Chapter 28: Tell Me The Truth

Olivia’s POV

​Alpha Lucas must have seen the terror in my eyes because his brows pulled together as he studied my face. His hands were still holding my arms, but his eyes narrowed. "What have you done?" he asked quietly.

​I parted my lips, my throat tight. "I..."

​I never got the chance to finish.

​A heavy hand reached out and yanked me violently to the side so quickly that I stumbled against his hard torso. Lucian pulled me straight into his broad chest, his cold green eyes flashing with a dark, angry fire as he stared hard at his brother.

​"I want to have a talk with my wife," Lucian growled. The sharp emphasis he placed on my wife made me look up at him in shock.

​Lucas’s jaw tightened right back at him. "Lucian, what happened?"

​Lucian didn’t answer. He didn’t give his brother another single second to speak. He wrapped a tight grip around my wrist and started pulling me away.

​"Lucian!" I gasped.

​He ignored me. Of course he did. Apparently, when Alpha Lucian was angry, everyone else simply stopped having a say in anything.

​His grip was so hard it was almost bruising, and the sudden forcefulness of it caught the attention of several people around us. Conversations stopped as we passed. Several guests moved out of our way, and I caught more than a few shocked faces as Lucian dragged me through his own festival. But Lucian didn’t give a damn about the crowd. He dragged me out of the courtyard, straight inside the mansion, and toward the grand staircase.

​"Lucian, slow down!" I cried out, struggling to keep up with his long strides as pain shot through my wrist. "Stop! You’re hurting me!"

​I tried to plant my feet on the floor, attempting to pull my wrist free.

​That finally made him stop. He turned around so suddenly that I almost crashed straight into his chest. For one hopeful second, I thought he had finally decided to listen to me.

​Silly me.

​Lucian bent down, scooped me completely off my feet, and tossed me over his heavy shoulder like I weighed nothing more than a leaf.

​"What the hell!" Panic surged through me. I kicked my legs, my hands coming down hard against his stone-hard back. "Put me down! Lucian, put me down right now, you crazy bastard!"

​Slap!

​A sharp wave of shock traveled straight through my body as his heavy palm landed right on my ass. He actually spanked me.

​I completely froze. My hands stopped hitting his back, my mouth hanging open in utter disbelief. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect him to touch me like that at all.

​"You did not just spank me," I squeaked.

​"Stop kicking," he grunted.

​"You spanked me!"

​"And I’ll do it again."

​My mouth fell open. For several seconds, I was too shocked to even fight him. Wonderful. Being dragged away from a festival in front of half the kingdom apparently wasn’t embarrassing enough.

​Then I remembered Lord Axel, and my anger vanished, replaced by an overwhelming wave of fear.

​My heart started pounding even harder against my ribs. What had Lord Axel told him? Had he shown him those pictures? Had he told Lucian I wasn’t Annabel? Oh, Moon Goddess. He knew. He fucking knew.

​I stopped struggling. The rest of the walk down the long hallway suddenly felt less like Lucian was carrying me to my bedroom and more like he was carrying me toward my execution.

​When we finally reached my room, Lucian kicked the heavy wooden door open, carried me inside, and dropped me onto the mattress.

​The moment my body hit the bed, I quickly scrambled backward, crawling all the way until my back nearly touched the headboard. Lucian slammed the door shut. The loud click made my stomach twist into knots.

​He stood at the foot of the bed with his arms folded over his broad chest, glaring down at me like a predator about to tear its prey apart. No shouting. No threats. Nothing. Just that cold, scary stare. And somehow, that was ten times worse.

​"Tell me the truth, and don’t you dare lie to me."

​I swallowed hard. Shit. He knows. Lord Axel really told him the truth.

​After all the lies, all the pretending, all the nights wondering when Lucian would finally discover the truth, it was over. Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. This was it.

​"Start talking, or I’ll force you to!" Lucian yelled, his deep voice booming so loudly off the walls that the glass lamps trembled.

​I flinched, pressing myself farther against the headboard. I didn’t expect my cover to be blown so soon. I had barely been here for two days. Is this how my story ends? Am I going to be executed tonight?

​"What do you want me to say?" I whispered, shaking my head in absolute terror. My vocal cords felt almost paralyzed. I hadn’t expected to be caught this soon, and I wasn’t ready. What lie could possibly save me now? Hello, husband. Princess Annabel is dead. I’m actually Olivia, her maid, and my king sent me here to fool you. Yes, that would end beautifully—probably with my head separated from my body.

​"I..." Nothing useful came out.

​Lucian seemed to run out of what little patience he had left. He growled, climbing onto the bed before I could move away and straddling my lap. He reached out and grabbed my jaw in a firm grip, forcing me to look directly into his blazing green eyes.

​"You are my wife!" he spat, his breath hot against my face. "My wife! Not his!"

​I froze, my brain completely stalling. I blinked once. Twice. Wait... what? What is he saying?

​"Lucian..."

​"Are you seeing my brother behind my back?" he demanded, his voice laced with a bitter, possessive rage that practically shook the room. "Don’t fucking play stupid with me."

​My jaw dropped. "What?"

​This was about Lucas? Not Annabel. Not my real identity. Lucas.

​Relief hit me so suddenly that I almost laughed. Almost. Laughing in Lucian’s face right now seemed like an excellent way to shorten my life.

​"Is that it?" Lucian hissed, his eyes darkening into something wild, unhinged, and completely consumed by jealousy. "Because I refused to fuck you, that’s why you’re throwing yourself at him? Tell me, how long has this been happening?"

​"How long has what been happening?!" I gasped out, finally finding my voice.

​"You and Lucas!"

​"There is no me and Lucas!"

​"Then why the fuck does he keep looking at you like that?"

​"How am I supposed to know?"

​"Because you’ve encouraged it!"

​My relief disappeared immediately, replaced by anger. "Excuse me?"

​"I’ve seen the way he looks at you," Lucian growled, his fingers tightening slightly around my jaw. "At dinner. When you were injured. Tonight while you were dancing with Nathan. And the second I leave you alone, I come back and find you in his arms."

​"I ran into him!"

​"Convenient."

​I stared at him in utter disbelief. "Are you serious?"

​"Do I look like I’m joking?"

​Unfortunately, no. He looked like he wanted to tear his own brother apart.

​"There is nothing happening between Lucas and me!"

​"Don’t lie to me."

​"I’m not lying!"

​"Then why can’t my brother keep his fucking eyes off you?"

​"How would I know? Ask him!"

​"I’m asking my wife!"

​There it was again. My wife. Coming from the man who had spent days making sure I understood that this marriage meant absolutely nothing to him.

​"You don’t even consider me your wife!" I shouted back.

​His expression changed instantly. "You are my wife."

​"Oh, now I’m your wife?"

​His jaw tightened. "Don’t provoke me."

​"No! You don’t get to do that," I snapped, shoving against his hard chest. "You told me yourself that I’m nothing but part of a treaty. You said you didn’t want me. You said you would never see me as your real wife. But suddenly Lucas looks at me and now I’m your wife?"

​His eyes turned dangerously pitch black as his wolf surged to the surface. "He’s my fucking brother."

​"So?"

​"So I don’t want him touching you!" The words came out like a deafening roar.

​A heavy silence fell between us. I stared at him, my breathing coming in short gasps. For a brief second, something changed in Lucian’s face, almost like he hadn’t meant to admit that out loud. But then his unhinged anger returned in full force. Of course it did—admitting he was jealous would apparently kill him.

​"Is this because I refused to fuck you the night you arrived?" he spat down at me. "Is that why you’re throwing yourself at him?"

​My mouth fell open. "What?"

​"You heard me."

​"You’re insane!"

​"Answer me!"

​"I am not throwing myself at Lucas!"

​Lucian’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched violently in his cheek. "You know what? I should have fucked you the night you arrived. That way you wouldn’t be thinking about other men. But I’ll do it right now."

​Before I could process his words, his hands came down and violently tore the front of my red dress down the center. The fabric ripped apart with a harsh sound, completely exposing my breasts to the cool air of the room.

​Lucian leaned down, using his heavy body weight to try to force my legs apart.

​A wave of pure, instinctual fear and anger crashed through me. Out of nowhere, I raised my right hand and brought it down hard across his cheek.

​The sharp slap echoed through the room, snapping his head to the side.