Levi's POV
I didn't turn around.
I didn't shout.
I didn't defend myself.
I just stood there in the middle of the ring, letting every ugly word sink into my skin like poison.
They were right.
That was the part that hurt the most.
Then—
A voice thundered across the training grounds.
"Enough."
The air itself seemed to freeze.
My head snapped up.
Lennox.
He stood at the edge of the field, his posture straight, his presence heavy and commanding. His eyes were dark with fury, burning as they swept over the warriors who had been whispering.
I hadn't even sensed him arrive.
But it was obvious he had heard everything.
"How dare you?" he said, his voice low but shaking with controlled rage. "How dare you stand here and speak about my brother like that."
The warriors stiffened.
"Those are family matters," Lennox went on. "Blood matters. And you think it's your place to gossip about them like idle fools?"
No one dared to reply.
"You think you know what happened?" he continued. "You think you understand what went on behind closed doors? You don't. Not one of you."
His gaze found me.
"And while I was gone—it was Levi and Louis who kept this pack standing."
My breath caught.
"They led. They fought. They protected every single one of you while I was not here to do it."
His voice sharpened.
"So who do you think you are to stand here and call him a traitor?"
Silence.
Thick. Heavy.
Lennox took a step forward.
"Every single one of you," he said coldly, "get on your knees."
Gasps rippled through the field.
"Now."
Almost four hundred warriors dropped at once, knees hitting the ground.
The sound echoed.
"I want you to apologize," Lennox said. "To Alpha Levi."
No one hesitated.
"We're sorry, Alpha Levi," they said in unison.
The sound of it made my chest tighten.
Lennox wasn't done.
"If I hear anyone," he said quietly, dangerously, "speak badly about my brother again… or discuss our family matters like entertainment… I will personally make sure you never use your tongue again."
Some of them swallowed hard.
"Training is over," he added. "You will remain on your knees until I decide otherwise."
Then he turned.
And walked away.
Leaving them kneeling.
The warriors stayed on their knees, heads bowed, afraid to even breathe too loudly.
And me?
I stood there, frozen.
My heart was beating so hard it hurt.
I didn't know what to feel.
Gratitude.
Shame.
Pain.
Something warm and terrible all at once.
Lennox had just defended me in front of the whole pack.
After everything I had done to him.
After all the damage I caused.
I swallowed hard, my throat burning.
I slowly turned and looked at the warriors.
None of them dared to meet my eyes now.
Not one.
The anger I expected to feel wasn't there.
Just exhaustion.
"Get up," I said quietly.
Some of them looked confused.
"I said get up."
They stood, stiff and uneasy.
"Go," I added. "All of you. Get back to your duties."
They didn't need to be told twice.
One by one, they rushed away, leaving the training ground empty again.
I stood there alone in the ring, the echoes of their voices still ringing in my head.
He was so jealous he wanted his own brother dead.
I clenched my jaw.
Lennox was right.
They didn't know.
They didn't know what it felt like to be eaten alive by jealousy.
To feel small beside a brother everyone loved.
To watch the woman you love choose someone else over you again and again.
To make mistake after mistake until you no longer recognize yourself.
But still…
That didn't excuse what I did.
I turned slowly and stared in the direction Lennox had gone.
He shouldn't have protected me.
Not after everything.
Yet he did.
Because he loved me.
The realization hit me harder than any insult.
"I don't deserve you," I whispered to the empty air.
But maybe…
Just maybe…
I could still become someone who did.
I picked up my shirt from the ground, threw it back over my shoulder, and started walking back inside the mansion. I pushed through the doors into the living area.
The smell of food hit me first.
Warm bread. Eggs. Something sweet.
For a split second, it almost felt normal.
Then I saw her.
Olivia was sitting at the long dining table.
With the boys.
Leo.
Liam.
Leon.
They were laughing softly, bowls in front of them, crumbs on their fingers, like nothing in the world was broken.
My heart stopped.
Louis and Lennox were standing a few steps away from the table, both of them stiff, uneasy, like they didn't know whether to move closer or stay far away.
Neither of them looked ready for this.
Neither did I.
Olivia lifted her head when she sensed us.
Her eyes met mine for just a single second.
Just one.
But in that second, everything inside me went still.
There was no warmth in her gaze. No softness. No trace of the woman who used to look at me like I was part of her world.
Only distance.
Cold. Sharp. Final.
Then she looked away.
Just like that.
She turned back to the boys, smiling gently as if we were nothing more than shadows standing in the room. As if we didn't exist at all.
That hurt more than any insult. More than every cruel whisper I had heard on the training grounds. More than being called a traitor.
Because at least words still meant I mattered.
This… this felt like I had been erased.
Leon looked up then, his little face lighting up when he saw us.
"Fathers," he said brightly, pointing at the chairs. "Have your seats. Mom is here to have breakfast with us."
Olivia didn't look at us.
Not even when Louis slowly pulled out a chair.
Not even when Lennox took a hesitant step forward.
She just kept her attention on the boys, smiling softly as she poured juice into Liam's cup.
"I missed you," Liam said quietly, leaning toward her.
"I missed you too, sweetheart," she replied, brushing his hair back.
It was like she had built an invisible wall.
One that didn't include us.
I stood there, not sure if I was even allowed to sit.
Not sure if I was welcome in the same space as her anymore.