Chapter 445

Olivia’s POV
The witch’s voice echoed through the chamber. “Begin.”
The guards pushed me down until my knees hit the glowing symbols on the floor. The markings pulsed with light, spreading heat through the stone beneath me. My heart hammered, but my body refused to move. I glanced at the boy. His small chest barely rose. His face was gray, lifeless. My throat burned. Whatever they were about to do, it wasn’t just magic—it was something darker.
The witch began to chant in an unknown tongue. The words crawled into my ears like whispers of death itself. The air shifted, and the circle flared brighter.
A sharp pain shot through my chest. I gasped, clutching the collar at my neck as it burned hot against my skin. My wolf howled weakly inside me, her voice muffled, fading.
The masked man watched in silence, his arms crossed as if this were just another experiment.
I tried to move — to fight — but invisible hands slammed me down. My palms pressed against the burning symbols. My body arched, my breath caught in my throat. Every vein in me felt like it was on fire.
“Don’t fight it,” the witch rasped. “Let it take.”
I screamed as light burst from my chest — pale, blinding energy swirling upward before pouring toward the little boy. The power ripped through me, tearing everything apart.
My vision blurred. The room spun.
Selene shouted something, but her voice was drowned out by the ringing in my ears. I could barely see her now — just the blur of her face and the glowing circle surrounding us.
The boy on the cot gasped suddenly — a small, sharp sound. His chest began to rise. Color flushed back into his cheeks.
It was working. He was healing.
But I was dying.
Every second felt like my soul was being drained through my veins. My body trembled violently. My fingers clawed at the floor, searching for something, anything to hold on to.
The witch’s chant grew louder. The air whipped around us. The energy pouring out of me turned red — darker, heavier. My wolf cried inside, fading with every pulse.
“Stop!” Selene screamed. “You’ll kill her!”
The masked man didn’t even flinch. His cold voice cut through the chaos. “She knew the price.”
My body slumped forward. My breathing slowed. I could feel the light fading from my eyes, replaced by a suffocating darkness creeping in from all sides.
Through the haze, I saw the boy breathing, his fingers moving.
And as the witch continued her incantation, I whispered weakly, “Mates… please… find me
The witch’s chanting grew louder. The air was wild, spinning with dark magic, and my vision blurred to white. I could barely breathe. Every beat of my heart felt weaker than the last. Content originally comes from
Then I heard footsteps. Heavy. Fast.
The doors burst open with a crash that shook the room. Through the blur of my fading sight, I saw them.
Lennox. Louis. Levi.
And behind them — Frederick.
They were here.
My mates had found me.
“Olivia!” Lennox’s voice tore through the chaos, raw and full of panic. He tried to rush forward, but the glowing circle around me flared violently, throwing him back.
“Stay back!” the witch screeched. Her voice was sharp and full of warning. “If any of you cross this circle, you will die!”
Lennox ignored her. He pushed against the invisible wall, teeth bared, eyes glowing red. “I don’t care!” he roared. “Olivia!”
Tears blurred my vision as I looked at him. I wanted to tell him to stop — to run — but my mouth barely worked. More power was being ripped from me. The boy on the floor was glowing brighter now, breathing stronger, while I was slipping away.
The others were fighting — I could hear it. Claws tearing flesh, metal clanging. Frederick’s growl, Louis’s snarl, and Levi’s shout—they were battling the guards, trying to reach me. But the witch kept chanting, her voice drowning out everything else.
Lennox slammed his fist against the barrier again. “No! I won’t lose her!”
He looked at me—and in his eyes, I saw it. The same wild, stubborn love that had always pulled me back.
Then, before I could even shake my head, he stepped into the circle. I didn’t know how he was able to break the barrier and get in, but he did it.
A flash of red light exploded. The witch screamed. Frederick shouted something, but it was too late. Lennox’s body convulsed as the magic hit him — the energy that was draining from me started pulling at him instead.
“Lennox!” I cried weakly, crawling toward him, my hands trembling.
He fell to his knees beside me, grabbing my face with shaking hands. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his voice fading. “I told you… I’d always protect you.”
The light around us turned violent, red and white, clashing like fire and blood. I felt the pull leave me. The burning pain faded.
But now… it was him.
The witch’s eyes widened. “No! How did he do it? How did he exchange it?”
With trembling lips, I stared at Lennox. “What did you do?”
Lennox flashed me a weak smile while life still drained away from him. “What a mate should do.”
“No!” Louis’s voice broke, raw and cracked. He slammed his fists against the shattered barrier, his wolf surfacing in his eyes. “Lennox, don’t you dare—don’t you dare!”
Levi stumbled forward, blood running down his arm from the earlier fight. “Stop it! Reverse it!” he shouted at the witch, his voice shaking between fury and terror. “Bring it back! Take me instead!”
I shook my head, refusing to accept it. I didn’t think. I didn’t care. With the last of my strength, I pulled the knife from my waistband, pushed myself to my feet, and drove the blade straight through the witch’s heart.
Her scream was horrible — high and sharp. The glowing circle shattered with a thunderous crack, and the light died all at once. The room went dark.
The witch collapsed, blood spilling across the runes.
I dropped to my knees beside Lennox. His skin was pale, too pale. His lips had lost all color. He wasn’t breathing.
“Lennox I whispered, my hands shaking as I touched his face. “No, no, no
Tears ran down my cheeks. My chest hurt so much I could barely breathe. “Please… wake up. You can’t do this to me. You can’t leave me like this.”
But he didn’t move.
He just lay there — silent, still, and cold.
And all I could do was scream.