Olivia’s POV
It was almost midnight, but I couldn’t sleep. My mind was too loud, too restless. I was worried—yes—but more than that, I was jealous and scared. Lennox was out there somewhere—God knows where—likely surrounded by a swarm of beautiful women. And from the way our mind link had felt earlier... something wasn’t right.
What terrified me most was the absence of their marks on my skin. Without them, I had no way of knowing if he’d been with someone else. No confirmation. No certainty. The only chance would be catching another woman’s scent on him. And even that would be gone by the time he returned tomorrow.
"Olivia... are you even watching?" Levi’s voice pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts. He lay to my right, stretched out comfortably on the bed, his tone casual, but his eyes fixed on me with quiet curiosity.
I glanced at him, forcing a small smile. Louis was on my left, leaning back against the pillows. We were in Levi’s room watching a show playing on the TV in front of us.
I tried to focus on the screen, but my thoughts kept drifting to Lennox—to the way he had reacted earlier when I reached out through the bond. That clipped tone. That breathless tone. The way he shut me out. I knew I was jealous. Dammit, I’d always been jealous when it came to the triplets. And it didn’t start now—it started when I was seven years old.
Back then, it was something small, harmless... or at least that’s what everyone else thought. The boys were already protective of me, even as kids. But sometimes... they gave their attention to others, and I hated it. I remember one afternoon at the training grounds, Levi had been sparring with one of the Beta’s daughters. She’d giggled at something he said, brushing her hair back in that fake shy way girls do when they’re trying to be cute. I remember my chest tightening, my small fists curling at my sides. I was only a child, but I marched right over, tugged Levi’s sleeve, and told him it was time to leave—like I had the right to decide that for him. He had laughed, ruffled my hair, and left without finishing the spar. But that girl had looked at me like she knew exactly what I was feeling.
Then there was Louis. He’s always been the charmer, always smiling at people in that warm, lazy way that makes them feel special. When I was about nine, there was a visiting Alpha’s daughter who wouldn’t stop following him around. She kept trying to braid little flowers into his hair while we sat outside. I remember yanking every single flower out the moment she left. Louis had just watched me, a small smirk tugging at his lips like he knew exactly why I’d done it.
But my worst bout of jealousy? That came when I thought Lennox was seeing the Gamma’s daughter. I must have been eleven. I’d overheard two omegas whispering about how pretty she looked sitting next to him during a council lunch. The image burned into my mind—her leaning close, laughing softly, her hand resting on his arm like she had every right to touch him. For days, I avoided Lennox, my heart aching for reasons I didn’t understand yet.
When he finally cornered me and asked why I was ignoring him, I blurted it out in a rush—accusing him of liking her. He’d stared at me for a long moment, then actually laughed. Not mocking, but soft, like he couldn’t believe I was serious. "She’s not who I want, Olivia," he’d said simply. At the time, I didn’t know how deeply those words would carve themselves into me.
But now... now I was older. Now I knew exactly what my jealousy meant. And tonight, with Lennox at some Alpha "meeting" in a club penthouse surrounded by who knows how many women, that same bitter, ugly feeling was gnawing at me again. Only this time, it was sharper. Real.
I shifted between Louis and Levi on the bed, trying to look like I was watching the TV. But my mind kept circling back to Lennox—his clipped voice through the mind link, the breathless quality, the way he ended it so fast. I’d felt his pulse. Quick. Uneven. Distracted. And Goddess help me... I was sure there was a woman involved.
"Are you spending the night here?" Louis asked suddenly.
I nodded without hesitation. I didn’t feel like returning home. Truthfully, I wanted to be here when Lennox walked through that door.
"Are you okay?" Louis asked, his brow furrowing. "You’re frowning and spacing out."
"Oh, so you noticed too," Levi sighed.
I rolled my eyes at both of them. "I’m fine..."
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