Chapter 45: How It Happened

Olivia’s POV

​For a moment, there was nothing. No wind. No sound. No Doctor Vance. Then the darkness disappeared into a sudden, bitter chill.

​My eyes snapped open, and I found myself standing in the middle of a vast, empty plain. I immediately looked around, completely confused. The peaceful stone path outside the mansion was gone, and Doctor Vance was nowhere to be seen. In their place were hundreds of broad-shouldered warriors spread across the open land, and the air felt so thick with anger that I could almost taste it on my tongue.

​My first instinct was to run, but my feet wouldn’t move. That was when I remembered Doctor Vance’s words. This was a memory. None of these people could see me. I wasn’t really standing here. I was just watching something that had already happened.

​To my right stood the army of the Full Moon Pack, lined up in tight formation in armor. Some were already in their wolf forms, standing beside the soldiers as low growls filled the air. Standing right at the head of the army was Lucian with his Beta. He looked slightly younger, his dark hair a little shorter and his jaw lacking the rough stubble I had grown used to, but his presence was just as frightening. His face was cold and sharp as he stared across the open field.

​I turned my head to look across the divide at the opposing army, the Blood Moon Pack. My stomach turned when I recognized the man mounted on a massive black horse at the front. King Kenneth. My supposed father. He looked harsh and cruel, a golden crown resting on his brow and a heavy sword at his hip.

​Lucian took a step forward, his deep voice carrying across the silent battlefield. "Last chance, Kenneth. End this madness. Our borders were drawn decades ago by the High Council. The Full Moon Pack has honored every treaty. You have no legal claim to these northern lands, and you know it. Stop using your greed as an excuse to spill the blood of innocent pack members." ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

​King Kenneth threw his head back and laughed, a cruel, harsh sound. "Legal claims mean nothing to me, boy. Power is the only law in these lands. Those lands contain the largest silver mines in the region, and I want them. Surrender the territory, or I will wipe your bloodline from this earth."

​Lucian’s jaw tightened. "This was never about land that belonged to you. You just want the mines. How many of your own men are you willing to bury so you can become richer?"

​A few warriors behind Kenneth shifted uncomfortably, and Kenneth noticed. "Watch your mouth, boy," he sneered, pulling his sword from its sheath.

​"Pull your warriors back today, and this ends here," Lucian said, his eyes cold. "Otherwise, I protect my people."

​I stared at Lucian, completely surprised. For weeks, I had heard about the brutal war between their packs. Somewhere along the way, I had imagined both sides rushing toward each other with no interest in anything except killing. But Lucian had actually tried to stop it.

​Around me, weapons were drawn and wolves growled, waiting for the command that would turn the quiet field into a bloodbath. I was still staring at Kenneth when a bright flash of light appeared right beside Lucian, and a figure appeared out of thin air.

​My breath caught in my throat.

​It was Lillian.

​She looked exactly like the girl lying in that bed upstairs, except here she was awake and alive. She wasn’t wearing armor or carrying a sword. She wore a simple yellow dress, completely out of place in the middle of a battlefield.

​Lucian’s eyes widened in panic, his cold expression disappearing instantly. "Lillian? What the hell are you doing here?"

​Lillian smiled brightly, completely unaware of the danger surrounding her. "I bypassed the mansion barriers with my teleportation spell, Lucian! I just wanted to wish you good luck before the battle started!"

​"Lillian, no! Get back to the mansion!" Lucian shouted, reaching out to catch her arm.

​Before she could even finish turning around, King Kenneth raised his arm. In his right hand, he held a dark silver pistol. Without a second of hesitation, Kenneth aimed straight at the fifteen-year-old girl.

​BANG!

​The gunshot broke through the silence of the field. The bullet struck Lillian right in the side of her neck, and blood spread across her yellow dress. Her smile vanished, her eyes widening in confusion and pain as she stumbled backward.

​"LILLIAN!" Lucian roared, dropping onto his knees beside her.

​BANG!

​Kenneth fired a second shot, the bullet tearing straight into her chest. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed into her brother’s arms. Lucian gathered her weak, bleeding body against him, tears streaming down his cheeks as he pressed his hand over the wound on her neck.

​"Hold on! Lillian, stay with me!"

​Without waiting another moment, dark magic wrapped around them both, and Lucian teleported her away to save her life.

​The second Lucian disappeared, everything fell apart. The Blood Moon warriors attacked, and the Full Moon Pack rushed forward to meet them. Wolves crashed into each other, swords struck against swords, and warriors shouted as the quiet field turned into chaos.

​I stood there frozen, watching everything happen around me. Lucian was gone. His warriors were fighting without their Alpha while he was somewhere trying to save his little sister.

​Minutes passed, and the fighting only became worse. Warriors fell on both sides, and the open field that had been empty only moments earlier was now covered in blood. I could barely follow what was happening anymore. Wolves attacked from every direction, men screamed, and the sound of metal hitting metal filled the air.

​Then a flash of light appeared in the middle of the battlefield.

​Lucian was back.

​Alone.

​He was no longer the calm Alpha who had tried to reason with his enemy. Lillian’s blood covered his clothes and hands, and his eyes were glowing a frightening, fiery red. For one long second, he simply stood there, breathing heavily as he stared across the battlefield.

​Then a low roar came from his chest.

​Bones snapped and shifted beneath his skin as he dropped forward, transforming into a massive, jet-black wolf larger than any wolf I had ever seen.

​What happened next was a complete bloodbath.

​Lucian’s wolf launched itself into the ranks of the Blood Moon Pack. He moved faster than I could follow, a blur of dark fur, sharp claws, and snapping jaws. In less than two minutes, he single-handedly killed over fifty high-ranking Blood Moon warriors. Men were thrown through the air, screaming as his claws tore through their armor like paper.

​The remaining Blood Moon army broke formation and began running in terror, but Lucian’s wolf didn’t stop. He threw his head back, let out a loud howl, and chased after them with his entire army close behind, leaving the field covered in blood.

​The violent scene suddenly disappeared, and the world spun wildly around me.

​I gasped loudly as my eyes flew open, stumbling backward on the stone path in the garden. Doctor Vance immediately caught my arm before I could fall. The mansion was back in front of me. The stone path, the trees, the evening sky. Everything had returned, but my mind was still trapped on that battlefield.

​"He shot her," I whispered, my voice barely coming out as my heart hammered against my ribs. "She wasn’t even fighting. She didn’t have a weapon."

​Doctor Vance lowered his hands, his expression dark. "Kenneth knew exactly what Lillian meant to Lucian. He knew hurting her would break Lucian far more than killing a dozen warriors ever could."

​"Why hasn’t she woken up?"

​"The bullets were made with dark magic and silver, and coated in a rare poison," Vance explained quietly. "We removed the bullets, but the poison had already entered her blood and damaged her healing ability. That is why her core is still unstable."

​I slowly looked back toward the high windows of the mansion, toward the floor where Lillian was still lying, trapped in a sleep she had never chosen.

​"So now you see," Vance continued, turning toward the clinic. "Now you see why Alpha Lucian hates your father. Why people here hate the Blood Moon Pack, and why they looked at you and saw Kenneth before they ever saw you."

​With those final words, Doctor Vance turned and walked away down the path, leaving me completely alone in the quiet courtyard.

​My stomach turned with guilt and disgust as I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling a heavy weight settle on my shoulders. Lillian had been just a child, an innocent girl who loved her brother enough to run into danger just to cheer him on. And my fake father had shot her in cold blood without even blinking.

​I knew I shouldn’t feel guilty. I wasn’t Princess Annabel. I was Olivia, a nobody who had been forced into this ridiculous disguise just to survive. Kenneth wasn’t my father, and I hadn’t done anything to Lillian. But apparently, my heart hadn’t received that information.

​Understanding Lucian’s pain didn’t magically turn him into a saint. He could still be difficult, arrogant, and completely impossible. But I understood his hatred now. Every time Lucian looked at my face, he didn’t just see his enemy’s daughter. He saw the daughter of the man who had shot his little sister.