Chapter 1 #2
“Sure,” Olivia said, then made a beeline for Sloane and Jacob, wading through the crush of family and friends.
“Hey, Sloane, congratulations on, well, everything.” She nodded to Devon Hale, rock superstar and Sloane’s long-lost brother whom she recently reunited with.
Even though Olivia’s work often had her mingling with a lot of professional musicians—and even dating them, as evidenced by her last disastrous love affair—she had never been at the same level as him and therefore hadn’t met him until a month ago.
Even now, she was still in awe that Devon Hale was A, a Lycan and B, her other cousin Charley’s mate.
“Olivia?” Sloane’s pretty blue eyes widened. “You’re here.”
“Of course I am.” She pulled Sloane into a hug. “I’m so glad to hear everything worked out and—”
Crunch.
Glancing down, she saw she had stepped on what appeared to be a broken champagne flute. “Oops! I should get—
“Let me—” Sloane said at the same time. They both knelt down, reaching for the largest piece of broken glass, their fingers touched before recoiling at the same time.
“Ah, shit,” Sloane exclaimed as a sharp edge cut into her fingers.
A large shard sliced into Olivia’s palm. “Ouch!”
“Good thing I’m invincible,” Sloane chuckled as she held up her fingers. Before Olivia could react, the other Lycan grabbed her hand. “Let’s get you some—” she sucked in a breath. “What the hell?”
Panic surged through her as the wound quickly sealed up, leaving only blood on her healed skin. “No!” she cried as she pulled her hand away. “It’s all right,” she said to Devon, who had a strange look on his face, then she got up and dashed out of the conference room, calling out, “I’m fine.”
Maybe I got lucky and Sloane didn’t see my hand heal up, Olivia thought as she made her way to the ladies’ room, rushing toward the sink.
“Olivia?”
Nope, not that lucky.
Raising her head, she met Sloane’s eyes in the reflection on the mirror. “Did you—”
“Yes, I saw it.” The other Lycan walked over to her. “Olivia, are you—”
“Pregnant.” She held up her palm, showing Sloane her palm.
“Who’s the dad?”
“I … I don’t know.”
“You don’t know your True Mate?”
She shook her head. “I know, that makes me sound awful but—”
“I’m not judging,” Sloane said. “But how—”
“We didn’t exchange names. And he’s a Lone Wolf, so he’s not from here. It was that night at Blood Moon. Actually, I ran into him at Blood Moon a few months before that. When we saw each other again … things just happened. It was … hard to resist.”
A wry smile touched Sloane’s lips. “I know, believe me. But you have no clue who he is? Did he leave in the morning?”
“Er, I did,” she confessed. “That morning, I kind of, uh, panicked because I’m not like that at all. I mean, I don’t just sleep with people I just met. But I was embarrassed, you know? Like I said, I don’t normally do that.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“No … before you ask, we didn’t exchange contact info. I tried … I went back to Blood Moon a few times, but I never saw him again.” She glanced back at her reflection. “I just don’t know what to do. I mean, obviously I’m going to keep it. I just … I’m confused.”
“It’s going to be okay.” Sloane wrapped a hand around her shoulders and leaned against her. “We’re family. I’m here, whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Sloane.” She gave her a weak smile. “I just found out myself recently. I’m planning to go away and think for a bit, then when I come back, I’ll tell my parents and Arch, and then everyone else.”
“I won’t say a word, I promise. Do you want to go back to the party?”
“Yeah, but I need a moment.”
“Take your time.” Sloane gave her a last squeeze around the shoulders before she left.
Olivia stood for what seemed like forever, staring at her own reflection.
Surprisingly, she felt lighter, now that she told someone.
Sure, she was still dreading having to explain everything to her family, but she was certain once they all got over the initial shock, they would support her, just like Sloane promised to.
Gripping the edge of the sink, she took a deep breath.
It’s gonna be okay.
She was surrounded by family. Besides, this wasn’t the dark ages.
Tons of women had children on their own, many of them choosing to.
And it wasn’t like the father abandoned her.
She was the one who snuck out that morning without exchanging numbers or even telling him her name.
Still, the thought of having to explain all that to her parents and brother made her stomach lurch.
Was it too early to have morning sickness?
Suck it up, Olivia.
Today wasn’t about her, it was about Jacob and Sloane. With a last glance at her reflection, she took a deep breath and headed toward the door. As she pushed it open, she saw Sloane and Jacob outside, having what looked like a serious conversation.
“Oh, excuse me, I didn’t realize—”
A familiar scent drifted into her nostrils, and her she-wolf instantly stood at attention.
“I …”
Rum, spices, and a hint of tanned leather.
Her heart slammed into her rib cage at the sight of him. Eyes the color of dark moss stared back at her.
“You …” he rasped. “It’s you.”
“What the hell is going on?” Jacob asked.
Sloane, bless her heart, immediately clocked what was going on. “I think we should go,” she said to her mate. “You too,” she barked at someone behind them.
Winking at Olivia, she said, “We’ll leave you two alone.” She then dragged off a protesting Jacob into the nearest office, closing the door behind them.
“What are you doing here?”
The shock refused to leave her system, and Olivia still couldn’t believe he was here. “I …”
The sound of laughter—from the conference room a few feet away where her entire family was celebrating—snapped her back to reality.
“What am I doing here?” she echoed. “What about you? What are you doing here in New York? At my father’s office?”
The expression on his face was almost comical. “Your … father.”
“Yes. My father is president of Lone Wolf Investigations and Security. This is our family’s firm.”
“Oh, fuck me.”