: The Same Mural
(Olivia’s POV)
No one else painted moonlight flowers like that. It was uniquely hers.
More Rewards
Overwhelmed with excitement, I threw myself against the gate. The chains rattled loudly as I tried to get a better look at the mural.
“Mom,” I whispered desperately. “You were here. You were really here.”
This was proof. My mother had been here. She had lived here long enough to paint an entire wall.
But why? What had kept her here for five years?
Suddenly, a hand grabbed me and pulled me into the shadows of a nearby moon gate. I gasped, ready to fight.
“Quiet,” Theodore’s voice whispered urgently in my ear. He pressed me against the stone wall, his body shielding me from view.
His scent enveloped me – pine and leather and something uniquely him. My wolf recognized him instantly.
Pack servants approached, their footsteps echoing in the courtyard. “What was that noise?” one of them asked.
“Probably just the wind,” another replied. “These old chains always rattle.”
They checked the lock on the gate, securing it even tighter before walking away. I heard the scrape of metal against metal.
After they left, I pushed Theodore away angrily. “Let go of me!”
My frustration mounted as I realized the gate was now firmly shut. The servants had made sure it was locked tight.
Remembering the brutal whip marks on my mother’s body from the photos, rage filled me. Those scars had been deep, purposeful.
Someone in this place had hurt her. Tortured her.
I wanted to smash the lock, break down the gate. I needed to see that mural up close.
1/
More Rewards &
Theodore stopped me, his hand catching my wrist. “That will only draw attention,” he warned quietly.
“I don’t care,” I snarled. “I need to get in there.”
“Why? What’s so important about this courtyard?”
I couldn’t tell him. Not about my mother, not about the photographs, not about anything.
I sized up the courtyard wall, which was higher than I had anticipated. But a wolf could probably jump over it without much difficulty.
At this moment, Theodore patted my shoulder, crouching down. He offered his shoulders as a foothold.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said quietly. “Step on me to get up. I’ll help you over the wall.”
I hesitated for a moment. Taking help from him felt wrong somehow.
But my desperate need to see that mural up close overrode everything else. I had to know what my mother had been trying to tell me.
I climbed onto his shoulders, feeling his strength supporting me. His muscles were solid beneath my feet.
The wall was higher than I’d expected, rough stone that scraped my palms. But I managed to pull myself over.
He followed immediately, jumping down with practiced ease. His landing was silent, graceful.
As I leaped from the wall, he caught me, pulling me into his arms despite my attempt to land away from him.
“Let me go,” I whispered, but my voice lacked conviction.
For a moment, we were pressed together, his arms around my waist. I could feel his heartbeat against my chest.
Then I pushed away, focusing on the mural.
Inside the courtyard, I frantically searched the small room attached to the wall. But I found
–
nothing – it was immaculately clean, with no trace of Lyra except for the hauntingly beautiful mural.
Every surface had been scrubbed clean. Not even dust remained in the corners.
The moonlight flowers seemed to glow in the dim light. Each brushstroke was unmistakably
2/6
hers.
More Rewards
I traced the painted petals with my fingertips. “She was here,” I whispered. “She lived here.”
Theodore watched my distress, his expression concerned. “What happened? What are you looking for?”
His voice was gentle, almost pleading. “Olivia, tell me. I can help you.”
“You can’t help me with this,” I said bitterly. “No one can.”
“Try me. Whatever it is, I want to understand.”
Just as he spoke those words, the iron chain clanged loudly. The gate was thrown open with
violent force.
The sound echoed through the courtyard like a gunshot.
Matthew stood at the entrance, his face a mask of cold fury. His golden eyes blazed with barely contained rage.
Audrey was beside him, her expression triumphant. Faelan and Annelise flanked them, looking uncomfortable.
“What are you doing?” Audrey’s voice dripped with venom, her eyes blazing like a she–wolf catching her rival in a compromising position.
“Climbing into the courtyard to have an affair?” she spat, her accusation hanging in the air like poison.
I instinctively recoiled from Theodore, putting distance between us. My heart hammered in my chest.
He quickly stepped forward, his hands raised defensively. “It’s not what you think,” Theodore denied urgently.
“We were just-” he started.
But Audrey pressed on, her words sharp and accusatory. “Just what? Sneaking around together like guilty lovers?”
She stepped closer, her voice rising. “I saw you catch her when she jumped down! I saw how you held her!”
I met Matthew’s cold, indifferent gaze. The fury there made my blood freeze in my veins. Then I saw the hawk–like stare of Faelan, calculating and dangerous. He was watching
3/6
<
everything with keen interest.
The words of explanation died in my throat. I was trapped by the scars, by secrets I couldn’t reveal.
More Rewards >
memory of my mother’s
I still didn’t know what role Faelan and his mate played in these secrets. Speaking out rashly
could be dangerous.
In that moment of silence, Audrey seized the opportunity. “A she–wolf who plays with two Alphas like this,” she spat with disgust.
“Is she even worthy of your devotion?” she demanded, turning to Matthew.
She raised her hand to strike me, her face twisted with rage. “You shameless-”
I couldn’t explain my intentions. I couldn’t tell them about the mural, about my mother’s connection to this place.
I watched as Audrey raised her hand and lunged towards me. Just as I was about to react, a figure moved faster than lightning.
Strong fingers grabbed Audrey’s descending hand, stopping her mid–strike with crushing force.
It was Matthew. His grip was so tight that Audrey cried out in pain.
Meanwhile, Theodore furiously struck Audrey with his other hand, sending her sprawling to the ground. She hit the stone with a sickening thud.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Theodore snarled.
Matthew pulled me toward the exit, his grip firm but not painful. His voice was chillingly calm as he addressed Faelan.
“My mate was being impulsive, my apologies,” he said with diplomatic smoothness. “She has always been curious about ancient courtyards. She likes to explore and adventure like a little wolf.”
His words were measured, controlled. But I could feel the rage vibrating through our mate
bond.
“And it seems Alpha Theodore shares this same hobby,” he added with deadly quiet.
Faelan simply nodded, his expression unreadable. “Young wolves will be young wolves,” he said carefully.
“Discipline her carefully at home,” he advised quietly.
Chapter 254: The Same Mural
As Matthew strode away, pulling a stumbling me behind him, I heard Theodore whisper my name desperately.
“Olivia,” his voice was broken, pleading.
Though I did not turn around, I could feel his burning gaze fixed firmly on my back.
(Matthew’s POV)
In the car, Olivia anxiously explained to me that she wasn’t meeting Theodore for an affair. Her words tumbled out in a rush of panic.
“I swear it wasn’t planned,” she said desperately. “I didn’t know he would be there.”
She insisted they had simply encountered each other by chance, and had both taken shelter in the yard together.
“We just happened to see the same courtyard at the same time,” she continued. “That’s all it
was.”
However, she did not mention her real purpose for entering the yard. She kept that secret locked away.
I remained silent as she spoke. The fury was still burning in my chest like molten metal.
I certainly knew she hadn’t been unfaithful. I was just furious, so angry that I didn’t want to speak.
I knew she had gone in there to investigate the mural, the same one from the photo of Lyra and Ethan. I understood why she couldn’t explain in front of Faelan.
Yet seeing her in that wolf’s arms, covered in dirt, smelling of his scent, and nearly being struck – it filled me with suffocating rage.
The image was burned into my mind. Her pressed against him, his hands on her waist.
I had dropped everything to rush here, abandoning important territorial negotiations. Only to find this scene.
When she awkwardly reached up to caress my face, looking into my eyes with desperate hope, she met my fierce, indifferent gaze and flinched.
Terror flashed across her features. She had never seen me this angry before.
She quickly covered my eyes with her hand, as if trying to block out the storm she saw brewing within them.
5/6
ne Mural
Then she pressed her lips to mine in a desperate kiss, trying to soothe the fury she had
awakened.
I didn’t kiss back at first. My body was rigid with anger.
But she kissed me with such desperate intensity, and through our mate bond, I felt her desperate love washing over me.
Her tears rolled down my face as she poured everything into that kiss.
