31 Familiar

Lennox’s POV

My heart raced, and I didn’t know why.

The moment my eyes landed on the woman standing beside Damien–his so-called new wife–something inside me jolted. Hard.

She was beautiful, yes. Striking, even. But that wasn’t it.

That wasn’t why I couldn’t look away.

That wasn’t why my heart was pounding in my chest like it was trying to claw its way out.

There was something… familiar.

Painfully familiar.

She stood there quietly, letting Damien hold her like some prize, but her eyes–those eyes–they weren’t soft or smiling or warm.

They were guarded. Sharp. Haunted.

Broken.

And the way she looked at me…

No, not just me—all of us. Like she recognized us. Like we mattered to her.

I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t breathe properly.

My chest felt tight. My throat, dry.

For a moment, everything around me dulled–the voices, the silence, even my brothers standing beside me.

It all faded into the background, and all I could focus on was her.

I forced myself to look away, to keep walking, but I could still feel her gaze on me.

My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin, something he hadn’t done in days.

201 Familiar

What the hell is going on with me?

I clenched my fists at my sides, jaw tightening as I stood before them.

It made no sense.

None of this did.

Why was this stranger–this lady–making me feel like the ground beneath me had shifted?

And why, for the first time in days…

Did I feel like Olivia was standing right in front of me?

Damien planted a kiss on her cheek before turning to face us.

“Lennox, Levi, Louis. Meet Rebecca, my wife,” he introduced.

My eyes were still fixed on the strange woman. She smelled nothing like Olivia–but strangely, her scent of vanilla mixed with roses was comforting… it gave me the same feeling Olivia’s scent always gave whenever she was close.

The lady bowed slightly, respectfully.

“Greetings,” she said.

Neither I nor my brothers said a word.

We just stood there, staring at the woman a few feet away. She looked like she was from India, with her long black hair and sharp features. But even though she was a stranger, something about her felt familiar.

Damien’s voice broke the silence.

“I’m sorry to hear about Olivia,” he said, sounding sympathetic–and it annoyed me. Levi’s jaw clenched, his voice cold as ice.

“You should be thanked for that, shouldn’t you?” he snapped. “Wasn’t it you who helped her leave in the first place?”

Damien raised a brow, unbothered.

“You shouldn’t blame me,” he replied smoothly. “If you three had treated her like real men–like true mates–she wouldn’t have rejected you to begin with.”

231 Familiar

The words hurt… but he was right.

“I’ll excuse myself,” Damien continued casually, completely unbothered. He slid an arm around Rebecca’s waist again, possessive and controlling.

“It’s been a long trip. My wife needs rest.”

With that, he turned and began to lead her up the stairs.

Her steps were graceful but slow. She didn’t look back–but I wished she did.

I needed her to look back.

I just wanted to look into her eyes again.

We stood frozen, watching them disappear down the hall.

The moment they were out of sight, I turned to my brothers.

They turned too.

All of us silently shaken.

All of us thinking the same thing… but none of us willing to say it out loud yet.

Our father’s voice broke the tension.

“Sons,” he said, stepping forward. “It’s wrong to stare at your uncle’s wife like that.”

We looked at him, still quiet.

His tone was calm but firm.

“Are you planning to take out your revenge on her? Is that it? You want to carry your anger onto Damien and use this woman to do it?”

“No,” I muttered, though I wasn’t sure if I meant it.

“She looks innocent,” he continued. “She looks like someone who’s already been through more than enough. Leave her out of this. Don’t punish her for being married to the wrong man.”

I swallowed hard, my chest still tight.

231 Familiar

We didn’t say anything.

Instead, I turned back toward the stairs, and my brothers followed me.

Once in my room, I turned to face them.

“Did you guys… feel it?” I asked, my voice low, like I was scared of the answer.

Levi was the first to respond. His brows furrowed, lips pressed tightly together.

“I don’t know what the hell I felt,” he muttered. “But it wasn’t normal. The moment she looked at me–at us–it was like something inside snapped awake.”

Louis nodded slowly, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked more unsettled than I’d seen him in days.

“It’s not just you,” he said. “I felt it too. My wolf stirred. It wasn’t just attraction. It felt… deeper.”

He paused, then said the words that made my stomach twist.

“What if… she’s our second chance mate?”

The room fell still.

Levi and I both stared at him, but he wasn’t backing down.

His eyes were serious.

“I mean it. What else explains the connection? The way we reacted? Our wolves haven’t responded to anything since Olivia died. Not food. Not people. But they responded to her.”

I felt my chest tighten again–this time with anger, pain, denial.

I shook my head slowly, taking a step back.

“No,” I said firmly, my voice rough. “I don’t want a second chance mate.”

“Lennox-” Louis tried to reason.

“I don’t want anyone else,” I cut him off. “I want Olivia.”

Silence again.

231 Familiar

A painful, echoing silence.

“I don’t care what the Moon Goddess thinks she’s doing,” I added, pacing now, my hands running through my hair.

“I don’t care what fate says. I only want her. Olivia is still alive."

Levi finally spoke, softer now.

“But what if she really is gone?”

I froze.

The air seemed to thicken.

Levi’s voice cracked slightly.

“What if the Moon Goddess is trying to give us… someone to help us move on?”

I looked at both of them, my chest heaving.

“No one can replace her,” I said bitterly. “No one.”

Louis nodded in agreement. “And why would the Moon Goddess give us a second chance this early? It’s supposed to take months–years–before we’d even be offered a second chance mate if we were lucky. So why now?”

I shook my head again, stepping toward the window and staring out.

“I don’t know what she is… or why I felt that way, but hell no, she can’t be our second chance mate. Why would the Moon Goddess mate us with our uncle’s wife? Why would she do that?”

Neither of my brothers responded.

Instead, a tense silence filled the air.

I sucked in a deep breath and reached out to my wolf, who had clearly been awakened by that woman’s arrival.

“What do you think? What do you feel?” I asked.

My wolf was silent, like he didn’t want to respond–but he eventually did.

“I feel a strong connection with her… I can’t feel her wolf, but there is something about her…” he paused for a few seconds, then continued.

“I think Louis is right… she might be our second chance mate.”