h4Chapter 373: Compare/h4

    Olivia’s POV

    "Excuse me." The words slipped from my lips sharper than I intended, slicing through the heavy air in the room. My wolf growled inside me, restless, wing at the edges of my control.

    Frederick arched a brow, clearly unbothered by my outburst. "Is something unclear?"

    My hands curled into fists at my sides. Unclear? Everything about this was unclear. My mind spun, trying to grasp what he had just said. A son? Three years old? And he expected me—me—to step into that role?

    I lifted my chin, forcing myself to stay calm. "You think I’ll just... ept that? That you have a child, and somehow I’m supposed to be his mother?"

    The smirk never left his lips, but there was something darker behind his eyes now. "Not ’somehow,’ Olivia. It is what will happen. Felix is mine. Soon, you will be mine. That makes him yours. It’s simple."

    My chest tightened, anger zing hot in me. Simple? He spoke as if my life, my choices, were just lines on a page he could rewrite.

    I turned slightly toward the pale woman on the bed—his mother—who was watching me with that strange, warm smile. She looked at me like I was already part of them, already tied to this cursed family.

    My jaw clenched. I wished I could spit in his face and tell him over my dead body. But I had to keep up with my act.

    Don’t get me wrong—I don’t hate children. Never. My wolf softened at the very thought of them, innocent and pure. But this wasn’t about a child. This was about him. About Frederick trying to twist me into something I wasn’t, into someone he could im and control.

    "I epted to be with you, not to be a mother... I’m just eighteen. I’m not ready to be a mother now or in a few years toe." I frowned. But actually, it was a lie. I loved children. After this nightmare, I wanted pups—wanted them with the triplets.

    Frederick shrugged. "Hailee had triplets at your age and became a wonderful mother. If she could do it with three pups, you can do even better with one."

    My anger intensified, and it took every inch of control from me not to yell at him. I hated what he was doing...paring me to my great-grandmother Hailee... it was as if he loved her... like it was she he always wanted but was forced to have me. Like I was some pale copy of his long-lost dream.

    My wolf snarled, and I could feel her pressing against me, demanding Ish out. But I couldn’t—not yet.

    I steadied my breath and forced my re onto him. "I am not Hailee," I said sharply, my angry voice echoing through the room. "And I will never be her. Stop looking at me like I’m some recement for the woman you couldn’t have.

    His smirk faded for a moment, and then he opened his mouth to speak, but his mother beat him to it. "Stop it, Frederick."

    Frederick stiffened, his head snapping toward the pale woman on the bed. His smirk faltered, reced by concern.

    "Mother—" he started, his tone unusually careful.

    But she raised a trembling hand, silencing him. Her eyes, weak but still sharp, shifted to me. That strange, warm smile returned.

    "She is not Hailee," she whispered, her words slow but firm. "Do not make the mistake of turning one into the shadow of another."

    Frederick’s jaw clenched. His hands curled into fists at his sides, but he said nothing.

    I stood frozen, my heart pounding. My wolf stirred inside me, unsettled but... curious. Why was she defending me?

    The old woman’s gaze never left mine. "Child," she said softly, "just try to understand him..." She coughed weakly, and Frederick immediately stepped closer, brushing a hand across her arm with a tenderness that didn’t fit the monster I knew.

    I blinked, startled. The way he touched her—it was careful, reverent, even loving. For the first time, I saw him as something other than the smirking demon who haunted me.

    Feeling drained, I let out a heavy sigh. "I need to rest," I muttered, rubbing at my temples. My body felt heavier than it should. Back home, it had only been morning when I left... but here, in this strange country, it was already night.

    Frederick’s mother smiled faintly from her bed, her tired eyes following me as I turned toward the door. "Go on, child. Rest."

    Frederick moved immediately, his hand brushing across his mother’s arm once more before straightening. Without a word, he gestured for me to follow. His long strides carried him down the dim corridor, the silence pressing in around us.

    We stopped at a tall door at the end of the hall. He pushed it open and stepped aside, waiting for me to enter first.

    I walked in—and froze.

    The room wasrge, lined with velvet curtains and a massive carved bed at the center. The faint scent of cedar and smoke clung to the air. But what caught my attention wasn’t the size or the luxury. It was the little details. His coat thrown across the chair. His boots by the corner. His gun ced on the side table.

    My brows furrowed deeply. "This... this is your room."

    "Yes," he said smoothly, stepping inside behind me. His voice was low, calm, but it carried a weight that made my stomach twist. "We are sharing a room."

    My wolf bristled instantly, growling inside me. My hands curled into fists at my sides as I turned sharply toward him.

    I forced a re onto my face. "That wasn’t part of the deal."

    His lips curved into that same maddening smirk. "What’s wrong? Afraid you won’t be able to control yourself around me?" he taunted in a mocking tone.

    Something in me snapped. I had held back, swallowed my anger, yed his twisted game—but I was tired of that smirk, tired of his arrogance, tired of himparing me to Hailee like I was some secondhand version of her.

    If he wanted to y, I’d give him a move he didn’t expect.

    I leaned back against the edge of the bed, folding my arms, my lips curling into a sharp smile. "Control myself? Don’t tter yourself, Frederick. Maybe if you weren’t still hung up on Hailee—" I spat, "—you wouldn’t be so desperate to trap me here. Tell me, did it break you when she never wanted you back? Is that why you’re trying so hard to use me as her recement?"

    A frown twisted his face, but I continued. "Sadly, my great-grandmother was a fool. Allowing a man like you to get close to her... what was she thinking? Maybe she wasn’t as wise as the stories make her out to be. Maybe she was weak—too weak to see through you."

    The moment the words left my mouth, I saw it.

    His smirk vanished. His eyes, glowing red, widened in fury. For the first time, I saw his mask slippletely.

    Before I could move, before I could even draw breath, he was on me.

    His hand shot out and wrapped around my throat, cold and strong. He mmed me back against the wall, the air in my lungs vanishing as his grip tightened. My wolf snarled, thrashing inside me, but my body froze against the sudden rush of fear.

    His face was inches from mine now, his voice a dark growl. "Don’t you dare speak her name to me like that again." His eyes zed, every ounce of his control burned away. "Hailee was more than you could ever dream to be. Watch your tongue, Olivia... or I’ll tear it out."

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