Lennox''s POV
"Good boy," the leader hissed.
"Let him go," I growled.
He nodded once.
The rogue holding Liam pushed him forward—hard.
"Run," the rogue said mockingly.
Liam stumbled… then bolted straight into Olivia''s arms.
She grabbed him so fast the rogue almost fell. All three boys were in her arms now—shaking, crying, burying themselves into her chest. She held them like she wanted to fuse them into her body forever.
I exhaled… relieved.
"Olivia…" I said softly. "Leave with them."
She snapped her head toward me, furious. "No. NEVER happening. I''m not leaving you."
The leader scoffed. "Luna, leave. You and your warriors step back. If you try ANYTHING stupid… he dies."
Olivia''s mes dimmed slightly. Not from weakness… but from terror.
My terror-filled, powerful Olivia… terrified of losing me.
But in that moment a realization hit me hard.
Even if she obeyed… even if she left… these bastards would still kill me.
They needed my head.
They wanted my head.
I was not getting out of this alive.
So it was better…
Better Olivia burned this entire ce to ash.
Including them.
Even if I died from it.
At least she would be saving a lot of people and even us from being their victims again.
I lifted my eyes to Olivia.
And she lifted hers.
Just like we used to when we were younger—talking without words.
Through our eyes, I told her the message:
Do it.
Burn them.
Kill them all.
End this.
Her eyes widened, tears spilling.
She whispered, "No… because if I unleash it… YOU will die with them."
"I know," I mouthed.
She shook her head violently. "NO. LENNOX, DON''T."
But I tightened my jaw.
This was the only way she and the kids lived in peace. These men may strike again, and I won''t give them the chance. I have to protect my family.
I let my hand drop slowly… quietly… to the knife strapped at my armor waist.
Then, without blinking, I sent her the final message with my eyes.
Now.
In one swift motion, I grabbed the knife and drove it into the stomach of the rogue closest to me.
He gasped.
The rogue on my right sliced my throat instantly—hot pain exploding across my neck.
Another rogue shed my arm open to the bone.
Olivia screamed—a sound that tore the sky.
And then—
SHE UNLEASHED IT.
Blue-white fire erupted from her palms, exploding outward like a supernova.
It hit the rogues first.
Then the witches.
Then the trees.
Then everything.
The men around me didn''t even have time to scream. They burned into ash instantly—everyst one of them—before their des could strike again.
The entire forest lit up in mes, burning every rogue to ashes.
Slowly I fell. My body hit the ground hard, metal armor shing against the dirt. Blood poured from my throat, warm and thick, and filled my mouth with the taste of iron. My vision blurred instantly.
But even through the haze… I saw it.
The rogues who tried to run.
Olivia didn''t let even one escape.
She raised her hand—fire exploded from her palm like a living creature—and it swallowed them whole. Screams filled the burning forest. Warriors shifted and tore through the remaining Shadow Fangs. Golden swung his sword at anything that moved.
The entire battlefield was chaos—fire, smoke, bodies, des—but Olivia stood in the center like a goddess of wrath.
Her mes glowed hotter. Brighter. Faster.
She wasn''t even breathing normally. She wasn''t herself. She was pure fury.
"Alpha!" Golden shouted as he dropped to his knees beside me. His hands grabbed my armor, shaking me. "Stay awake! Lennox, stay awake!"
I tried.
Moon, I tried.
But everything was fading. My pulse slowed. My vision dimmed. The world spun in and out. My hearing went muffled, like someone stuffed cotton into my head.
Golden was talking—but I couldn''t hear.
My eyes closed once… twice… darkness creeping in around the edges.
Then—
"LENNOX!!!"
Her voice.
My eyes snapped open weakly.
Olivia came running through the fire, her mes dying out instantly the moment she saw me. The boys were with her—Leo crying, Leon screaming my name, Liam clutching her shirt with shaking fingers.
She dropped to her knees so hard the ground shook.
"NO—NO—LENNOX—stay with me!" She grabbed my face, her hands shaking so badly she could barely hold me. "Don''t close your eyes! Don''t you dare—don''t you dare leave me!"
I tried to speak… but blood choked the words.
Her hands glowed white—pure healing energy radiating.
But the moment she tried to push it into me—
Her power fizzled.
Blocked.
She gasped. "No… no… not now… please not now—"
Golden leaned in. "Luna, we have to move him!"
She shook her head wildly. "I can heal him here—I can—I can—"
But my body wasn''t responding. Her power wasn''t responding. Nothing was working.
Leo sobbed harder, "Daddy please don''t die!"
Leon screamed, "Daddy breathe!"
Liam was shaking uncontrobly, whispering, "Daddy… please stay…"
Olivia clenched her teeth, panic rising in her eyes. Then she made a decision.
"No," she whispered. "I''m not losing him. I''m NOT losing him here."
She grabbed me with one arm. She grabbed all three boys with her other hand. Golden moved back instantly.
She looked at me—her eyes glowing again.
"Hold on," she breathed. "Hold on, Lennox… please…"
And then—
BOOM.
In a st of blue light—
We appeared on the sitting room floor.
I copsed against the tiles, my blood pooling everywhere.
Olivianded on her knees beside me, screaming for help.
"HEALERS! HEALERS NOW! SOMEONE GET ME A FUCKING HEALER!"
The boys cried around me. Olivia''s hands shook uncontrobly. She ced her trembling hands on my neck, which was bleeding profusely, but her healing powers weren''t working.
Her breath hitched. "No… no… WHY isn''t it working?!"
Blood poured through her fingers.
Leo screamed.
Leon cried harder.
Liam kept whispering, "Daddy… don''t sleep… don''t sleep…"
Olivia looked at the dark wound—and then she froze.
Her face—
changed.
Pure terror.
Pure realization.
Her voice cracked as she screamed:
"WHAT KIND OF POISON DID THEY PUT ON THE BLADE?!"
Her scream echoed through the whole house, bouncing off every wall like thunder. She looked like she was going to lose her mind.
She tried again to heal me—tried pushing power into me—but the wound sizzled ck. Her glowing hands dimmed again, blocked by whatever dark magic coated that de.
"NO—NO—NO!" she sobbed. "LENNOX, STAY WITH ME!"
But my eyes…
They were closing.
I could feel it.
Like something was dragging me underwater, pulling me down, deeper, darker, colder.
My wolf wasn''ting.
My wolf wasn''t healing me.
I had nothing.
I was going.
I could feel it in my bones.
I coughed weakly, blood staining my lips. "Olivia… hey… look at me…"
She grabbed my face instantly. "STOP TALKING! STOP—PLEASE—DON''T SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT!"
The boys clung to her, crying. Their little hands were shaking so hard they could barely hold onto her clothes.
I swallowed painful blood and forced a small smile.
"It''s… fine."
"NO IT''S NOT!" she screamed. "DON''T YOU SAY THAT! DON''T YOU DARE!"
I lifted my trembling hand and touched her cheek. My fingers were cold. Too cold.
She froze like someone stabbed her heart.
"Don''t cry," I whispered. "It''s… it''s okay."
She shook her head so fast her hair whipped everywhere. "LENNOX—STOP—STOP—you''re not dying—you''re NOT—you hear me?!"
Her tears fell on my armor, hot and shaking.
I could barely breathe now.
But I forced the words out—the words I''d been carrying for years.
"Olivia… I''m happy… I got to see you again. Even though things… weren''t perfect."
She sobbed harder. "Please—please don''t—Lennox, don''t say goodbye—don''t—"
"And I''m happy…" My voice cracked, fading. "…I met the boys. Our boys…"
I reached up and brushed her cheek one more time.
My hand was slipping.
My strength was slipping.
But I had to say it.
I had to.
"I love you."
She froze.
"I love you… so much…" I breathed. "You were my only love. My first love. Myst love. My… everything…"
Olivia broke.
She screamed, "LENNOX NO—NO—DON''T DO THIS—DON''T—DON''T—PLEASE—LENNOX—PLEASE—"
Her voice shattered into raw pain.
And my eyes…
closed.
Darkness swallowed me.
My hand slipped from her cheek.
My head fell to the side.
Everything went silent.
I passed out.