I have to do it.

But Lennox had been there. He always was. He had leapt in after me, dragging me back to shore, his body shaking with fear and fury as he yelled at me.

I had pouted, snapping back, “You’re not my father, Lennox!” Then I had jumped in anyway, thinking I could swim across. But the current was stronger than I imagined. It had pulled me down, choking me, swallowing me.

Lennox’s growl rumbled low in his throat, his wolf pushing hard against mine, fierce and angry. “And what happens when he touches you, Olivia?” His voice was harsh, almost breaking. “When he wants to have you? You think your fire will protect you from that?”

I felt like teleporting away like I always did when anger consumed me, but this time, my feet refused to move. It was as if the floor itself held me in place. My chest rose and fell heavily, my glare locked on Lennox. Not because I hated him. No, never that. But because, as always, he refused to let me have my way. He never did. And suddenly, a memory struck me like lightning.

Lennox pushed off the wall, his arms still crossed but his jaw tight. His glare fixed on me, but I didn’t flinch.

“Hottie.”

Finally, he spoke.

I swallowed hard, my lips pressing together before I finally said, “The plan is simple. I get close. I act like I’m considering him. He’ll let his guard down. That’s the only way I can learn where his vessel is. And once I know…” My wolf growled low inside me, “…we destroy it.”

Olivia’s POV

My eyes betrayed me.

My breath caught. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to just him–the rise and fall of his chest, the sharp set of his jaw, the way his eyes lingered on me as if he already knew where my thoughts had gone.

I wasn’t surprised. Levi almost never said no to me. My chest ached with the memory of when we were kids, when Lennox and Louis told me I wasn’t allowed to climb the tall tree behind the mansion. I had begged, pouted, even shouted, but they had held firm.

Louis had echoed, his arms folded. “It’s dangerous. Don’t be stupid, Olivia.”

“No,” Lennox had said flatly, his voice sharp.

My wolf growled softly inside me, restless, unsatisfied.

“I know.” I cut Levi off. “That is why I will be very careful. There is no other way,” I said firmly, trying to make them understand. “You can search every corner of this world, fight every battle, and spill as much blood as you want–but none of that will matter if we don’t know where his vessel is. And the only way to learn that… is through him.”

But I shook my head quickly, tearing my gaze away. My nails dug into the fabric of the couch as I forced myself to look down. “Not now,” I whispered under my breath, though I wasn’t sure if I was speaking to my wolf or to myself.

I noticed Levi sitting on the edge of the bed across from me and Louis took the couch beside me. And again the awkward silence hung in the air. Louis leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, and Levi… Levi’s eyes stayed fixed on me.

“So what’s your plan, Olivia?” His voice was calm, steady–but it carried weight. “If you want to do this, then tell us how. Step by step. How do you mean to get close to him? How do you plan to find the vessel?”

I would have drowned.

Now, sitting across from him, I saw the same thing in his eyes. That flicker of trust. That silent vow that if I insisted, he would stand with me.

Lennox groaned but didn’t say a word, and then Levi spoke.

Only Levi had sighed, looked at me with those soft eyes, and whispered, “Fine. I’ll help you, but don’t tell them.”

“Do you want to die? Don’t ever do that again!” His voice had cracked, his eyes… he hadn’t let me go until I promised I’d listen next time.

Levi’s brows furrowed, his lips parting as if to argue, but I cut him off before he could. “I need to do this,” I said, sharper now, leaving no room for argument. “If I don’t, then what’s the point of all this power? What’s the point of being who I am if I can’t use it to protect myself–and all of you?”

But still, I lifted my chin, fire flaring in my chest. “I won’t let him touch me. I have a plan for that.”

I froze, his words hitting deeper than I wanted them to.

“I’m not a child anymore,” I pressed, heat rising in my chest. “I can take care of myself. I have my abilities–my fire, my strength, my wolf. I’m not some weak girl who needs to be hidden away while you three risk your lives on my behalf.”

“You know Frederick isn’t just an ordinary vampire…”

Before I could stop myself, they trailed over him–slow, unwilling sweeps across the lines of his chest, the slope of his shoulders, the veins that stood out along his arms. My wolf stirred instantly, heat rolling through me, her voice low and seductive.

“No, Olivia. It’s too deep.”

We were younger. I was no more than ten, sitting on the edge of the riverbank with my bare feet dipped in the water. I had wanted to cross, to prove I was brave enough. But Lennox had stood there, arms crossed, his face stubborn even then.

I swallowed hard, my glare faltering for a moment, and then without saying a word I lowered myself onto the single-seater couch. Silence weighed heavily in the room as the four of us sat without speaking. Each of us was waiting for someone else to break it, and it was never going to be me. Lennox moved away, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his bare chest, muscles flexing with the motion, his skin catching the dim light of the room.

Louis leaned forward then, his voice trembling with more worry than anger. “And if your plan costs you your life? If we lose you because of this? You think any of us will survive that?”

My words hung in the air, heavy, sparking tension like lightning.

And even though I’d fallen a few minutes later, scraped and bruised, I had smiled through the pain. Because Levi had believed in me, when no one else would.

And now, looking at him in this room, his fists clenched, his chest heaving, it felt exactly the same. He wasn’t just angry. He was scared.

I have to do it.

That was Levi. Always giving me yes when I wanted it most.

He had led me by the hand, whispering instructions while I climbed higher. He’d been terrified for me–anyone could see that–but he had let me try. Because I had wanted it.