1 clutched the Ancestral Moonstone Amulet tightly and attempted to move past her toward the stairwell door. My heart pounded


    painfully in my chest, still weakened from my earlier copse.


    "I''m taking this to my daughter," I said firmly. "She deserves to know the truth."


    Victoria''s eyes narrowed, something feral and desperate shing in their depths. Without warning, she propelled her wheelchair


    forward with vicious force.


    The heavy metal frame mmed into me, knocking the breath from my lungs. I felt myself falling backward, tumbling down the


    concrete stairs.


    Pain exploded through my body as I hit each step. My wolf whimpered, trying desperately to protect me, but my aging body couldn''t respond quickly enough.


    As I fell, my gaze locked with Victoria''s. In that moment of terrible rity, I understood everything


    Victoria had stolen the amulet and used it to deceive Ethan, making him believe she was his childhood sweetheart instead of


    Olivia. She had manipted him, twisted his memories, and torn apart what should have been a true mate bond.


    Inded at the bottom of the stairs, my body broken but my mind suddenly, painfully clear. With trembling fingers, I fumbled for my phone, managing to press the speed dial for Olivia.


    "Olivia," I gasped, my voice weakening as blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. "Victoria... Frost..."


    Before I could say more, Victoria was beside me, snatching the phone from my hand. She ended the call, her eyes cold and calcting as she watched my wolf struggle to heal injuries too severe for my aging body.


    "You should have minded your own business, old woman," she said softly, tucking my phone into her pocket.


    I tried to speak, to tell her that the truth woulde out eventually, but no words came. Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision as Victoria calmly wheeled herself away, leaving me broken and alone at the bottom of the stairs.


    Myst conscious thought was of Olivia, I prayed to the Moon Goddess that my daughter would understand the fragmented warning I''d managed to give her. (Olivia''s POV)


    I was reviewing mytest healing crystal designs at my desk in Canis Enterprises when my phone rang. Seeing my mother''s caller ID, I smiled and picked up immediately.


    "Mom? How are you feeling today?"


    Instead of her usual warm greeting, I heardbored breathing that sent a chill down my spine.


    "Olivia," my mother gasped, her voice weak and strained "Victoria. Frost "


    +30 Bonus


    Then nothing. The call disconnected abruptly, leaving me frozen in ce.


    My wolf surged beneath my skin, howling with protective instinct. Something was terribly wrong.


    "Mom?"


    ?" I called into the dead line, my voice rising with panic. "Mom!"


    I tried calling back, but the call went straight to voicemail. A wave of primal fear washed over me as I jumped to my feet, knocking over my chair.


    Gregory Hayes looked up from his desk across from mine, his expression shifting from annoyance to concern when he saw my


    face.


    "Olivia? What''s wrong?"


    I couldn''t answer. My mind was racing with terrible possibilities, each worse than thest. My mother''sbored breathing, the mention of Victoria Frost, the sudden disconnection-all pointed to something sinister.


    Without exnation, I grabbed my Crystal-Studded Designer Handbag and rushed toward the door.


    "Family emergency," I managed to call over my shoulder. "I have to go!"


    I sprinted through the Canis Enterprises lobby, ignoring the startled looks from colleagues and clients. My emerald eyes were wide with terror as I burst through the front doors and gged down the first taxi I saw.


    "Silvercrest Pack Medical Den," I told the driver, my voice shaking. "As fast as you can."


    As the taxi pulled away from the curb, I tried my mother''s phone again. Still no answer.


    My wolf paced anxiously beneath my skin, her protective instincts in overdrive. If Victoria had done something to my mother...