Chapter 31
Ollie’s POV
“You didn’t tell me what happened,” Ella says a few days later. We are both in my room as I am finishing putting on my makeup. She’s waiting for me to finish before we both go up to join the brothers, Diana, and Sylvia for dinner.
“There isn’t much to say.”
“You had sex for the first time, and you won’t tell me anything,” she says. “Is Hugh that bad?”
“He’s not,” I say, but then fall quiet. “It just doesn’t feel right to talk about. I don’t know…” I imagine Hugh doesn’t have the same hang ups. Even I’ve heard him brag about his conquests before. Yet, even knowing that, I’m not the same as him.
What happened between us… While it couldn’t mean anything, it also felt like too much to talk about so freely, even with Ella.
Because Ella is such a good friend, even though I could tell she desperately wanted to know more, she bit her tongue and accepted my request for privacy.
“I only have one question, and you can answer in a yes or no way,” she says.
“Okay.”
She tilts her head, meeting my eyes in the mirror. “Did you have fun?”
“That’s irrelevant,” I say. “I only did this to help my wolf…
“That doesn’t answer the questions,” she says.
I could see she was going to be persistent about this in a way she let the other questions go. With a sigh, I admit, Yes, I had fun. But you better take that secret to the grave with you.”
She draws an X over her heart with her finger.
On the dresser, my burner phone buzzes and chimed. Without thinking about it, I reach for it and check it.
Hugh has sent a message.
I can’t wait to get my tongue on you again… The noises you made keep me awake at night.
A blush heats my cheeks as a secret smile forms on my lips.
I text a quick reply, You don’t know how to be patient, do you?
A new text comes through before I can exit the thread.
You won’t be saying that after a full night with me.
My blush burns hotter.
I exit the thread without replying. Looking up into the mirror again, I see Ella watching me like she can see right through me.
With all our years of friendship, I had thought I knew all of her expressions, but this one is particularly difficult to
read.
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Chapter 31
+25 BONUS
“What is it?” I ask.
“Just… be careful, okay?” she says.
“You don’t have to tell me that,” I assure her.
The brothers have hurt me time and time again. I will not be foolish as to let myself go and develop feelings for one of them now, whether they are my mates or not.
I can’t tell if Ella believes me or not, but she seems willing to let the matter go after that.
I finish putting on my makeup, then stand. After grabbing my phones and tucking them into my pockets, I turn. Near the door, I left a few pictures and swatches of fabric that I hope to show Diana at dinner. I find this is the best time to share my progress in planning the ceremony with Diana.
So long as we are talking about the ceremony, she has started opening up to me more and more. This has made me dive headfirst even deeper into the planning. For her, I want everything to be perfect.
I know, in my heart, that I’m just attempting to rekindle a mother–daughter relationship that will never be again, but why can’t I play pretend? Just for a little while longer? Once I leave the pack, none of this will matter anyway.
I will leave and never look back.
I grab the swatches and the photo packet to bring to dinner with me, and Ella and I step into the hallway. We chat about this and that as we head upstairs. Yet, just as we step onto the landing of the floor containing the dining room, Sylvia stands there, blocking our path.
Ella huffs. “Let us by, Sylvia, or we’ll all be late for dinner.”
“I didn’t know the help was invited,” she says to Ella.
“I am not the help,” Ella says.
Sylvia shrugs. “Could have fooled me.” Her sharp gaze shifts to me. “What’s that? More swatches for Mom? Aren’t you done planning that party yet?”
“Almost,” I say, but tell her nothing else.
“Well you should hurry up and finish,” she says. “I’m getting tired of you trying to steal my mom every night. It’s embarrassing, for you. She’s only being nice to you because she feels bad for you.”
I hate that I believe Sylvia, when I know Sylvia is only saying these things to cut through me. Yet, with how distant Diana has been these past few years and with the fact that even now, I can only get her to talk to me about the event, I don’t think she is holding any lost love for me.
To Diana, maybe I am nothing more than a servant or a nuisance or both.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ella says in my defense. But there’s nothing she can really say to make things better in my heart.
“Let’s just go,” I say, and start to move around Sylvia.
Just as I step beside her, she slaps the fabrics and packets straight out of my hand. They flutter down the stairwell before I can catch them.
Feeling slightly defeated, I watch them scatter down, a colorful mess.
Chapter 31
+25 BONUS
“You should be more careful,” Sylvia says with a laugh.
“You absolute bi-” Ella says, but cuts herself off as Wes opens the door to the stairwell.
“Sylvia,” he says, stepping into the stairwell. “I’ve been looking for you. Dinner is about to start.”
“Oh, I was just about to help Ollic,” Sylvia says. With Wes here, hier voice takes on new sweetness. Her eyes go wide, and she laces her fingers together somewhat nervously, taking on the perfect persona of the innocent sister. “She tripped on the stairs and dropped everything she was holding.”
Wes glances at the mess; and then looks at me for a long moment.
For a split second, something seems to shift in his gaze and his expression softens for a half–second. Yet, when I blink, it’s gone. It was there and gone so fast, maybe I imagined it.
“Ollie can clean up her own messes,” Wes says to Sylvia. He places his hand on Sylvia’s back and leads her to the door. Just before they go through it, they both look back.
Sylvia smirks, when Wes can’t see her.
Wes says, “Hurry and clean this, Ollie. We aren’t going to hold up dinner for you.”
Then, he ushered Sylvia through the door and they were gone.
“I’ll help you,” Ella says when they are gone.
“Thanks,” I say. I don’t want to let Sylvia get to me, but it’s difficult not to feel defeated.
Wes is supposed to be my mate, but he won’t even hold dinner for me? I’ll only need an extra couple of minutes.
They are so unwilling to make even small concessions for me.
How can Ella think they might actually come to treat me well if they learned the truth?
I could only imagine they would treat me worse.
Chapter 19.
Chapter 32
