Chapter 183: One Last Time
Oliver’s POV
It had been four days since the shooting, and the heavy, metallic scent of the hospital wing was finally beginning to fade from my senses. Every time I shifted, the pull of the stitches in my side reminded me of Alex’s betrayal. I already knew it was Alex’s plot; the coward had always been envious of the crown, but I hadn’t expected him to move so boldly. My men were tracking him through the dense northern woods, and it was only a matter of time before I had his head on a silver platter.
But the physical pain was a distant second to the storm brewing in my chest whenever I looked at Aurora.
I hadn’t allowed her to go back to her apartment. Since the moment I woke up, I kept her tethered to me, tucked away in my private suite under the guise of protection. They had been some of the most wonderful days of my life. Having her near, feeling her breath against my neck in the middle of the night—it was everything I had ever wanted. But it was more than just proximity. The air between us was constantly charged, vibrating with a desperate, frantic energy that led us into countless and constant bouts of sex.
I couldn’t explain it, but Aurora seemed to get turned on by my mere presence. A brush of my hand against her hip, the sound of my voice across the room—it was as if she were constantly on the verge of a cliff.
And that strange smell.
I was not a fool. I was an Alpha, a King, and my senses were sharpened to a lethal edge. I knew exactly what was happening. Her scent had shifted, becoming richer, heavier, and laced with a sweetness that made my wolf pace behind my ribs in a protective frenzy. I knew Aurora was pregnant.
The realization should have been simple, but I could see the shadow in her eyes. I knew she was keeping it from me. I suspected she thought the child belonged to Raymond—the dark, masked shadow she encountered at the club. She didn’t know that the man who had claimed her in those scented, velvet rooms was the same man holding her now. She didn’t know that I was Raymond.
I smiled to myself as I sat on the edge of the bed, watching the curtains flutter in the breeze. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow. It was my twenty-seventh birthday, and I had prepared everything. I was going to reveal the truth. I was going to tell her that I was Raymond. I knew she would be mad—furious, even—at the deception, but I was prepared to spend the rest of my life making it up to her. I would ask her about the pregnancy then, once the masks were finally off. My wolf could feel the life inside her; it was a hum of energy that belonged to me.
She had gone to visit her brother, leaving me alone in the suite for the first time in days. The silence felt too loud. I missed the way she smelled, the way she moved.
Restless, I stood up and walked toward the walk-in closet. Hidden behind a row of tailored suits was my private safe. I reached out, my fingers dancing over the keypad as I punched in the code. The heavy door clicked open with a soft hiss.
Inside, resting on top of a stack of documents, was the black burner phone I used as Raymond.
I didn’t know why, but I felt a sudden, gnawing urge to check it. I wanted to see if she was still trying to reach that ghost. I wanted to know what she was thinking when she thought I wasn’t looking.
I brought the phone out and sat back down, the cold glass screen glowing as I unlocked it. My heart sank, then hammered against my ribs. There were dozens of missed calls from Aurora.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady the surge of jealousy and confusion. I opened the messages. For the past four days, while she was lying in my arms as Oliver, she had been desperately messaging Raymond.
"I need to see you."
"It’s important. Please answer."
"I want us to see each other for the last time. It’s urgent."
I frowned, my jaw tightening. The last time? What did that mean? Was she planning to end things? Was she going to tell the masked man that she didn’t want him anymore because she loved the King? Or was it something different?
A surge of curiosity, mixed with a dark, Alpha possessiveness, took hold of me. I couldn’t let it sit. I needed to know what she was planning before the sun rose on my birthday.
My thumbs hovered over the screen. I had to maintain the persona. I typed out a reply in the cold, arrogant tone Raymond always used.
Raymond: You have been too troublesome, little bird. What do you want? You miss me?
I stared at the screen, my heart thumping. I didn’t have to wait long. Almost immediately, the dots appeared as she typed back.
Aurora: Where the hell have you been?
I smiled, a dark curve of my lips. She was angry. I typed back, enjoying the thrill of the double life for one final night.
Raymond: I was out of the country. What’s up? You miss me that much?
The reply came back instantly.
Aurora: I need to see you. It’s important. We need to talk, Raymond. Face to face.
I leaned back against the headboard, the phone heavy in my hand. I wondered what she was so eager to say. Was she going to tell Raymond about the pregnancy? Did she truly believe the child was his? Or was she going to tell him she was pregnant for the King and that their arrangement had to end forever?
The thought of her carrying my child and thinking it belonged to a stranger made my blood boil, but I forced the feeling down. I needed to hear her words. I needed to see her face when she said it.
Raymond: Okay. Let’s see. In the club... in an hour. Don’t be late.
Aurora: Okay.
I stared at the "Okay" until the screen went dark. I sighed, a heavy sound that echoed in the empty room. This meant I had to disguise myself again. I had to put on the mask, the leather, and the scent-blockers. I had to become the monster one more time.
I looked at the bandages on my ribs. I was still healing, and the movement would be painful, but I didn’t care. I was so eager to know what was in her heart.
This is the last time, I promised myself as I stood up to prepare. Tomorrow, the masks come off. Tomorrow, I claim my woman and my child in the light of day.
But as I reached for the black leather jacket, a cold shiver ran down my spine. My wolf was pacing, agitated and snarling at shadows I couldn’t see. I brushed it off as nerves.
I reached for my standard phone first. I needed to be sure she was not on her way here... My fingers traced her name on the screen before I hit dial.
She picked up on the second ring.
"Oliver?" Her voice was tight, breathless, as if she had been running.
"I miss you," I murmured, leaning back against the doorframe, my voice dropping into that low, possessive tone that usually made her melt. "The suite feels like a tomb without your scent. When are you coming home to me?"
There was a long pause on the other end—a silence so heavy I could almost feel her heartbeat through the line. "I... I’ll be back in an hour or two, Oliver. I promise. I just need to finish up here with my brother. Are you okay? Are you resting?"
"I’m fine, love," I lied, my eyes fixed on the black leather jacket draped over the chair. "Just hurry back. I have so much I want to tell you tomorrow."
"I will," she whispered. "I love you."
"I love you too."
I ended the call, the silence of the room crashing back down on me. My wolf howled in the back of my mind, a mournful, warning sound that I ignored. I had a role to play.
I left the master suite and moved down the hidden corridor toward a room in the packhouse Aurora didn’t even know existed.
I stood before the floor-to-ceiling mirror and began the transformation.
First, I wiped away the heavy medical concealer from my wrist. As the tan cream came away, the intricate, dark ink of my tattoos emerged—the jagged thorns and ancient runes that marked Raymond’s skin. Next, I applied the temporary black dye to my hair, watching as the regal red disappeared under a void-like darkness.
I picked up the green lenses and put them in. Finally, I donned the scent-hider, a powerful chemical block that suppressed my Alpha pheromones, leaving me smelling like nothing but cold rain and ozone.
I pulled on the black leather pants and the buckled jacket, every movement sending a sharp sting through my healing ribs. I didn’t flinch. The pain kept me sharp.
Lastly, I reached for the mask. I slid it over my face, the cool lining pressing against my skin.
I looked in the mirror, and Oliver was gone. In his place stood the shadow. The monster. The man Aurora thought she was meeting to settle a score.
"One last time," I rasped, the mask modulating my voice into a terrifying, gravelly baritone.
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