257 It Wasn’t Olivia

    257 It Wasn’t Olivia

    A heavy silence fell. My hands clenched at my sides, my anger rising.

    With my heart racing, I stared at the body, wondering why Reba’s head was here. I knew nobody had opened this grave–it was scaled–so how? I exchanged bewildered nces with my brothers. They looked just as lost as I felt, but one thing was clear: this was not Olivia. But how did Reba’s head appear here?

    She was Olivia.

    The seer looked up, guilt written all over her face.

    We all turned to him sharply. “What? What is it?” Louis asked.

    “No… fucking way…” Dustin whispered, stumbling a step back.

    Louis’s eyes widened slightly. Levi looked up, face pale. Silence.

    “We need to watch him. Closely. Every step. Every move. If Olivia is alive–since she was never the one in that grave–then Damien’s the key to finding out where she is.”

    “What does this even mean?” Louis asked quietly.

    And then-

    “I’m sure of it,” I said. “Too many things don’t add up. We never heard of Reba until he brought her here, iming she was his wife. Did you notice how unbothered he’s been about her missing?”

    I took a good look at the body again, and now, just staring at it, I realized my wolf was silent. He wasn’t mourning like he did.

    “Exin?” Levi snapped. “You said that body was Olivia’s! You confirmed it yourself. You made us believe she was dead.”

    Both my brothers nodded, and we all went silent.

    “No,” I cut in. “We don’t trust you anymore.”

    “But my son-” she pleaded.

    Onest nce at the decaying body, then I turned to the guards. “Take the body back

    07:40 C

    257 It Wasn’t Olivia

    to the mortuary.” With that, I walked away, my brothers at my sides.

    Confused and growing uneasy, Levi, Louis, and I stepped forward. The guards lifted their shlights, angling the beams downward. The light hit the inside of the coffin. And everything inside me froze.

    I stood up slowly. “You better have something to exin,” I said coldly.

    Louis stared at her in disbelief. “Who did this? Who forced you?”

    “You what?”

    “Go get the seer,” I ordered. Dustin nodded and left.

    I exhaled shakily, gripping the edge of the table.

    I stood from my chair, my jaw clenched.

    “There’s only one person who might know,” I said firmly.

    My brothers both nodded in agreement.

    “We caught her trying to run away,” Dustin said. I narrowed my eyes. Louis folded his arms, his re sharp. Levi stayed silent, his jaw tight.

    “This doesn’t make sense… Reba was kidnapped, and now her head’s in the grave we buried Olivia in? The same head we thought belonged to Olivia? Even the blonde hair was gone–reced with dark hair,” Levi said, confused.

    Her knees gave way, and she dropped to the floor.

    Back in our study, I turned to face them. They looked just as dumbfounded and confused as me.

    We all froze as realization dawned. Our eyes locked on each other. The same thought hit us at once. The Reba we met… the one we kissed… the one we felt connected

    to…

    “Gods…” I breathed, staring.

    “I–I can exin!”

    I shook my head. “I don’t know. But let’s wait for the seer. She has a lot to exin.” I exhaled, my shoulders heavy.

    257 It Wasn’t Olivia

    I sat down, my fingers tangled in my hair, the weight of everything crashing down on me. My brothers stayed nearby–Louis pacing around, Levi slumped on the couch with his face in his hands. The room was quiet, but the air was thick with confusion.

    “Damien.”

    Both my brothers looked at me.

    Louis nodded slowly. “Yeah… he knows something. Or he’s hiding something.”

    Then I turned slowly toward my brothers. “If the body in that grave was Reba…” I trailed off, the weight of what I was about to say hitting me hard. “…then who the hell was the Reba we met?”

    For a moment, the room went still. No one spoke. No one moved.

    “Unless…” Dustin swallowed. “Unless that was never Olivia.”

    My mind kept going back to that coffin. That body. That head. It wasn’t Olivia. I knew it now. Deep down, my soul knew it. My wolf knew it. He hadn’t mourned like he should -hadn’t howled in pain, hadn’t stirred at all. Because it wasn’t her. It never was. But then… Reba?

    I swallowed hard, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. I gave a slight nod. The guards moved. Slowly, cautiously, they pried open the lid of the coffin. A soft hiss escaped as the seal broke. Then-

    “I know,” she said quickly, trembling. “And I’m sorry. I lied.”

    It was past 1 a.m. My brothers, rk, Dustin, three guards, and I were at the cemetery behind the mansion. Everywhere was quiet, and the air felt heavy. The guards had just finished digging up the grave. The white coffin was now out and ced in front of us. “We’ll find a way to help him,” I replied tly. “But you’re done here.”

    Levi cursed under his breath and turned away, running a hand through his hair.

    “What the actual hell is going on?” Louis whispered in disbelief.

    She wasn’t Reba.

    “We watched Olivia get buried… we saw her face…” rk said, stunned.

    “I lied,” she repeated, her voice breaking. “Please… forgive me. I had no choice. My only

    257 It Wasn’t Olivia

    son was kidnapped. I was threatened. They told me if I didn’t lie–if I didn’t say body was Olivia’s–they’d kill him.”

    Levi narrowed his eyes. “You think he’s involved?”

    Lennox’s POV

    Dustin didn’t respond. He just pointed, wide–eyed, into the coffin. “Come look.”

    “What the ” Levi gasped.

    the

    “You betrayed us,” Louis added. “You made us bury the wrong person. You made us mourn Olivia.”

    “I can do an incantation,” the seer offered quickly. “A vision spell. It might reveal who was behind it—”

    I leaned forward slowly, my heart pounding harder the more I thought about it. If that head belonged to Reba–then what about the woman I kissed two nights ago? The one I felt so drawn to? The one who made my heart ache with emotions I didn’t understand? Was that really… Reba? Or someone else entirely? My head spun.

    She looked up at me, devastated.

    Levi stood up, his eyes dark with confusion. “Since the body wasn’t Olivia, then who did it?”

    Louis finally spoke. “If the body was Reba’s… then who the hell was this Reba we

    met?” 2

    “I’m begging you… I didn’t want to do it. But I had no other way.”

    “I… I don’t know,” she said, tears filling her milky eyes. “They never showed their faces. Only left a note with the threat and instructions. They’ve been watching me ever

    since.”

    Suddenly, the door burst open, and Dustin stepped in, panting slightly. Behind him was the seer, her head lowered, her eyes not meeting ours. The moment she entered, tension filled the room like smoke.

    My mouth went dry. My legs went weak.

    The body lying in the coffin was the same. The same dress. The same posture. The

    Juvia

    same scent. But the head… It wasn’t Olivia’s. It was Reba’s. Her severed head had been ced on the body we buried. Her eyes closed. Lifeless.

    Because if the body in the coffin was not Olivia–then where the hell was she? And why was Reba’s head there instead? None of it made sense. And that was the scariest part.

    “Get out,” I said coldly.

    Dustin escorted her out, her sobs echoing behind her as the door shut.

    Silence hung in the air. Tense. Thick. Terrifying.