Chapter 62: I DON’T WANT HIS MONEY

Olivia’s POV

​"Olivia! You belong to me!" Lucas shouted, his arm stretched out toward me through the thick mist covering the dark forest.

​"No, Olivia! You are mine!" Lucian’s voice boomed from the opposite side, echoing through the trees as he reached for my hand.

​I stood trapped between them, my chest heaving and my mind spinning. They were both staring at me, their faces hard with determination as their voices grew louder.

​"Olivia!"

​"Come to me!"

​"You belong to me!"

​"You’re mine!"

​No. No. Stop it. Both of you, stop!

​"No!" I screamed, shaking my head violently. "No!"

​I bolted upright, my eyes flying open as my own voice echoed through the room. My heart was hammering against my ribs, and cold sweat covered my forehead. For a few terrifying seconds, I didn’t know where I was. The room was dark and quiet, illuminated only by the faint light coming through the curtains.

​"Hey."

​I turned quickly toward the deep voice beside me, my lungs desperately searching for air. Lucas was sitting up in bed, his green eyes filled with concern as he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

​"What’s wrong?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

​I swallowed hard and tried to slow my breathing as the fog of sleep gradually disappeared. The forest was gone. Lucian wasn’t here. I was still in Lucas’s bedroom. "It was just a nightmare," I whispered, rubbing my palms over my face.

​Although calling it just a nightmare felt a little generous. When your dreams started featuring two powerful Alpha brothers shouting your real name while fighting over you in a dark forest, perhaps your mind was trying to tell you that your life had officially become a complete disaster.

​Lucas watched me closely. "Do you want to talk about it?"

​"No," I answered quickly. I certainly wasn’t going to tell him that I had just dreamed about him and his brother fighting over me like I was some kind of prize. Even worse, they had both called me Olivia. Not Annabel. Olivia.

​I threw back the sheets. "I need to leave, Lucas. I need to get back before someone notices I’m gone."

​He didn’t argue. He simply nodded. "All right. Do you want a shirt first?"

​I looked down at myself. My clothes were scattered near the bed, and my dress was slightly torn at the shoulder from earlier. "No." I shook my head as I reached for my clothes. "I just need to get dressed."

​"Okay." Lucas swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and stood. He grabbed his trousers and pulled them on before reaching for his shirt. "Stay here for a minute. I’ll go check the Full Moon pack house first and make sure everything is clear."

​"Okay."

​In a second, he disappeared. I stared at the empty space where he had been for a moment. Sometimes I forgot I was surrounded by people who could disappear from one place and appear somewhere else within seconds.

​I didn’t waste another second. I pulled on my underwear and carefully slipped my half-torn dress over my body, fixing the shoulder as best as I could. But as I dressed, my mind returned to the dream. Lucas and Lucian had both been reaching for me, both claiming me, and both calling me Olivia.

​I rubbed my forehead. It was only a dream. At least, that was what I told myself. Still, something about it bothered me. Neither man actually knew the woman they were fighting over. Lucas thought I was Princess Annabel, and Lucian thought the same thing. Neither of them knew Olivia. So why had they both called me by my real name in the dream?

​Before I could think myself into another headache, the air shifted and Lucas appeared directly in front of me.

​I nearly jumped. "God, I’m never going to get used to that."

​A faint smile appeared on his face. "Everything is clear. Lucian hasn’t returned, and your room is empty."

​Relief rushed through me. "Good. Thank goodness."

​"I’ll teleport you straight into your bedroom. No one will see you."

​"Thank you, Lucas."

​He stepped closer and wrapped one arm around my waist. In the next blink, his bedroom disappeared, and the familiar surroundings of my room at Lucian’s mansion appeared around me. I was standing right beside my bed.

​Lucas released my waist, and I turned toward him. "Thank you."

​Instead of leaving immediately, he stepped closer, leaned down, and pressed a soft kiss against my forehead. The gentle warmth of his lips made my heart flutter despite everything currently running through my head.

​"I’ll see you later, Annabel," he murmured.

​I nodded silently, and a second later, he disappeared, leaving behind only the faint scent of him. For several seconds, I simply stared at the empty space where he had been.

​I didn’t waste any more time. Panic was still nudging at me, and Lucas’s scent was all over my skin. I hurried into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and stepped beneath the hot water. I grabbed the soap and scrubbed my skin thoroughly, washing my arms, neck, chest, and everywhere else his scent might have remained. I needed to get rid of every trace of Lucas. The last thing I needed was someone with a supernatural sense of smell walking past me and wondering why Princess Annabel smelled like the Alpha King.

​Once I was satisfied, I dried myself, changed into comfortable clothes, brushed my hair, and returned to the bedroom. Exhaustion hit me almost immediately, and I threw myself onto the bed. I had barely gotten comfortable when a sudden knock on the door made my entire body stiffen.

​Lucian?

​Had he returned?

​I quickly climbed out of bed, smoothed my clothes, and walked toward the door. When I opened it, however, it wasn’t Lucian standing outside. It was Leo, Lucian’s Beta.

​"Good morning," he greeted politely.

​"Morning, Beta Leo." I leaned slightly against the doorframe. "Is everything okay?"

​"I apologize for disturbing you so early." He opened the black folder in his hands. "Alpha Lucian asked me to handle your monthly allowance and pack upkeep before he left. However, you still haven’t given me your account details so I can process the transfer."

​I froze. Account details? Oh. That.

​There was one very obvious problem. I didn’t know Princess Annabel’s account details. I didn’t have access to her bank cards, her money, or anything else connected to her royal identity. Of course I didn’t. I wasn’t Annabel, and Kenneth certainly hadn’t sent me here with a convenient little book containing every detail of his daughter’s life.

​Even if I somehow managed to get the information without making anyone suspicious, I didn’t want Lucian’s money. Not after that morning. Not after the cold way he had reduced what happened between us to something normal between a husband and wife, only to tell me moments later that he was arranging an allowance for me.

​"I don’t need his upkeep," I said.

​Leo blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Princess, Alpha Lucian specifically instructed me to..."

​"I don’t want his money, Leo," I interrupted gently. "Please tell him I’m fine without it."

​"But Princess..."

​"I understand you’re only following his instructions." I gave him a small, polite smile. "But I don’t need the money. Please excuse me."

​Before he could argue any further, I closed the door and leaned my back against it, releasing a long breath.