Levi's POV
Lennox's gaze followed the girl until she disappeared into the night.
Then he looked back at me.
And the anger in his eyes faded.
What replaced it was worry.
"I hope what she said isn't true," he said quietly. "Levi… tell me you weren't trying to kill yourself."
The words hit harder than any punch.
I scoffed lightly, forcing a shrug. "She got it wrong. I just needed air. That's all."
His eyes didn't leave my face. He was searching. Reading me.
"You swear?" he asked.
"I swear."
For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he nodded slowly.
"Good," he said. "Because if I even think you're a danger to yourself, I won't let you wander off alone again."
I huffed. "Yes, big brother."
He frowned. "I'm not your big brother. I'm literally five minutes older than you."
I smirked faintly. "Still makes you big bro."
For a split second, something soft touched his face.
A smile.
God.
I had missed that smile more than I knew how to admit.
Seeing it again made my chest ache.
I swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry," I said suddenly.
He blinked. "For what?"
"For being a terrible brother," I whispered. "For pushing you away. For letting jealousy turn me into someone ugly. For choosing my pride over you."
My throat burned.
"You have always loved me," I said. "You always protected me. You would've died for me without thinking twice."
My eyes filled.
"And what did I do?" I whispered. "I doubted you. I competed with you. I treated you like an enemy when all you ever did was love me."
My voice broke.
Tears slid down my face before I could stop them.
"You came back from death, Lennox… and I still kept hurting you."
I dropped my gaze, ashamed.
"I don't deserve you," I said quietly.
Before I could say anything else, Lennox stepped forward and pulled me into his arms.
Just like that.
No hesitation.
No anger.
Just his arms around me, strong and warm.
"You're my brother," he said quietly against my shoulder. "You don't have to deserve me."
I gripped his shirt, my shoulders shaking.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered.
"I know," he said softly. "I know, and I forgive you."
The moment he said it—
I forgive you—
something inside me finally broke.
I started crying.
Not the quiet kind.
The ugly, shaking kind that came from too much pain being held in for too long.
Lennox let me.
He didn't pull away.
Didn't tell me to stop.
After a few moments, he sighed softly.
"Hey," he murmured. "Stop crying. You're an Alpha."
I laughed through my tears, my voice cracking.
"Fuck it," I muttered. "I'm still human."
That actually made him laugh.
A real laugh.
Warm. Soft. Familiar.
God, I had missed that sound.
I pulled back slowly, wiping my face, embarrassed but also lighter somehow. Lennox placed both his hands on my shoulders.
"Look at me," he said.
I did.
"We're in this together," he said quietly. "You're not alone anymore. Do you understand that?"
I swallowed.
"Yes."
"You don't have to keep punishing yourself forever," he went on. "I want you to live. I want you to find yourself again. Not as my shadow. Not as the man who hates himself. But as Levi."
My chest tightened.
"Can you do that?" he asked gently. "For me?"
I hesitated… then nodded.
"I'll try."
"For me," he repeated softly.
"I will," I said, my voice steadier now.
He gave me a small nod, then I stepped forward and hugged him again, holding him tighter this time.
Thank you, I wanted to say.
For not giving up on me.
After a moment, I pulled away and turned toward the pack house.
I stepped inside, and the quietness wrapped around me. The mansion was too quiet. Olivia used to fill these halls with her presence. Her laughter. Her anger. Her warmth. Now everything felt hollow.
I went to my room and shut the door behind me.
For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the wall, breathing slowly.
I wasn't okay. But I felt better now.
"What's next?" my wolf asked.
I sighed and fell back on the bed as I stared at the chandeliers on my ceiling. "I don't know, but I'll try to be a better version of myself and one day be worthy of being with Olivia again."
At dawn the next day, I sat up slowly.
My chest still felt heavy, but not as crushing as last night.
You're still Alpha, my wolf murmured quietly.
"Yeah," I whispered back. "And I need to act like it."
I swung my legs off the bed and stood. I was an Alpha. No matter how broken I felt inside, the pack was still mine to protect.
I showered, dressed in training clothes, and tied my hair back. I stared at my reflection for a moment.
I didn't like the man looking back at me.
But I was going to try to change him.
The training grounds were already alive when I arrived.
Warriors were sparring. Some were running drills. Others were sharpening their blades. The air smelled of sweat and metal.
The moment they noticed me, everything shifted.
One by one, they stopped what they were doing.
They bowed.
"Alpha Levi," a few said.
Their words were respectful.
Their eyes were not.
I could feel it.
Resentment.
Anger.
Judgment.
I nodded once and walked toward the open training ring. I pulled off my shirt, tossing it aside, ready to train.
Then I heard it.
Low voices.
Whispers that weren't meant to be heard—but through my sensitive hearing, I heard them.
"It's better to be alone than have a brother like him," one warrior muttered.
Another snorted. "Right? Imagine being so jealous you want your own brother dead."
My jaw tightened, but I didn't stop moving.
A third voice joined in. "He didn't just betray Lennox. He betrayed the whole pack."
"I heard Luna left. She wouldn't have left if not for him."
"Yeah. He broke everything."
They weren't even whispering anymore.
They knew I could hear them.
They just didn't care.
"I heard he tried to take everything Alpha Lennox had," someone said. "The pack. Their mate. The power."
"Pathetic."
"Who needs an enemy when you have a brother like him."
My hands curled slowly into fists.
Every word cut deep, but I forced myself to keep walking. I forced myself to stand in the center of the ring.
They weren't wrong.
That was the worst part.