Chapter 416: Dream
Levi’s POV
The moment Olivia slammed the link shut, I felt it — an unbearable pain. I tried again, pushing gently against the bond, but nothing came back. She had blocked me — blocked us.
My chest tightened, but I forced myself to breathe. Unlike Lennox, who paced the study like a caged wolf, and Louis, whose fists were clenched so hard his knuckles had gone pale, I sat still. Calm on the outside, but inside I was worried.
"Damn it, Levi!" Lennox snapped, his voice sharp. "She cut us off again. You felt it, right? She’s not listening."
I nodded once. "I felt it." My voice was even, steady, though the storm inside me threatened to spill over.
Louis slammed his fist against the table. "We shouldn’t have let it get this far. She’s hurting, and instead of protecting her, we made her think we were against her."
I closed my eyes briefly, fighting the sting of guilt. He was right. Olivia had looked so pained, so furious, so desperate when she spoke about Selene. And what had we done? Questioned her. Suggested she was jealous.
Maybe we hadn’t meant it to sound like that, but that’s what she heard. That’s what she felt.
"I tried to reach her," I murmured, running a hand down my face. "She cut me off before I could even finish her name."
Lennox cursed under his breath and shoved a hand through his hair. "She’s overreacting. We just need to give her a day. She’ll cool down."
But I shook my head. "No. This isn’t about cooling down. She’s hurt. Deeply. And if we keep brushing it off, we’ll lose her trust completely."
Silence fell over the room. The weight of it pressed heavy on my chest.
Louis finally broke it, his voice quieter this time. "You think she’ll come back?"
I hesitated. My heart said yes — because Olivia always found her way back to us. But the doubt in me whispered another truth: this time, she might not.
I met my brothers’ eyes, their looks full of worry too. "If we don’t prove to her that we trust her and that we are sorry... then no. She won’t."
The study was silent for another moment before I opened the mind link.
Instead of calling Olivia, I reached Selene.
She was surprised. I felt her small, sharp breath in my head.
"Why did you slap Olivia?" I shouted into the link. My voice was loud in her mind.
Selene’s reaction came slow, like she was thinking of the best lie. "She was acting like a bitch," she answered coolly. "She attacked me first."
Lennox cut in unexpectedly. His voice rolled through the bond like thunder. "Get ready, Selene. The next time we meet, you’ll get a slap from me too." The threat was a promise that I knew Lennox was going to fulfill.
Selene groaned. "Why don’t you believe me?" she shot back. "I’m doing what you asked. I’m getting close to him."
Louis was impatient. He jabbed at the bond. "It’s been three days," he said sharply. "Why hasn’t he fed from you yet? Why hasn’t the poison been used?"
Selene’s answer came quickly, defensively. "He hasn’t tried," she murmured. "If I offered him my blood when we weren’t close, he’d smell something wrong. He would suspect. That’s why I’m getting close first. I need him to trust me. Then I’ll make him drink. That’s the plan."
I felt a cold knot in my chest. Her tone sounded practiced. Too practiced. Too calm.
My frown deepened. "I’m starting to suspect you," I told her. "Don’t think about betraying us. Remember what we can do. Remember who you’re up against."
Silence stretched on Selene’s end like a held breath. I could feel the wheels turning in her head — assessment, calculation. She knew exactly how we could deal with her.
Finally she answered, but in a calm voice. "You worry too much, Levi. I’m playing my part."
Lennox’s voice snapped back into the link. "For your own good, I hope you keep doing just that." I frowned. "Listen, Selene — you have three days to get him to feed from your poison blood. If you don’t, I will believe you are betraying us." With that, I ended the mind link before she could speak.
Staring at my hands, I realized Olivia was right. We shouldn’t trust Selene. Not completely.
The silence in the study felt heavy, pressing down on me from all sides. I rubbed my eyes, the weight of everything sinking deep into my bones.
"I... I feel tired," I muttered finally, pushing back my chair. "I need to rest."
Lennox gave me a sharp look, but I didn’t explain. I didn’t have the strength to. Louis only nodded, though the worry in his eyes mirrored mine.
I left the study and walked slowly to my room. My chest ached, my thoughts were messy, but as soon as I lay down, sleep pulled me under.
I was running, barefoot, through a field soaked in the smell of blood. My wolf howled in my head, wild and broken.
And then Lennox.
He was lying on the ground, his chest torn open, blood pooling fast under him. His eyes were closed.
"No!" My scream ripped from my throat as I fell to my knees beside him. I pressed my hands to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was useless. My hands only got slick with his blood.
"Don’t leave me," I begged, my voice shaking. "Please, Lennox. Please."
But he didn’t move. Didn’t answer. His head rolled to the side, his face pale, his lips parted like he had one last word... but no sound came out.
I shook him, cried over him, and screamed until my voice broke.
I jolted upright, gasping for air. My heart thundered against my ribs, and my cheeks were wet. I touched my face. Tears. Real tears.
"Lennox," I whispered hoarsely. My chest squeezed with fear so strong it nearly broke me.
I shoved out of bed, running barefoot through the halls. I didn’t care who saw. I needed to see him. Needed to know he was alive.
At the corner of the corridor, I almost collided with Louis. His eyes went wide at the sight of me, wild and shaking.
"Levi? What—"
"Where’s Lennox?" I cut him off, grabbing his arm. "Where is he?"
Louis blinked, taken aback by my panic. "He... he went out."
My stomach dropped. My dream flashed in my head again — Lennox, bleeding, lifeless.