Confused, I went for the box, opened it, and stared inside. Inside were sets of lingerie, bras, and panties, all soft fabrics and lace. My chest tightened the moment I saw them. They were beautiful, expensive-looking…

Tucked on top was a small note. I picked it up and read the typed writing: “This will look so good on her.” My fingers curled around the paper, crumpling it a little unintentionally.

“This came for Olivia… not by delivery, but a guard saw it at the door,” Louis announced angrily.

Angrily, I threw the box across the room, anger radiating through me. That mysterious sender had sent another present to Olivia… he had done it again, and this time he sent something as intimate as underwear.

“Do you think it’s Gabriel?” Louis asked, looking enraged.

I paced around the room as I thought about it. Could it be Gabriel? Was he the sender… was he Olivia’s lover? Was that why she went to the Shadow Pack, why she was wearing his clothes? Everything was now making sense to me.

“We should question Gabriel,” Louis spat.

I growled in anger and looked back at my brothers. “I swear to God, I’m going to kill him if I find out he is the one.”

Levi stepped forward. “Calm down, brothers… we are not so sure… let’s ask him first before drawing conclusions.”

I eyed Levi before going for my cell phone on the nightstand. I snatched my phone, my fingers trembling with rage as I jabbed Gabriel’s number. Without thinking, I pressed speaker so Louis and Levi could hear every word.

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. “Pick up, you bastard,” I growled under my breath.

Finally, the line clicked. “What do you want?” Gabriel’s lazy voice answered, thick with annoyance.

I didn’t waste a second. “Did you send Olivia a box of fucking lingerie and a note? Have you been sending her presents?” I barked, my voice rough with anger.

There was a pause. Then a low chuckle. “I wish I was the one, Lennox,” Gabriel said, the amusement in his tone making my blood boil. “God, if I had a woman like Olivia, I’d be spoiling her every damn day. You’re all fools, you hear me? You have a woman like that under your roof, and instead of cherishing her, you’re letting someone else slip notes and gifts to her?”

I heard Louis curse under his breath. Levi rubbed his face roughly, muttering, “Shit.” My hand clenched around the phone so tightly I thought it might shatter.

Gabriel continued, his voice sharper now. “Find out who’s trying to take her from under your nose before you lose her for real. And next time you call me, have some damn proof.”

I growled in anger. “Really? Proof? Why the fuck was Olivia in your pack? Why was she wearing your clothes, Gabriel?”

For a second, there was silence. Then Gabriel laughed, a dark, mocking sound that made Louis stiffen beside me.

“You really want an answer?” he said coolly. “You don’t deserve an answer.”

I growled low in my throat, but he wasn’t done. “You don’t even realize the kind of treasure you have,” Gabriel continued, his voice dripping with disdain. “You think you can just question me? Like you have some right over her? Let me make something very clear, Lennox – you and your brothers owe me.”

I blinked, stunned. Louis stepped forward, his fists clenched, his face twisted with rage. Levi’s mouth tightened into a hard line.

“We owe you?” I spat into the phone.

Gabriel chuckled again, this time sounding like he pitied us. “Yeah. You owe me. For keeping her safe when you weren’t around. For giving her a place when she had no one. For not taking what I could have taken if I was a lesser man.”

“You’re full of shit, Gabriel,” Louis snapped.

Gabriel only hummed in response, like he was already bored of the conversation. “No explanation. No details. You don’t deserve them,” he said coldly. “Now get your shit together and leave me the hell alone.”

With that, the line went dead. The phone slipped from my fingers, landing on the floor with a dull thud. The room was silent except for my heavy breathing. Gabriel’s words echoed in my head, slicing deeper than I wanted to admit.

I sat down on my bed and thought about it. When was the last time I and my brothers actually got her any presents? Four, five years ago? Fuck! There were times we showered her with presents; we practically competed with each other on who gave Olivia presents more.

I looked at my brothers, not knowing how to say it, but I had to say it. “I know Olivia has hurt us in ways none of us want to talk about,” I said, drawing the attention of Levi and Louis to me. I swallowed hard before continuing. “We all hate her now, I get it, but… she is our mate… our wife, and we can’t sit back and let another man keep sending her gifts… we have to do something.”

Louis stared at me like I had grown two heads. “Are you seriously suggesting we start sending her gifts?” he asked, his voice flat, disbelieving.

I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through my hair. “Not just gifts,” I muttered. “We need to start showing her… that she belongs here. That she’s ours. That no other bastard can touch her!”

Louis scoffed, pacing the room like a caged animal. “After everything she did to me? I can’t!” Louis cursed under his breath, kicking the foot of the bed. “Fuck. Fuck!”

I stayed silent, letting the words settle between us. I didn’t want to say it out loud, but deep down, I knew it – Gabriel was right. Olivia had just asked for a rejection a few moments ago – who knows how far she will go with it? What if she sends a petition to the council of elders? What do we do about that?

I stood up, clenching my fists at my sides. “We don’t have to forget,” I said, my voice low and firm. “We don’t have to forgive everything right now. But if we don’t act, someone else will. Someone else will take what’s ours right out from under us.”

Louis glared at me, breathing heavily, but didn’t argue. Levi gave a sharp nod. “So what’s the plan?” Levi asked. “You want to start sending her gifts? Flowers? Chocolates? What, Lennox?”

I shook my head. “No. Not just that. We need to remind her who she belongs to. Remind her why she ever wore our mark in the first place. We need to make sure she never brings up that topic of rejection ever again.”