(Olivia''s POV)
I couldn''t stop trembling. Even with Ethan gone, my wolf remained agitated beneath my skin, pacing and whimpering with
distress. The confrontation had left me raw, exposed in a way I hadn''t felt since Lily''s funeral.
James gently covered my hand with his, the warmth of his touch steadying me. His familiar scent-earthy with hints of pine and leather-helped calm my frayed nerves. It reminded me of our childhood, of hiding together in the abandoned shed behind the orphanage when the caretakers were in particrly cruel moods.
"Drink," he urged, pressing the ss of water into my hands.
I took a small sip, then another, feeling myposure gradually return. My emerald eyes cleared as my wolf settled, no longer thrashing beneath my skin.
“James,” I said softly, my voice carrying a vulnerability I rarely allowed myself to show. "Would you watch Lily''s videos with me?"
James nodded without hesitation, his hazel eyes warm with understanding. He moved to set up The Memory Projector in my living room, handling the device with familiar ease. He''d been here for many such nights, holding me together when grief threatened to tear me apart
"Which one?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
"All of them," I whispered, curling into the corner of my couch.
Soon, images of Lily filled the screen-my beautiful daughter, from newborn pup to toddler. Her emerald eyes, so like mine, sparkled with innocence and joy. The videos captured precious moments: her first steps, her first shift into her silver- white wolf form, her delighted giggles as she yed in the moonlight.
"Look at her," I murmured, a bittersweet smile touching my lips as Lily''s fourth birthday appeared on screen. "Remember how she insisted on having a wolf- shaped cake?"
James chuckled softly. "And then cried because she didn''t want to cut it."
e from within.
"So you ate the whole tail portion yourself to make her feel better," I recalled, the memory warming
Initially after Lily''s death, I couldn''t bear to watch these videos. The pain was too raw, too consuming. But now they provided a different kind of sce-a reminder that Lily had existed, had been loved, had lived.
My wolf, usually restless with grief and rage, seemed to calm as I watched, mesmerized by the memories of my daughter. Herughter echoed through the cottage, a ghost of happiness that both wounded and healed.
"She was so much like you," James observed quietly "That same stubborn tilt to her chin when she made up her mind about something"
+30 Banus
I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. Eventually, exhaustion overcame me, and I drifted off to sleep on the
couch, Lily''s smile thest thing I saw before darkness imed me.
(Third person''s POV)
James watched Olivia''s breathing even out, her features softening in sleep. The fierce Luna who stood against an Alpha King was,
in these unguarded moments, simply a grieving mother. His wolf rose protectively beneath his skin, urging him to stay, to guard
Deeply concerned about her fragile emotional state, James decided to remain for the night. He made a makeshift bed on the floor
with the Midnight Comfort nket he kept in his vehicle, positioning himself between the door and Olivia-a sentinel against any threats, physical or emotional.
His phone buzzed repeatedly with messages from Ethan Stone, each more insistent than thest.
"How is she?" read the first.
"Is she still upset?" came minutester.
"Has
she calmed down?" followed shortly after.
James replied curtly to the barrage: "She''s asleep.”
Another message appeared immediately: "Thank you for staying with her."
James''s jaw tightened as he typed his response: "Don''t thank me for doing what you should have been doing all along. You lost
that right when you chose Victoria over your own daughter and mate."
He set his phone to silent, unwilling to engage further with the Alpha who had
caused Olivia so much pain. His hazel eyes drifted
back to her sleeping form, his wolf settling into protective vignce.
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