Page 38 of Torn By The Alpha

“Olivia is right. I can’t believe that anyone, besides him, actually believes any of this. It does sound like some kind of stupid fairytale. Is Declan delusional, or just trying to manipulate the situation?”

“Maybe a little of both,” Zac said, shrugging his shoulders. “Either way, it doesn’t make him any less dangerous. Whether his packmates believe in the prophecy or curse, or just going along with it, Olivia is a target.”

A thought came to Zac as they were talking. He called Howlers’ and asked to speak with Olivia.

“I had a thought. Is there any way Declan could have forced Helga to give that kind of prophecy simply because he didn’t want to go through with the mating ceremony?”

Olivia was quiet for a second and then said, “I guess anything is possible, but I really don’t think so. Helga is ancient. I don’t know that she could be bribed, threatened, or intimidated. Does it matter?”

“Only because I’m trying to figure out what it means. Is she usually right?”

“Unfortunately,” Olivia said.

“Alright. I’ll talk to you soon,” he said.

“Running away from the situation is the opposite of starting a fight,” Ian said.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Tami stuck her head in and said, “You have an email from Lucius that you need to look at now.”

“Thank you,” Zac said.

She waited as though she wanted to know what the conversation had been about. Zac wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t been listening at the door.

“Please shut the door behind you,” Zac said. “I’ve got to get her replacement picked.”

He opened his email. Lucius had sent a message to all the alphas.

Marsden is pissed. She sent a message to me and to Jennifer saying that if she didn’t get her friend back, then everyone would pay the price. We are going to have to be a lot more vigilant because I’m pretty damn sure that she isn’t lying or bluffing.

Zac replied, We’ll make sure to keep our patrols going and that we’ll be very vigilant.

The other alphas agreed.

When Zac went in to Howlers’ he asked, “When’s your next night off? I thought you could come over and I could grill a steak or some pork chops.”

“Tomorrow night. I could cook for you,” Olivia said.

“Sounds like a date,” Zac said.

Olivia seemed nervous when she served him the baked chicken, potatoes, and green bean dish. She shouldn’t have worried. Zac’s eyes opened wide after the first couple of bites, and he said, “This is delicious. I’ll have to tell Sean to add it to the menu.”

“I’m glad you like it,” she replied.

“I should take you to visit some of the awesome places in New Mexico on your days off. I think that you would love the holy church, El Santuario de Chimayo. It is in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Native Americans and other peoples have visited it for centuries. They were convinced that there were healing spirits there, in the form of hot springs. When the springs dried up, the dirt was considered to be sacred and have healing properties for the body and soul. You can bring your own container to put the dirt in or buy one from the gift shop. They don’t charge for the dirt. People come from all over the world to get healed.”

“That sounds amazing,” Olivia said. “I’ve always wanted to be able to visit historical places and just go sight-seeing. I never left our county except when I came here, and I really wasn’t in the mood to visit shrines or any of the other sites.”

“That’s understandable. Once we’ve visited Fort Union, the volcanoes, mountains, and thousands of other places in New Mexico, we’ll venture out to other states. Some people want to explore the world, but I think that there are so many wonderful places to explore in this country.”

Olivia smiled widely and said, “Now, you have me all excited.”

Zac thought that she did seem as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She didn’t know whether it was because she had shared her story with him or if she knew that everyone had her back if Declan did decide to do something stupid.

They decided to go for a walk in the woods behind Zac’s house after dinner.

Out of the blue, he asked, “Did you ever love Declan?”

“No,” Olivia answered quickly. “To be honest, at first, I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t like him, I didn’t dislike him. He simply existed. Then, once I saw what kind of person he was, I actively disliked him.”

---