The sting of her slap was nothing compared to the anger blazing in her eyes
I stayed still, trying to control my breath, my heart pounding louder than I expected. Slowly, I turned my face back to her, her palm print still burning on my cheek.
She stood there, chest heaving, eyes glossy with unshed tears and fury.
"What the hell was that for?" I asked, my voice low but firm. "Because I stayed out?"
She let out a short, bitter laugh. "You really think I’m that stupid?"
"What are you talking about?" I narrowed my eyes, trying to understand where this was coming from.
"I know you were with a woman last night, Lennox," she spat, her voice shaking. "I felt it."
Louis and Levi stiffened behind her. I could feel Levi already stepping forward, like he wanted to step in.
"Olivia, don’t—" Levi started gently.
But she raised a hand, silencing him without even looking.
"No, let me talk," she said, her voice sharp. "Don’t protect him."
Her gaze snapped back to me. "When I mind-linked you, I felt your pulse... your breath... and the presence of a woman so close to you," she spat.
My frown deepened. I hadn’t touched anyone. Not last night. Not ever since I claimed her.
But I didn’t speak fast enough.
I just stared at her with nothing but pain... it was heartbreaking that up until now she didn’t trust me.
"Do you think I’m a fool?" she asked, her voice rising. "You think I wouldn’t know? You think I wouldn’t feel it?"
"Olivia," I said, finally managing to speak, stepping toward her. "That wasn’t real. I wasn’t with anyone—"
"Don’t," she snapped, stepping back like my presence disgusted her. "Don’t lie to me."
Her voice trembled now, not with anger but with pain.
Louis stepped closer too, rubbing a hand over his face like he was trying to figure out what the hell was happening.
Levi tried again. "Olivia, maybe you had a nightmare. You were sweating, thrashing a little—"
"I saw him," she said. "In the dream. With her. Touching her. Kissing her like I didn’t exist."
I felt like the ground shifted under me.
I didn’t know what she saw. What she felt. But I knew one thing: it wasn’t real.
Still... she believed it. Every word of it. And that alone shattered something inside me.
I inhaled deeply, and I didn’t explain with words—because clearly, right now, she wouldn’t believe them.
Instead, I stepped forward, tugging my shirt over my head in one swift motion.
Her eyes widened instantly. Her breath hitched.
There, across my chest and down my ribs, were deep, angry red claw marks. Fresh. Some still scabbing over, others barely closed.
I turned slightly, and her hand flew to her mouth. My back was worse—long, jagged gashes slicing from my shoulder down to my spine, raw and swollen.
She blinked rapidly, her fury faltering as her gaze traced the deep slashes across my chest. Her lips parted, but no sound came. The flush in her cheeks drained to pale, and her shoulders sank a fraction, as if the weight of her own words suddenly hit her. "Lennox..." Her voice was softer now, unsteady.
But before she could say more, I pulled my phone from my pocket, scrolled, and hit call.
When the voice on the other end picked up, I hit the loudspeaker.
"Beta Carson," I said flatly, "how’s your Alpha doing?"
There was a pause before his tired voice came through.
"He’s resting. The healer patched him up. You need to rest too, Lennox—you took just as bad a beating."
I glanced at Olivia. Her face had gone pale.
"Thanks," I said, and ended the call without another word.
Silence swallowed the room.
I finally looked at her, my voice steady but heavy.
"In that Alpha meeting last night, we were attacked. Not by some petty rogues—powerful ones. Ones we’ve been tracking for weeks."
Her lips parted, but no sound came.
"What you felt through the mind link—my pulse, my breath, the... presence you thought was a woman—" I shook my head. "That was me fighting. Fighting to stay alive."
Her eyes were locked on mine now, and I could see the cracks forming in her anger.
"The ’woman’ you sensed?" I continued. "That was one of the rogues. A female. Fast and vicious. She had me pinned for a moment, and I had to throw her off." My tone hardened. "Not everything close to me is someone in my bed, Olivia."
I stepped closer, lowering my voice.
"The reason I ended the mind link... was because I didn’t want you to know I was in danger. I didn’t even tell my brothers... and the second reason was because I was being distracted by your words, and at that moment I needed concentration to stay alive."
Her eyes glistened now, her fists trembling at her sides.
"And the fact that you’d rather believe I’d cheat on you than think I’d be fighting for my life..." I let the words hang in the air, my chest rising and falling with the weight of it.
The room was so quiet, I could hear Louis and Levi breathing behind her.
Levi moved first, stepping around Olivia to stand beside me. Louis followed, his expression tight with worry.
"Are you okay?" Levi asked, scanning the marks on my chest and back.
"I was," I said flatly, my gaze locked on Olivia’s glassy eyes. "But not anymore."
Her throat bobbed as a single tear slipped down her cheek.
I took a step closer, my heart clenching.
"I believe you dreamt it. What you saw... was your imagination twisting what you felt. And for the record—" I tilted my head, my eyes hard on hers. "I would rather cut off my manhood than fuck another woman."
"It’s actually sad," I continued, my chest heavy, "that after everything, you still don’t know how much I love you."
Her lips parted like she wanted to respond, but no words came—rather, more tears just spilled.
"I have to get treatment," I said, breaking the silence. "Their claws were poisoned."
Her brows pinched instantly, and she stepped forward, her voice softer now. "Let me heal you—"
"Please," I interrupted, raising a hand to stop her. "I don’t want it."
"I need time alone," I said, my tone leaving no room for argument.
Without another glance, I turned and walked out, leaving her standing in the middle of the room with Levi and Louis watching her in tense, worried silence.