"Are you absolutely sure that''s what happened?" I pressed gently.
Victoria''s fingers tightened around mine. “Ethan, please. Why are you questioning her like this?
She was traumatized by that incident."
"I just want to understand-"
"Why don''t you ask Lily then?" Victoria suggested, her tone innocent despite the cruelty of her words. She knew perfectly well that Lily was no longer alive to defend herself.
Emma''s eyes filled with tears. "Alpha, don''t you believe Emma? Do you think Emma is a lying bad girl?"
The sight of her distress made my resolve crumble. I reached back to pat her knee
reassuringly.
"No, of course not. I believe you, Emma."
Victoria rxed beside me, her thumb stroking the back of my hand. "It was probably just a
misunderstanding between children. These things happen."
I nodded, though doubt lingered. Perhaps that was all it had been-a childish misunderstanding that I had blown out of proportion due to my own prejudices. I had been quick to believe the worst of Lily, assuming she had inherited Olivia''s supposed jealousy and
vindictiveness.
< Chapter 88 Divided Loyalties
+15 Pomis
But the surveince videos had shown me a different Olivia than the one I thought
I knew. Patient, loving, protective-nothing like the maniptive woman Victoria had described to me
over the years.
Had I been wrong about both of them?
We arrived at Rosewood Haven, Victoria''s elegant residence on the outskirts of Shadow Creek. Emma, still upset from our conversation, clung to me as I carried her inside.
"Don''t go yet, Alpha," she pleaded, her small hands fisted in my shirt. "Stay for dinner. Please?"
Victoria smiled apologetically. "You don''t have to if you''re busy. I know you have pack
responsibilities-"
"I''ll stay," I decided, unable to resist Emma''s pleading eyes. "For dinner."
Dinner stretched into the evening as Emma insisted on showing me hertest drawings, her school projects, her new toys. By the time Victoria suggested it was bedtime, Emma was
yawning but still reluctant to let me leave.
"Will you read me a story, Alpha? Please?"
Victoria intervened gently. "Emma, Alpha Ethan needs to get back to his duties. I can read to
you tonight."
"But I want Alpha to do it," Emma insisted, her lower lip jutting out stubbornly.
I found myself agreeing, following Emma to her bedroom while Victoria watched with a mixture of amusement and something else I couldn''t quite identify.
Emma''s room was a child''s paradise-filled with toys, books, and a canopy bed fit for a princess. She climbed into bed and patted the space beside her expectantly.
"This one," she said, handing me a colorful storybook about a wolf pup who discovers his
special powers.
I read slowly, watching as Emma''s eyelids grew heavier with each page. By the time I reached
the end, she was fast asleep, her small face peaceful in repose.
Carefully, I extracted myself from the bed and tucked the nkets around her. For
a moment, I simply stood there, watching her sleep. She looked so innocent, so vulnerable. It was hard to
imagine her deliberately pushing another child into a pool.
Yet Lily had seemed equally sincere in her denial.
It was almost nine o''clock when I finally left Emma''s room, gently closing the door behind me.
< Chapter 88: Divided Loyalties
As I walked down the hallway toward the stairs, Victoria''s bedroom door opened.
She stood in the doorway, her hair loose around her shoulders, wearing a midnight blue nightdress that left little to the imagination. The silky material clung to her curves, the neckline plunging dangerously low.
+15 Points>
I averted my gaze, ufortable with the intimacy of the moment. "Emma''s asleep. I should get back to the pack house."
Victoria stepped forward, closing the distance between us. Her arms slid around
my waist, her body pressing against mine as she looked up at me with undisguised longing.
"Ethan..." Her voice was husky, inviting. "Stay tonight, okay?"