Olivia’s POV
I was in bed, and Nurse Alvida came to call on me.
As she walked into my room, she had a fearful expression on her face.
Andre was sitting on the bed next to me, and he glared suspiciously at her.
“What is that face for? Is there a problem?”
She shook her head slowly. I could see her eyes becoming moist. I continued to press on.
“You said you knew about my mother. Tell me about her. We are in a private space. No one can hear us for miles, and it is heavily guarded.”
Alvida dabbed her face lightly with her embroidered handkerchief. She took a deep breath and raised her head. Tears glistened in her eyes as she began her story.
“I was the right handmaid to your mother, Maria Solvan, many years ago and for many years. She was a descendant of Selene, just like you. The same was true of all her sisters and the women before her.”
My jaw was slack as I stared at the old nurse. She knew my mother?! My real mother?
No. She has to be lying. She had to be. She had to be a spy from…
“I can see the disbelief in your eyes. It bubbles strongly in your gaze. I assure you, dear heiress, this is no trick.”
She almost effortlessly read my mind and my shock made me close my jaw and all her to go on.
“Your mother has no brothers. The power is only made accessible to the women in the family. No male is granted this power, and if they are, they are killed off at birth because they are known to harbour evil. It has been this way for many generations.”
I looked at the woman in fear. Men that had the powers of Selene were killed off because they were evil?
Fear gripped me tightly, and I placed my hands on my own stomach.
My child. What if…
The lady saw the concern in my eyes and spoke gently.
“Your child’s gender is not something you should worry about now. I still have lots to tell you.”
She took out a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes.
The pain in her eyes when she spoke moved my heart. Has she really loved my people this much?
“Nurse Alvida?”
Her kind, old, moist grey eyes caught me off guard.
“Worry not about me, dear. I must continue my story.
“The empire of Solvan stood for many years, and it was an enviable empire. Gluttonous and greedy men vowed with their lives to marry the women of Solvan, particularly those from your mother’s lineage, so that they could grant them the powers that came with Solvan. However, only the best and most reasonable suitors were accepted into the family, and this caused the Empire to be at war with its neighbours constantly. They prevailed for many years, and the Empire stood strong like a beautiful tree.”
My ears itched to know what had happened. If they had prevailed over the war, where were they then? Had they gone into hiding?
The suspense was killing me. I was still weak, but my body was tight with anticipation.
“When Maria had her daughter, she was betrothed at birth…”
“I was betrothed at birth?!”
Alvida gave a slow nod. My eyes grew wider.
I couldn’t hide my surprise and apparent disgust. I knew I wasn’t the first, but the child would never get to choose the man she wanted to marry. What sort of love is that?
“Why? Why the betrothal?” I inquired.
“To avoid the conflict between the suitors. Most wanted power. But with the child already declared to be someone else’s, the other suitors had no choice but to back off.”
Alvida became solemn and grabbed the hem of her dress. A sad aura encircled her like a halo.
“However, it was later discovered that this suitor was not of good virtue and had darkness in his heart. He was filled with greed, and his greed blossomed as he continued to grow, and his parents filled his heart with ambition.
Tears fell from her eyes and the pristinely white handkerchief that she clutched soon had wet grey spots on it. I was tempted to reach out and pat her lap in comfort, but I held back.
Alvida took no notice and continued the story.
“Because of this, Maria and her husband took the initiative to hide the child, hoping that the child would go up someday and find a suitor worthy of herself, someone who had no knowledge of her powers and would love her for who she was. The Empire believed that when she came of age, she would come searching for them and take her place on the throne.”
The tears in her eyes soon became tears of anger. The glow in her eyes flickered as I felt her wolf agitated, and her grip on her dress hem became more aggressive.”
“However, that dream was short-lived, for shortly after you were sent away, the family was attacked. It was an attack led in secret, and on that day, your mother’s family blood was spilled mercilessly. They were all killed, and their wealth was plundered by the greedy man and his family. It was like that, in one unfaithful day, that the Empire of Solvan fell, and all was led to believe that the last Descendant of Selene was killed in that bloodshed.”
The old lady finished her story, and by now, her face was wet with tears. My eyes stung, and tears formed in them.
“Who was it?”
My voice was choked and croaky.
“Who was it that killed my family? Tell me who they were!”
The lady took a deep breath and looked around before she spoke.
“I… I can’t bluntly tell you who they are. I fear spies, but I suggest that you do not pick a fight with them. The Empire needs you to live and rebuild it with your child.”
She tried to touch my belly, but I slapped her hand away. I glared at her and could feel my aura expanding all around us.
“I need to know who they are. Tell me.”
Alvida shivered slightly.
“All I can tell you is that they are members of the Royal family and very powerful. You can’t handle them.”
“The Reiss’?”
Alvida was silent, and she slowly lowered her head. Her silence was all the answer I needed.
My heart jumped into my throat, and I felt my breath being stolen away.
“J… Jonas? Jonas and his family killed my family?” I seemed to ask again.
Alvida held back her tears and willed herself to talk.
“You seem to know them already. How come?”
I choked, holding back my tears.
“I nearly lost my life trying to fight them. I didn’t know that they were part of the Royal family until a few days ago, and it nearly cost me my life.”
“I see.”
The old lady gave a slow nod and dabbed her tears again with her handkerchief.
I was broken; I could barely talk. I was shaken to the core, unable to cry or show any emotion. It was like a part of me had vanished without a trace.
Andre pulled me close and comforted me. I had almost forgotten that he was in the room. He cooed softly in my ears, but my situation didn’t improve. I was still dumbstruck.
“What happens to people who marry a Descendant of Selene?” asked Andre tenderly.
The lady took a deep breath and placed her hands on her lap.
“Descendants of Selene have the unique ability to control the whims and desires of men and women if they train hard enough. In their uncontrolled states, they unknowingly tap into the lustful thoughts and greedy desires of men. This makes men crave them and awakens their natural desire to sleep with them.”
“Why am I not affected by it?” Andre asked.
“It might be partly because you are her mate. However, it is only a select few that can resist them and that was one of the criteria for choosing the suitors that married the Descendants of Selene. But…”
“… if a man does marry one or gets the opportunity to sleep with her, she grants him powers, strength, and speed not akin to any other wolf in existence. They become virtually unstoppable at their peak as soon as they learn to harness those powers. I have every reason to believe that you are married to this young lady. Have you felt a surge of energy since you mated her?”
I wiped my eyes and looked at Andre. I could see him searching his thoughts, and then he looked at me in shock.
“Yes. Yes, I have. On multiple occasions but I just regarded them as I was getting stronger in my wolf training.”
“Well, now you know the truth,” said the old nurse. “I suggest that you find a way to leave this place at once. I am more than certain that the family knows who you are and are, at this point, plotting to take you away from your husband. You cannot trust anyone in Elvis Pine. It is for this reason that the packs in charge here are at constant war with each other. The entire land of Elvis Pine used to be under the rule of the Solvan Empire, but after the family was killed, the wolves split into factions, the majority of them joining the Reiss family as they believed that they were the true heirs to the Solvan throne. You must keep the lineage alive. Leave here as soon as you can, and don’t think of coming back.”
The old lady stood up to take her leave, but I stopped her.
“Wait! Before I was kidnapped, a lady, Ophena, took me to a place that was sacred to my family. I can’t clearly remember it, though. Most of my thoughts are a bit fuzzy.”
Alvida spun around slowly. The warning in the old grey eyes was terrifying.
“You are not to trust her. An Empire rarely falls from the outside. Enemies chose to find a weak link within its walls, and sadly, she was one of the links. She is a traitor.”
Alvida left, and As soon as she did, I broke down into tears and sobbed loudly in Andre’s chest. My emotions rushed up on me like a mass flood.
“They killed them, Andre! They killed my family! And all this time, I thought that he was a trustworthy friend, that I could trust him, but this entire time, all he wanted was to get me, to take me away from you.”
I cried loudly, and Andre smoothed my hair tenderly and hushed me softly.
“Olivia, you need to calm down. Everything is going to be…”
He stopped mid-sentence and looked at me in alarm.
“Olivia, you’re burning hot. It’s happening to you again, isn’t it?”
It didn’t take long for me to know that the symptoms were happening again. My thighs felt wet, and my clit throbbed, and a fever ravaged my body.
I looked at Andre, and although I craved him after the old nurse’s story, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in bed right now with him, especially since I now knew that sex with him made him stronger.
“The shot. I need the shot.”
Andre found the plastic box and took a shot out, then he stabbed it into my thigh.
He held me close and planted kisses on my forehead and cheeks until I finally calmed down.
I was still shaken, and tears were still rolling down my face. Everything I thought I knew now felt like a lie. I didn’t know who to trust anymore.
There was a slight knock on the door, and Pierre came in.
“We are ready for you, Alpha.”
I looked up at Andre. He seemed reluctant to go and leave me alone.
“You should leave and see them, Andre. I just want to be left alone right now…”