Lennox''s POV


    I shook my head, anger, and confusion mixing inside me. "Louis and Levi would never do that. They are my brothers. We fight. We say ugly things. We hurt each other with words. But kill me? Order my murder? No."


    Golden stayed quiet, but his eyes said he was not so sure.


    I thought of Louis.


    His soft eyes.


    His guilty face when he looked at me.


    The way he always tried to be in the middle.


    I thought of Levi.


    His sharp tongue.


    His anger.


    His jealousy.


    Hisst words to me before the attack.


    His rage when he saw me and Olivia together.


    My heart squeezed.


    "Louis would never do it…" I whispered. I wanted to believe that with all my soul. "And Levi… he is angry… but he is not a traitor. He is not a coward hiding behind servants."


    Golden spoke carefully. "I am not saying they did it, Alpha. I am saying the order came from someone like them. Someone with that same power. Someone inside."


    The room felt smaller. My head pounded again.


    "I will not believe my brothers killed me," I said slowly. "Not until I see proof with my own eyes."


    Golden nodded once. "Then we will find proof."


    I tried to sit up straighter. A sharp pain shot through my neck and arm, where the des had cut me. My body still felt weak, like I had not eaten or moved in days.


    "How long have I been here?" I asked.


    Golden thought for a moment. "They buried you a few hours after sunset. I dug you out not long after that and brought you here. You have been out for some hours. It is still night… or very early morning."


    I let out a slow breath. At least it had not been days.


    I nced around again and took in the small room properly this time. The walls were made of stone. The ceiling was low. There was a singlemp on the wall. No windows. It smelled faintly of herbs and metal.


    "Where is this ce," I muttered.


    Golden shook his head. "This is an old safe room. A hidden ce near the border. Only a few of us know about it. We used it during thest war with the Shadow Fangs."


    Good. That meant whoever wanted me dead had no idea I was here.


    I tried to adjust my position on the bed and shifted my weight by mistake.


    My leg moved.


    I froze.


    Slowly… very slowly… I tried again.


    My right leg twitched under the nket.


    My heart jumped into my throat. I stared down at my legs like they were ghosts.


    "Golden," I whispered. "Did you see that?"


    He frowned. "See what?"


    I did it again. I focused hard… and my left leg shifted. Just a little. But it moved. It actually moved.


    This time Golden saw it. His eyes widened. "Alpha… your leg…"


    My chest was pounding now. I licked my lips, feeling sweat on my forehead.


    "Help me sit up," I said quickly. "More. Properly."


    Golden moved behind me, his big hands lifting my shoulders, adjusting the pillow, supporting my back. I grabbed the side of the bed with one hand and the edge of the nket with the other.


    "Let go," I said.


    "Alpha, you are still weak…"


    "Let. Go."


    He hesitated, then obeyed.


    I stared at my legs like they were strangers. Then I clenched my jaw and did something I had not done in a long time.


    I told them to move.


    My muscles trembled. My thighs shook. Pain shot through my lower back. But my legs… my legs listened.


    My right foot slid forward.


    My left foot followed.


    It was not smooth. It was slow. It was shaky. But it was real.


    Golden gasped. "Moon above…"


    I swung one leg over the side of the bed. Then the other. My feet touched the cold floor.


    I swallowed thickly.


    "Alpha… maybe you should not…"


    "Golden," I said quietly. "If I fall, you can pick me up. If I stand… we both see a miracle."


    I put weight on my feet. My knees almost copsed. For a second, the room spun. But I grabbed Golden''s arm and held tight.


    Then, shaking, breathless, heart racing…


    I stood.


    On my own two feet.


    I was standing.


    Not sitting in a wheelchair.


    Not being held up.


    Not dreaming.


    Standing.


    Golden''s eyes filled with tears again. "You are… you are standing, Alpha."


    I let out a breath that felt like it came from deep in my soul.


    I looked down at my legs. At my feet. At the floor. At the scars that should have kept me locked away forever.


    "Moon Goddess…" I whispered. "What are you doing now? What game are you ying?"


    My body was still weak. My bnce was not perfect. If Golden let go too fast, I would probably fall. But my legs were alive. They answered me. They belonged to me again.


    I closed my eyes and tried something else.


    I reached inward. Toward the ce where my wolf used to be.


    "Are you there?" I whispered in my mind. "Can you hear me?"


    Silence.


    Nothing.


    No growl.


    No voice.


    No heat.


    I opened my eyes again, a mix of joy and sadness burning in my chest.


    "My legs work," I said slowly, "but my wolf is still gone."


    Golden nodded sadly. "Maybe he willeter. One gift at a time."


    I snorted softly. "She always did like her drama."


    He blinked. "Who?"


    "The Moon Goddess," I muttered. "First she takes my legs, then gives them back after I die ande out of a grave. Of course."


    Golden let out a weakugh, wiping his face. "At least you are making jokes again."


    I took a few careful steps. One. Two. Three. My legs shook like a newborn pup learning to walk, but they held. Golden stayed near, ready to catch me.


    I turned slowly and sat back on the bed before I pushed my luck too far. My breath was heavy, but my heart felt strange. Lighter and heavier at the same time.


    Golden watched me with concern. "What do you want to do now, Alpha?"


    Good question.