Lennox’s POV

A heavy silence filled the room. No one spoke. No one moved, until I did. I took a slow, threatening step forward, my eyes locked on him with pure, blistering hate.

I stepped right up to him now, my face inches from his.

I didn’t care who he was anymore. I didn’t care that he was my uncle. He had touched what was mine. He had hurt Olivia in the worst possible way he could.

Damien frowned. “I knew I did wrong, but I was also trying to protect her…”

He tried to push me off, grunting as he braced against my weight, but now I was stronger – fueled by nothing but pure, unforgiving rage.

“You made her reject us.”

My jaw clenched. My fists curled so tightly, I felt my nails pierce skin.

“You’re evil,” I said coldly. “You didn’t just trick us. You didn’t just rip her away from us…”

Father didn’t speak at first. He stood silent. His face was hard to read, his jaw clenched, his brows drawn. But I could see the war behind his eyes. The weight of truth pressing down on him.

“It was complicated,” Father said darkly.

Father’s eyes moved between us. “And Olivia is descended from those earlier children. From your great-grandmother’s first bloodline.”

Father looked at us, and by the shadow in his eyes, I knew… He was finally ready to tell the piece of the story they’d buried for generations.

Finally, he exhaled slowly and looked at us.

“Yes, Father.” Levi stepped closer. “You and Mother should start talking, and we want the absolute truth.”

“ENOUGH!” Father’s voice thundered across the room.

We stared at him, stunned.

“You knew she was in danger. You knew people were hunting her. You knew she needed help. But instead of telling us – you used it.” I took another step. “You used it for your own twisted revenge. For your selfish plan. You took her pain and made it part of your fucking strategy.”

“You let her suffer!” I shouted. “You knew! And you still-!”

“You’ll pay.”

Damien looked away, but I didn’t stop.

Rage like nothing I’d ever felt before surged through me. My wolf growled inside my head, demanding I rip Damien apart right there. But I held myself back.

We crashed to the floor with a loud THUD, my fists swinging before anyone could stop me.

Silence fell again. I blinked. “The Blackwells?” I glanced at Levi, who looked just as stunned.

My head snapped back to him.

“I told Olivia I would only help her escape Gabriel if she agreed to have a change of face… and act as my wife.”

He opened his mouth slightly, but I didn’t let him speak.

Damien kept talking like he couldn’t see we were seconds from tearing him apart.

“She didn’t ask you to,” Louis barked.

“Which families are we related to through Great-Grandmother Hailee?” I asked cautiously, not sure I wanted the answer.

“Because I threatened her not to,” Damien cut in.

“There was a bracelet wrapped around her wrist,” he said. “That bracelet suppressed her wolf… her scent… even her life. It was enchanted. If she disobeyed me, if she spoke a word-”

I landed another hit – then another – knuckles cracking against bone. My wolf howled inside me, blood pounding through my ears.

Louis stepped closer, his voice sharp. “You mean Great-grandfather Nathan’s cousin’s bloodline? Anthony’s Family?”

I roared and launched at him.

A pair of strong arms grabbed me from behind, yanking me off Damien and dragging me back.

He shoved again, managing to shift beneath me slightly, but I slammed him right back down.

He hesitated just for a second then said, “The Beckhams from the Nightshade Pack. And… the Blackwells from the Snow Moon Pack.”

“But we already know all that,” I snapped, frustration building in my chest. “We’ve heard the happy version a thousand times. We want the truth.”

“I don’t get it,” Levi muttered, drawing my attention to him. His brows were furrowed in pain and confusion. “Why didn’t Olivia tell us? She had so many chances to.”

He didn’t get to finish.

“Tell us,” Louis added, stepping forward, “what caused the rift between us and the Beckhams. What created the enmity between our families?”

Despite hearing it for almost the fourth time, it still hurt to think that we were related to Olivia.

My breath came out ragged.

The air tensed again. We already knew that.

“Her life was complicated,” he went on. “Your great-grandmother… There were secrets. A lot of pain. And even more betrayal. She went through things… things none of us ever fully understood. But eventually, she found her way back to your great-grandfather.”

“My plan would’ve worked,” he added coldly. “If not for the threats I started receiving. That’s why I brought her here… and well, I believe you know the rest.”

“But-” Levi’s voice caught. “That doesn’t make any sense. The Blackwells are related to us through our great-great-grandfather Dominic’s sister, who got married there. How did Great-Grandmother Hailee have a child for Great-Grandfather Nathan’s cousin?”

“You fucking bastard!” I screamed, punching him hard across the face. “You caged her! You silenced her!”

“Like I said,” he began quietly, “your great-grandmother… she had children with other men before she ended up with your great-grandfather.”

“Let me go!” I snarled, and yanked myself away from his grip. I turned around and glared at my father. “You better start talking too,” I snapped, my chest heaving, “because I swear, if you don’t – I’ll forget you’re my father.”

“They cut it off, thinking it was Olivia’s dead body. And then… Gabriel had it placed at your border, for you three to see.”

“She agreed,” he went on, almost casually. “The plan was simple: take her in as my wife so the council would stop pressuring me to marry, while I still continued my search for Sofia.” He cast a quick glance at Sofia, who was now sitting silently on the couch, shoulders shaking as she sobbed quietly.

Father nodded slowly. “Yes. That one.”

“You don’t get to act like the hero now just because you kept her alive. You still broke her. You broke us. And for that…”