Lennox met my gaze. There was sadness in his eyes now.
“Because, Olivia…” he said slowly, “he didn’t want you to see him differently. He didn’t want you to pity him. He wanted to stay Levi-the strong one. The one you admired.”
Louis nodded. “He’s been hiding it since we turned twelve. It doesn’t happen often. But when it does… we’re always ready.”
I frowned, eyes flicking between them. “What do you mean, ready?”
Louis rubbed the back of his neck. “He figured out the early signs-tightness in his chest, dizziness, this subtle shake in his hands. You probably never noticed, but he did. Whenever that happened, he’d glance at us. That was our silent signal.”
“And then what?” I asked, worried but curious.
Lennox answered. “Then he’d excuse himself from the crowd. Say he needed to get water. Or ease himself. Or just-walk. We’d follow quietly. Make sure he took the cork leaf blend to open his lungs. It worked… most times.”
I stared at Levi, a memory flashing through my mind.
Those afternoons when he’d disappear during bonfires. Or vanish after laughing too hard. I always thought he just needed the bathroom. I never noticed. I never knew.
“And when it didn’t work?” I asked slowly, a knot tightening in my throat.
Louis let out a breath. “If he fainted before he could take it… we’d catch him. Revive him fast.”
“And I was never told?” My voice cracked. .
Lennox looked away, his jaw tight. “You weren’t supposed to know. He made us swear. He’d wake up, catch his breath, and be back beside you like nothing happened. Sometimes you didn’t even notice he was gone.”
The knot in my throat burned. I sank down beside the bed, my fingers curling into the sheets near Levi’s hand.
I wished I could stop this feeling of worry and pain in my heart, but I couldn’t.
I looked down at Levi’s face again. His breathing was slow… but it was there. His chest rising ever so gently.
“What if I hadn’t followed him?” I whispered. “What if I had let him go?”
“Thank you,” Lennox said firmly. “Thank you for following him.”
Just then the door opened, and hurried footsteps rushed in.
“The healer’s here,” one of the guards said.
I looked up and immediately recognized the man being escorted in. The same healer who had helped me when I lied about my amnesia. He paused for a heartbeat, eyes scanning the room, then focused on Levi, His gaze sharpened, his brow furrowed.
I moved away, and he moved swiftly to Levi’s side, his hands already busy checking his pulse, lifting his eyelids, listening to his chest.
“I assume this is Lunar Respiris again?” he asked without looking up.
“Yes,” Lennox replied. “He fainted just now. We gave him Stimroot. It didn’t work.”
The healer frowned slightly. “Has he passed out already this year?”
Lennox nodded. “Yes. A few months ago.”
The healer stilled, eyes flickering briefly to Levi’s face. “Then he shouldn’t be having another episode so soon.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, stepping closer.
The healer began pulling out tiny pouches of herbs, grinding and mixing them with practiced ease. “Lunar Respiris is unpredictable, but most who suffer from it only experience one serious attack per year. Two in such close time usually suggests something else… an external trigger.”
Louis shifted uneasily beside me. Lennox didn’t speak.
“What kind of trigger?” I asked quietly, though something in my chest already felt cold.
The healer didn’t look at me when he answered. “Emotional strain. Sudden shock.
Magical imbalance. Something that disturbs the body’s rhythm-especially something tied to the heart or bond.”
My heart stuttered.
Bond.
Emotional strain.
My lips parted slightly. My mind flashed to the moment in the woods-Gabriel’s hands on my waist, his mouth on mine. The overwhelming heat of the kiss. The guilt that followed,
I swallowed thickly.
“You’re saying… someone could’ve triggered this?” I asked, trying to keep my steady. voice
“Not necessarily intentionally,” the healer said gently. “But yes. If he was already weakened… anything deeply emotional could’ve tipped him over.”
My stomach twisted. I glanced at Levi’s still face, his lashes resting dark against his cheeks.
The way he had looked at me afterward… the way his voice trembled when he asked if Gabriel and I were seeing each other. I thought he was just hurt. I didn’t realize…
It seems my kiss with Gabriel has done far more damage than I ever imagined.
Olivia’s POV
The healer finished his mix, a glowing greenish paste that shimmered faintly. He carefully spread it across Levi’s chest, just over his heart, then pressed both palms over it.
A faint pulse of magic lit the space beneath his hands.
Levi’s body twitched.
“Come on,” the healer murmured. “Come back to us, Alpha.”
Levi’s fingers twitched, then his eyes fluttered open slowly, dazed and glassy.
“Levi?” Louis stepped forward.
Levi blinked a few times, confusion flooding his face. “What…?”
“You fainted, dumbass,” Lennox muttered, visibly relieved but trying not to show it. “You scared the hell out of us.”
The healer pressed two fingers against Levi’s pulse. “You’re lucky,” he said, quietly. “Again.”
Levi’s gaze drifted to me next. His eyes locked with mine-and I saw it. The flicker of guilt. Of fear. Of shame.
“Olivia,” he whispered. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to see that. I didn’t want you to-“
“Don’t,” I said sharply, frowning at him.
He flinched.
I walked toward him.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
I frowned as I stood beside him with folded arms. “You knew you were going to pass out… you saw the signs, and yet you decided to go into the woods. What if I hadn’t followed you? Then what?” I yelled in anger.
I was furious, and I didn’t even know who I was mad at-him, them, or myself.
Was it because all these years, even when we were close, they never told me about this illness? Or was it because he put his life in danger by going into the woods? Or was I just angry at myself? I didn’t even know. I had no idea.
Levi opened his mouth to speak, but I didn’t give him the chance. Instead, I turned around and walked out of the room.
As I made my way to my room, my hands trembled, my chest too tight to breathe properly. I didn’t know what I was feeling. Anger, definitely. But underneath it-pain. Confusion. Guilt. So much guilt, choking me.
When I reached my door, I pushed it open harder than I meant to, the wooden frame groaning under my force. I stepped inside, ready to scream into my pillow or throw something just to let the pressure out-but froze,
Alpha Damien was sitting on my bed. 1
Back straight. Hands clasped. Eyes already on me as if he’d been waiting for hours.
The moment I saw him, I became anxious. I didn’t even try to hide the worry on my face.
“You,” I breathed out, my voice trembling.
He raised a brow. “Yes, Me.”
“Why are you here?”
He didn’t respond. He only slowly stood up from the bed and approached me. My frown deepened as I folded my arms, trying to act tough, but inside, I was nervous. There’s this feeling I get whenever I’m this close to him… Alpha Damien has a dominating aura, more like his wolf is a dominant wolf, and I feel it.
He got a few steps away from me and stopped, holding my gaze with that quiet intensity that made my skin tingle. “We have to move fast with our plan.”
My brows pulled together. “What do you mean by fast?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.