Chapter 16
Olivia
The distance between Caleb and me widened even more over the next few days.
He was still at the estate. Still at meals, when he chose to be. Still there at the end of hallways or crossing the lawn toward the tree line.
But now he wasn’t just distracted. His avoidance felt intentional.
If I walked into a room, he found a reason to leave it. If we did spark conversation, he would find a way to quickly shut it down.
“Maureen needs me.”
“I’m sorry. I have to catch up on a few papers.”
I told myself it didn't bother me. I was good at that. He never did it out of cruelty or anything. But I could feel the doorway between us closing to a crack.
Stella came by often. Her chats lifted my spirits, but when the others showed up, she would get up and leave.
“I just need to bother Donovan for a bit,” she excused.
The other Ashwood brothers seemed just as off. Donovan was quiet like a ghost. Jake stayed in his room longer. But he did his best to entertain me when we were together. I appreciated it.
The fireplace chair stayed empty across from mine every evening.
I sat there alone, reviewing Jake's post-shift charts. If I was done with that, I read the books.
And then Caleb finally returned to the study.
Something in my chest unclenched when he came back. Maybe whatever thing was happening was finally over. I didn’t care anymore if they shut me out if it meant things would go back to normal.
“There's something about the night your parents died…” he said.
I looked at him like he was finally going to say the thing. I could feel my face opening up before I could stop it. I'd been hoping he was going to give it to me cleanly. I thought maybe, after everything, he'd finally tell me everything.
But… he didn’t.
“Soon,” Caleb said.
I don’t know how I did it, but I buried whatever disappointment I had deep into the wells of my chest. I should have expected it. I should have known.
I thought once more about Caleb's kiss that second night on the porch. Didn’t that mean anything? Wasn’t that enough to let me in?
I watched as Caleb left the fireplace. The dam inside me broke.
I didn't understand. What could possibly be happening this time?
What more was there that they couldn’t tell me? Why couldn’t they — why couldn’t Caleb — trust that I could get by?
I looked out of the window. I caught a glimpse of the Douglas fir there.
I kept thinking about what Elias said.
I went through my bag that night, looking for something. A part of me considered throwing it away. Burning all bridges entirely. But maybe Elias knew me better than I thought.
That scared me.
I finally found it at the bottom of the bag, rolled thinly and catching fragments of dust and lint. I put the number into my phone and sent a message.
Olivia
We need to talk.
We met at a diner on the outskirts of town — not Greyhollow proper, but close enough that I could get there without going through the estate's immediate perimeter.
Elias was already seated when I arrived, both hands around a coffee mug, looking like this had gone exactly how he wanted. The smugness was subtle. But it was there.
"You came," he said.
I pulled out the chair across from him and sat down. "Not to socialize, if that’s what you mean.”
"Of course not."
He wiggled into his diner seat and clasped his hands together on the table.
"What are you hoping I'll tell you?" he asked.
"I want to know what you meant," I said. "When you told me the Ashwoods weren't what I thought. You weren't talking about just being werewolves, right?”
I drew up from memory the things Caleb told me about the Voss pack. The two had ancient history, but there seemed to be more to it than that. Something that happened more recently. What “recently” meant, I wasn’t sure just yet.
Elias spun his mug along its coaster, his pinky nudging the red handle lazily.
“Wolves protect what's theirs," he said. "Their territory, their honor… their dead."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the beginning of one." He looked up. "My father hated the Ashwoods long before I was old enough to understand what that meant. His brother died in a dispute with Caleb’s father.”
I could only look back.
“Kieran,” Elias said. “He was not much older than Jake Ashwood around that time, I believe.”
I couldn’t even fathom the idea of Caleb losing Jake.
“My father never got over it."
I shook my head. Even if the idea disturbed me, it wasn’t what I wanted. Not yet.
"That has nothing to do with Caleb," I said. "He wasn't responsible for his father's decisions."
Elias looked at me for a moment with something that might have been genuine feeling. "Why do you defend him so fast?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I said. “Caleb’s always been looking out for me. The Ashwoods always have.”
Elias’s jaw tightened. He spun the mug harder this time. Coffee spilled on the surface.
“How dense do you have to be, Olivia?” he said. “Why can’t you just accept that Caleb isn’t as noble as he makes himself out to be?”
“Because I trust him,” I said firmly.
“If you trust him so much, then why are you here?" His scowl deepened.
My fingers curled around the underside of the seat.
“I don’t want to bother him.”
“Oh, that’s perfect.”
Elias shook his head. He leaned forward on the table and stared at me hard.
"Children don't inherit their parents' sins,” I said.
"No," Elias agreed. "But they inherit their consequences."
He pushed the mug away entirely this time. He ignored the coffee spreading underneath the salt shakers.
"My father spent years watching the Ashwood line,” he said. “Waiting. He's a patient man."
Something lodged in my throat.
"Caleb caught your scent years ago," Elias said. "On a hiking trail in Northern California. You were eighteen. That you already know.”
“I do,” I confirmed.
“My father had a spy in that region,” Elias said. “He spotted Caleb trailing a human girl.”
I said nothing. I merely stiffened.
“When a wolf finds his mate,” Elias explained. “He begins to move differently. The orientation of his body, the way he walks, it all becomes very apparent. You just need someone who knows the signs. The spy quickly found out that you were Caleb’s.”
I watched his face. He wasn’t pretending. That was the thing that made my chest go cold.
"The attack on the mountain road," I said. My voice had gone very flat. "The animal attack that killed my parents."
Elias looked at me without flinching. "It wasn't random."
The diner noise continued around us — the low murmur of other conversations, the hiss of the coffee machine, a spoon against ceramic. None of it mattered. I wished it could drown out the conversation.
"Caleb told you how a bond strengthens a wolf," Elias said, quietly now. "That’s a threat to rival packs. An alpha not only at prime age but with a fated mate? That would quash any plans my father had for revenge.”
My hands shook. I was quickly piecing together what he was trying to say.
“What did you do?” I murmured.
“I didn’t do anything!” Elias urged. “This was ages ago, and long before I ever got involved.”
“Then what happened?” My voice was now fully shaking.
“My father sent out his wolves against you,” he said. “They planned to kill you then and there. Sever the bond before it could ever form.”
The world around me stopped. Elias didn’t.
“Your parents weren't the target,” he continued. “You were. The goal was to make sure Caleb Ashwood never completed his bond."
"My father thought it worked," Elias said, his voice now heavy. "The pack assumed you died from your injuries. They didn't know Caleb reached you in time or that you were alive. It was only recently we learned you were not only breathing, but here.”
I wanted to walk away. I wanted to throw something at Elias and make a break for it.
I couldn’t hear it. He had to be lying. He had to be playing some trick on me to get on my nerves.
That didn’t stop the steady way Elias was staring at me. It didn’t stop what he said next.
“Caleb knows,” Elias said. “He has the entire time.”
“How long?” I didn’t know how I was able to move my lips.
“Since the day it happened.”
Everything rearranged itself. The diner spiraled around me. I couldn’t think straight or see straight. All of a sudden, I could see his expressions as something else.
Caleb wasn’t just guilty about being my mate. He wasn’t pushing away because he wanted me to choose. He felt bad for me.
He knew. The entire time. Every moment he let me build something in his house, in his family, in whatever existed between him and me, he was holding a lie that would change everything.
It hit like it had seven years ago.
My stomach twisted into a knot so tight, I leaned forward. I couldn’t breathe. I thought I could taste acid in my mouth.
Elias continued to watch me. He was sitting very still. The playful fidgeting from earlier was entirely gone.
There was no satisfaction on his face. No anticipation, or smugness, either. He was merely… somber.
I straightened up. The room continued to spin, but I didn’t want him to see that. I still didn’t trust him.
"Why are you telling me this now?" I asked.
He flinched slightly. "Transparency. Someone should have given it to you a long time ago."
"That's bullshit.” It came out as a hiss. “What do you get out of it? You wouldn’t tell me this unless it had something to do with your pack.”
Elias frowned. “After all that I told you, you’re still choosing to mistrust me?” he said. “You’ve been living with a person who’s been lying to your face since you got here. I care about you, Olivia!”
Elias stood up, placed his hands on the table, and leaned closer. I inched backward.
A few diner patrons glanced our way. Many turned back to their plates, deciding it wasn't their business.
I looked back at Elias. He continued to stare at me.
“I mean it.”
“Your men killed my family.” I bit the inside of my cheek hard.
“Their business is their own,” Elias said firmly. “Caleb’s off his game. That’s all they needed. And if you… if you chose me, no harm would come to you. And more importantly, you’d be free.”
My heart slammed against my chest. Pressure filled my ears.
“The answer is no,” I told him.
Elias stayed in place for a few seconds. He then finally stepped back, though he didn't sit back down.
"Well, you have your answers now,” Elias said. “Do with that what you will. And know that… my offer still stands.”
I heard the diner door close behind him.
I couldn’t see ahead of me. The checkered patterns of the diner swam into swirls.
Once I knew Elias was gone, I sank deeper into my chair. I covered my mouth, and tried not to cry at my booth.
It was futile.
I didn’t remember getting back.
Every part of me was numb. Tears stained my cheeks, but my arms were too tired to wipe them. My feet carried me, one after the other.
The Ashwood estate’s interior greeted me warmly. I still felt cold.
I made my way through the corridors until I came to Caleb’s study. I didn’t knock. I used whatever strength I had to push the door open. He was there, staring at the window.
He looked at me. His face fell as he pieced together what I knew.
“Did my parents die because of us?” I asked.
I couldn’t breathe through my nose. Every word cost me air I didn't have. My throat felt like it was on fire.
Caleb set down whatever was in his hands. His voice was quiet. "Yes."
"You knew…" I said. "Since the night it happened…"
"Yes."
"And you let me come here…”
With every word I spoke, I could feel my knees wobble. The pain wrapped around me, steady and complete.
"You let me care about Jake and this house… You looked me in the face every night for weeks and you didn't say it."
Caleb stepped closer.
"I was trying to protect you."
I moved back, trying not to fall as I did.
"From what?" That was the closest I could get to arguing.
Caleb's breath came faster. His own voice grew hoarse. “I should have told you…”
“But you didn’t.”
“I wanted to tell you from the start.”
“You lied to me from the start,” I pointed out.
Caleb’s hands trembled. He reached out, then stopped himself.
“You broke your promise,” I whispered.
Caleb didn't try to defend himself. He turned away and back to the window. He leaned against it as he looked into the darkening sky.
"I know."
The pain surged up through my shoulders and my neck.
My face crumpled. I stopped myself before I could let out a cry.
“Caleb…” I said.
He didn’t answer. But I could tell he was listening.
“Is the bond just a leash?” I asked. "Am I just — am I just wired to stay here because of something biological? Is that what this is?"
I didn’t know how much time passed after that. I didn’t know if it was a few seconds, a few minutes, or even hours.
All I knew was that I was in hell. Waiting.
Finally, without looking back, Caleb answered.
"The bond is not a cage," he said. "You owe me nothing.”
And, without missing a beat, he added, “You’re free to go.”
My face scrunched up even more. I lowered my head as I tried to catch the stray tears escaping.
I turned around and exited.
I packed the way I always packed. Efficiently, without slamming drawers, without making it into a performance.
Somehow, by some miraculous force of habit, I had the energy to do so without breaking down.
I moved through the room with the muscle memory of someone who'd done this in twenty cities over seven years. Clothes, toiletries, chargers. The small professional kit I brought to every assignment.
I packed the go-bag… And my actual bag, too.
I descended the stairs. I refused to look anywhere but my own feet. It was too painful.
Once I was downstairs, I only raised my head once in order to go through the front door. That’s when I caught sight of someone in a common room. Jake.
Guilt ran through me as I looked at him. I said nothing as he looked at me. First, he looked confused. But then, he merely stared, as if he knew he couldn’t stop me.
He didn't say anything. Neither did I. I walked past him.
The front door was unlocked. I moved through it and into the fog.
When I found my car, I got in, started the engine, and drove as far as I could go.
I just drove.
I drove and I sobbed harder than I had in seven years.