"Levi, do you know what you are doing?" Louis was the first to speak.
I nodded. "Yes. What I should have done a long time ago," I responded with regret. For a moment, I wished I hadn't let things escalate this far.
"Are you out of your mind?" Louis growled, stepping forward toward me.
"Yes. I know exactly what I am doing," I spat back at Louis.
Lennox stepped forward and folded his arms, his eyes softening.
"Are you putting up this act just because of the full moon? So she will allow you to touch her?" Lennox asked, and that got me enraged. How could he think such a thing?
My eyes darkened as I took a step toward Lennox.
"Don't you ever say that again," I warned, my voice low but full of warning. "This isn't about the full moon. This isn't about getting her to sleep with me. This is about her. About my feelings for her. I messed up, I know that—I own that. But don't you dare question what I feel for her."
"And what do you feel for her?" Louis barked at me.
My frown deepened, but I still went on to answer.
"Love." I said it loud and clear. But I didn't end there. "I have loved Olivia for a long time but kept it hidden from you and acted like I liked her like a big brother when in truth I loved her."
Louis froze, his mouth slightly ajar, while Lennox blinked like I'd just grown a second head.
"You what?" Louis asked, his voice dropping.
"I loved her," I repeated, quieter now but just as certain. "Even when she was just a little girl, when she looked up to all of us like we were her whole world, I already felt it. I knew it was wrong, that she was too young, that I wasn't supposed to feel that way—but I did. And I kept it hidden, waiting for the right moment. But when the moment came, it was a disaster."
Louis scoffed. "You can't be serious! You hurt her, Levi, and now you want to act like the perfect guy who has loved her all this while?"
"I know I made mistakes," I said, my hands balling into fists at my sides. "Don't you think I live with that every damn day? Every time I saw her flinch when I walked into a room, every time she smiled at someone else but never me, every time Anita insulted her and I said nothing—I hated myself."
The frown on Lennox and Louis's face deepened, but I continued.
"I'm going to chase Olivia back. I know she has hurt me, and I also hurt her back, but I'm done! I'm done pretending that I no longer love when I actually never stopped," I said plainly. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire.net
My wolf growled approvingly inside me.
"I don't know what she did to you two, and I have no right to ask you two to let it go. You are free to remain angry… to continue to hate her. But I, Levi, am done."
I turned to leave, needing air, space—anything but their judgmental stares. But before I could reach the door, Louis stepped in front of me, blocking my path with a hard glare.
"You're not going after her," he said firmly, arms crossed over his chest like a damn wall I couldn't get past.
My jaw clenched. "Move."
"You know how we do things," he cut me off. "We're triplets, Levi. We don't go off making decisions on our own. We stick together—always have."
I laughed bitterly. "You think I don't know that? You think I don't remember every second of our lives growing up, the way we moved like one person with three bodies? But this… this isn't something we can do together."
Lennox stepped in now, his voice quieter but heavier.
"We haven't forgiven her yet, Levi. For what she did."
"I don't know what she did to you two, but do you two even think for a second and realize she was just fourteen?!" I snapped, my voice shaking with rage and something close to desperation. "You think she didn't hurt me? She did! But I've made my choice."
Louis scoffed. "So that's it? You're just going to go after her while we're still nursing wounds she caused?"
"Yes!" I roared. "Because I'm done, Louis. I'm done holding on to grudges. I'm done pretending I'm fine when I'm not. I love her. I always have. And I'm not waiting for your permission to chase what I want."
Louis's eyes narrowed, and before I knew it, he shoved me—hard.
I stumbled back a step but caught myself, chest heaving.
"You wanna fight me now? Is that it?" I growled.
"We don't get to just decide without each other," Louis barked, stepping in again.
"Why not?" I shouted back. "Because we're triplets? Because we came from the same womb? Sucked the same damn breasts? That doesn't mean we have to live as one person, Louis!"
Lennox tried to speak, but I pushed past both of them, anger burning in my blood.
"I'm not asking you to forgive her. I'm not asking you to follow me. But I am telling you—I'm done holding back. You can either stand with me… or get out of my way."
Louis lunged at me, grabbing the collar of my shirt and slamming me against the wall. I shoved him back just as hard, my anger boiling over.
"You're being selfish!" he yelled.
"No, I'm being honest!" I shouted, pushing him again.
He swung at me, and I barely dodged it. My fist flew up and hit his jaw. He stumbled back but came at me even harder.
"Stop it!" Lennox barked, stepping between us, but we didn't listen. All the years of tension, anger, and pain exploded between us.
"You think you're the only one hurting?" Louis growled, grabbing my shirt again.
"I'm the only one doing something about it!" I snapped, swinging again. He blocked it and punched me in the face.
"You don't know what she did to me!" Louis roared, throwing a punch that barely missed my cheek.
"And you don't know what she meant to me!" I shouted back, ducking and slamming my shoulder into his ribs.
We were so caught up in the fight, fists flying, growls rumbling from our throats, we didn't even notice someone had entered the room.
"Enough!" Lennox shouted, but we didn't stop.
I raised my fist, ready to punch Louis again. He did the same. We both attacked each other.
"Levi! Louis!" Lennox screamed.
Our fists moved at the same time, but instead of hitting each other, we both struck someone in between us.
A soft gasp escaped the person's lips, followed by a sickening thud.
She stood there for a split second, her eyes wide in shock, before her body crumpled to the floor.
"No!" I shouted, falling to my knees beside her. Blood trickled from her temple where our fists had hit.
Louis dropped down too, his face pale. "Oh my God… Olivia."
Lennox rushed to her side. "What the hell did you two do?!"
I gently lifted her head. Her eyes were closed. She wasn't moving.
"Olivia? Olivia, please…" My voice broke.
Lennox growled. "Get the healer!"
Louis just stared, horrified. "We didn't mean to… I didn't see her…"