Olivia's POV
The palace air was heavy. Too heavy.
It smelled of incense, power, and fear—an intoxicating mix that made her throat tighten as soon as she stepped past the gilded doors. For six years she had avoided this place. For six years, she swore she would never stand in front of the Alpha again.
But fate didn't care about her promises.
The moment she walked in, silence drowned the hall. Every pair of eyes—noble, cruel, curious—locked on her.
And they froze.
Olivia knew she had changed. The punishment Lex forced on her had broken her, reshaped her, stripped her raw. But what it left behind… it was something sharper, brighter, terrifyingly beautiful. Her skin glowed like it carried sunlight inside. Her figure, slim yet dangerous, was every man's hunger and every woman's jealousy.
She felt it. The burn of gazes crawling over her.
Especially Levi and Leo.
The Alpha's twin heirs didn't even hide it. Their dark wolf eyes slid down her body, slow and shameless, devouring her curves as if they already imagined her pressed against their bedsheets, her lips parted, whispering their names.
Olivia's pulse hammered. She stood taller, not letting them see how their stares melted into her skin like fire.
And then came Mal.
Mal's envy was a living, breathing monster in the room. Olivia didn't need to look at her to know—she could feel it like claws at her back. Mal's perfect smile faltered, twisting, the moment she saw the way the princes looked at her. For years Mal had built her world around the belief she would outshine Olivia. That she was destined to rule while Olivia stayed in the dirt. But one step, one single step Olivia took into the palace, shattered that illusion.
The Alpha's voice cracked through the silence. Deep. Cold. Commanding.
"I thought you were punished beyond recognition by my son, Lex," he said, eyes narrowing. "And yet here you stand, glowing brighter than anyone else in this room."
The words sliced through Mal like blades. She flinched. Olivia didn't dare look at her, but she could feel the rage boiling.
The Alpha leaned forward, his crimson gaze locking on her like a predator. "You are truly your father's daughter."
Olivia's stomach twisted. Her father. The man chained in darkness, branded a traitor, ripped from her life. To hear his name from the Alpha's lips was both a knife and a strange kind of pride.
She lifted her chin, even though her heart was screaming.
Then the Alpha's tone darkened. "Were you aware that Lex lies wounded? That my son barely escaped death?"
Her chest tightened. She had heard whispers. She had wondered. But hearing it directly, she felt her knees weaken. She wanted to ask, Is he alright?—but the words stuck in her throat. She couldn't show that weakness, not in front of Mal, not in front of the court.
"I… I didn't know, my lord," she whispered.
"Liar!" Mal's shrill voice cut through the hall. She stepped forward, her jealousy finally snapping. "You wanted him dead for what he did to you! You're nothing more than an omega whore—"
"Silence."
The Alpha's command was final. Mal's mouth clamped shut, but her hatred only grew, her fists trembling.
But it didn't end there.
"My lord," Mal's mother spoke, her voice sugar and poison. She stepped forward, draped in silk, her eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction. "If it wasn't Olivia who conspired to kill your son, then perhaps it was her mother."
The world stopped.
Olivia's blood ran cold. Her mother stiffened beside her. Every eye in the room shifted toward Elena Evercrest.
"Think of it," Mal's mother continued, her tone sweet as venom. "Her husband rots in a pit for treason—banished, if not dead already. Her only daughter disgraced for stealing. Do you expect anything less than vengeance from such a woman?"
The Alpha's expression darkened. Even the Queen leaned closer, listening.
Olivia wanted to scream. She wanted to rip Mal's mother apart with her bare hands. But her body locked, her lips sealed. If she dared speak out of turn, she would only make things worse. The pain built inside her chest until it felt like her ribs would crack.
And still Mal's mother spoke.
"I do not feel safe knowing a viper sleeps among us. She failed to kill the Alpha once—who will she strike next? My daughter, perhaps, who is set to marry one of your sons? Would you allow such danger in your palace?"
The Alpha's gaze was hard. Calculating. Dangerous.
"Levi. Leo." His voice echoed in the hall. "What do you think?"
But the twins… weren't listening. Not truly. They were staring at Olivia again, their hunger barely contained. Still, Levi tore his gaze away long enough to speak.
"I think…" His voice was deep, steady. "Her mother should be held in custody until the matter is investigated."
Leo nodded, his jaw tight. "Agreed."
The Alpha leaned back, decision carved into his features.
"Elena Evercrest," he pronounced, "you are hereby taken into custody for the investigation of my attack and my son's injury. Guards—take her."
"No!"
The word ripped from Olivia's throat before she even realized. She fell to her knees, hands shaking, her voice breaking.
"Please… not my mother. Take me instead."
Her mother gasped softly, then forced herself strong. She reached for Olivia, dragging her up, cupping her face with trembling hands.
"No, Olivia." Her voice cracked but her eyes burned steady. "This is not your burden. Be strong. Do not let them break you."
Tears threatened, but Olivia swallowed them back. Her mother pressed a kiss to her forehead, her voice trembling with love and pain.
"Be strong, my daughter."
The guards moved. Shackles clinked. They seized her mother and dragged her away, step by cruel step. Olivia's eyes locked onto hers until the very last second, neither of them crying, both holding their heads high. And then the heavy doors closed.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Mal's mother's smile curved like a knife. Mal herself smirked, her triumph glowing brighter than her jealousy. She had won—for now.
"My lord," she pushed further, her voice smooth, "surely Olivia herself should also be taken. The blood of traitors runs in her veins."
Olivia's body went still. She didn't care anymore. If they wanted her gone, let them take her. Let them kill her.
But the Alpha shook his head. "No. She stays." His gaze slid over Olivia like fire, lingering too long, too sharp. "She is too useful. Too… rare."
Mal's mother bristled. "But my lord, she—"
"If she steals again," the Alpha cut her off, his tone like steel, "she will be sentenced to death."
Gasps rippled through the room.
His gaze locked onto Olivia. "Is that understood?"
Her lips trembled. She gave a single, sharp nod.
"Good," he said, his voice final. "You are dismissed."
He rose, the Queen beside him, and left. Levi and Leo followed, though not without one last, burning glance at Olivia that made her skin flush with unwanted heat.
And then the room emptied, leaving only Mal.
Mal's footsteps clicked against the marble as she came closer, her perfume thick and suffocating. She leaned close, her whisper like venom in Olivia's ear.
"Poor Olivia. I only wish you had joined your filthy mother in the dungeons. But don't worry… your turn will come."
She laughed, cruel and high, as she walked out, her parents trailing behind.
Ava was the last to pass. Her eyes softened with pity. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
But Olivia couldn't even hear her.
Her world had already shattered. Her chest was hollow. Her body trembled, but her face remained stone. She stood there in silence, alone, the weight of cruelty pressing down until she could barely breathe.
Why am I in this wicked world? she thought. Why do they strip everything from me?
And then—like a ghost—the words echoed in her mind again.
Be strong, Olivia. Be strong.
Her fists clenched. Her heart hardened.
"I'll be strong, mother," she whispered to the empty hall. "I will."
And that's when it happened.
Her eyes burned. Not gold, not red, not yellow like any wolf before her. They blazed a piercing, unnatural blue.
Gasps echoed from the guards still lingering at the edge of the room. Fear rippled through the air.
Because this was no ordinary wolf's eyes.
This was something new. Something the Goddess herself had touched.
A new thread of power.
A storm no one was ready for.