“Louis, is there something you’re keeping from us?” Levi asked, suspicion lacing his tone. His eyes were sharp, studying me as if he could see right through my skin. Unease twisted in my gut, but I masked it with a scowl.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, feigning anger, forcing my voice to sound steady.

Levi didn’t flinch. If anything, his expression hardened. “I called Alpha Thor,” he said calmly, “asked him what happened at his party. He apologized—told me someone drugged your drink.” He paused, his gaze narrowing. “So tell me, Louis—who was the woman who detoxed you? Whose fingers were on you?”

His words hit like a whip. He wasn’t asking. He already knew—or thought he did.

“I did,” came a voice from behind us.

I turned, my heart sinking as Anita stepped into the field, composed and unapologetic, dressed in silk like she owned the damn world.

Levi narrowed his eyes. “Anita,” he said flatly.

She smiled sweetly, tilting her head. “Yes, me. Louis came to my room last night, and we fucked… a really good fuck.” She smirked.

Where I stood, I stared at her in disbelief, wondering why she was lying.

Levi looked back at me. “You could’ve just said so. I thought you slept with one of the staff while you were drugged. Why didn’t you just say it was Anita?” he snapped, in anger but also in relief.

It hit me then—he didn’t think it was Olivia; he was worried it was a servant. He had no idea it was Olivia. That was a relief, at least.

“See you around.” Levi tapped my shoulder and walked off, leaving me alone with Anita.

Turning to face her, our eyes locked.

“Why?” I asked, without wasting a second.

She scoffed and glared at me. “Is that your thank you, Alpha Louis?” she asked, lifting her perfectly shaped brow.

I didn’t answer. I knew Anita too well. She was up to something.

I stayed silent, watching Anita’s sharp eyes as they flickered with something darker than mischief—jealousy, rage, obsession maybe. She took a step closer, close enough for me to smell her perfume—rich, overpowering, nothing like Olivia’s soft scent that still clung to me, no matter how many times I tried to wash it away.

“I saw you, Louis,” she said, her voice dropping, teeth gritted. “I saw you enter Olivia’s room last night.”

My jaw clenched. I didn’t move, didn’t speak. I should’ve known.

“I also know you didn’t fuck her,” she went on, stepping even closer until I could feel the heat radiating off her skin. “But you touched her.” Her lips curled. “You are hiding it from your brothers, aren’t you?”

I felt my breath hitch in my chest. My silence was already an answer.

“Why did you lie?” I asked, voice low, eyes locked on hers. “Why would you say we—”

She stared at me, furious. “What does she have that I don’t, Louis?!”

Her shout echoed in the quiet field. A bird flapped from a tree nearby, startled.

I swallowed hard, jaw clenched. I didn’t answer her right away because how could I explain it? How could I describe the way Olivia looked up at me last night, soft and sexy, the way her breath caught when I touched her, the way her fingers clung to me like I was something precious?

She was everything Anita wasn’t. Everything. Olivia was softness and fire all in one. Gentle hands and fierce words. She didn’t throw herself at me—she looked into me. And gods, the way her body had trembled under me, her lips parting just enough to whisper my name—

My fists clenched at my sides.

“You want the truth?” I murmured.

Anita’s eyes widened.

“She has everything you don’t,” I said quietly, brutally honest. “Because she doesn’t pretend. She doesn’t play games. And when she looks at me, she sees a man. Not a title. Not a conquest.”

Anita’s expression cracked for a moment—just a flicker of pain—before she turned it into a sheet.

“You are heartless…you and your brothers,” she spat in anger.

I glared at her.

“Listen, Louis, I will keep my mouth shut, but it comes with a price,” she said suddenly. I scoffed. Of course. Classic Anita. I wasn’t expecting anything less.

“What do you want?” I asked flatly. Anita was materialistic. I figured she’d ask for money, designer bags—whatever fed her ego.

She shook her head. “Not today. I’ll tell you tomorrow. But remember, you owe me. If you don’t agree to my demand, I’ll tell your brothers you went behind their backs and made out with Olivia. The woman you were all supposed to hate. The woman you claimed to hate.” She spat the words before turning around and walking off.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed heavily. I was in a mess—a huge one. Anita knowing about what happened between me and Olivia was bad enough. Now she had leverage. And worse, she had a demand.

And speaking of demands—I owed Olivia one too. Heaven only knows what she’ll ask of me. I wasn’t worried about Anita. But Olivia? That terrified me. Because in all the years we’d known her, she had never asked us for a single thing.

I left the combat ground and headed toward my room, only to spot Lennox storming toward me. I frowned. I have never seen Lennox this furious… he was practically seething in anger… from afar I could feel his rage.

“Lennox?” I frowned. “What the hell’s wrong—?”

“We need to talk,” he snapped, voice low and sharp. “Now. In my room.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. Just turned on his heel and walked off, his movements stiff, shoulders tight with tension. I followed, keeping pace behind him, my heartbeat spiking with unease. What the hell did he know? Did Anita already run her mouth?

No—she wouldn’t. Not yet. She wanted something first.

But then what had him looking like he was two seconds from snapping someone’s neck?

The moment we stepped into his room, Lennox slammed the door and whirled around to face me.