3/5 us, Lennox-I don’t care if we fight or if you hate me now. I don’t want you to leave me. I can’t lose you like this.”
I cupped his face, my thumbs brushing over the blood and dirt.
“I know things are broken between us. I know I said horrible things. But I didn’t mean it. You’re not weak. You’ve never been weak. You’re the strongest man I’ve ever known. Even now… lying here like this… you’re stronger than anyone.”
I kissed his forehead gently, my tears landing on his skin.
“I need you, Lennox. So please… don’t go. Don’t leave me. You promised. Damn it, Lennox, wake up!” My voice cracked as I broke completely. “You don’t get to die on me. Not like this. Not after everything.”
And suddenly-
His fingers twitched in mine.
My breath caught as his eyelids slowly fluttered open, those piercing green eyes blinking into the light. My heart jumped in my chest.
He looked at me-really looked at me-and even though he was pale and weak, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
“Moon Goddess…” he rasped, his voice hoarse, “your voice is so annoying.”
My mouth dropped open in shock.
“And these tears…” he coughed lightly, his eyes still fixed on mine, “they’re soaking my shirt. Disrespectful, Olivia.”
Despite everything, a watery laugh escaped my lips.
But before I could say anything more, his smirk faded, and his eyes slipped shut again-gently, as though he were simply drifting off to sleep.
“Lennox?” I whispered, panic starting to rise again.
The healer placed a calming hand on my shoulder. “He’s fine,” she said softly. “He’s not unconscious from the wounds anymore. His wolf is taking over now-he needs to rest completely, so the healing can begin.”
My whole body sagged in relief.
“He’s going to make it,” she assured me. “Thanks to you, he will be fine.”
I looked at Lennox, his breathing now deep and even.
And I smiled through the tears.
“I’m not done annoying you yet,” I whispered. “So don’t even think about leaving me.”
Olivia’s POV
For another few minutes, the healer attended to Lennox, and after she was satisfied with his condition, she nodded and got to her feet. “He’s fine, but it’ll take a few hours for him to wake. I still recommend someone stays with him in case he wakes up.”
“I will stay with him,” Anita said immediately, stealing the words right out of my mouth. I wanted to say it. I wanted to stay with him. Despite everything, despite our strained relationship. I couldn’t return to my room and feel at ease knowing he was still unconscious.
“No, Anita, you can’t watch over Lennox. You are sick,” Louis refused immediately.
Anita frowned and shook her head. “I can manage… I really want to stay with him. It is my duty…” she tried arguing, but I cut her off with a scoff.
“Your duty?” I asked, arching a brow, my hands still intertwined with Lennox’s. “Last time I checked, Anita, you are just a concubine. And I?” I smirked. “I’m his wife. His mate. If anyone stays, it’s going to be me. So I advise you to go back to your room, Anita. You’re still unwell- according to you.”
A deep frown spread across Anita’s face as she glared at me. If looks could kill, I’d already be dead-but I didn’t care. I turned to Levi and Louis, who stood at the edge of the bed. “You both can leave. I’ll attend to him. After all, it is my duty as his wife,” I said firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Levi and Louis exchanged a glance before both of them nodded in agreement.
As they reluctantly turned to leave, Anita’s voice rang out sharply, halting them in their tracks.
“You can’t let her stay!” she snapped, her eyes filled with disbelief. “She hates Lennox- he hates her too! What if she tries to kill him in his sleep?”
The room fell into stunned silence.
I turned my head slowly, narrowing my eyes at her. “You know you could be persecuted for saying this?” I warned.
“Damn you,” she hissed, her voice trembling with anger. “Lennox will not be happy waking to see you.”
“And yet,” I cut her off coldly, “he woke up calling for me, not you.”
Her face paled, her lips parting as if to argue, but no words came.
“If I hated Lennox,” I continued, my voice low but filled with anger, “I wouldn’t be here. Hell, I’d be in my room, taking a nice nap”
(??
1/4
Anita’s lip quivered. She turned to Levi and Louis, desperation in her eyes. “You’re really going to let her stay? Alone with him?”
Louis nodded without hesitation. “Anita, she’s his wife. His mate. That means something, whether you like it or not.”
“You should rest,” Levi added gently. “You’re still recovering. Don’t make this ‘worse for yourself.
Anita opened her mouth, then closed it again, a tremble running through her. Her eyes glistened with tears, but she said nothing more as she spun on her heels and stormed out of the room.
I turned back to Lennox, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead.
God, I’m supposed to hate you
I’m supposed to walk away. But here I am-wanting to stay.
“Olivia, if you need anything or if he wakes, just reach out through the mind link,” Levi said, and I nodded, my gaze still fixed on Lennox.
Levi and Louis left the room, leaving me alone with Lennox. Silence enveloped the room like a heavy blanket-calm, yet suffocating.
I glanced down at our intertwined hands and sighed softly. I should let go. Slowly, I tried to move my hand away from his, but even in his unconscious state, Lennox’s fingers tightened around mine, as if refusing to let me go.
I froze.
My chest tightened, something warm and painful blooming deep inside. Why did that small gesture affect me so much?
With a shaky breath, I gave in and lowered myself onto the edge of the bed, my free hand gently brushing his hair back. I watched him in silence, studying his face- the soft lashes that fanned across his cheeks, the slight cut on his brow, the slight parting of his lips as he breathed steadily.
Still handsome. Still breathtaking. And I hated that I still found him so attractive.
“I’m supposed to hate you,” I whispered, almost pleadingly. “You gave me every reason to. You broke me, Lennox… over and over. So why the hell does it hurt to see you like this?”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, blinking fast.
“You idiot,” I muttered, brushing my thumb over his knuckles. “When I saw you on the ground, bleeding, unconscious… I thought you were going to die. I’ve never been so scared in my life.” My voice cracked on the last word, and I bit my bottom lip hard to stop it from trembling.
“I should’ve walked away. Should’ve let someone else care. But I couldn’t. Because even when I try to hate you… I can’t.”
I looked down at our hands again, his fingers still wrapped around mine. It was infuriating. And comforting. And terrifying.
I leaned down slowly, resting my forehead gently against the back of his hand. “Just wake up,” I whispered. “Please… just be fine.”
And then suddenly, a sound.
Barely audible. So soft I thought I imagined it.
My head lifted quickly, my eyes narrowing on his face. His brows twitched. His lips moved… and then again. Mumbled, broken words falling from his mouth like whispers carried by the wind.
And then, I heard it.
The melody.
My breath caught in my throat.
“…heart beats fast… colors and promises…”
My breath hitched.
I knew that song. My song.
“A Thousand Years”
The same one he used to sing to me. He would hum it into my ear as he held me close, whispering that he’d always be here.
Tears spilled freely down my cheeks as he continued in his sleep, voice gravelly, laced with unconscious slurs, but still soft-still unmistakably Lennox.
“…but watching you stand alone… all of my doubt… suddenly goes away somehow…”
My hands trembled as I held his tighter. He remembered.
Even now, even like this- he remembered me.
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.