: She was left with 10 bite marks
(Matthew’s POV)
I gently cupped Olivia’s face and replied softly, “It tickles.”
Olivia, trying to comfort me, added in a soft voice, “It doesn’t hurt when I get bitten, it’s just a little itchy.”
I could feel that she was slowly, step by step, walking towards me. I should have been overjoyed, but my heart ached with worry.
I feared that if she were frightened again, it might trigger her heart condition, and I wasn’t prepared for that. Yet, I refused to control her freedom.
She was not a canary in a cage; she was her own person.
My hand moved to the buttons of her hospital gown. Olivia was slightly taken aback but didn’t stop me.
I unbuttoned it, carefully checked her wounds, and then fastened the buttons one by one. I then removed her hospital pants and put them back on for her.
Holding her as I laid her on the bed, I whispered in her ear, “Are you really not scared?” She buried her face in my chest and mumbled, “Mmm.” She tried to hold back her tears. After a moment, she couldn’t hold it in any longer and began to cry.
“Caelan Mooncrest is too evil,” she sobbed. “He even said I was his cousin, is this how he treats cousin! And Cynthia Mooncrest said Caelan made her mate with one Alpha after another… The Mooncrest family… they were horrible to my mother too.”
I held her gently, careful to avoid her wounds, my hand patting her back soothingly. My lips brushed against her ear as I said, “I hold grudges. I’ll remember this for you.”
She nodded emphatically in my embrace. “I want to sue him! You have to back me up! I want him to go to the pack detention center! He kidn*pped me!”
“Alright,” I agreed.
I lifted her tear–streaked face, surprised by her sudden reliance on me. I wondered if this meant I could take another step forward.
173
“Olivia,” I said her name seriously.
She looked up, startled, as large tears rolled down her cheeks. Her vision cleared, revealing my gentle golden eyes.
“Yes?”
I reached out and tenderly wiped away her tears. “Don’t cry. You’re breaking my heart.”
I lifted her higher, bringing us closer. Her heart pounded uncontrollably as my warm breath caressed her skin, turning it pink.
My kiss landed on her eyes, tasting her tears.“Talk to Dr. Aris,” I whispered. “I’ll come back to be with you later.”
She clung to me, reluctant to let me go, but she knew I was a very busy Alpha King.
“Okay,” she murmured.
After leaving the room and letting Dr. Aris Lowell in, I sat on a bench in the corridor, my gaze distant.
A plainclothes pack enforcer, part of Olivia’s protection detail, stood beside me, reporting the day’s events to Tristan while summarizing the key points for me.
“Annelise Moonstone?” I asked.
“Yes. Annelise Moonstone got into the Luna’s car, led her out of the territory, and deep into the neutral mountains. We lost them when we tried to follow. It was as if the mountain itself was shielded by magic.”
I replied calmly, “If my mate leaves the Eastern Territory, you are to stop her.”
The enforcer hesitated. “My King… we don’t have the authority to restrict her personal freedom.”
I looked up, my Alpha aura flaring slightly. “Find a reason.”
The enforcer took a nervous step back before Tristan pulled him aside.
I sat there, my eyes fixed on the infirmary room, hearing the faint sounds of sobbing from within. I listened as Tristan instructed the enforcer on how to handle the situation.
“Our Luna has a soft heart. If she tries to leave the territory, you stop her and say she’s exceeding the protection range. Ask her not to make things difficult for you, and she won’t leave.”
The clever tricks went on and on.
+25 Points
A half–hour later, at the pack detention center, the warden personally greeted me as I and my Royal Guard arrived.
After inspecting previously caught Jago’s situation and walking through various sections, I spotted Caelan Mooncrest sitting leisurely at the edge of a training yard.
I gestured for Tristan to hold everyone back and walked over to sit beside Caelan.
“You kidn*pped my mate?” I asked coolly.
“Matthew, those rogues weren’t mine, they belonged to Silvanus Jr,” Caelan immediately argued, feigning innocence. “It must have been Julian seeking revenge against Olivia for what happened to his plans. I’m Olivia’s cousin, how could I ever do something like that to her?”
He tried to place a hand on my shoulder, acting as if we were the closest of allies.
I glanced at the hand approaching my shoulder. “Do you know why I put you in here?”
“Why?”
“I have many acquaintances here,” I said, my eyes turning icy and my knuckles tightening into a fist. “They will take good care of you.”
In the instant Caelan was trying to process this, a dark figure suddenly rushed forward, throwing a punch aimed at me.
I sidestepped with supernatural speed, and the punch landed squarely on Caelan’s face.
The detention center alarm blared, but the attacker didn’t stop, continuing to swing at me, with every blow landing on the screaming Caelan, who was now rolling on the ground.
I looked down at him contemptuously. “It’s still not enough.”
My Olivia had been left with 10 bite marks from the serpents.
Immediately after, I saw the assailant pull a sharpened silver shard from his trouser leg and pounce towards me.
