<h4>Chapter 689: Preparation</h4>


    Olivia’s POV


    ?The morning after the proposal felt like waking up in a different world. The golden sunlight streaming through the bedroom windows felt warmer, and for the first time in four years, the air in the house didn’t taste like grief. Iy in the center of the massive bed, watching the three men I loved as they slept. Lennox was a wall of muscle to my right, Louis was curled peacefully to my left, and Levi was sprawled across the foot of the bed, his hand still resting possessively on my ankle even in sleep.


    ?I felt the tiny flutter in my stomach—the new life growing inside me. With the Trinity finally whole, I felt strong enough to face anything.


    ?I walked down to the kitchen, expecting the usual morning chaos. Usually, the boys would be chasing each other with wooden spoons, and the twins would beining about their hair. Instead, I found Liam sitting alone at the long oak table.


    ?He was only eight years old, but as I watched him from the doorway, he looked forty. He wasn’t eating his pancakes. Instead, he was focused on a small whetstone, carefully sharpening the edge of a wooden training dagger. His face was set in a hard, serious line—a perfect imitation of Lennox when he was in a foul mood.


    ?"Liam?" I said softly, stepping into the room. "Why aren’t you eating, honey?"


    ?He didn’t look up immediately. He finished one long stroke against the wood before setting the dagger down. "I’m not hungry, Mom. I have a lot to do today. With the weddinging up, there will be a lot of strangers on ournds. Security needs to be tighter."


    ?I felt a pang in my heart. "Security? Liam, you’re eight. That’s what the sentries and your fathers are for."


    ?He finally looked at me, and his eyes were so intense it was startling. "Fathers will be busy for the wedding."


    ?He stood up, tucked his dagger into his belt, and marched out toward the training grounds without a single smile. I stood there, stunned. My sweet, yful boy was trying to carry the weight of the entire pack on his small shoulders.


    ?Later that morning, I went out to the training grounds to find the children. I expected to see the boys ying and the girls sitting in the shade. What I saw instead stopped me in my tracks.


    ?The twins, Lana and Lyra, weren’t wearing their usual princess dresses. They were in sturdy leather tunics and leggings. Their hair was pulled back in tight, messy braids. And they weren’t ying with dolls—they were standing in a circle with Liam.


    ?"Again," Liam barked. He sounded exactly like a drill sergeant.


    ?Lana and Lyra took a deep breath and lunged at him. They were small, but they moved with a desperate kind of speed. Liam parried their wooden sticks with ease, but he wasn’t being mean. He was teaching.


    ?"Footing!" Liam shouted. "If your feet are too close, I’ll knock you over. Like this!"


    ?He swept Lyra’s leg out from under her. She hit the dirt with a thud. I almost ran forward to catch her, but I stopped myself when I saw Lyra’s face. She wasn’t crying. She looked determined. She scrambled back up, wiped the dirt from her nose, and growled.


    ?"I won’t let a trap catch me again, Liam!" she yelled, swinging her stick with renewed fury.


    ?I watched them for a long time. The ident in the woods had changed them. The twins were no longer content to be "broken birds," and Liam was no longer content to just be a big brother. He felt like he had failed them when they got hurt, and now he was trying to turn them into warriors so it would never happen again.


    ?"They’ve been at it for two hours," a voice said behind me.


    ?I turned to see Levi leaning against a wooden pir. He was watching them with a mixture of pride and deep sadness.


    ?"Liam told me this morning that he has to be ’the shield’ while we are busy with the wedding," Levi said, his voice husky. "He’s trying to grow up too fast, Olivia. He’s mimicking my worst traits because he thinks being hard is the only way to be safe."


    ?"We have to help him, Levi," I whispered. "He’s an eight-year-old boy, not a soldier."


    ?"I know," Levi sighed. "But look at the girls. They’re actually listening to him. They trust him more than they trust us right now because he was the one who was here when I wasn’t."


    ?The five-day countdown to the wedding was a whirlwind of activity. The mansion was filled with the scent of lilies and roasting meat. Tailors were running around with measuring tapes, and pack members were arriving from all over the territory to see the Trinity officially joined.


    ?But through all the noise, I kept my eyes on Liam.


    ?On the second day, I caught him in the armory. He was trying to lift a real steel sword, his small muscles straining and his face turning red.


    ?"Liam, put that down!" I cried, rushing over to take the heavy weapon from him. "You’re going to hurt yourself."


    ?"I have to be strong enough!" he yelled, his voice cracking. "Everyone says I and my brothers are the next Alpha, but I’m just... I’m just small."


    ?I sat down on a crate and pulled him into myp. He was getting big, but he still fit against my chest. I rocked him slowly as he finally let go and sobbed into my shoulder.


    ?"Liam, listen to me," I said, lifting his chin. "Being an Alpha isn’t about being the strongest or the scariest. Look at your Father Louis. He leads with kindness. Look at your Father Lennox. He leads with wisdom. And your Father Levi? He’s learning that leading with fear is a mistake."


    ?"But I want to be like them," he sniffled.


    ?"You will be," I promised. "But right now, your job is to be Liam. Your sisters don’t need a general; they need a brother who will y tag with them. I don’t need a guard; I need my son."


    ?As the wedding day approached, the house became a beautiful mess. On Wednesday, the twins decided they wanted to help with my dress fitting.


    ?"Mommy, you look like a star!" Lana gasped as I stepped out in the white silk gown. Thece was delicate, and the dress was designed to flowfortably over my small pregnancy bump.


    ?"Can we have swords under our dresses?" Lyra asked, her eyes gleaming.


    ?Iughed, the first realugh I’d had in days. "No swords at the ceremony, Lyra. But maybe we can get you some silver daggers for your belts after the vows."


    ?They cheered, jumping around the room. Liam stood by the door, watching. He wasn’t holding a wooden knife for once. He was holding a tray of tea he had brought for me. He walked over and set it down carefully.


    ?"You look beautiful, Mom," he said quietly. Then, he looked at his sisters. "If you want to be warriors, you have to learn to be graceful too. A wolf is silent before it strikes."


    ?The girls stopped jumping and tried to walk "gracefully," which ended up looking like they were walking on eggshells. We all ended up in a heap ofughter on the floor, the heavy tension finally breaking.


    ?Friday night was the eve of the wedding. The pack had set up a massive bonfire in the clearing. Everyone was celebrating.


    ?I sat on a raised tform with Lennox and Louis, watching the mes. Levi was down on the grass, sitting with the children. I watched as he pulled Liam aside. They talked for a long time. I couldn’t hear them, but I saw Levi take off his own leather wristband—the one he had worn throughout his life—and strap it onto Liam’s arm.


    ?Liam looked at the gift like it was made of gold. He hugged Levi, a real, tight hug, and for the first time in a week, he looked like a little boy again.


    ?The twins were running around with the other pack children, their new "training" making them the fastest ones in the game of hide-and-seek. They weren’t the fragile princesses they used to be.


    ?Lennox leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Everything is ready, Olivia. The pack is united. The children are safe. And tomorrow, you are officially ours."


    ?Louis took my hand and kissed my palm. "The Trinity is whole. And this little one," he said, nodding toward my stomach, "will be born into a world of peace."


    ?I looked out at the fire, at my children, and at my three mates. We had many Chapters of a new life ahead of us. There would be rogue attacks, there would be the challenges of a difficult pregnancy, and there would be Liam’s journey toward bing a leader.


    ?But as I watched Liam finally join the other kids in their game, his new wristband gleaming in the firelight, I knew we were ready.


    ?