Chasing Olivia (Lone Wolf Generations #6)

Prologue

A few months ago …

Crowded and noisy clubs weren’t usually Olivia Jones’s scene.

Despite what some people might think, just because she worked as a fashion model, she did not spend her evenings at fabulous parties or bottle service-only VIP sections at nightclubs.

No, after a long day’s work, all she wanted to do was slip into her pajamas, crawl under the covers, and crash.

Yet somehow, this evening, she found herself alone at Blood Moon, New York’s only Lycan nightclub, waiting to order a drink as people crushed around her, the music and beats pounding from the speakers.

For Lycan shifters like her, coming here was a ritual of sorts.

This was the place everyone went to once they turned twenty-one, a hangout where they didn’t have to worry about being outed to the general human population.

She’d gone here countless of times with her cousins and friends once she was old enough to party, even sneaking in here once or twice before she was of age.

They’d come here just before midnight, drinking and dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

Tonight, though, she was alone.

Why did I come here?

She blew out a breath, muttering to herself.

Maybe because I’m pathetic.

And the fact that she saw Liam’s picture with that skank come up on her social media feed.

Ugh.

Her inner she-wolf snarled in agreement.

She wanted to unfollow him, but then everyone would think her breakup with Liam Halloway was anything but amicable.

While they hadn’t been together that long—they’d met at a music festival last year where his up-and-coming band performed—their romance quickly progressed from late night texting to flying across continents to spend time together.

She’d even cancelled a few jobs, much to her agent’s chagrin, to follow him on tour in Europe for a month.

For a while, they were the hot couple of the moment, the rock star and the model.

They’d been happy together, or so she’d thought.

Even though it had been weeks ago, it still stung that she caught him cheating on her with some social media influencer.

Worse, his main concern was how this all would affect his career and somehow convinced her to agree to release a statement saying they were breaking up to focus on their work and would remain friends.

She should have seen the red flags from the beginning, but she’d been caught up in the romance.

Liam posted numerous selfies of them on his socials, constantly taking her to popular clubs and restaurants where he knew there would be photographers, and once or twice, called the paparazzi himself.

Olivia did only the bare minimum on social media herself, and he would always beg her to post photos of them or stream a live video from one of his shows.

“Olivia, love, you’re barely breaking a hundred thousand followers,” he had said.

“You gotta do more stuff to get those numbers up.”

Her she-wolf let out a snort, as if to say “I told you so.”

Way to rub salt in the wound.

Normally, her animal didn’t care about the men she dated, but it had expressed its disdain at Liam every now and then, especially when Olivia did something just to please him, like posting a selfie of the two of them or stopping to answer questions from the paparazzi.

Their breakup had been weeks ago and now it seemed Liam was soft-launching his relationship with his new girlfriend to their combined three-point-four million followers.

“What can I get you?”

The bartender’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Whiskey soda, on the rocks,” she shouted over the din. “Lots of ‘tourists’ tonight, huh?” she added with a smirk.

“Yeah,” the bartender said with a chuckle. “More and more every night.”

‘Tourist’ in this case, didn’t refer to the people who visited New York City, but rather, the humans coming to Blood Moon hoping to catch a glimpse of the newly-outed Lycans.

For centuries, their kind had lived under the radar, with humans never knowing that such creatures existed right under their very noses.

However, they were accidentally exposed during a battle with their arch-enemies, the mages a few months ago.

While the Lycans had come out victorious, the mages had kidnapped three hundred human hostages and by the time they were freed, it was too late to do anything.

The proverbial cat was out of the bag, with no way to put it back in.

Olivia hadn’t been outed as a Lycan, but then again, her breakup with Liam had barely registered a blip with the press or on social media.

However, she wasn’t afraid that she would never work again, rather, the opposite.

She actually knew a few Lycans in the industry, other models, as well actresses, and they said that they’d actually been even more in demand once their secret came out.

Humans, apparently, were fascinated by the “Supernatural Beings,” as they’d been dubbed.

And tonight’s crowd only proved it.

“What do they think they’re gonna see?” Olivia asked as the bartender handed her a glass.

“Right? It’s not like we’re just gonna shift for fun.” Even before they had been outed, Lycans had always been forbidden to change into their wolf forms in public, even here at Blood Moon where the occasional human slipped through the doors.

Olivia tsked. “I’m sorry. Can’t be easy on you guys here.” She nodded at the other bartenders slinging drinks and taking orders.

“Business is good though, and so are the tips.”

She raised her glass toward him. “Thanks.” She slid over a bill. “Keep the change.”

“Thank you.”

Wiggling through the crowd, Olivia found an unoccupied corner by the dance floor. As she sipped on her drink, she watched the people dance and grind. Heat and longing built up in her belly as she watched an entwined couple, their bodies pressed together, seemingly in their own world.

She looked away, blowing out a breath. As much as she was still hurt by their breakup, she did miss the sex and intimacy part of being in a relationship.

That mind-altering pleasure. The basking in the afterglow.

The contact of a warm body against hers.

Before Liam, she’d been too busy to have a boyfriend.

Her lifestyle wasn’t exactly conducive to maintaining long-term relationships.

When she met Liam, however, she thought he was worth making the effort. And yes, the sex was that good, but she also loved just cuddling with him after, falling asleep in his arms, and waking up next to him the following day. Her chest ached with longing, thinking of those mornings—

God, I’m pathetic.

Her she-wolf snorted in agreement.

Rolling her eyes, she fished her phone out of her pocket, checking to see if she had any messages, in particular, from her cousin, Lizzie. Sadly, the notifications screen was empty. But then again, Lizzie was way too busy hooking up with some mystery man, probably right at this moment.

Lucky little bitch.

That, of course, meant that in the most positive and encouraging way.

She loved Lizzie, was as close to her as a sister, and was happy for her if she was getting her brains bonked out on the regular by some hottie whose identity she refused to reveal, even when Olivia had practically smelled him on her earlier that day when they had met up.

“That is the unmistakable scent of male and sex.” Olivia took a deep inhale.

“Mmm, fresh too. You were just with him, weren’t you?

” The scent was so strong, Lizzie had probably seen him no more than an hour ago.

“Lycan for sure. No one I recognize though. Who is it? Someone new from work? Another clan?”

“Can I ask for a forty-eight-hour moratorium on that?” Lizzie had begged. “I promise, I’ll tell you everything.”

Olivia was dying to know and dying to tell their other cousin, Charley.

But she did promise, so she didn’t even dare open their group chat, in case she was tempted to spill the beans.

While this trip to New York was supposed to be a short layover until she decided which job to take on next, she could stick around for another day or two in New York.

Truthfully, she wanted to hear all the details in person, if only to distract her from the woes of her own love life.

Throwing her head back, she finished the rest of the drink in one gulp, the whiskey going down smoothly.

Well, fuck Liam and fuck his new girlfriend.

Maybe I’ll get some tonight.

Perhaps deep down, that was why she came here.

But, no one was going to notice her tucked in this corner, so she headed back to the bar for another drink.

However, as she weaved through the crowds, someone from behind pushed her aside, sending her staggering forward.

Her hand smacked into the person ahead, sending the remaining ice flying out the glass and hitting him on the chest.

“Hey!”

Crap! “Oh, shit, sorry!”

“What the fu—oh.”

The initial annoyance on the man’s face dissipated, only to be replaced by an expression she recognized—interest and lust. She was used to it, of course; after all, she was in a profession that glorified beauty.

“I’m sorry about that.”

His smile was all teeth. “For what, sweetheart?”

“For spilling my ice all over you.”

“What? This?” He gestured to the damp streak down his white dress shirt. “It’s nothing. Besides you can get me wet anytime, anywhere, sweetheart.”

Olivia shuddered and not in a good way. While he wasn’t bad looking with his clean-cut good looks and dark, slicked-back hair, there was just something about him that didn’t feel right.

Maybe it was that shark-like smile that showed off his full set of teeth or that smug tone, but her instincts screamed no.

The three guys behind him jeered and whistled.

Shark-teeth winked at her. “Or I could get you wet.”

Without missing a beat, she retorted, “I’d get wetter in the Sahara.”

“Burn!” one of the guys said while the other two laughed aloud. The man’s face quickly turned beet red.