(Isadora’s POV)

spanng="EN"I pressed the phone closer to my ear. My heart hammered against my ribs.

spanng="EN"“Tell me

spanng="EN"“ra Thorne, the campus beauty of Crestwood University and a gymnastics schrship student, was actually admitted to the university as a result of Alpha Theodore’s maniption.”

spanng="EN"A pause. Static filled the silence.

spanng="EN"“But here’s the interesting part. Her father’s name in the family column is Silvanus Winter.”

spanng="EN"The blood drained from my face. The hospital corridor spun around me.

spanng="EN"Silvanus Winter. That was Olivia’s biological father. The one she’d severed all ties with years ago.

spanng="EN"“Are you certain?” My voice came out as a whisper.

spanng="EN"“Absolutely. I double–checked the records. ra Thorne is Olivia ckwood’s Sister.”

spanng="EN"The phone slipped from my numb fingers. It ttered against the marble floor.

spanng="EN"ra wasn’t just my brother’s mistress. She was Olivia’s half–sister.

spanng="EN"The revtion crushed what was left of my heart. Every breath felt like ss in my lungs.

spanng="EN"Theodore. My perfect brother. The Alpha I’d looked up to my  choose my own mate.

spanng="EN"He was a cheater.

spanng="EN"I had just fought through hell to sever my bond with ric. Believing I was finally free from the pain of  infidelity.

spanng="EN"But it was all a lie. My own brother had betrayed his mate.

spanng="EN"And Olivia had stood by silently. Encouraging me to reject my bond while she endured her own humiliation,

spanng="EN"Was she helping me find freedom? Or was she just a hypocrite, mocking my strength?

spanng="EN"“Isa, what’s wrong?” Evelyn’s concerned voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

spanng="EN"Her hand touched my shoulder. Warm and steady.

spanng="EN"I showed her the phone screen with ra’s profile. Her eyes widened in shock

spanng="EN"Oh goddess, she breathed.

spanng="EN"How could he do this?” I whispered, “How could Theodore betray her like this?”

spanng="EN"“But he’s been lying to everyone!” I snapped.

spanng="EN"“Keep your voice down,” Evelyn hissed, ncing around the empty corridor.

spanng="EN"“The pack has grown over the decade to be thergest in the Northern Territory. Theodore already sent  that she–wolf abroad. It’s over.”

spanng="EN"I stared at her in disbelief. “You want me to pretend nothing happened?”

spanng="EN"“A decade of friendship is strong enough to withstand this test.” Her voice was gentle but insistent. “Olivia’s silence is practical. She’s protecting what matters.”

spanng="EN"“What matters? Her dignity? Her heart?”

spanng="EN"Evelyn shook her head. “The pack. The stability. The future.”

spanng="EN"*Focus on getting along with Olivia,” she continued. “This changes nothing between you two.”

spanng="EN"“How can I face her knowing what I know?” My voice cracked.

spanng="EN"Evelyn’s eyes lit up suddenly. Like she’d found the perfect solution.

spanng="EN"*Olivia’s mother’s grave needs to be relocated. You could organize a memorial for Olivia’s mother’s death anniversary. It would be a way to win back her favor and solidify your position.”

spanng="EN"The suggestion made my stomach churn. Bile rose in my throat.

spanng="EN"I, a Redgrave daughter, now had to suck up to an outsider. To livefortably in my own home.

spanng="EN"I remembered the pain on Olivia’s face when she first arrived in Stonehaven City. Lost and grieving.

spanng="EN"Any sympathy I once felt had curdled into stone.

spanng="EN"“Fine,” I said coldly. “Til organize the memorial.

spanng="EN"“Make it perfect,” Evelyn encouraged. “So touching that Olivia will cry with gratitude.”

spanng="EN"My happy life has been destroyed, so others shouldn’t have one either.

spanng="EN"I pushed open the infirmary door. The hinges creaked softly.

spanng="EN"I saw them. Theodore holding Olivia. Their faces close in what looked like an intimate moment.

spanng="EN"Where I once would have felt joy for them, now I only felt profound, burning disgust.

spanng="EN"My brother was a liar. And Olivia was either a fool or a master maniptor.

spanng="EN"(Olivia’s POV)

spanng="EN"Consciousness was a hazy, drifting fog. Reality blended with memory in a nauseating swirl.

spanng="EN"I was back in the sloky warehouse, The air thick with the smell of gasoline and fear.

spanng="EN"The Kidnappers snarling faces shed before me. Their demand for eight million. All the cash my mother had brought from our old pack.

spanng="EN"Then Theodore appeared. Impossibly brave, Exchanging himself for me.

spanng="EN"He fought like a cornered wolf: Chouting for me to escape as mes licked up the walls.

spanng="EN"A massive burning beam began to fall. Directly towards him.

spanng="EN"My scream ripped from my throat. Pulling me from the depths of memory.

spanng="EN"“No, don’t… Theo!”

spanng="EN"I woke with tears streaming down my face. Looking up into Theodore’s pale, worried eyes.

spanng="EN"He was holding my hand. His grip tight and desperate.

spanng="EN"“I won’t let anyone hurt you again,” he promised.

spanng="EN"The words once were the bedrock of my world. Now they were just a painful reminder of the boy he used to  be.

spanng="EN"The Alpha who once seemed to love me more than life itself had vanished.

spanng="EN"He pulled me into an embrace. Whispering that he would always be by my side.

spanng="EN"But his arms felt like a constraining. Suffocating me.

spanng="EN"I pushed against his chest. Desperate for air.

spanng="EN"The more I struggled, the tighter the web became. Choking me,

spanng="EN"“Olivia, you’re safe now,” he murmured against my hair.

spanng="EN"“Let me go,” I whispered painfully.

spanng="EN"Through the doorway, “I said let me go,

spanng="EN"I saw Isadora’s familiar silhouette. She stood frozen in the entrance.

spanng="EN"Theodore.”

spanng="EN"His arms loosened reluctantly. I could breathe again.

spanng="EN"After Theodore released me, Isadora approached. Her face was a mask of gentle concern.

spanng="EN"But something in her eyes had changed. A coldness I’d never seen before.

spanng="EN"I took her hand warmly. A wave of protectiveness washed over me..

spanng="EN"I knew how difficult her life in the Redgrave family would be. After severing her mate bond with ric.

spanng="EN"“Isa, are you alright?” I asked softly.

spanng="EN"She squeezed my hand. But her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

spanng="EN"“I should be asking you that question.”

spanng="EN"I made a silent decision. Before I left this pack, I would transfer my thirty percent stake to her.

spanng="EN"It would be enough to secure her future. And that of her pup, Iris.

spanng="EN"The door opened again. Healer Elias entered the room.

spanng="EN"His face was bearing He held up a test result like a trophy.

spanng="EN"Alpha, your Luna is pregnant.

spanng="EN"His words made my heart stop, and the truth I wanted to hide was exposed just like that. But Theodore’s reaction was very calm. He snatched the report from the healer’s hand.

spanng="EN"His voice was devoid of all emotion. “Run the test again. There must be some mistake.”