262 A Different Olivia

I remembered what my parents said–how Olivia wasn’t actually Mr. and Mrs. Parker’s biological child.

Without giving us a chance to respond, he began walking toward a hallway at the side of the ballroom. Olivia didn’t protest–she followed him silently, her head held high, her red dress flowing like fire behind her.

Or maybe… it had never really left.

But her eyes were no longer on us. She acted as if she didn’t know… like her wolf wasn’t screaming that we were her mates… she looked so calm.

She didn’t argue. She sank onto the chaise, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap. Her eyes still didn’t meet ours.

But it was.

For a heartbeat, it felt like a dream–some cruel illusion my mind had conjured up to torture me. But she was real. The girl seated on the platform was her.

Now it all made sense.

Levi stared ahead, frozen.

Music began to play, soft and melodic, drifting through the room like a lullaby. The guests began to move, slowly rising from their seats and making their way toward the platform–toward her.

The bond was gone. Broken. Severed. She’d made sure of it.

Like we were strangers. Ghosts.

Calvin stopped in front of a big black door. Two guards stood beside it. He opened the door without saying anything, and we walked into his office.

We exchanged a glance–me, Levi, Louis–and followed.

We’d been rejected.

Why was she here?

Confused, I stepped further into the hall. My brothers stayed close behind, just as lost as I was. My wolf was howling, frantic, begging me to close the distance–so I did. I kept moving until I stood at the front, so close I could almost reach out and touch her.

Not because I didn’t want her. Goddess, I wanted her. Even after everything… she still owned every broken piece of me.

I opened my mouth to speak–but before I could get a word out, Calvin turned.

“I believe you have questions to ask,” he said coolly, his voice calm but firm. “Because I do too.”

Calvin walked over to the sitting area and looked at Olivia.

Calvin turned to us next, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

“It can’t be,” Levi muttered. “It shouldn’t be.”

I blinked, my heart pounding harder.

Really looked.

I felt it–stronger than before. Raw. Real.

Then he looked at us. “You three… follow.”

I blinked.

“No,” I whispered under my breath.

My heart thudded painfully in my chest as my wolf howled again, clawing to get out, to go to her. To fall at her feet. To beg. To make it right.

And we were.

I stumbled slightly, blinking hard.

Olivia?

It was warm and quiet. The walls were filled with books and glowing stones. A family symbol hung above the fireplace. There was a desk and some chairs near a table.

“Today,” he said, standing beside Olivia with a hand proudly on her shoulder, “I want you all to join me… as we celebrate the return of my lost sister.”

But then I looked at her again.

The resemblance was there–subtle but impossible to ignore. The sharp cheekbones. The same piercing eyes. She looked… like him.

He turned to Olivia. “Come with me.”

The mate bond… had returned.

Our Olivia?

My brow furrowed deeply.

She’s really his sister…

Calvin glanced over his shoulder and addressed the crowd smoothly, “Enjoy yourselves. We’ll be back shortly.”

Olivia stood beside Calvin now, her hand lightly resting on the table as she listened to a regal woman dressed in silver. She still hadn’t looked at us. Not once.

The heavy doors groaned as they opened, and we stepped into the hall.

Louis’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

I didn’t stop until I stood right in front of the platform again.

Before I could wrap my head around it, Calvin’s voice rang out across the hall, calm but commanding.

But I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

My wolf roared in my head, louder than I’d ever heard him before.

Her alluring eyes–those eyes I’d memorized–widened the second they found mine.

“She’s the special one…” another voice whispered from behind me.

I moved.

Without thinking, I stepped forward, pushing past a group of stunned vampires and witches. My brothers were right behind me, saying nothing–but I could feel the tension radiating from them like heat.

She was scared.

But this wasn’t possible.

She looked at us like we were the storm that ruined her.

What the hell were they talking about?

“Mate!”

“She’s even more beautiful in person,” someone near us said.

No. That couldn’t be right.

My breath caught.

The guests murmured and watched as we passed. Some looked almost excited, like they were waiting for something dramatic to unfold.

We left the hall and followed Calvin down a long hallway. It was quiet, just the sound of our footsteps. Olivia walked ahead, calm and graceful, like a completely different person. She looked confident–strong. Not like the girl we once knew. But my heart still knew her. My wolf still called for her.

I watched her, watched her mouth part slightly, watched her hands tremble as she stared back at us like we were a curse come to life.

The guests made way for us like the Red Sea parting. They knew who we were. Everyone did.

Why was everyone staring at her like she was someone important?

What the hell was going on?

I staggered back a little as the realization hit me.

Not once did she look at us again. It was like we didn’t exist.

So how-?

Lennox’s POV

Why was she seated on a royal platform?

What?

The special one?

It had to be some kind of show. A lie.

Louis took a slow breath, his voice barely audible. “Is this… is this happening again?”

“Olivia,” he said gently, “please sit.”

What did he just say?

What?

I glanced at Levi and Louis beside me–they looked just as stunned, frozen in place. Their chests rose and fell rapidly. They felt it too.

Another one of Calvin’s twisted political games.

One by one, they walked up to greet her. Some bowed. Some kissed the back of her hand. Some whispered blessings or words of admiration.

Does that mean Calvin is related to us?

It drove me mad.

“Sister?” I echoed under my breath, eyes darting between Calvin and Olivia.

Calvin’s sister.

There was silence as everyone’s eyes were focused on the people on the stage, and mine followed, almost on instinct. Then I saw her.

I swallowed my rising anger, trying to read his expression–but Calvin was unreadable.

I turned sharply to Levi and Louis, who looked just as stunned.

My wolf howled desperately for her.