“Fuck!” I cursed, pulling out of Anita’s mouth—but it was too late. Olivia had already caught us.

Where I was seated, I felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar—except this wasn’t candy, and the shame cut deeper. My wolf growled inside me, restless and furious. Shamefully, I looked at Olivia, but instead of the reaction I expected, what I saw baffled me.

No wide eyes. No trembling lips. No gasp of heartbreak. She didn’t look like she cared at all. She stared at us like it was nothing—like this was normal. And somehow, that made everything feel worse. What kind of woman walks in on her mate—her husband—receiving oral sex from another and doesn’t show the slightest flicker of pain?

Without sparing me a glance, Olivia turned to Anita, who was now standing, still wearing that smug little smirk.

“Why did you send Nora and Lolita out on an errand?” Olivia asked coldly.

Anita scoffed and crossed her arms. “They’re maids. I wanted something, so I sent them. Is that a crime now?”

Olivia took one step forward. Just one. But the entire energy in the room shifted.

“Nora and Lolita are my personal maids,” Olivia said, her tone sharper now. “You have your maids, Anita. Don’t touch what isn’t yours.”

Anita chuckled and took a step toward Olivia. “And if I do? What are you going to do about it?” she challenged.

A small smile curled at the left corner of Olivia’s lips, and then she took a step forward, standing just an inch away from Anita, her glare fixed on Anita.

“Then I’ll remind you exactly who I am. I’m Luna Olivia Luciano. I’m legally married to the triplets. I’m their queen. And you?” She paused and eyed Anita from head to toe. “You are just a whore… a woman marked to warm their bed. Don’t confuse your position with mine.”

A suffocating silence hung in the air for a moment before Olivia continued.

“Don’t dare me, Anita… If you still like this position of being their concubine, then I will advise you to stick to warming their bed and stay out of my way… this is your last warning.”

Anita stepped back, angry. “You’re threatening me?”

Olivia tilted her head, smiling coldly. “You forgot your place. I’m just reminding you.”

Anita looked to me then, clearly expecting me to speak up in her defense. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. In truth, I felt like shit. And what hurt the most? Olivia hadn’t looked at me. Not once. Not even a flash of disappointment in her eyes. And somehow, that made me feel like the smallest man alive.

“I will take my leave.” With that, she turned and left, acting like I was invisible. “Olivia…” I said quietly, unsure what I was even asking for.

She didn’t turn. She didn’t speak. She just walked away.

As soon as Olivia walked out and the door closed behind her, the room went completely silent. I just sat there, frozen. My pants were still undone, my heart was racing, and shame hit me like a wave.

There were times I wouldn’t care if she saw this. In fact, there were times I would want her to walk in and see this, but not anymore. I couldn’t explain it, but I would do anything just to prevent her from seeing this.

Anita turned to me, her voice sharp for someone who is sick. “Did you see that? Did you see how she spoke to me?”

I didn’t even look at her. “I’m leaving,” I said flatly as I buckled my belt.

“What? Now?” she asked, surprised.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t care. I needed to get away from her—and away from what I had just done.

I walked out of the room like I was in a fog. Everything inside me felt heavy. Wrong. The way Olivia didn’t even flinch when she caught us… it haunted me. She didn’t care, didn’t yell. She didn’t even look at me. That hurt more than anything. I needed to clear my head.

It was already past 8 pm, but I decided to go to the training field. The sky was dark, the moon was out, and the wind was cool. I thought I’d be alone—but I wasn’t. Olivia was there.

She was in the middle of the field, barefoot, moving like a fighter. Her braid swung behind her as she punched and kicked the air, her body sharp and graceful like she had done this a thousand times. Sweat glowed on her skin. Her face was serious. Focused. Powerful.

She looked nothing like the quiet girl people always saw. She looked like a warrior, my little warrior.

That thought struck something deep inside me. My chest tightened as an old memory rose to the surface, one I hadn’t thought of in years.

She was just nine years old back then—tiny, stubborn, full of fire. I had just come back from a long patrol when I saw her standing outside the training field, arms crossed, a small plastic container in her hand.

“Train me,” she had said firmly, like a command. Her usual playful demeanor gone.

I’d blinked, confused. “What?”

She walked right up to me and opened the container to show a single chocolate cupcake with pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles. “This is payment,” she said seriously, holding it up like it was a bag of gold. “I know you’re the best. So teach me.”

I laughed that day, I couldn’t help it. But she didn’t. She was dead serious. “I don’t want to be weak like the other girls. I want to fight. I want to protect myself. I want to protect the people I love. Please.”

That word—please—was soft. Almost afraid, like she feared I would reject her request.

I remembered kneeling down to her level, accepting the cupcake, and saying, “Deal. But I’ll warn you, training with me won’t be easy.”

And she smiled so wide, like she’d just won a battle. “I don’t care. I’m not afraid.”

That cupcake. Her stubborn little face staring up at me like I was the only one who could make her stronger. And then… there was something else. Something I buried so deep, I nearly forgot it existed.

That day… when she looked up at me with those fierce eyes and handed me that stupid cupcake…. I felt something. A strange flutter in my stomach. It wasn’t lust. Not even close. But it was something strange. Something intense.

I didn’t know what it was back then. All I knew was that I wanted to be around her. I wanted to see her train, to see her smile when she got things right. I wanted her to come back every day and push herself until she collapsed on the mat and grinned up at me, breathless and proud.

I was fourteen. She was nine. And I was terrified of what that meant. So I buried it. Deep. Told myself it was just some protective instinct. Just pride in a student. Nothing more.

I trained her harder than anyone. Gave her hell. Watched her grow. And the older she got, the more I tried to keep my distance. I kept the strange feelings to myself until her fourteenth birthday when I decided it was time to tell her.

Well, I did… I told her, but it was the worst decision of my life.

“What are you… doing here, Lennox?” Olivia snapped, forcing me out of my thoughts.