The Ivory Queen
Chapter 87

***Oliver’s POV***

I wake up to the sound of the door opening and I g***n in pain. My wrists and ankles are raw from me tugging at the silver chains all night and my body hurts from sleeping on the concrete floor. While I was out cold, someone had washed me and put in me in clean clothes.

I shiver at the possibility of Adeline bathing me, caressing my body without my consent and a low growl rumbles through my throat.

My body belonged to Aurora and no one else.

At the thought of Aurora’s tiny hands exploring the curves of my chest, a small smile creeps up on my face. I miss my nena.

The sound of footsteps coming closer brings me back to reality and I shove my hatred for Adeline away, making room for the traitor now kneeling before me. Infuriated, I avoid their eyes and stare at the ground.

“Oliver, please look at me,” David whispers.

I refuse, keeping my gaze on a tiny crack on the floor. David reaches out a hand to grab my chin and I fight to pull away, but his grip is too strong. A growl ripples through my chest and I bare my teeth at him.

“Son, listen. I know this doesn’t make any sense but-“

I spit in his face and glare at him. “I am not your son, you lying piece of s**t!”

David wipes the blob of spit off his face slaps me across the face, the blow knocking me to the ground. I land on my side, but I’m too tired to get up and remain on the ground. There’s a bit of b***d in my mouth and I spit it out.

“That’s more like it,” I sneer. “It’s about time you stopped pretending to be my father and show me who you really are!”

“You don’t understand! I had to do this! I’m trying to protect you!” He explains.

I roll over on my side so I no longer have to face him. “Get out,” I mutter.

“You will listen to me, whether you like it or not, Oliver. You have nowhere else to go so for once just LISTEN!”

I don’t respond and close my eyes to visualize Aurora’s beautiful face to calm down, but his stupid voice keeps interrupting my thoughts.

“I need you to understand that I don’t have anything against Aurora and that I meant what I said. I am grateful to her-“

“Liar!” I snap, rolling over again and groaning as the silver digs into my wrists. “She saved you. She defended you and for what? For a pathetic low life such as yourself? You betrayed her!” I laugh bitterly. “I should’ve known you were in on this. You never apologize… You’re too proud for that, you power hungry son of a-“

He slaps me again but I don’t care anymore. My father is dead to me.

“It’s funny, I almost forgave you…but once a snake always a snake,” I laugh hysterically . “Is Simone in on this too? Are you two working together?”

“Simone has nothing to do with this! We put her to sleep before we took you. She didn’t even know I was in the house.” His face darkens. “And you will respect me and your mother, Oliver. I am still you’re father-

“Respect is earned! You do not get to ask for it! You’ve only proven time and time again that you are the last person I could ever respect, the last person I could ever bow down to!”

“LISTEN TO ME!” He snaps. “They want need her and her only weakness is you. I’m here to make sure they don’t touch you. To make sure that when the dust settles, you’re still alive.”

“Oh, my f*****g hero! You’ve probably rejoiced at the idea of getting rid of Aurora!”

“You don’t understand!” He cries. “That day I came to apologize was real! I meant every word I said to you and Aurora. But then those witches showed up at our house and made a threat I knew they would keep if I did not act quickly. I had to make a decision and I do not regret it if it means you get to live a full life … You can always get a new mate but I cannot get a new son, understand? Moon Goddess can grant you a second chance mate, someone to start over wit-“

“Its always about you isn’t it?” I scoff in disbelief. “Well, what about me? Huh? What about what I want?” I can’t stop the angry tears from spilling over and it infuriates me even more to cry in front of this man but I was at my wits end. He had meddled in my life for far too long and I was tired of it. “I was going to aske her to marry me! Why can’t you just leave me be! For once in your life, just LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“I will not lose another son!” He snarls back.

It feels like I’ve been punched in the stomach and the wind is knocked out my lungs, stunning me into silence.

Another son?

“W-What…?”

“You are not my first child, Oliver, nor is your mother my first mate,” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes.

I’m too shocked to speak. Too angry. What the f**k does he mean?

I stare at him, and for the first time in my life, David is overtaken by despair. It fills his eyes and spills onto his cheeks, leaving behind glistening trails of anguish on his face. My father was a man of stone. He walked through life mechanically, calculating every aspect of his life to avoid emotions. He did not cry.

“I was 18 when I met Clara…” he mumbles quietly, his voice soft and vulnerable. “She was my best friend… ” he smiles. “And she was my first mate. Within a few months of being together, we got pregnant with my eldest son, Winston,” he says, a few more tears tugging at his eyes. He pauses, blinking hard to tuck away his emotions. “You remind me of him sometimes.”

There is a stillness in the room as he replaces the strength to continues his story. At a loss for words, I remain silent.

“Clara was so excited to be Luna,” he says with deep sadness, “but she never got the chance. I was away on business in France when it happened…” He stares at the crack on the floor, clenching his fists at his sides. Several minutes go by in absolute silence, neither of us knowing what to say. “There was an attack,” he finally adds, breaking the suffocating quiet. “I was too far away to protect them. I got the call…” his voice breaks. “But I had already felt her slip away.”

He goes quiet again, his agony once again poking through. He looks so fragile, so ready to break with just the slightest gust of wind.

His voice trembles as he continues. “Winston was only two…” his bottom l*p quivers and he bites down on it to hold back an unmistakable sob. “My little boy was only two when a rogue ripped his throat out…” he whimpers.

Several emotions run through me as I watch my broken father explain his darkest secret. How had he kept this from me?

“You never told me you had another family,” I whisper, suddenly understanding my fathers cold demeanor towards me all these years. I was a reminder of what he lost. “How come no one ever said anything?”

“No one is allowed to speak their names anymore. I made sure of it… I didn’t want to be reminded and I didn’t want you or Rosalie to replace out. It’s better this way.”

I shake my head in disbelief. How could he forget them so easily?

Noticing my growing anger, he tries to explain. “I couldn’t even be at River Moon anymore after they died, let alone bear to hear someone speak their names. I stayed in France for another year to finish to work and avoid the pain. That’s when I met Simone. It took a lot of work on her part but slowly, your mother healed my wounds. She gave me a second chance to live.”

“This doesn’t excuse what you’re doing to me!” I snarl, once again remembering our current situation. “I am not Winston and you do not get to decide how I live my life. Let me go, David. If you have an ounce of humanity left, let me be with my mate! Let me try to save her! Please!”

“They are going to kill her Oliver. What they plan on doing… she won’t survive,” he says, shaking his head and wiping his eyes.

“If they so much as touch her, I’ll-“

“You’ll what? Kill them?” He scoffs. “You’re nothing in their world, Oliver. They’re in a completely different league of their own. Aurora is an Ivory twin and those witches hold incredible power of their own. You’re nothing but an Alpha. You’ll never win.” He crouches down to my level and his eyes soften. “I am truly sorry for this son, I really am. But there is nothing you and I can do to save her from what’s about to happen.”

My heart starts pounding at the seriousness in his eyes. I shake in fear, afraid of his message. “Let me out, David. I mean it. LET ME OUT!”

He stands upright and walks towards the door as I continue to scream.

“She’s leading a search for you,” he sighs. “I’ve joined in, making sure she doesn’t ruin your chances of survival. She loves you so much and I would give anything to not have to take her away from you, son,” he turns to look at me and for once, he seems sincere. “But I will take her away if I have too, Oliver. I know it will hurt but I will not lose you too,” he whispers before opening the door and leaving.

My breaths come in short and it feels like my world is crashing down on me. I can’t breathe.

I tug at my chains, pulling with all my might, desperate to replace Aurora and keep her safe. But no matter how hard I pull, I’m too weak to free myself. B***d stains my wrists as the silver cuts into my tender flesh and I look around in search of tools to help me escape, but the only things available are my food tray and a plastic cup for water.

An idea pops into my head and I formulate a plan.