Olivia''s POV


    I shook him.


    I shook him so hard my own arms hurt.


    "LENNOX! LENNOX WAKE UP!" I screamed, my voice tearing in my throat.


    His bodyy there on the floor… still… too still.


    His skin was cold.


    So cold.


    "No… no, no, no… please—please don''t do this to me," I cried as I cupped his face.


    Blood kept pouring from his throat, dark and thick, spilling down my fingers. The boys were crying behind me, their little voices breaking the air.


    Leon screamed, "Daddy!!"


    Leo sobbed, "Mommy fix him!!"


    Liam whispered, shaking, "Daddy, wake up… p-please…"


    My heart shattered.


    Healers rushed into the sitting room—three of them—followed by Levi and Louis. Their faces froze when they saw Lennox on the floor.


    "MOVE!" I screamed at them. "HEAL HIM! DO SOMETHING!"


    One healer knelt, ced glowing hands on Lennox''s neck… then jerked back, eyes wide.


    "Luna… there is poison on the de."


    "What kind of poison?!" I yelled, grabbing the healer by the robe. "WHAT DID THEY PUT ON THE BLADE?!"


    "It''s—" his voice trembled, "—Shadow Fang death venom. Once it enters the blood, it stops the heart in seconds. There is… nothing we can do."


    "NO!" I screamed so loud the walls shook. "NO, YOU FIX HIM! YOU FIX HIM RIGHT NOW!"


    "Olivia—stop…"


    I didn''t even know whose voice that was.


    Louis? Levi? A healer?


    I couldn''t hear anything but the sound of my own heart breaking.


    I dropped beside Lennox again, touching his face, pping his cheeks lightly, crying so hard I couldn''t breathe.


    "Lennox, please open your eyes… please don''t leave me… don''t leave our boys… don''t leave me again…"


    But he didn''t move.


    Didn''t blink.


    Didn''t breathe.


    The healer ced two fingers on his neck… swallowed… then whispered the words that stabbed my soul:


    "…he''s gone."


    I screamed.


    I screamed so hard Levi ran forward and grabbed me before I threw myself on Lennox''s body.


    "NO! LET ME GO!" I cried, fighting him with all my strength. "LET ME GO! HE''S NOT DEAD! LEVI LET ME GO!"


    Louis held me from the other side, his own eyes red.


    "Olivia, stop—Olivia, please—"


    "He can''t be dead!" I sobbed. "He can''t—he can''t—"


    The boys were crying loudly now. Leon hid behind Levi''s leg, shaking. Leo sat on the floor beside Lennox''s arm, touching his father''s cold hand, crying brokenly. Liam didn''t even move… he stood frozen… staring at Lennox''s body like his mind couldn''t ept what he was seeing.


    Levi''s voice cracked as he barked an order:


    "Guards… take the Alpha away. The boys shouldn''t see this."


    Two guards stepped forward, lifting Lennox''s body gently, but I thrashed again.


    "NO! DON''T TOUCH HIM! DON''T TAKE HIM! BRING HIM BACK! LEAVE HIM WITH ME—LEAVE HIM WITH ME!"


    Louis and Levi held me tighter as I copsed to my knees, sobbing into my own hands.


    "Take the boys away," Louis said hoarsely. "They''ve seen enough."


    The guards lifted my babies—crying, screaming for their father—but they carried them out before I could even reach them.


    Lennox''s blood stained the floor, sttered across the tiles, smeared on my hands, my dress, my skin.


    My chest squeezed so hard I couldn''t breathe. Everything inside me twisted and folded and broke at once.


    "I can fix this…" I choked. "Please… let me try again… please…"


    But the healers just knelt there in silence.


    Louis held my waist tightly, whispering, "Olivia, stop… please… he''s gone…"


    Levi swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Oli… don''t do this to yourself…"


    I shook my head, tears falling endlessly. "He''s not gone… he can''t be gone… he can''t—"


    My knees buckled. The room tilted. My breath stopped.


    I felt the world slipping away.


    Lennox''s face blurred in front of me—thest image seared into my mind: his eyes closed, his body still, his blood everywhere.


    "Lennox…" I whispered.


    Then everything went dark as I copsed into Louis'' arms.


    When my eyes opened, I wasn''t on the bloody floor of the sitting room anymore.


    I wasn''t surrounded by healers telling me Lennox was dead.


    I wasn''t breaking apart.


    I was… thirteen.


    I blinked confused, staring at my small hands… my tiny legs dangling from the giant trainingbat arena bench.


    "W-What…?" I whispered.


    Then I heard it.


    A familiar grunt.


    The sound of fists hitting flesh.


    Feet sliding across sand.


    A boy''s sharp exhale.


    I lifted my head—


    And my heart broke all over again.


    There he was.


    Eighteen-year-old Lennox.


    Young. Strong. Bare-chested. Muscles sharp and perfect as he sparred with one of the older warriors. His wolf aura was fierce even back then. His movements were fast, clean, and deadly.


    But then—


    SWIPE.


    The warrior''s de slipped and sliced Lennox''s arm.


    "Agh—!" he hissed.


    I jumped to my feet so fast I nearly fell off the bench.


    "LENNOX!" I screamed.


    He turned— His eyes widening when he saw me running across thebat ground like a terrified little girl.


    "Olivia?" He blinked, confused. Then he chuckled. "It''s nothing—"


    "Nothing?! You''re bleeding!" I cried, grabbing his arm with my shaking hands. "Why weren''t you careful?! Why didn''t you block?! Why did you let him cut you?!"


    He stared at me with those calm, steady eyes.


    Those same eyes I saw close forever just minutes ago.


    He smiled softly. "Liv… it''s a scratch."


    "It''s NOT a scratch!" I yelled, tears filling my eyes. "Don''t lie! I saw blood—your blood—Lennox, you scared me!"


    He grew quiet. Then he lowered himself onto one knee—so we were eye level.


    His hand rubbed my cheek gently, his thumb brushing my tears.


    "You worry too much," he teased softly.


    "I don''t care!" I shouted back. "I-I can''t imagine life without you."


    He froze.


    And in that moment… my thirteen-year-old heart realized something.


    This wasn''t brotherly concern.


    This wasn''t childish attachment.


    This was something deeper.


    I loved him.


    Even then.


    He sighed and tapped my forehead lightly. "Hey… don''t say things like that. Don''t talk about losing me."


    "I will die before you."


    The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.


    His whole face changed. "Olivia. Don''t EVER say that."


    "But—"


    "No." His tone was hard. Firm. "My duty—my destiny—is to protect you. I will ALWAYS go first before you. NEVER the other way around."


    I cried harder. "I don''t want to lose you."


    "You won''t."


    He pulled me into a hug—my small arms wrapping around his neck—his heartbeat steady against my ear.


    "I''m right here, Olivia. Nothing will ever take me away from you."


    My chest squeezed painfully as I held him.


    Because he was lying.


    He did leave me.


    He left me just now.


    On that cold floor.


    With blood everywhere.


    "Lennox…" I whispered into his chest. "Don''t go…"


    The dream began to shake.


    His image flickered.


    "Don''t go… don''t leave me… please…" I cried.


    His warm arms tightened onest time—


    Then everything disappeared.


    My eyes flew open.


    A choked gasp ripped out of my throat as I sat up suddenly.


    I wasn''t thirteen anymore.


    I wasn''t on thebat ground.


    I wasn''t hugging the teenage boy who promised never to leave me.


    I was back in reality.


    On a bed.


    Breathing hard.


    Tears streaming down my face.


    Two figures stood at my bedside.


    Louis.


    And Levi.


    Both pale. Both shaken.


    Both looking like they hadn''t slept in hours.


    I swallowed hard and whispered with a trembling voice, "Please… please tell me it was a dream."


    They looked at each other… then back at me.


    Louis''s eyes softened painfully. Levi''s face filled with pain.


    Louis stepped closer, voice breaking,


    "Olivia… I''m sorry."


    My whole body froze.


    "No…" I whispered. "No, Louis… tell me he''s alive… tell me Lennox is alive… tell me the healers saved him… please… PLEASE tell me—"


    Levi whispered, barely audible,


    "He didn''t make it, Olivia."