Chapter 77: Caught

Olivia’s POV

​I stood completely frozen, staring at Lucian as my mind scrambled to make sense of what was happening. How was this even possible? How did he know I was here?

​Before I could process another thought, two of Lucian’s personal guards stepped into the old bookshop right behind him. The moment I saw their faces, the truth finally hit me.

​Shit.

​I hadn’t been as clever as I thought. The guards had somehow spotted me when I came out of the woods, or maybe they had been watching me all along. They must have followed me every step of the way to this abandoned building and alerted Lucian.

​Damn it!

​Lucian stepped farther into the room, and something about the way he moved made my heart beat even faster. He wasn’t shouting or throwing things. His face was frighteningly calm, and I was beginning to learn that a calm Lucian was sometimes much worse than an angry one.

​"What is happening here, Annabel?" Lucian asked, his voice scarily quiet. His eyes moved briefly toward the bag on the table before returning to me. "You have three seconds to explain yourself."

​I opened my mouth, but my throat was so dry that no sound came out. What exactly was I supposed to tell him? That Owen was blackmailing me because I wasn’t actually his wife? That the real Princess Annabel was dead and I had been lying to him from the moment I entered his home? I couldn’t tell him any of that.

​Owen, clearly misunderstanding just how much danger he was in, took a step forward. "Alpha, calm down," he began, raising his hands. "It isn’t what it looks like. Your wife and I are just..."

​He never finished. One second Lucian was standing several feet away from him, and the next, he was directly in front of Owen. His fist connected with Owen’s face, and the sound of the punch echoed through the bookshop as Owen crashed backward into one of the old shelves before dropping to the floor.

​He didn’t move.

​My eyes widened as I stared at him. That was one punch. Just one punch had knocked a grown man unconscious.

​I slowly looked back at Lucian. He wasn’t even breathing heavily. He simply flexed his fingers once before turning toward me as though what he had just done required no effort at all. For the first time in a while, I remembered exactly why people were terrified of this man.

​Lucian’s eyes dropped to the bag of money on the table before returning to my face.

​"Start talking," he ordered.

​Panic tightened around my chest. I couldn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t tell him I was an impostor, that I wasn’t the real Princess Annabel, or that Owen had demanded thirty thousand dollars to keep my identity a secret. If I told Lucian any of that, Owen would become the least of my problems.

​"Who is he?" Lucian asked. "Why did you sneak out of my house to meet him?"

​I swallowed. "Lucian, I can explain."

​"Then explain."

​My lips parted, but once again, nothing came out.

​His jaw tightened. "Why are you giving him thirty thousand dollars?"

​My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it. I needed an answer, anything that would explain why I had secretly left the packhouse and come here with that much money, but every explanation I could think of would only lead to more questions.

​"Annabel," Lucian warned, his voice dropping even lower. "Do not test my patience."

​I couldn’t speak. Every possible explanation led directly back to the one truth I couldn’t tell him.

​Lucian stared at me for another few seconds before a cold scoff left him. "You won’t speak? Fine."

​He turned toward the two guards standing near the door and pointed toward Owen’s unconscious body. "Bring him along."

​Before I could process what he meant, Lucian crossed the distance between us and grabbed my arm.

​"Lucian, wait."

​The bookshop disappeared.

​My stomach turned as the world shifted around me, and a second later, my feet hit the floor of Lucian’s bedroom. My knees nearly gave way beneath me, but Lucian caught my arm before I could fall. Once I regained my balance, he released me.

​For several seconds, neither of us spoke. Then Lucian looked directly at me.

​"Who is he?"

​I swallowed and looked away. There was that question again, and unfortunately, I still didn’t have an answer.

​Owen was probably the worst person Lucian could have caught me with. He knew my real name. He knew I wasn’t Princess Annabel. He knew enough about my life to destroy everything with a few words, and now Lucian had him.

​"You still won’t speak?" Lucian asked.

​I remained silent.

​"Fine."

​He turned away from me and walked toward the wooden bar in the corner of his room. He picked up a glass and poured himself a drink before moving toward the large window.

​I watched him nervously as he took a slow sip. He wasn’t shouting anymore. He wasn’t even looking at me, and for some reason, that scared me more.

​Lucian stood with his back to me, one hand holding his glass while he stared out into the dark night. He looked completely calm, as though there wasn’t an unconscious man being carried toward his room and a terrified wife standing several feet behind him. I couldn’t stop wondering what he was going to do when Owen finally arrived.

​A few minutes later, the bedroom doors opened, and I turned immediately.

​The two guards dragged Owen into the room between them. He was awake now, but his clothes and hair were completely soaked. Water dripped from his face onto the floor, and judging by the way he was coughing, I didn’t need to ask how they had woken him. The guards forced him onto his knees in the middle of the room.

​Lucian didn’t turn around immediately.

​"Alpha," one of the guards said. "He’s awake."

​A chill ran through me.

​Lucian took another slow sip from his glass before finally turning away from the window. His eyes settled on Owen, and even from where I stood, I saw Owen swallow.

​Lucian walked toward him slowly and stopped directly in front of him. Owen had to tilt his head back to look at him.

​"You have thirty seconds to tell me who you are and what you’re doing with my wife," Lucian said quietly. "If I don’t like your answer, I’ll start by cutting out your tongue."

​Panic seized my chest. Owen was a coward. He wasn’t going to lose his tongue to protect me, and he certainly wasn’t going to keep my secret if telling Lucian the truth could save him. He was going to expose me. I knew it.

​Owen’s eyes immediately moved toward me.

​Don’t. Please don’t.

​Lucian noticed, and his expression became even colder.

​"And if you waste those thirty seconds looking at her instead of answering me, I’ll make it twenty."

​Owen quickly looked back at him.

​"Alpha Lucian, please," Owen begged, his voice shaking. "I’m not a spy. I swear. I’m not here to cause any trouble."

​Lucian said nothing.

​Owen swallowed again, water still dripping from his hair onto the carpet. Then his eyes flicked toward me one more time, and my heart nearly stopped. He could destroy me with one sentence. He didn’t even need thirty seconds.

​Owen looked back at Lucian and took a shaky breath.

​"Actually..." he began.

​My fingers curled tightly at my sides as I waited for the words that could destroy everything.

​Then Owen said the last thing I expected.

​"I’m Princess Annabel’s lover."