Page 83 of Awakening

“We wait. It should eventually work its way out of her system.”

Ethan sighs. “It’s just so fucking hard. I want her back all the way, Max.”

“I know, Alpha.”

Alpha?

“It’s almost weird to hear someone call me Alpha again,” Ethan says with a light laugh.

My heart pounds harder and harder the more I hear.

“I’ve instructed everyone in the pack to address me as Mr. Sullivan when Olivia is with me. Shifting into wolf form is to be discreet, and obviously forbidden in her presence. We have so much rebuilding to do, and I can’t risk her finding out about our society right now.”

Pack? Wolf form? Our society? My limbs shake as I try to wrap my mind around everything I’m hearing.

“Speaking of that, how long do you plan on keeping the truth from her? You know you’re going to have to tell her who she really is eventually,” Max says.

“I know, but I can’t risk it yet. She and I need to be closer. If I tell her the truth right now, I have no doubt she’ll go running for the hills.”

So much for fucking trust. Who the hell is this man? And, who am I?

“Alpha, someone is bound to mess up at some point. You’re counting on a lot of people out there to keep your secret.”

I can’t believe I’m hearing Max go along with this. Who else is in on hiding things from me? Chloe? Nick?

“I know. I just need a little more time.”

“All will be back to normal one day, Alpha. Olivia will be your Luna again.”

Luna. Lu. Oh, my God. Lu is Luna. Luna is supposed to be me, but what does it mean? I can barely swallow as I feel my heart pounding all the way up in my ears.

“Thank you, Max,” Ethan says.

I have to swallow my gasp when I hear them standing from their chairs in Ethan’s office. Turning, I run back up the stairs and into our bedroom as quietly as I can as hot tears of anger run down my cheeks. I land on the edge of the bed while tears continue to stream down my face and onto my neck as my breathing quivers. I don’t bother to hide my emotional state when Ethan walks in to find me a crying mess, staring at the floor.

“Baby? Olivia, what the hell is wrong?” He kneels down in front of me and rubs my leg.

I flinch and pull away from him, looking into his beautiful eyes that appear to be so full of concern as my tears continue to fall. “What were you doing downstairs?”

His eyes widen, and he pulls a phone out of his pocket. “Your phone was delivered. It’s all set up and ready to go,” he says, laying it next to me on the bed.

“At 6:30 in the morning?”

“I called in a favor with a friend after you fell asleep last night.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Liar.”

He pulls his bottom lip in under his teeth. “Why would you say that?” He gestures toward the phone. “It’s right there.”

“Because I’m not talking about the phone. You’re a liar! It’s all been fucking lies!”

“Olivia, calm down. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tries to take my hand, but I pull away from him.

“I’m so sick of being in the dark about my own life. Isn’t it already enough that I can’t remember the last five years? Does everyone around me, who supposedly loves me, have to lie about everything?”

“Olivia—”

“Stop it. I know you’re lying. All of you,” I say, wiping tears away from my face with the back of my hand.

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