276 The Decision

    276 The Decision

    I opened the door slowly. The room was dark, quiet. 1

    “I know what you’re saying,” he murmured, voice rough. “It’s not just Lennox. We’ve ball /bbeen on edge. Every time she breathes near me, my wolf wants to pin her down and

    make her ours.”

    “Olivia is still confused… so many things are going on right now, so I think it’s best bwe /bdon’t engage in any sexual activities. That

    way, we won’t lose control,” he suggested.

    “I hate myself for that.” 1

    It wasn’t easy–Goddess, it was torture.

    “I’ll go,” he whispered, rising to his feet. “But tell her…” His voice broke again. “Tell her I’m sorry. Tell her I’ll never lose control like that again.”

    “I’ll talk to her,” he added.

    Louis stepped forward, calm but firm. “We saved her, brother. You were losing control.”

    I nodded. “That’s good.”

    And then–finally–he nodded.

    Then, quietly, he said, “I ran until my legs gave out. Then I shifted. Then I ran some

    more.”

    Then quietly, I said, “You’re not a monster, Lennox. You’re a mate who’s hurting.” His breathing slowed slightly. His shoulders slumped, just a bit.

    Slowly, he turned around, and this time there was no longer fury in his eyes–I saw something else. Pain. Shame.

    He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he walked to the bathroom, sshed cold water on his face from the sink, and stared at his reflection like he didn’t recognize himself.

    “I wanted to worship her,” he murmured. “But I nearly–fuck. I nearly ruined everything.”

    A silence settled between us again.

    276 The Decision

    The door creaked open, and Lennox stepped inside, drenched in sweat, his chest bbare/b, his breathing low and steady like someone who’d been to hell and back and just bbarely /b

    made it out.

    As I turned to leave, he called after me.

    Lennox shut his eyes, breathing heavily, then nodded.

    Louis got up to his feet. “It’ste… see you tomorrow.”

    I stood slowly. “You okay?”

    “NO!” he bellowed, lunging forward as if he could tear through space to follow her. But it was toote–she was gone.

    The stars shifted in the sky, and eventually I dozed off–only to jolt awake when I felt it.

    I sighed and sat on the bed. A moment of silence hung in the air before Louis spoke.

    “Good… I’ll speak to Lennox about it. I believe he will agree.”

    He closed his eyes for a moment. Then opened them again.

    Louis walked over, kneeling beside him. He ced a hand on Lennox’s back. “She’lle back,” he said softly. “But only if she knows she’s safe with us. You need to get yourself in check.” (1

    “Tomorrow morning then.”

    His head lifted. “You’re serious?”

    He looked up at me, eyes still glowing, but wet with unshed tears.

    Empty.

    But we hadn’t.

    “Levi.”

    his

    Louis and I exchanged worried gazes as we watched him, waiting for his next line of action. But then I nodded–his once–trembling body was no longer trembling. It looked rxed.

    His fists mmed into the wall. His chest heaved, muscles bulging, veins brising /bbunder /bhis skin as he snarled like a wild beast cornered and wounded.

    276 The Decision

    “She’s not just yours,” I

    I had touched her like, stepping between him and Louis. “She’s ours. bAnd /bif

    that while you weren’t yourself, do you think she would have

    forgiven you? You could have hurt her.”

    I paused.

    “Alright,” he said. “That’s fair.”

    Lennox’s head dropped forward, sweat dripping from his hairline.

    I nodded and watched him leave.

    I nodded slowly, understanding all too well. “That’s the mate bond, Lennox. It’s driving us. But if we give in when we’re not in control… we’ll destroy her. And ourselves.”

    “No,” he said. “You two stopped me. That’s the difference.”

    Minutes turned into an hour. Then two.

    “Good,” Louis muttered. “He needs to run.”

    Louis ran a hand over his face, finally meeting my gaze.

    “I have to talk to her.”

    “Heading toward the northern woods,” I replied. “He’s shifting. I can feel it.”

    Eventually, I stood and made my way to Lennox’s room.

    Lennox dropped to his knees beside the shattered bed, his fists clenched against the broken frame.

    Especially for Alphas like us. Born to im. Built to dominate. Designed to mark, take, and make her ours.

    I gave him a light pat on the back and stood. “Good. Get some rest, brother.”

    I sat down beside him.

    “You have to,” I said, cing a hand on his shoulder. “Because if you don’t… she’ll never trust you again.”

    To have our mate this close

    “Lennox-” I reached outi, /icautiously.

    276 The Decision

    “I need her, Louis… I need her more than I need air”

    And waited.

    A long silence passed between us, broken only by the wind rustling outside the cracked window.

    “Thanks. For stopping me. For not letting me be a monster.”

    “Not tonight,” I warned. “Let her rest. She should be asleep by now.”

    find bnce, this desire will destroy us.” “We all do,” I said. “But if we do

    I didn’t say anything at first.

    He turned and walked toward the door, his body trembling from the aftermath–the

    shame.

    “She wanted me!” he snarled, his voice feral and guttural. “I could smell it. I could feel it. She is mine–mine!”

    “I-” His voice cracked. “I don’t know if I can.”

    “This bond… it’s messing with us. I can’t even think straight when she’s near.”

    Then he walked past me and sat heavily on the couch. He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned.

    “I saw her,” he added, voice quiet. “In my head. Over and over. The way she looked at me before she vanished. She was scared, Levi. Of me.”

    My wolf let out a disapproving growl inside me, but I ignored him and nodded in agreement.

    “No,” I said firmly. “Not like this. You’ll scare her even more. Go cool off. Shift. Run. Scream into the forest. Just don’tmunicate with her until you’ve locked your wolf back down.”

    “That’s why Louis and I talked,” I said. “We’re going to set boundaries. No more kisses. No serious physical contact until she’s sure she wants it.”

    I nodded. “Dead serious. Until she’s ready, we don’t push. And if she is bready/bb, /bbthen /bbwe /bstill make sure we are too. We won’t hurt her. Not even by ident.”

    276 The Decision

    Maybe to be close. Maybe to make sure he came back. Maybe because bI /bbneeded /bbto /bbsee /bwith my own eyes that he was still Lennox and not the creature that had btried /bbto /bbtake /bOlivia in a haze of wild, uncontrolled desire.

    I waited.

    Lennox. Powerful, heavy presence.

    After Louis left, I remained seated on the edge of the bed, staring at the chaos left behind. Olivia’s scent lingering in the air made my wolf restless. Hungry. But I forced him back, swallowing the burn of desire in my throat. I couldn’t risk losing controlb, /bnot like Lennox had.

    Lennox’s jaw tightened. His nostrils red. He looked like he wanted to kill me. I thought he would attack me, but surprisingly he didn’t. But instead, he turned and violently kicked a stool aside, facing the wall.

    “Damn it! What have I done?” he murmured regretfully, his eyes filled with guilt. Lennox winced like the words physically hurt.

    I extended my senses, searching for the flicker of his presence.

    Levi’s POV

    So I walked in.

    We couldn’t.

    “Where’s Lennox now?” Louis asked.

    Louis looked worried too. He understood what I meant.

    He paused when he saw me.

    -I didn’t know why exactly.

    i“/iShe should be back in the Nightshade Pack,” Louis replied. “I can feel her aura. She’s scared. Still aroused, but scared.”

    “We shoulde to a decisión,” Louis said out loud, and I moved my attention btoward /bhim.

    He turned back aroundi, /ihis eyes no longer glowing but raw with biemotion /i/b

    276 The Decision

    “DON’T!” he snapped, spinning toward me, his eyes glowing a bright, bdeadly /bbgreen/b, “You took her from me!”

    The moment Olivia disappeared into the air, Lennox released a growl so loud, bit /bbshook /bthe walls.

    dow and leaned back, resting bmy /b

    I sat down on the small couch near the head against the frame. I stared out at the trees, listening for the faintest echo of bpaws /bagainst soil.

    He exhaled long and deep, like the weight had finally started to lift.

    I stared at the cracked bed, the sheets tangled with Olivia’s scent, the wild energy bstill /blingering in the air.

    “Where is she now?”

    And still hold ourselves back.

    “I figured you’d be here,” he said, his voice rough, but calm.

    “iI /ididn’t mean to hurt her,” he whispered hoarsely. “I just… I couldn’t stop. The scent bof /bher, the sound of her voice, her taste–Goddess, Levi, I’m losing it. Every iday/i, it gets

    harder.” 5

    “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Tonight it was Lennox… next time it might be me. Or you, Louis.”

    “You didn’t hurt her,” I reminded him. “You stopped. And that counts for somethingb” /b

    Lennox stared at the wall, his jaw clenched.

    Louis looked at mei, /ihis face unreadable. “You think he’ll be okay?”