Page 108 of Awakening

“Oh yeah? I’m not sure the planning staff will agree.”

“They get paid to agree.”

I playfully smack him in the chest again, but a little harder this time. “Ethan, that’s terrible. These are people with families and lives of their own.”

“Who get paid double by me on short request.”

I lean up on my elbow and narrow my eyes at him. “Really? You never said anything about that before.”

“We can’t have everyone knowing how fucking generous I am,” he says with a smile, pulling me back down to his chest.

“I guess that does make me feel a little better,” I say, snuggling into him. “And, you’ll be happy to know that the wedding dress is all squared away. Camilla had a stunning dress in her boutique that is perfect.”

“Baby, I’d marry you if you showed up naked. In fact, let’s blow off the original plan and just do that.” I laugh in his arms as he buries his face in my neck. “On second thought, that means at least one other person would see you naked too. Forget it,” he says, shaking his head.

“Right, because I was actually considering this idea?” I say, and he shrugs with a smile, hugging me tight. After a moment of just lying in silence together, I can’t stand it anymore. I need to know how the meeting went today. “I hate to dampen the mood, but can you tell me how things went today?” His arms immediately tighten around me.

“Not how I was originally hoping, but I think I’m satisfied with the end result.”

“What did the council approve for his punishment?”

Ethan

“He’ll sit in the pack jail for a while, and then Nick and I will show up unannounced to stab him in the neck with a syringe filled with a sedation drug. We’ll then take him to a secluded location where he can wonder what the fuck is going to happen to him.” Olivia looks up at me, face pale and eyes wide. “They referred to it as Austin getting a taste of his own medicine.”

“Wow.”

If she’s reacting like this already, then I’m not sure she’s prepared to hear the rest. “Are you sure you want to know more? You don’t have to be bothered with this, Olivia.”

With a nod, she says, “Tell me.”

“Then we show up to surprise him with the rest of his punishment, which will be delivered by me. He can be slightly sedated, but no shifting, and no weapons or torture devices. I can put him in the hospital, but he has to be alive and capable of making a full recovery when I’m done with him.”

“Do you plan to put him in the hospital?”

“I plan on making him wish he could fucking die.”

“What happens after that?”

“He’ll be released. He can try to find another job, but he’ll have community service that will take priority. If he has another offense, he can be banished from pack grounds, and if he attacks one of us physically, then you and I, or anyone else on our team, has council permission to use lethal self-defense.” She just nods her head. “Are you okay?”

She looks up at me. “I am. I’m not sure what that says about me, and who am I to judge? I killed someone.”

“Olivia, you killed someone in self-defense. It was either you or him.”

“I know, but even as despicable as Ian was, the thought of someone losing their life because of my actions is sickening if I think about it too much.”

“Ian was a piece of shit, Liv. He held you hostage, attacked you on more than one occasion, drugged you, tried to push you off on another man, then?—”

“He killed our baby,” she whispers with tears in her eyes.

I kiss the top of her head and rub her back. “Yes. He killed our baby.”

Her shoulders shake as she starts to sob. “I couldn’t let that go, Ethan. It had to be done. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that I was able to shift. I don’t know if I would have survived, let alone have been able to kill him.” I don’t know if she could have either. Olivia doesn’t have a violent bone in her body. I think the energy and power of her wolf gave her the strength to do what her conscience wouldn’t typically allow.

I tilt her chin up to look at me. “Baby, don’t you dare question your instincts. You did the right thing.” I let her do it herself because I thought it would bring her closure. If I’d known it would torment her, I would have jumped in and taken it on for her. “I promise you, Olivia…I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. I’ll protect you with my life.”

Twenty-Eight

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