<h4>Chapter 685: Followed</h4>


    Levi’s POV


    ?For two days, the silence I gave the girls was a wall they couldn’t climb. Every time they entered a room, I left it. Every time they tried to catch my eye at breakfast, I was deep in conversation with Liam. I saw the way their faces fell, the way their "princess" posture was slowly copsing into something smaller, humbler.


    ?But something else was happening: my body was finally catching up to my spirit. The dull ache in my leg had faded. On the third morning, I stood in front of the mirror and didn’t reach for the cane. I took a step. Then another. No limp. No stumble. The Alpha blood in me had finally burned away thest of the weakness.


    ?I walked down to the breakfast table without the cane. Everyone was there—Lennox, Louis, Olivia, the boys, and the twins. The girls looked exhausted, their emotions pitiful. I ignored the empty chair at the head of the table and stood, cing my hands firmly on the wood.


    ?"I don’t need the cane anymore," I announced.


    ?Louis looked up, his eyes widening with genuine joy. "Levi... you’re walking. You’re fully healed."


    ?"I am," I said shortly. I didn’t look at him for long. I turned my gaze to the three boys, who were watching me with sharp, knowing grins. "And because I’m back to full strength, it’s time for the next stage of your training."


    ?I felt the twins lean forward, their breath hitching. They were desperate for me to include them, to say their names, to even scold them. Anything but the silence.


    ?"Liam, Leon, Leo," I announced, my voice booming. "Pack your gear. Heavy cloaks, skinning knives, and your trackers. We’re leaving within the hour for the Great North Ridge."


    ?"The Ridge?" Lennox asked, his brow furrowing. "That’s a three-hour trek, Levi. The terrain is brutal this time of year."


    ?"They’re ready," I said, staring Lennox down, challenging him to bring up our argument from the pits. "We’re going on a hunt."


    ?Lana’s fork ttered against her te. "A... a hunt? For throughout the day?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "Can we... can we help pack the bags?"


    ?I didn’t even look in her direction. It was as if she were a breeze passing through the room.


    ?"Boys, I’ll meet you at the armory," I said, turning on my heel. "We leave through the mudroom. Don’t bete."


    ?As I walked away, I heard Lyra’s chair screech back.


    ?"Father! Wait!" she cried out, her voice breaking into a sob. "Please! We’ll be quiet! We’ll be strong! Don’t leave us here again!"


    ?I felt the familiar tug at my heart, the urge to turn and scoop her up. But I felt Liam’s presence behind me as he followed me out.


    ?"Don’t look back, Father," he whispered urgently. "We are almost there."


    ?I swallowed hard and kept walking. Behind us, I heard Olivia’s soft voice.


    ?"Don’t worry," she murmured gently to the girls. "We can have a girls’ outing all day."


    ?"No," the twins spat through tears. "We want to go hunting."


    ?An hourter, the boys and I were in the woods. The boys moved well. Liam tracked quietly. Leon adjusted his footing with care. Leo kept scanning the tree line like I had taught him. I felt pride swelling inside me.


    ?We moved deeper into the forest. And that’s when I felt it—a faint disturbance in the air. A scent. Familiar. Too familiar.


    ?I slowed. But before I could speak—a loud scream tore through the forest. High-pitched. Terrified.


    ?My heart stopped. It was them. I spun around, my eyes zing.


    ?"Stay here!" I ordered the boys.


    ?Then I ran. Branches snapped under my boots as I sprinted toward the sound. Another cry.


    ?"Father!"


    ?My blood went cold. I broke through the trees and saw them. Lana and Lyra were on the ground, their legs trapped in a steel snare meant for wild game. The metal teeth had mped around their ankles, digging into their skin. Blood. Too much blood.


    ?"Goddess..." I breathed.


    ?I dropped to my knees beside them immediately. "What were you thinking?!" I demanded, but my voice cracked. They had followed us the entire time.


    ?Lyra’s face was pale with pain. Lana was shaking violently.


    ?"We didn’t want to be left behind," Lana whispered through tears.


    ?My heart shattered. I grabbed the trap carefully, examining the mechanism. "Don’t move," I ordered, my voice steady now. Alpha steady. I didn’t want them to notice the fear in me.


    ?Behind me, I heard the boys approaching despite mymand.


    ?"Father..." Liam whispered.


    ?I snapped my head back. "Be careful."


    ?I reached down, my hands gripping the cold, rusted steel of the snares. With a roar of effort that came from the depths of my soul, I pried the teeth open, the metal groaning against my strength until the girls’ legs were free. They copsed against me, two small, broken birds.


    ?"I’ve got you," I rasped, my voice thick. I tucked Lana under my left arm and Lyra under my right, lifting them both easily.


    ?Levi. Olivia’s voice exploded in my mind, sharp with panic. The girls are missing. I can’t find them anywhere in the house, and I feel pain... immense, jagged pain. Something is wrong. Where are you?


    ?I closed my eyes for a second, feeling the heat of their tears against my neck. They are with me, Olivia. We’reing back. Now.


    ?With you? Her confusion was obvious in her voice. Did you take them? Levi, why would you—


    ?No, I cut her off, my mental tone grim. They hid. They followed us into the Ridge. They stepped into a hunter’s snare. They’re injured, Olivia. Have the medical supplies ready.


    ?I heard her gasp through the link, a sound of pure horror. I’m teleporting to your location—


    ?No, I countered, already moving at a dead run through the brush, the boys nking me like a silent honor guard. We are already close to the clearing. Just be ready.


    ?By the time the mansion came into view, the girls had gone silent, their faces buried in my shoulders, exhausted by the agony and the blood loss. I burst through the mudroom entrance and into the main hall.


    ?The sight was chaotic. Olivia stood there, her face ashen, her hands already glowing with a soft, green light. Lennox was pacing, his aura so violent it made the air vibrate, and Louis was hunched over a chair, his face contorted in pain.


    ?"What did you do?" Lennox roared, stepping toward me, his eyes glowing a lethal gold.


    ?I didn’t flinch. I walked right past him and gently lowered the twins onto the long velvet sofa. "Help them," I told Olivia.


    ?She didn’t waste a second. She ced her healing hands over their mangled ankles. The scent of ozone andvender filled the room as the skin began to knit back together.


    ?Louis rushed to the side of the sofa, grabbing Lyra’s hand. "How did this happen? Levi, they’re children! You were supposed to be watching the woods!"


    ?"They followed us," Liam said, stepping forward before I could speak. He was defending me. "They stayed downwind so Father wouldn’t scent them."


    ?Lennox turned his re toward the boys, then back to me. "This is because of your ’game.’ You pushed them until they did something suicidal just to get a look from you."


    ?I looked down at my daughters. Their breathing was leveling out as Olivia’s magic worked, but their faces were still tear-stained, and their small hands were still gripped tightly in the fabric of my shirt. They wouldn’t let go. Even in their sleep, they were holding onto me.


    ?