Olivia’s POV
We finished the dinner, and Doran took his leave. I was left alone with Andre, and he pulled me close and gave me a soft kiss on my lips, his warmth melting into me, and I could still taste the spicy meal on his lips.
“Don’t give Doran any thought. He is a joker most of the time.”
I smiled back and received his next kiss.
“I think he is very deserving of the position of your Beta. He is interesting.”
Andre pulled me in defensively, grabbed some of my hair firmly, and looked deep into my eyes.
“Is my kitten having feelings for my Beta?”
I bit my lower lip. I loved it when he was all defensive and territorial with me.
“No. I just think he’s a nice person.”
Andre carried me up and pinned me to the bed to steal a passionate kiss.
“Good, because you are all mine. No one gets to see you the way I do.”
He kissed me softly, and I melted into his arms.
“Stay with me tonight, Olivia,” he said with a whisper against my lips.
I wanted to say yes, but my mouth immediately clamped shut. I was still very nervous about the letter and text. I could only hope that person wasn’t watching us right now.
The thought of being watched while I was with Andre gave me cold feet.
“Not tonight. I feel that I need to spend some time alone.”
Andre’s eyes narrowed.
“Is it because of something that I said over dinner? Olivia, I’m…”
“No, it’s not because of dinner. I just need to be alone for a while. I have had a few things on my mind.”
He kissed my neck and whispered sweetly and gently into my ear.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
When his green eyes met mine, I felt my heart soften. I wanted to tell him everything, but I couldn’t. I needed to do this alone.
“I’ll be fine, Andre. I promise.”
He got off me slowly, and I stood up. I was making a beeline for the door, but he grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss, a last attempt to make me change my mind. But despite how inviting his lips were, I still declined and left.
I headed to my room and closed the door behind me. In the solitude of my room, my head immediately began to spin. I was so confused. I wish I knew what to do.
I walked over to my dad’s porcelain ash jar, sat on the bed and hugged it against my chest.
What would Dad do? I wished I could hear his voice.
After a while, nothing came to me. I sighed and decided that a shower would be good for me and would help me think better.
I walked over to my dressing table, and something caught my eye as I set the jar down, about to take off my clothes.
The jar fell from my hand and spread ashes at my feet. I saw that a note was stuck on the mirror.
“Meeting the family already, I see.”
I felt my heart stop beating, and I started to panic. I couldn’t stay in my room anymore.
I ran out and dashed downstairs with tears in my eyes and my heart racing. I looked around hysterically and saw no one but me in the hallways and large rooms.
I got to the living room and looked out of the window in terror. Who was following me? What did they want with me?
I ran back upstairs to my room and began to look around with tears streaming down my face. My bathroom, closet and under my bed were all empty. There was no one in here except me.
I looked out of the window and thought that maybe I would catch a glimpse of whoever did this, but there was nothing suspicious happening outside.
My head was hurting like crazy, and panic, fear, worry, and sadness made a toxic concoction in my mind. What was going on? Was I losing my mind?
I slammed my window shut. I didn’t want the night wind blowing my dad’s ashes away, and I wanted no one to get in. If truly I was alone, then I wanted to keep it that way.
I paced around, racking my brain for the next course of action. Should I tell Andre? Should I keep it to myself? Was any of this real?
All my panicked pacing made my dad’s ashes catch my attention again. I had to get a new jar for my dad’s ashes. The thought of going downstairs again terrified me, but I had to. He couldn’t be left on the floor; it was a mess.
I rushed downstairs to get a new jar and felt unseen eyes glaring at me everywhere I looked. My heart was still thumping wildly in my chest, and the deep breaths that I was taking were doing nothing to help me out.
I soon reached the kitchen, and I looked around cautiously as I chose a porcelain jar from the many that were on the shelf.
I had made up my mind. It was too dangerous to be seeing Andre. Someone was watching us, and it would be a disaster if this mystery person made us public. I could imagine the embarrassment that that would bring Andre; imagine the embarrassment that it would bring me. People would get the wrong idea of our relationship. They would think that I was a whore or seductress.
I wanted to be with my mate, but not this way. This was too much for me to handle. I could barely breathe.
I wished I could tell Andre, but a part of me felt like I was bothering him. He had my phone anyway and was tracking the text like he said he would. I had to trust him and hope that the person would be exposed soon.
This was the only way to make sure that we were safe.
I had to do it. I had to avoid him.