Chapter 57: YOU DON’T INHERIT HIS SINS

Olivia’s POV

​By the next evening, I was feeling much better. The strange, burning fever was gone, the pain in my chest had disappeared, and the heavy weakness in my limbs had finally lifted enough for me to get out of bed. I could finally stand without feeling like the entire room was spinning around me. I still felt weaker than usual, but after spending almost two days trapped under my blankets, I desperately needed fresh air.

​It was already dark when I finally left my room. The mansion was unusually quiet as I walked downstairs, and instead of going to the dining room, I headed straight outside toward the garden. The cool night air felt good against my skin, and small lamps lit the stone path while the flowers moved gently in the breeze. I walked until I reached a stone bench surrounded by blooming night flowers and sat down, wrapping my arms around myself as I stared absently at the dark petals.

​It had been three whole days since Lucian left. Three days without a word, a message, or a trace of him. For most people, traveling meant actually taking time to get somewhere, but Lucian wasn’t most people. The man could teleport. If he wanted to return to the mansion, he could do it within seconds. Distance wasn’t keeping him away. He didn’t leave because he had to travel. He left because he wanted to avoid me.

​I sighed heavily and leaned back against the bench. Why was I even sitting out here, acting like a lonely wife waiting for a cold husband who couldn’t care less about me? I didn’t know. Apparently, sleeping with a man once was enough to turn me into someone who counted the days he had been gone.

​I was still questioning my life choices when a strange, heavy presence suddenly crawled over my skin. Someone was behind me. I turned quickly, my heart skipping a beat when I saw who it was.

​"Alpha Lucas."

​He stood just a few feet away, dressed far more casually than I was used to seeing him. A dark polo shirt stretched across his broad chest, paired with jeans, and his hair looked slightly messy. He looked relaxed, yet he still carried that powerful royal presence that made every werewolf bow instinctively. For a second, I simply stared at him. What on earth was the Alpha King doing in Lucian’s garden at this time of night?

​I quickly stood from the bench. "What are you doing here?"

​"Hello to you too," Lucas said softly.

​I blinked. "Hi."

​The corner of his mouth lifted slightly before he walked toward me. Instead of answering immediately, he sat down at the far end of the stone bench. I hesitated for a moment before sitting back down at the opposite end, leaving a comfortable distance between us. Silence settled between us as I glanced at him, then at the empty garden around us.

​"How did you know I was here?" I asked quietly.

​"I didn’t."

​My brows pulled together. "What?"

​"I teleported."

​"That doesn’t answer my question."

​"It does." Lucas leaned back against the bench, his green eyes reflecting the moonlight. "When I teleport to someone, I don’t need to know exactly where they are. All I have to do is think about the person, and my power takes me straight to them."

​I stared at him, taking in his words. "So you thought about me?"

​His eyes shifted toward mine. "Apparently."

​That answer did something strange to my stomach, so I quickly looked down at my lap.

​"How are you?" he asked.

​"I am fine."

​"You don’t look fine."

​A quiet laugh escaped him, and I rolled my eyes before looking back at the flowers. "I’ve just been sick. I am better now."

​His expression immediately became more serious. "Sick?"

​"It was nothing."

​He looked like he wanted to ask more, but thankfully, he didn’t. I rubbed my palms together and broke the silence again. "Lucian traveled."

​"I know."

​Of course he knew. They were brothers.

​"He’s been gone for three days."

​Lucas scoffed softly. "That boy hates teleporting."

​I turned toward him, frowning. "Why?"

​"Ask him yourself."

​"That seems to be everyone’s favorite answer whenever I ask a question about Lucian."

​Lucas smiled faintly but didn’t respond. Silence settled over us again, and my thoughts wandered back to something that had been bothering me for a long time. There were still so many things about this family and the war that I didn’t understand.

​"You are the Alpha King," I began.

​"Last time I checked."

​I ignored his teasing. "I’ve been wondering about something. The war between Full Moon and Blood Moon. Lucian’s pack fought against mine. Full Moon didn’t just win. They crushed Blood Moon."

​His expression became more guarded, but I continued.

​"You’re the Alpha King, and Lucian is your brother. Yet your royal army didn’t fight beside him. Why didn’t you help him?"

​Lucas leaned back against the bench and looked out at the dark garden. "Because Lucian refused my help. More than once."

​That surprised me. "He refused? Why?"

​"Because it was his war, and because he knew what would happen if I became directly involved." Lucas turned slightly toward me. "I’m not only Lucian’s brother, Olivia. I’m the Alpha King. Full Moon Pack answers to me, but so does Blood Moon Pack. Every recognized pack in this kingdom does. If I had sent the royal army to fight beside Lucian, I would have been using the power of the throne against people I’m also supposed to rule."

​I slowly nodded. "So you stayed out of it."

​"Officially, yes. I wanted to help my brother, but Lucian didn’t want anyone claiming he won because the Alpha King handed him an army."

​That sounded painfully like Lucian. Too proud. Too stubborn. Too determined to carry everything himself.

​"Then why didn’t you stop the war?" I asked. "You’re the King. Couldn’t you have ordered both packs to stop fighting?"

​Lucas’s jaw tightened slightly. "I tried to stop it before it became a war. I called both sides to the royal palace and tried to settle things without bloodshed. Lucian agreed to negotiations. Your father came too, but negotiations only work when both sides actually want peace."

​He paused before continuing. "Once the fighting started, things became more complicated. I couldn’t send the royal army against one of the packs I was supposed to protect. What I could do was stop other packs from joining either side and keep the war from spreading across the kingdom. So that is what I did."

​I lowered my eyes to my hands. For months, I had thought of the war as something simple. Blood Moon against Full Moon. My people against Lucian’s. But the more I learned about what had happened, the less simple any of it became.

​Another question sat heavily in my throat, and before I could stop myself, I whispered, "You hate me, don’t you?"

​Lucas’s brows pulled together. "What?"

​"I am the daughter of the man responsible for your sister’s condition. Lillian has been lying unconscious for months because of him. He shot her. He nearly killed her." I swallowed hard. "Lucian looks at me and sees Kenneth’s daughter, so I assumed you felt the same way."

​Lucas stared at me for several seconds before slowly shaking his head. "I don’t hate you, Annabel. Neither do I blame you. You had nothing to do with what happened to Lillian. You don’t inherit another person’s crimes simply because you share their blood."

​Those words coming from his lips made my chest tighten.

​Then his expression hardened. "As for Kenneth, the only reason he is still breathing right now is because Lillian is still breathing. If my sister dies because of what he did to her, I will kill your father myself."

​I went completely still. Maybe I should have been horrified. Maybe I should have defended the man Lucas believed was my father, but after everything I had learned about Kenneth and what he had done to Lillian, I couldn’t find any pity inside me.

​So I simply nodded. "I understand."

​We fell silent again, the cool night wind moving gently around us. After a while, Lucas turned his attention back to me, studying my face.

​"What’s wrong? You’ve sighed at least four times since I arrived."

​Despite my frustration, a tiny smile pulled at my lips, though it disappeared almost immediately.

​Lucas noticed. "What’s wrong, Annabel?"

​I didn’t have the energy to pretend tonight. The simple question broke through the walls I had been trying so hard to keep up, and before I knew it, tears were already gathering in my eyes.

​"I am just... tired."

​"You were sick. You should be resting."

​"Not that kind of tired," I whispered. "I’m tired of my life, Lucas. Every time I think I’ve finally understood something, I find out there is another secret, another lie, another thing I’m supposed to be afraid of. I’m tired of pretending. I’m tired of fighting, and I’m tired of carrying the burden of a war I had nothing to do with. Everywhere I turn, I’m reminded of what my father did. People look at me and see his actions before they see me. I’m paying for things I didn’t do, and sometimes..." My voice cracked as a tear slipped down my cheek. "Sometimes I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’m just exhausted."

​I quickly looked away, embarrassed by the tears, but Lucas didn’t say anything. Instead, he stood.

​For one terrible second, I thought I had made him uncomfortable enough to leave. But then he stepped in front of me and lowered himself until he was squatting directly before me.

​I blinked in surprise. "Alpha Lucas..."

​"Look at me."

​I hesitated.

​"Annabel," he said softly.

​Something about the way he called me made me lift my eyes to his.

​"You are not responsible for your father’s war," he said. "You’re not responsible for what he did to Lillian or anyone else. Whatever burden people have placed on your shoulders because of his actions, it doesn’t belong to you."

​My throat tightened. "You don’t understand."

​"Maybe I don’t understand everything you’re going through," he admitted. "But I understand what it’s like to carry things that were never yours to carry. And whatever else you’re hiding, you don’t have to solve all of it tonight."

​"Sometimes I feel like I’m going to lose my mind."

​"You won’t," he cut in.

​Lucas slowly reached for my hand, giving me enough time to pull away if I wanted to. I didn’t. His warm fingers closed gently around mine, and for some reason, that simple touch was enough to break the little control I had left. Another tear slipped down my cheek, and I quickly raised my free hand to wipe it away.

​"Hey," he whispered. "Stop crying. You look terrible when you cry."

​A weak laugh escaped me before I could stop it, and Lucas smiled slightly. For the first time in days, some of the heaviness inside my chest began to ease. He was still holding my hand, squatting in front of me, and neither of us seemed willing to move.

​Then his eyes dropped to my lips.

​My breath caught. I should have pulled my hand away. I should have stood up. I should have remembered Lucian and the complicated mess I was already trapped in. Instead, I remained completely still. I didn’t know whether it was because I was too exhausted to think clearly or because some part of me didn’t want to move.

​Lucas slowly rose, but he didn’t step away. His hand was still holding mine, and suddenly, his face was only inches from mine. My heart began beating faster.

​"Lucas..." I whispered.

​He hesitated, his eyes searching mine as if giving me one last chance to pull away.

​When I didn’t, his hand slowly moved to my cheek.

​And then he kissed me.