He hesitated, then shook his head. “I’ll tell you later, when you’re ready. There’s… a long, dark history there.”

Then he turned back to me, a big smile slowly spreading across his face.

The moment I said their names, I noticed Calvin’s face shift. His jaw tightened, and a faint frown tugged at his lips. He wasn’t pleased, but I kept going.

“And just when I thought it was over,” I continued, “Alpha Damien came. He saved me… but only under one condition. He said I had to disappear, change my face, pretend to be dead, for one year.”

His eyes widened in disbelief, a mixture of shock and confusion. I noticed his breathing quicken, panic flashing in his eyes—but he didn’t interrupt. He was holding himself back, letting me finish.

My heart pounded, confusion and curiosity swirling inside me.

He stepped back, his hands in his pockets. “Because I want everyone to know who you are now. Especially them.”

“I grew up in the Full Moon Pack,” I continued. “And I became friends with the triplets—Lennox, Levi, and Louis.”

Calvin pulled back slightly and looked into my eyes. “There’s something you should know. Our family—the Beckham bloodline—and the Lucianos, the triplets’ family… we’ve always hated each other.”

The room went quiet. Calvin didn’t speak. He was staring into space, lost in thought—processing everything. His eyes flickered, his brows furrowed, and I could tell his mind was running wild with questions.

My chest twisted so hard it hurt. My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, her pain echoing mine.

“Did you sleep with them?” he asked.

He exhaled, as if he’d been holding his breath the entire time. Slowly, he squatted down in front of me, his eyes gentle yet filled with deep concern.

The bracelet on my wrist clicked open, and I inhaled sharply, my chest rising as if I had been underwater all this time—finally able to breathe again. The old witch gently slid it off my skin, and instantly, I felt it.

“My father—Mr. Parker—was accused of a crime. He was arrested and thrown into jail. My mother and I were cast out. We became omegas overnight.”

But even in his arms, the ache throbbed deep.

I pressed my hand to my chest, as if trying to keep the hurt from spilling out. My throat burned. My chest ached. It was a different kind of pain—deeper. Not physical, not even entirely emotional. It was something else… something raw and impossible to explain.

Warmth.

My throat tightened, but I kept my voice steady.

Life.

He didn’t reply. He was staring at the ground now, his expression unreadable.

He tilted his head, mischief dancing in his eyes. “Let’s just say… I have scores to settle with them.”

Calvin moved closer. “I know,” he said gently, his voice full of understanding. “It hurts. I don’t know why the Moon Goddess made you their mate, Olivia. Maybe it was a mistake, a cruel mistake. But it’s a good thing you rejected them.”

I paused when I saw Calvin’s expression twist again, darkening into a frown.

“I’ll begin the rituals tomorrow,” she said. “Now that you are eighteen, your powers will start awakening. Slowly, but they’ll come. You’ve been locked for too long, child.”

But Calvin didn’t say anything. He simply looked at me with concern.

The old witch, who had been standing silently in the corner, finally stepped forward.

“Just sit back,” he said softly, “and watch.”

“What? Why?” I asked, stunned.

“Yes,” I nodded. “I was their mate. All three of them. They didn’t want it. They rejected it. But their father forced them. And eventually… they marked me. They married me.”

“I thought things might get better,” I said. “But they didn’t. They made my best friend their mistress, paraded her around in front of me, hurt me in ways I can’t even describe.”

Energy.

Calvin’s teeth gritted hard. “Bastards,” he hissed under his breath.

My heart skipped a beat. My breath caught. I’m related to the triplets, too.

Then suddenly, he looked at me sharply.

“She’s back,” I nodded. “My wolf is back.”

I blink at him. “A party?”

“You’re safe now,” he murmured. “You’re home. And I promise, I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

A big, bright smile spread across my face as tears stung my eyes. “I missed you so much,” I whispered to her. “I felt so empty without you.”

He straightened up, brushing some hair gently out of my face. “But for now… what matters is that you’re back. You’re with your real family. And I’ll protect you with everything I have.”

“I thought I was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Parker,” I began, my voice trembling slightly. “They raised me with so much love… they never had any other children, so it was just the three of us. I never doubted for a second that I was theirs.”

Calvin looked like he was going to explode.

He grinned happily. “A grand welcome party, to announce your return to the entire supernatural world.”

I frowned, caught off guard. “Not really,” I answered hesitantly. “Why? What does that have to do with anything?”

I took a deep breath, the memories still painful to speak of.

Olivia’s POV

“And then… on my eighteenth birthday,” I said, looking him in the eye, “we found out I was mated to them.”

“After that… I decided to leave,” I added. “To stay with Alpha Gabriel. I thought he truly cared about me, that he was different.”

His entire body jolted. “What?”

Calvin’s smile deepened. “Yes. I’m inviting them.”

“But he wanted me dead,” I whispered bitterly. “He planned to kill me. He said I was paying for the sins of my mother.”

“They tried to make things right after learning the truth,” I admitted. “But I refused. I couldn’t live like that. So… I rejected them.”

“Olivia,” my wolf’s voice whispered in my mind, filled with emotion. “I’m back…”

“It wasn’t me. I never wrote it. I don’t even know who did.”

“Yes.” He cut me off, his voice quiet but heavy. “You’re related to the triplets… we’re distant cousins.” He dropped it like a bomb.

I shook my head slowly.

I closed my eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by the sudden peace washing over me. It felt like a piece of my soul had finally returned.

My stomach twisted. “The triplets?”

Her.

“Olivia,” he said, voice low and full of concern, “please… I need you to tell me everything. What happened to you? Who did this? How did you end up here?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

I bit my lip but didn’t press. I could see in his eyes that it wasn’t something to rush into.

I opened my eyes and looked at him.

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. Tears welled in my eyes as he pulled me into a hug, a warm, firm, protective hug.

“How?” she whispered. “How can the men we loved… be our own blood?”

I saw pure anger in Calvin’s eyes. His hands clenched at his sides, and his aura darkened.

Calvin gave her a small nod. “Do whatever you must.”

“No,” I said firmly. “I broke the bond.”

He blinked. “You’re no longer mated to them?”

Then I heard Calvin’s voice, soft but awed. “I can feel her,” he said quietly.

That’s when it hit me. He had told me something before… something I’d almost forgotten, that he was related to the triplets by the same great-grandmother. And if Calvin is my brother… then that means…

I turned to Calvin, my voice catching in my throat. “Does… that…”

“They adored me,” I said honestly. “And I… I adored them too. We grew up together, but everything changed on my fourteenth birthday.”

“But the worst part,” I whispered, “was the triplets. They hated me, and I didn’t understand why. I kept trying to reach them, but they hurt me, over and over, emotionally, physically, like I meant nothing to them.”

“But then,” I continued, “everything started to shift. I discovered they hated me because of a letter, a forged letter, one that made them believe I loved one brother and hated the other.”

I saw something wild—rage mixed with grief—in Calvin’s eyes.

“I never left,” she said softly. “I was always here, just trapped… waiting for you.”

My brows furrowed. “Why?”

Calvin nodded slowly, his soft eyes fixed on mine.

“Oh, and one more thing,” he added. “Tomorrow… I’m throwing a party.”

“I agreed… and that’s how I became Rebecca.”

Calvin’s eyes widened in horror.

I shook my head slowly, my lips parting in disbelief. “No… no, that can’t be true.”

A flash of relief crossed his face, like a heavy weight had just lifted from his chest.

I looked at him for a long moment, and then I began to speak.