352 Everywhere
The second stop–the cliffside by the northern woods. The one we used to sneak to as kids, when we needed to breathe away from everyone. My stomach twisted when I saw the half–empty bottle smashed on the ground, the sharp burn of whiskey in the air.
We got back in the car, following the trail again.
We pressed on.
Her words sank heavily into me because she was right. That was Lennox. Stronger than any of us, but when his heart cracked, he thought disappearing was the only way to keep from breaking us too.
“I think… I have an idea.”
The third stop–the abandoned cabin near the river. The door hung open, creaking in the wind. His scent was all over it, heavy and strong, but he wasn’t there. Just the faint sound of the river rushing, mocking the silence that stretched between us.
Finally, Louis slowed the car, his jaw tight, eyes dark as he stared ahead at the empty road. His voice cut through the silence, low but firm.
And if he really believed he had lost both me and Olivia in one day… I didn’t even want to think about how far he might go.
Levi’s POV
Olivia’s arms wrapped around herself. “He doesn’t want to be found.”
But again… no Lennox.
The fifth stop–the old watchtower ruins. My wolf stirred uneasily as I stepped out of the car. Broken glass glinted at the base of the crumbled stones. Another bottle. The air reeked of alcohol and his scent. My hands curled into fists. He was drinking faster, harder.
The first stop–the old training grounds. The open field was empty, silent except for the wind cutting through the grass. His scent lingered, sharp and recent, but fading.
I kicked the shards hard enough to scatter them. “He’s tearing himself apart.”
07:59
1/50
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352 Everywhere
The sixth stop–the riverbank near the east woods. The scent there was faint, already pulling away, carried off by the wind. Another empty bottle lay half–buried in the dirt. Olivia picked it up with shaking hands, then dropped it quickly like it burned. “He’s slipping further,” she whispered.
Her eyes shimmered. “It means he’s breaking.”
Now, knowing he was drunk and blaming himself, I couldn’t stop my wolf from pacing inside me. I feared what he might do. Lennox was strong, yes, but when he thought he had lost the people he cared about most, he became fragile.
I raked a hand through my hair. “Restless is one thing. Running from us? That’s worse.”
Louis pressed his foot down, and the engine roared as we followed Lennox’s scent trail. It was strong, almost overwhelming at first, leading us out of the pack grounds and deeper into the pack.
I jumped off the bed, dragging my shirt over my head with shaky hands. “We have to look for him,” I said quickly, my voice sharp with panic.
Louis started the car again, his jaw set. “we’ll keep looking until we find him.”
Olivia hugged herself tightly, her face pale in the late morning light. “He’s hurting,” she whispered. “He doesn’t want to be found because he thinks he’s a burden.”
We got back in the car. My wolf clawed at my chest, restless, angry at my helplessness. Every second wasted felt like we were losing him piece by piece.
“Means what?” I snapped.
Olivia’s hands twisted in her lap, her face pale. “He’s moving around,” she whispered,
almost to herself. “He doesn’t want to be found.”
Louis was already pulling on his jacket, ready to set out. Olivia didn’t even bother changing out of the shirt she wore—one of Louis’s–she just followed, her face pale and worried. None of us cared about appearances now. We just needed to find him.
“Damn it,” I hissed, kicking the dirt. “He’s drinking faster, harder.”
I cursed under my breath, fists clenched. “Damn it, he’s everywhere and nowhere.”
“He’s drinking more,” Louis said under his breath, his jaw tight. His hands gripped the steering wheel hard enough to whiten his knuckles.
07:50
2/5
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352 Everywhere
“Damn it, he was here,” I muttered, scanning the area, my wolf pressing against my
skin. “But he left.”
Louis crouched, sniffing the ground, his expression grim. “He didn’t stay long,” he muttered. “He’s drifting, restless.”
Olivia’s voice trembled. “This is where we used to come as kids. If he’s here, it means…” She stopped, pressing her lips shut.
We drove again, following the trail, but it was scattered now, pulling in too many directions at once. My chest ached with panic, my wolf snarling in frustration.
We rushed outside, the late morning air cool against my heated skin, and piled into the car. Louis slid behind the wheel, I sat beside him, and Olivia took the back. My wolf clawed restlessly, urging me to push faster, to reach him before anything could happen.
Louis scanned the field, his jaw tight. “He’s not settling anywhere. That’s not good.”
I slammed the car door. “Then too damn bad–we’re not letting him disappear.”
Despite being the strongest among us–physically, mentally, in almost every way- Lennox always carried more than he should. He took failures harder, betrayals deeper, and words sharper than anyone realized. People saw his strength and assumed he could take anything. They never noticed how deeply it cut him when he felt
misunderstood or doubted. 2
And then me. The way I had spat my own pain back at him, accusing him of meaning it… those words weren’t just anger. They had struck deep. I could see it in his eyes before he left.
Louis’s grip on the wheel tightened as he scanned the tree line. “He’s running from us. He’s not thinking straight.”
We kept driving, the silence in the car heavy. Every stop only made my chest tighter, every empty place another reminder that Lennox didn’t want to be found. His scent trailed us everywhere, sharp with alcohol, restless, unsettled.
We kept driving, the road winding farther from the heart of the pack. The scent trail was scattered now–strong in places, faint in others–as if Lennox himself couldn’t decide where to go, only that he didn’t want to be found.
07:59
3/5
<352 Everywhere
We turned back, following the trail deeper into the territory, closer to where his own home sat tucked away in the hills.
I remembered his face when Olivia turned on him earlier as she said he shouldn’t have made such a mistake. I saw how it hit him. Not just as a scolding, but like a wound. To Lennox, being the eldest meant more than responsibility–it was identity, pride, and purpose. To be accused of failing, even accidentally… it gutted him.
The anger that had been burning in me earlier was gone, and now it was replaced by panic. A knot pulled tight in my chest as I thought of Lennox, alone, furious, drowning himself in alcohol. That wasn’t good. We all knew how he handled things when the weight got too heavy.
I turned to her quickly. “Don’t say that. We’ll find him.”
Olivia pressed her forehead to the window, silent, her face pale with worry. I could feel her pain through the bond, intense and raw, as if it were my own.
Her words hit hard.
We got back into the car again.
The fourth stop–the border gates. We slowed as Louis pulled the car up to the guard post. His scent lingered heavy here, too, but when I asked the warriors, they said he had passed through quickly, not speaking to anyone. My stomach tightened.
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