Chapter 76: The Meet Up

Olivia’s POV

It was around 7 p.m. when I stood in the middle of my bedroom, pacing back and forth as I tried to figure out a way to get out of the packhouse without being seen.

On my bed lay a small bag packed with the $30,000 Owen had demanded. Inside my jacket was the envelope he had sent me. The money was ready, but my biggest problem was actually leaving the building.

Ever since the fire at the festival, security around the packhouse had become twice as strict. Guards were stationed at every major exit, and patrol teams walked around the property constantly. I knew that if I tried to walk out through the front doors like normal, the guards would immediately follow me. They would report my every move to Lucian, and that was the last thing I needed tonight.

A soft knock sounded at my door, interrupting my thoughts. A moment later, Gloria walked into the room.

"My Lady, do you need anything before I retire for the evening?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to tell her no but stopped myself. Gloria had worked in this packhouse for years. She knew this place better than almost anyone else. Maybe she was exactly the person I needed.

"Actually, Gloria... I do need help," I admitted, stepping closer to her. "I want to go out for a little while, but I need to do it without the guards following me."

Gloria raised an eyebrow. "And why would you need to sneak out, My Lady?"

"I just want to take a walk and clear my head," I lied quickly, trying to sound as casual as possible. Gloria stared at me for several seconds, and the longer she looked at me, the more obvious it became that she wasn’t buying a single word.

"My Lady, I am not a fool," she finally said. "Tell me the truth."

I swallowed, knowing she wasn’t going to let it go. I couldn’t tell her about Owen, the blackmail, or my real identity, so I needed to give her something believable.

"Fine," I said, letting out a breath. "I’m secretly meeting my best friend. She’s nearby, but she doesn’t want to come here because she’s uncomfortable entering the Full Moon Pack. That’s all. I just want to see her for a short time."

Gloria studied my face for another moment before sighing. "Does Alpha Lucian know you’re meeting her?"

I looked away.

"That answers my question," she muttered.

"Gloria, please. I just need to leave for a little while. I’ll be back before anyone even notices I’m gone."

She remained quiet for a few seconds before finally speaking. "There is an old emergency tunnel beneath the packhouse. It was built years ago so the Alpha family could escape if the packhouse was ever attacked. It leads directly to the woods behind the eastern wall, far away from the main entrances."

My eyes immediately returned to her. "Can you show me where it is?"

"I will," Gloria agreed. "But you need to be back before nine. The night guards begin their shift around that area at nine. If you come back after that, there’s a good chance someone will see you."

"I understand. I’ll be back before nine," I promised.

Owen wanted to meet me at 8 p.m., and the abandoned bookshop was only about ten minutes away. I had plenty of time as long as I didn’t stay with him for too long.

Gloria nodded and signaled for me to follow her. I grabbed my jacket and the small bag containing Owen’s money before following her out of the room.

We walked through the quieter side of the packhouse, taking a back staircase instead of the main one. Gloria didn’t explain where we were going, and I didn’t ask. The fewer people we passed, the better.

Eventually, she led me downstairs to a part of the house I had never visited before. The hallway was narrower here, and unlike the rest of the packhouse, there were no expensive paintings or decorations covering the walls. Gloria stopped in front of what looked like an ordinary wooden door and opened it.

A small storage room was on the other side.

I frowned. "This is the tunnel?"

"No," Gloria replied.

She stepped inside, and I followed her. There were old boxes stacked against the walls and several pieces of furniture covered with white cloth. Gloria walked toward a wooden shelf at the back of the room and pushed it aside, revealing a narrow door behind it.

I stared at her. "How many secret places does this house have?"

Gloria smiled slightly. "More than you know."

That wasn’t particularly comforting.

She opened the hidden door, revealing stone steps leading downward. A dim light came from somewhere below.

"This will take you straight to the eastern woods," she explained. "Just keep going. There aren’t any turns, so you can’t get lost."

"Thank you, Gloria," I whispered.

"Before nine," she reminded me.

"I know."

I held the small bag close to my side and stepped into the tunnel alone. The door closed behind me, and I immediately stopped.

The air inside was cold and damp, and the passage was much narrower than I had expected. The moment the door closed behind me, panic started creeping through my chest. I hated enclosed spaces, and with stone walls on both sides of me and a ceiling that suddenly felt much too low, every part of me wanted to turn around and get out.

But I couldn’t. Owen was waiting, and if I wanted him out of my life, I had to do this. I took a slow breath and forced myself forward.

The passage wasn’t particularly long, but it felt longer than it probably was. Small lights had been fixed along the walls, giving me just enough light to see where I was going. I kept my eyes ahead and walked faster, refusing to think about how much stone surrounded me.

Eventually, I saw the end of the passage. I climbed another set of steps and pushed open the exit, immediately feeling the cold evening air against my face. Relief rushed through me as I quickly stepped outside and looked around.

Gloria had been right. I was in the woods, far enough behind the eastern wall that I couldn’t see any of the guards stationed around the packhouse. It had worked. For the first time since Owen sent that letter, I felt like something was actually going according to plan.

I pulled my jacket closer around myself and started walking, keeping the bag close to my side. All I needed to do was give Owen the money, make it clear that I wanted nothing more to do with him, and get back through the tunnel before nine.

Hopefully, thirty thousand dollars would finally buy me some peace.

For a brief moment, Lucian’s face entered my mind, along with the soft kiss he had pressed against my forehead that morning. Guilt immediately twisted inside me. Only hours ago, he had promised to start treating me like his wife, and here I was sneaking out of his home to meet another man. I knew how terrible this would look if he ever found out, but telling him the truth wasn’t an option either.

By the time I reached the abandoned bookshop, it was only a few minutes before 8 p.m. The building was dark and old, with broken wooden boards covering some of the windows. I stopped outside and stared at it for a moment as an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach.

Every instinct inside me told me not to go in, but turning around wouldn’t make Owen disappear. If anything, avoiding him again might finally push him into exposing me.

I took a deep breath, pushed the old door open, and stepped inside.

"Owen?" I called, looking around.

There was no answer. The inside of the bookshop was dark except for a weak light somewhere toward the back. Old shelves filled the room, most of them empty, while dust covered almost everything around me.

"Owen, I’m here," I called again as I moved farther inside.

A moment later, footsteps came from the back of the shop, and Owen emerged from behind one of the old bookshelves. The moment his eyes landed on me, a smug smile spread across his face.

"Baby, you came," he said.

My face immediately twisted in disgust. "Don’t call me that."

Owen didn’t seem bothered by my reaction. His eyes dropped to the small bag in my hand, and his smile widened.

"Owen, I have the money," I said, not wanting to spend another second there.

I walked toward an old table in the middle of the room and placed the bag on top of it.

"Thirty thousand dollars," I told him. "Exactly what you asked for. Take it, and after tonight, I don’t want to see you again."

Owen took another step toward me, closing some of the distance between us. "You know, baby, we could talk about a few other things while you’re here."

"I told you not to call me that," I snapped, stepping back.

His smile only widened.

Before I could tell him to back off, the front door suddenly opened behind me. I froze, my heart seeming to stop as I slowly turned toward the entrance.

Lucian was standing in the doorway.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe. Lucian’s expression gave absolutely nothing away as his eyes moved from me to Owen, taking in how close he was standing to me before dropping to the bag of money sitting on the table between us. When his gaze returned to Owen, something in his expression changed, and my stomach dropped.

"Lucian..." I whispered.

His eyes snapped back to me.

"What the hell is going on?"