CHAPTER 456: THE ONLY OPTION

Levi’s POV

Louis and I stood frozen, the weight of the sorcerer’s words pressing down on us like a mountain. Olivia had to reject Lennox—or die with him. But both of us knew she would never do that.

Louis was the first to find his voice. "You don’t understand," he said tightly. "Olivia won’t reject him. Even if it kills her, she’ll hold on."

The sorcerer regarded him for a long moment, then turned to me. His expression was unreadable, his voice calm but cold. "Then perhaps... someone else can."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

He stepped closer, his gaze fixed solely on me. "The three of you are bound—brothers sharing one bloodline, one spiritual thread. Her bond with Alpha Lennox runs through that same thread. Which means..." He paused, studying us. "Either of you could act on her behalf."

Louis stiffened beside me. "You’re saying we can reject him for her?"

The sorcerer nodded once. "Yes. The connection between the triplet bloodline and the mate bond makes it possible, though it is forbidden in most covens. If one of you channels her energy, the rejection can be spoken in her place."

My chest tightened. "Would it work?"

"It would sever the bond," the sorcerer said. "Her life would no longer depend on his. She would live... but the cost would be heavy."

Louis’s eyes darkened. "What kind of cost?"

The sorcerer’s tone turned grave. "Pain—unbearable pain. The bond will tear violently, and every person tied to it will feel the ripping of their souls. For her, it will feel like death. For you two... perhaps worse."

I clenched my jaw. "But it would save her."

"Yes," the sorcerer confirmed. "If done properly."

Louis shook his head slowly. "And Lennox?"

The sorcerer’s eyes flickered toward our brother’s still body. "He would remain the same—trapped, weak. But at least she would not die with him. Once the bond is cut, she will be free."

"Free," Louis repeated bitterly. "You mean broken."

The sorcerer’s gaze didn’t waver. "Better broken than buried."

A heavy silence fell. I could feel the thrum of the wards in the room, the faint pulse of Lennox’s fading energy.

I swallowed hard, my voice low. "If we... if we agree, what do we have to do?"

The sorcerer’s answer came without hesitation. "One of you must speak the rejection aloud within the circle of sigils. You will need her blood to make it binding. Only then will the severing take hold."

Louis took a step forward, disbelief clouding his face. "You’re asking us to break our own brother’s bond while he’s dying?"

The sorcerer’s voice was like steel. "I’m asking you to save the girl he loves. You can mourn him later, but she will not last another day tied to him like this."

My throat tightened. I turned toward Lennox, pale and unmoving on the bed.

Louis looked at me, his voice barely a whisper. "Levi... what if doing this kills her anyway?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Then at least we tried to save her."

The sorcerer nodded once, the faintest trace of pity in his eyes. "Think quickly," he said. "Because her life will begin to fade with his."

He turned away, focusing his attention back on Lennox.

Louis let out a shaky breath and leaned against the wall, covering his face with his hands. "This isn’t saving her," he muttered. "This is tearing everything apart."

I stared at Lennox, then thought of Olivia. I knew the sorcerer’s proposal was something we should never consider—but it felt like the only thing left that could save her.

Louis stood beside me, still pale, his hand pressed to his face. "She will hate us for this," he muttered. "She will never forgive us."

He was right, and yet, deep down, I knew the sorcerer wasn’t wrong. Olivia’s bond with Lennox was stronger than any of us had ever understood. Even though she was mated to the three of us—me, Louis, and him—there was something different between them. Something unique.

It wasn’t favoritism or imbalance. It was nature. Something primal that even we couldn’t interfere with. Over the years, I’d seen it—how her eyes always found him first, how her laughter always came easier when he was around. She loved me and Louis too, yes, but there was something different about the way her soul leaned toward Lennox, like the universe itself had tethered her to him.

It wasn’t favoritism. It was something beyond that. Something we could feel, even as kids.

I remember when it first became obvious—when Lennox left for his first Alpha training trip. We were seventeen. Olivia was twelve.

It was only supposed to be a week.

The morning he left, she stood by the gate, her hands clutching the edge of his jacket as if letting go would tear her apart.

"Promise you’ll come back soon?" she’d asked, her voice tiny.

Lennox had smiled, that same calm smile that always soothed her. "Before you even miss me," he’d said, brushing a tear from her cheek.

That was a lie.

By the third day, she was pacing the halls like a ghost. She’d wait by the window in the living room, staring out into the distance every few minutes as if expecting to see him walk through the trees.

Louis and I tried everything to distract her—games, food, stories—but she only smiled politely, never for long.

At dinner, she would push her plate away after one bite. Her parents complained, and we had to bring her to the mansion to live with us.

At night, she’d sneak into Lennox’s room, curl up in his bed, and whisper to the empty air, "Goodnight."

One night, I found her sitting there, knees tucked under her chin. When I walked in, she quickly wiped her face and said, "I’m fine." But then she whispered, "It’s quiet when he’s not here. Too quiet. I don’t like it."

And I didn’t have an answer for her.

Even back then, before the bond revealed itself, she felt him. Like her heart knew when his heartbeat was missing.

By the fifth day, she fell ill. The doctor said it was exhaustion, but we knew better. She couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. She’d wake up in the middle of the night calling his name.

Louis and I took turns sitting with her, trying to calm her. But nothing helped.

When Lennox finally returned, she ran to him before he could even step out of the car. She collided into his chest with such force that even he staggered a little.

He laughed—a deep, soft sound that filled the whole courtyard—and lifted her off the ground. "You see?" he’d said, pressing his forehead to hers. "I told you I’d come back."

And she’d cried—not from sadness, but from the sheer relief of it.

That day, her color returned, her appetite came back, her laughter filled the house again.

That’s when I realized... whatever bound them went beyond love. It was something out of this world.

And now, seeing her fading like this—her light dimming each time Lennox’s heartbeat slowed—it was happening all over again.

Only this time, he might not come back.

I swallowed hard, pushing away the lump in my throat. "She’ll never let him go," I said quietly.

Louis glanced at me, his expression heavy. "Then we’ll have to do it for her."

I looked back at Lennox, my chest tightening painfully. Maybe he’d hate us for it. Maybe she would too.

But if it meant keeping her alive...

Then we would have to do it..