Reborn, Its Time To Save My Family And.. My Enemy!
Chapter 202: Followed You!

Chapter 202: Followed You!

There is no time, Olivia. They will come for you. We need to run." The woman’s voice trembled now, not from fear, but urgency. She extended her hand again, fingers pale and damp, her eyes fixed on Olivia as though willing her to move. But Olivia didn’t.

Her feet remained rooted to the icy ground. "Wait," Olivia said, her voice cracking. "You haven’t told me anything. How are you alive? Where have you been all these years?"

The woman’s smile faltered.

"I can’t explain now. We must go," she insisted, stepping forward. "Don’t you feel it? The dangers lurking around you? You can not trust Damon or Rhistel. You can not trust humans. They have killed you once while I kept waiting."

"I knew my mother," Olivia said quietly, heart pounding. "But she died. I saw her body. I buried her."

The woman’s eyes narrowed, something flickering across her face—disappointment, or something darker. "That wasn’t me," she snapped. "That was a lie they fed you. A trick to keep you weak."

"I don’t understand," Olivia whispered, taking a step back. Her breath hitched as she looked at the stranger. her mother, or whatever this was! and something inside her screamed not to follow.

"Olivia!"

Damon.

She turned her head just slightly, toward the sound, and in that instant, the woman’s expression twisted. Panic surged into her eyes, and she lunged forward, grabbing Olivia’s wrist with a strength that didn’t belong to the woman she remembered.

"No!" she hissed. "You can’t stay with him. He’ll destroy you again!"

"Let go!" Olivia cried, struggling against her grip. The woman’s nails bit into her skin.

"Come with me now or—"

"Let. Go!" Olivia tore her arm free, stumbling backward, falling hard on the cold, wet earth. The woman stared at her, breathing heavily, face twisted in rage.

Then, hearing Damon’s voice again, closer this time, the woman flinched. Her lips twisted in a hiss "You chose wrong, Olivia," she spat. "Again. Would you ever learn? Or do you want to keep regretting the decisions you have made?"

She spun and disappeared into the fog, her form swallowed by the night in seconds,leaving only footprints in the damp earth and a lingering chill in the air.

"Olivia!"

This time, Damon broke through the trees, his coat flaring behind him, sword drawn. His eyes landed on her immediately disheveled, barefoot, and shaking.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" he barked, rushing to her side. He dropped to his knees beside her, scanning her quickly for wounds. "You’re freezing. Were you attacked?"

Olivia couldn’t speak for a moment. Her breath came in short, uneven gasps, her mind still struggling to catch up with what just happened.

"I saw her," she said finally, voice barely above a whisper. "My mother. She was standing at the lake."

Damon blinked his eyes, confused. "What?"

"She... she looked like her. Spoke like her. But it wasn’t right. She said she’s been waiting for me." Olivia looked up at him, eyes wide. "She tried to take me with her."

Damon’s expression darkened. He stood and pulled her to her feet, wrapping his coat around her.

"You should’ve told me," he said, softer now, eyes scanning the misty woods. "You shouldn’t have come out here alone."

"I know," she whispered.

He glanced back at the trees, then down at the faint prints near the lake’s edge, already being swallowed by the rising mist.

"Come, everyone is waiting for you at dinner." he slowly guided her back into the dining hall. There were hardly any guests.

Four tables were taken by their group. While a few laborers or locals were having dinner in the corner. The place was oddly silent.

"Not many come to the north at this time, the winter is harsh here." he explained as he pulled a seat for Olivia.

Olivia smiled back at him and then at the kids waiting for her. Leo looked at her damp clothes frowning.

"Did you hear, they say the witches had returned. A young boy went missing again near the lakes. This is the third accident this week." Olivia flinched at the stranger’s word. Her eyes widening with horror.

The other man laughed. "And you believe it? I am sure it is the lake. He must have slipped and drowned. They just need to spread rumors to scare the kids from leaving the houses." They both laughed but Olivia could not.

Olivia stirred the stew in her bowl without tasting it. Her eyes stared into the fire but saw none of it—only the pale figure by the lake, the ice in her voice, the almost-familiar smile.

Leo noticed.

He watched her with narrowed eyes as she sat in silence, flinching hard when someone dropped a cup nearby. She hadn’t even noticed she was gripping her spoon tightly, her knuckles white.

"Are you alright?" he asked finally.

Olivia blinked as if waking from a dream. "What?"

"You’re not eating," he said.

Damon placed a hand on her back gently before she could respond. "She’s travel-sick," he said smoothly. "The ride was rougher than we expected."

Leo didn’t look convinced, but he said nothing more. Damon rose from his seat and helped Olivia to her feet. "She needs rest. I’ll take her to her room."

Olivia let him lead her, leaning on him more than she wanted to admit.

They reached her room, and Damon closed the door behind them with a soft click. He didn’t speak. He only walked to her side, his hands brushing her arms lightly as if checking if she was still real.

"I thought I was losing my mind," she murmured. "But what if there were many witches hiding here?"

"It had nothing to do with us," he said.

"But Something followed us. And it knows who I am."

He guided her to the bed and sat down beside her. She hesitated for a moment, but then quietly curled into his side, seeking warmth in his closeness. Damon didn’t pull away. He pulled the blanket over them both and gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You’re safe now," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. "Sleep."