Olivia POV
The guard''s terrified lips trembled, and one spoke. "The boys said they wanted to go to the market… they wanted to do sightseeing… so we took them out for a little walk," the guard stammered. "Everything seemed fine… and—"
"GET TO THE POINT!" Louis roared, shaking the man so hard his teeth cked.
The guard''s whole body trembled. "W-we were ambushed, Alpha."
My heart dropped straight to my stomach.
Ambushed?
Levi''s grip tightened on the second guard''s shirt. "What do you mean ambushed?!"
The guard''s voice cracked. "T-Three cars blocked our path. ck SUVs. They cornered us at Hunter''s Bend."
I felt my blood run cold.
Hunter''s Bend was isted… no houses… no warriors stationed… just a small empty curved road by the woods.
A perfect ce to strike.
Louis''s chest rose sharply. "And you idiots still took MY SONS THERE?!"
"They insisted, Alpha!" the man cried. "They said their mothers always took them to see Hunter''s Bend street market—"
"That market closedst year!" Louis thundered.
The guard flinched. "We… we didn''t know—"
Levi mmed him against the wall so hard the paintings rattled. "Where are they now?!"
The guard fell to his knees, sobbing. "They took them."
My legs buckled for a second.
"They took Liam, Leon and Leo…" he whispered. "We—we tried, Alpha. We fought. But the men… they weren''t normal. They were strong. Too strong."
Louis''s voice broke. "What do you mean strong?!"
"Not werewolves," the guard choked. "Something else. Their strength—it wasn''t natural. They threw us around like toys."
My heart was beating too fast. Too loud. My wolf pushed so hard inside me I felt my vision blur.
The third guard—who had been silent the whole time—finally looked up with swollen, terrified eyes.
"They knew who the boys were," he whispered. "They called them by their names."
Every single air molecule froze.
"K-Kid… kidnappings in the pack haven''t happened in years," he stuttered. "But this… this wasn''t a random attack. They came for them."
Levi staggered back a step, like the floor moved under him. Louis''s fists clenched so tight his knuckles cracked.
I felt tears sting my eyes as a sharp pain sliced my chest.
My babies.
My boys.
My sons.
Gone.
Kidnapped.
My lungs squeezed painfully, my breath shaking as I forced out, "Did they… leave anything? A message? A note? A sign?"
The guard nodded weakly and pulled something from his pocket with trembling hands.
A small card.
Just a card.
He held it out to me.
I stepped closer… my fingers shaking as I took it.
It was ck.
Just ck.
And in the middle… drawn in deep red ink…
Was a wolf''s head.
shed through.
Like someone crossing out a wolf.
Levi''s eyes widened instantly. "That symbol—"
Louis growled, "No… it can''t be…"
But it was.
I recognized it too.
Everyone did.
My breath left my lungs as fear crawled up my spine.
"Shadow Fangs…" I whispered.
A deadly rogue group that disappeared years ago. The same group that killed thousands. The same group that ughtered entire families. The same group our pack has been hunting.
They were supposed to be extinct.
But now…
They had our children.
Louis let out a roar so loud the windows shook.
Levi''s eyes shifted fully ck, his wolf pushing hard.
I clutched the card, my hand trembling violently.
"Oh God…" I whispered. "They took my babies…"
My knees weakened, tears filling my eyes as panic caught my throat.
Louis grabbed my shoulders to stop me from falling. "Hey—Olivia—look at me. Look at me."
I looked.
His eyes were red and terrified.
"We will get them back," he promised, his voice shaking. "I swear it."
Levi''s wolf growled behind him. "We''ll tear the world apart if we have to."
But through all the noise… through the panic… through the roaring in my ears… I heard the sound of the wheeling of a wheelchair.
My heart stopped.
We all turned slowly toward the hallway.
There he was.
Lennox.
The guard was pushing his wheelchair toward us, his expression tense like he could already smell the disaster in the air. Lennox''s brows were drawn together, his jaw tight, his eyes scanning every one of us.
"What''s going on?" he asked, voice low… controlled… but dangerous underneath.
No one answered.
Not me. Not Levi. Not Louis.
We just stood there, trembling, scared, unable to speak.
Lennox''s voice sharpened. "I asked a question. What. Is. Going. On?"
Still silence.
His eyes narrowed with warning. "Somebody had better talk now before I lose my temper—"
Louis finally turned around, his face pale, his voice shaking.
"The boys… Liam, Leon, Leo… they were kidnapped."
The room went dead silent.
Lennox''s face froze. Completely froze. Like the world stopped turning and he couldn''t process the words.
"What?" he whispered.
Louis swallowed hard. "Shadow Fangs. They took them."
Something snapped inside Lennox''s eyes.
He jerked forward in the wheelchair. "HOW?! How the hell did they get close?! Where were their guards?!"
Levi''s voice cracked with anger. "They HAD guards. THESE guards." He shoved the first guard so hard the man hit the wall.
Lennox looked between the guards… the bruises on their faces… the torn clothes… the shame in their eyes.
Then he looked at us.
"You three must be kidding me," Lennox said slowly, disbelieving. "These… THESE are the men you assigned to protect the future alphas of this pack?"
His voice kept rising.
"You mean to tell me—" he pointed angrily at the three trembling guards, "—that you thought THREE ordinary wolves… NORMAL guards with no special training, no abilities, no heightened senses—were enough to protect MY CHILDREN? OUR CHILDREN?!"
Louis frowned.
Levi''s jaw locked as he red at Lennox.
Lennox''s voice cracked with rage. "Are you STUPID?! Do you people even USE your brains?!"
His chest was rising and falling too fast. His anger rising.
"You assigned them—these weak, basic guards—to guard three royal-blooded children? The heirs to this pack?! Do you even THINK?!"
Louis lowered his head.
Levi''s wolf pushed dangerously under his skin.
But Lennox wasn''t done.
"This is negligence!" he roared. "This is pure, unforgivable stupidity! Do you even understand what the Shadow Fangs DO to children?! Do you KNOW what they are nning?!"
Levi snapped.
"SHUT UP!" Levi exploded, his voice cracking with so much rage it shook the air. "Just shut up with this your perfect, know-it-all attitude!"
Lennox growled low in his chest, his eyes narrowing… but Levi didn''t stop.
He stepped closer, shaking, pointing at Lennox like years of bottled pain just burst open.
"Why do you ALWAYS act like you''re the smartest? Like you''re the only one who knows what to do? Like you''re better than us—better than me—better than Louis—better than everybody?! You think you''re the only one with sense? You think you''re the only one who can handle things?! The only one who can FIX things?!"
I held my breath, waiting for Lennox to snap… but instead…
He scoffed.
A dry, cold, painful scoff… and then he shook his head slowly.
"Because I am the best, Levi."
Levi blinked—stunned, furious.
Lennox continued.
"Among the three of us, I''ve ALWAYS been the brain. ALWAYS been the one thinking ahead. ALWAYS been the one making sure we don''t crash this entire pack." His eyes darkened. "And don''t even pretend this isn''t why your jealousy has been killing you since we were kids."
Levi''s eyes widened like Lennox pped him.
Lennox''s voice dropped lower, more challenging.
"You hated it then, and you hate it now. That no matter how hard you train, how strong you get, how much you roar… I will always be one step ahead of you."
Louis swallowed hard beside me.
"And that," Lennox added quietly, "is why you can''t stand me. That is why you wanted me dead."