Chapter 32 ANOTHER TRAP?
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Chapter 32 ANOTHER TRAP?
OLIVIA’S POV
The ride back from the shopping mall had left a lingering warmth in my chest, but it was overshadowed by the question that had been eating away at me. As we pulled into the packhouse garage, I turned to Dominic, my fingers tightening around the hem of my dress.
“Dominic,” I asked hesitantly, “am I truly not allowed to attend the Pack Annual Ball?”
He didn’t answer right away. He stared ahead, knuckles tightening on the wheel. Then, finally, he nodded.
“The bearer of the Phoenix Mark must stand beside the Alpha at the summit. That’s what the prophecy says. You… aren’t that person. You have to understand, Olivia that Evelyn is the person with the mark and only she can stand beside me.”
His voice was calm. Firm. As though he were stating something as obvious as the color of the sky.
“So, all this-“I motioned to the dress still clinging to my skin,
”
-was just to cheer me up or to distract me?”
He looked at me then. “I didn’t want you to feel left out completely.”
But I did feel left out. Left out and discarded. His efforts felt hollow when his belief in me had crumbled. Why can’t he understand that I never lied about the mark?
I wanted to scream, to argue that the mark on Evelyn’s back was fake–that mine was the real one. But staring into his unreadable eyes, I knew it wouldn’t matter. He didn’t believe me. Not anymore.
I forced a small smile. “Thank you for the dress.”
He didn’t respond. Just turned and walked inside, leaving me alone in the echoing silence of the hallway.
In the days that followed, the pack buzzed with excitement. The Annual Werewolf Ball Summit was nearing, and Blackwood Pack
-my pack–was hosting it this year. The event brought together twelve powerful packs, their warriors, Alpha heirs, and of course, their Lunas.
Traditionally, the host pack’s Luna played a lead role in planning and welcoming the guests. That should have been me. But this time… I was nothing more than a ghost in the corridors of my own home. But I guess it was a good thing in a way. I can rest more and take care of the pup.
I was curled up in bed, trying to drown out the sounds of celebration outside, when an omega knocked lightly on my door.
“Luna,” she whispered nervously, “you’re being summoned to the hotel. Lady Grace said Evelyn lacks experience and needs your help organizing the final meeting with the other Lunas.”
I blinked. “Are you sure?” My heart leaped with hope.
The girl nodded, offering a faint smile. “Yes. She said you’re still the most graceful hostess she’s known.”
Wait, does she really need me?
But its true that Evelyn lacks experience.
“Lade Grace really send you to ask for me?” I questioned again.
And she nodded.
I rose quickly, not wanting to let the opportunity slip away. I dressed in a modest silk gown and brushed my hair into an elegant knot. If they were finally allowing me to take part–however small the role—I would do it with dignity.
The Pack’s hotel, known as the Blackwood Royal Suites, was a place of opulence. Golden chandeliers dripped from the high
Chapter 32 ANOTHER TRAP?
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ceilings. Velvet carpets muffled every footstep. Glass walls looked out over acres of pine forest. It was the kind of place that made one feel small and powerful all at once. But it was also a way of showing other packs why we are one of the top most pack.
But as I walked past the Omega servants lining the hallway, I couldn’t ignore the whispers.
“Lady Evelyn is so wise, isn’t she?”
“Beautiful, too. She truly has the Phoenix aura.”
“She is so pretty and smart, too.”
“Yeah, did you notice the way she walks? I don’t even have half of the confidence as she has.”
I straightened my spine, ignoring the bitter taste rising in my mouth.
Pushing open the doors to the Ruby Conference Room, I paused in the threshold. The room fell quiet. Twelve Lunas sat at the grand table, all eyes turning to me.
At the head stood Evelyn, dressed in an elegant red ensemble that matched the decor. She looked radiant, confident. She belonged here—at least in their eyes.
A guard pulled out a chair for me, and as I approached, I noticed a tattoo on his wrist. A sunburst pattern. I’d seen it before… somewhere. I couldn’t place it, but a prickling sensation crawled across my skin.
The heavy oak doors creaked open as I stepped into the grand Ruby Conference Room.
The atmosphere inside was rich with feminine power–twelve regal women seated around a polished, oval mahogany table, their postures straight, expressions composed, every pair of eyes trained on the woman standing at the head of the room.
Evelyn.
She stood tall, commanding, dressed in a deep crimson dress that shimmered under the delicate golden chandelier. The very shade seemed to challenge the name of the room–Ruby. Her hands were folded over the back of her chair as she addressed the other Lunas with perfect poise, her words smooth and practiced, dripping with false humility.
I had barely taken a step inside when a security guard approached me, his movements stiff but respectful. He silently pulled out a chair at the far end of the table, furthest from Evelyn’s position of authority. I gave him a soft nod of thanks, about to lower myself into the seat when something caught my eye.
A mark.
Faint but distinct.
A tattoo on the inside of his forearm.
A circular emblem with jagged edges that looked like a burst of flame–or a stylized sun.
My breath hitched.
I had seen that tattoo before… but where?
A cold shiver crept down my spine, curling around my thoughts like smoke. There was no time to dwell on it. Not here. Not now.
Because the room had gone deathly silent.
Twelve pairs of eyes had shifted their attention from Evelyn to me. I felt the weight of their stares, some curious, others judgmental. I stood frozen under their scrutiny, every inch of me suddenly hyperaware of the fact that I did not belong—not in their eyes.
Then Evelyn spoke.
Her voice was like the first crack of winter–sharp and merciless.
Chapter 32 ANOTHER TRAP?
“Why
are you here?”
The question sliced through the silence.
