and danger intertwined in a confusing 

dance that left me breathless. 

Hours passed in a blur of half–consciousness. The medicine gradually took effect, cooling the fire raging 

through my veins, 

I drifted in and out of awareness, barely registering the world around me. I vaguely noticed Ethan’s presence 

beside the bed, his watchful gaze never leaving my face. 

The cool sensation of something being applied to my face roused me from fitful sleep. I blinked slowly, trying 

to focus my thoughts. 

The distinctive scent of Dr. Harold Bennett’s Rare Healing Salve filled my nostrils. This wasn’t just any 

medicine – this was the exclusive remedy available only to the Stone family and their closest associates. 

The familiar herbal aroma transported me back to the Silvercrest Medical Den, I’d received the same treatment after injuring my hand during healer training with Elder Willow. 

Ethan’s fingers moved with surprising gentleness across my bruised cheek. He applied the salve in careful, circular motions, his touch lighter than I would have expected. 

When our eyes met, he broke the charged silence between us. His question cut through the quiet room like a 

blade. 

“Was it so hard to ask me for help?” he asked, his voice deceptively soft. The implication was clear–my 

detention center ordeal could have been avoided if I’d sought his protection. 

His words ignited something fierce within me. It burned through the last remnants of fever–induced weakness, replacing it with white–hot rage. 

“Ethan Stone, I would ask anyone but you,” I spat, venom lacing every syllable. My emerald eyes blazed with fury as I knocked his hand away from my face. “Don’t pretend to care. I don’t need it.” 

His expression hardened instantly. The brief tenderness vanished as if it had never existed. 

“You’re being ungrateful,” he said, his tone clipped and cold. 

“Ungrateful?” I scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. My eyes burned with a cold fire as I glared at him. “You throw me to those women and then offer healing salve, and I should be grateful?” 

“I didn’t arrange that,” he insisted, his amber eyes narrowing dangerously. “I had nothing to do with what 

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happened to you in that cell” 

His denial caught me off guard. For a moment, doubt flickered through my mind, making me wonder if Id 

misjudged him. 

Could he be telling the truth? The thought quickly extinguished itself under the weight of years experiencing 

his deception and neglect. 

“Does it make a difference?” I challenged, pushing myself to a sitting position despite my body’s protest. “If it wasn’t you, then who else could it be besides Victoria?” 

The mention of Victoria’s name was like lighting a match near gasoline. Ethan’s expression darkened dangerously, his eyes flashing with barely contained rage. 

“Where’s Lily?” he demanded abruptly, changing the subject with jarring suddenness. His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. 

The question knocked the breath from my lungs. After everything that had happened, he was still clinging to 

this delusion about our daughter 

“I told you,” I whispered, my voice breaking on each word. “She’s gone.” 

His control snapped. In one fluid motion, he yanked me from the bed. His grip bruised my wrist as he dragged 

me into the hallway. 

My weakened legs could barely keep up as he pulled me toward Lily’s room. Each step was a struggle, but his relentless pace gave me no choice but to follow. 

The door crashed open under his forceful push. He shoved me inside with enough force that I stumbled, 

nearly falling. 

His hand moved to grip the back of my neck as he forced me to look around the empty space that had once been our daughter’s bedroom. His fingers tightened painfully. 

“You brought me here, told me Lily’s ashes were in this room,” he hissed. His voice dripped with icy contempt as his grip tightened further. “Where are they, Olivia?” 

Tears welled in my eyes. They blurred my vision as I stared at the room where my daughter had once slept, 

had once laughed, had once lived. 

The room now stood empty. A shrine to a life cut tragically short. 

“Lily…” My voice cracked as I choked out the words. Each one was a dagger to my heart, reopening wounds that had barely begun to heal. “She was buried today… 

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