Fated To Not Just One, But Three-Chapter 650: The Best

Lennox’s POV

​The door clicked shut, and with it, my strength evaporated. My legs turned to water, the cane slipping from my numb fingers as I collapsed. I didn’t hit the floor; Elena caught me, her small but strong frame bracing mine as she guided me back onto the pillows.

​"Easy, Alpha," she whispered, her voice no longer high-pitched and dramatic, but steady and professional.

​She immediately reached for the pulse oximeter on the nightstand, sliding it onto my finger while she checked the flow of the IV. Elena was a palliative care nurse I’d hired through a shell company—someone with no ties to the pack who could play a role and keep a medical secret.

​"Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes scanning the monitor. "Your heart rate is dangerously high. That outburst cost you too much."

​"I’m... fine," I managed to rasp, the word catching on the fluid in my lungs. "Just give me a minute."

​"You need the oxygen," she insisted, reaching for the mask.

​I pushed it away for a moment, looking her in the eyes. "You have to pretend more, Elena. When she’s here, you can’t look like you’re checking my vitals. You have to look like the one being tended to. You were too slow to react today."

​Elena set the mask down and looked at me with a heavy, mounting sadness. "Alpha Lennox, I’ve seen a lot of patients in my time, but I’ve never seen anyone do this. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing? This is the last Chapter of your life. These are your final weeks. You’re supposed to be surrounded by the people who love you, not spending your energy pushing them into a state of hatred."

​"You don’t understand," I said, a bitter cough rattling my ribs. "Our bonds... they aren’t like yours. If I die while she is anchored to me, her soul will try to follow mine. I’m protecting her, Elena. I’m preparing her to lose me by making the loss feel like a relief."

​"It’s not a relief," Elena countered softly. "It’s trauma. You’re trading her grief for a different kind of pain—the pain of betrayal. That scar never heals."

​"A scar is better than a grave," I whispered, finally letting her place the mask over my face.

​I closed my eyes, the cool hiss of oxygen filling my lungs, but it couldn’t soothe the ache in my chest. I could still see the look in Olivia’s eyes—the way she had pleaded with me, the way her fingers had trembled. Every time I broke her heart, I felt my own soul splintering.

​I was dying. I knew it. The doctors knew it. But as I lay there, listening to the hum of the machines that were the only things keeping me upright, I wondered if the cancer would kill me before the guilt did.

Some nights, I prayed it would be quick. Not because I feared death—but because I feared staying long enough to hurt her again. Every extra day felt like borrowed time paid for with her tears.

​The door creaked open, and for a terrifying second, I thought it was Olivia again. I tried to sit up, to hide the mask, to be the Alpha she expected, but my arms were made of lead.

​"Lennox?"

​Luckily, it was Levi. He didn’t wait for permission. He stepped into the room, his eyes scanning the monitors, the IV, and finally landing on Elena, who was holding my hand to steady a needle.

​"Get out, Elena," Levi said, his voice low and vibrating with a suppressed sob. "I need a minute with my brother."

​Elena looked at me. I gave a microscopic nod. She set my hand down gently and slipped out of the room, her eyes cast toward the floor.

​Levi didn’t sit. He stood over me, his hands clenched so tight they were shaking. "I just saw her, Lennox. I just saw Olivia in the hallway. She looks like a ghost. She’s pacing like a caged animal, and the boys... Liam asked me if you were dying because you wouldn’t look at him this morning."

​I pulled the mask away, my hand trembling. "Then you tell him... you tell him I’m busy. You keep the lie alive, Levi. That’s your job."

​"My job?" Levi laughed, a harsh, jagged sound. "My job was to protect this family. How am I protecting them by watching you rot while our mate’s heart breaks in the next room? This ’mate’ plan... it’s sick, Lennox. It’s the most cold-blooded thing you’ve ever done."

​"It’s working," I rasped, a sharp pain lancing through my temple. "She’s angry. She’s fighting. That’s... that’s what I need."

​"She’s not just angry; she’s losing her mind!" Levi snapped, leaning down until he was inches from my face. "She knows something is wrong. She saw the blood, Lennox. She saw the machines. You think she’s stupid? You think her wolf doesn’t know the difference between a new mate and a dying husband?"

​I closed my eyes, the monitor beside me beginning to beep a rapid, frantic rhythm. My heart was struggling to keep up with the stress. "I don’t care... what she knows. I care... about what she believes. Help me... Levi. Don’t let her in again."

​Levi looked at the monitor, then back at me. The anger in his eyes softened into a terrible, agonizing pity. He reached out, his hand hovering over my shoulder before he finally let it drop, squeezing me gently.

​"I hate you for this," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I hate that you’re making me a part of this lie. But I’ll do it. For her. Because I don’t know what else to do."

​I swallowed hard and whispered, "Thank you." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

​Levi stared at me with pain-filled eyes, the kind of pain that had nowhere to go. For a long moment, he didn’t move, as if turning away would make this real. Then his jaw tightened, and he turned to leave.

I called him back.

​"Levi."

​He slowly turned, tears already sliding down his cheeks.

​"This is for the best, brother. Trust me."

​