Olivia’s POV
I looked at him and expected him to be worried or nervous, but his expression was completely blank as he stared at me.
“Aren’t you going to say anything? Aren’t you worried about it?”
I was no longer star-struck and could feel myself drowning under his blank gaze.
“Do you know who sent them?”
“No. I don’t. I think it is from the same person who was sending the text messages. I don’t know why, but the person stopped texting and started leaving me notes in strange places, like he was watching my every move. I was scared and worried.”
I curled myself up into a ball, buried my head in my thigh, and began to sob. This entire trip has been full of emotion, and now they are barraging me from all sides.
“What?”
I felt myself being lifted, and Andre placed me on his lap and hugged me tight. I tried to resist him but slowly melted into his warm and comforting chest.
His musky perfume calmed my mind, and his large hands stroked my hair softly.
“Shhhh,” he whispered gently in my ear. “Take deep breaths, okay? I’m here now, and nothing is going to hurt you again. Not while I’m here.”
I took deep breaths and sunk deeper into him. His touch was bliss, and his deep voice was a soothing melody.
“Do you have any of the notes with you? Maybe I can tell who wrote it by looking at the handwriting.”
I shook my head and hugged myself closer to him.
“I left them in my bag. I didn’t want to see them all the time. They were disturbing and…”
“Shhhhh. It’s okay. I understand.”
He hushed me softly, and I was grateful for the silence.
I listened to his steady heartbeat, and the tempo made me feel better. Knowing that he was here now soothed me.
“I don’t care about who knows about us, you know?”
I was jerked out of my calm spot and looked at him in bewilderment.
His green eyes were not angry. They were soft yet stern.
“Olivia, it’s my job to protect you. You should have come to see me the first instant that you got the notes.”
He grabbed my face lightly and kept my eyes fixed on him.
“Did you really think I would keep you in the dark forever and let you play second fiddle to Nicole? No. You are my mate. I was even going to tell everyone in the pack about you that weekend if only you didn’t run off. It would have made no difference whatsoever.”
His olivine eyes stared into my soul, and I felt my breath being stolen away.
“What about my mother? What’s going to happen to…”
“Nicole is not a problem to me. I ended the contract with Nicole just before I came to look for you. As of now, there is nothing between the both of us. She should be the least of your concerns. As soon as we get back, you are going to become my Luna.”
My breathing rate skyrocketed, and I felt my reality crash around me.
No. I couldn’t. Why was all of this happening so fast? Why was it happening now?
“Olivia? Are you..?”
“No. I can’t. I can’t go back with you.”
Andre looked at me, puzzled.
“What do you mean by ‘you’re not going back’?”
I pursed my lips together and looked away. I had to come clean.
“I have something I need to do. Running away from the stalker wasn’t the only thing that fueled my resolve to leave.”
I fell silent, and Jonas filled my thoughts. Where was he? Was he okay? He couldn’t have gone without me. He said it was dangerous, and I couldn’t let him leave all by himself.
“You were going to find your dad. There was something in his letter, wasn’t there?”
I looked at Andre. Were his green eyes boring right through me? Was I really that easy to read?
“How did…”
“You seem to forget that I am the Alpha of the pack. Nothing escapes my notice, and I can get all the information that I need. And there is no way in hell that I am letting you go there alone or with some random dude that you know nothing about.”
My face scrunched up in anger, and I folded my arms and huffed.
“He isn’t some random dude. He saved me the last time this happened.”
“The last time?”
The calmness in Andre’s face was interrupted, and he looked confused and worried.
“What happened the last time?”
I bit my lips. Was I supposed to be telling Andre this?
“The first time my pheromones got out of control, he saved me from a gang. He gave me a place to stay, helped me get some suppressants for my pheromones, and even got me a job so that I could pay for the trip expenses. He has been helpful and was driving me to Elvis Pine.”
The look on Andre’s face was scary. I could tell that he was uncomfortable.
“Really? And what did the two of you get up to after he was so sweet to you?”
My face went red immediately as soon as I realised what Andre was trying to imply.
“You have to calm down. Nothing happened between us. He isn’t the bad guy. He saved me, and that was it. He has been taking care of me since then.”
Andre’s discomfort was replaced with scepticism, and I saw a glint of jealousy flash in his eyes.
“I don’t believe that he doesn’t have ulterior motives. No one is that nice just for the sake of being nice. He wants something from you.”
“But you are that nice.”
The words tumbled from my lips, and Andre grunted and grabbed my face. He was slightly rougher, and I could feel his muscles tense as he held me possessively.
“You are my mate, Olivia. You are the one I want to spend my life with. No one is just nice to random girls unless he wants something from them. I don’t give a fuck about any other woman.”
I felt my heart skip beats and looked into his eyes. I had forgotten what it felt like to be in his overwhelming presence.
“Well, Jonas isn’t like that. He was really good to me.”
“We will get to that when we’re done. First things first, how do you feel? Are you hurt? Do you feel any pain? Do you smell anything?”
I shook my head.
“I smell fine. I think it’s only guys that can smell me differently. I really don’t smell anything.”
Andre buried his face in the crook of my neck and took a deep breath.
I felt his muscles tense up as he held me closer to himself, and his bulge pushed against me lightly.
“Yes. You do smell a bit stronger.”
” Maybe it’s stronger because I’ve been away from you and…”
I stopped the words from tumbling out, and my red face gave me away.
“And what?”
My mind began to play back every time I was alone in the bathroom or my bedroom, moaning his name and craving his touch. How I would feel his co…
“And what, Kitten?”
I was pulled out of my thoughts by Andre’s voice, and he had a mischievous look in his eyes.
“Andre?”