Lennox’s POV
Golden lowered his head. "You are right."
I stood up and walked to the small mirror. My new face stared back at me. Brown hair. Gray eyes. Sharper features.
A stranger.
"From today," I said softly, "Lennox is dead."
Golden looked up at me slowly.
"And who are you now, Alpha?"
I let the question hang in the air for a moment.
Then I answered quietly, "A ghost inside my own home."
Golden nodded slowly, understanding.
"Then, Alpha... tell me your new name."
I turned from the mirror with a firm look in my new eyes.
"My name will be Kaine."
Golden bowed. "Yes, Alpha Kaine."
"Prepare everything. We enter the mansion tonight."
Golden stood up quickly. "I will get the papers ready. Your warrior clothes. A new background story. When you return tonight... it begins."
I nodded once.
Golden left the room to prepare everything, leaving me alone with the mirror and the stranger inside it.
I stared at my new face for a long time.
Brown hair.
Gray eyes.
Sharper jaw.
A man I did not know.
A man no one in my pack would ever recognize.
A man who would walk into the home I used to rule... and pretend he was an ordinary new warrior.
A man who would watch his family from the shadows.
A ghost.
I touched the short brown hair, still not used to it. I loved my black sticky hair. This was just it.
"How am I going to do this...?" I muttered.
I imagined it—
Walking into the mansion.
Seeing my sons and having to pretend I did not know them.
My throat tightened.
What would I do if I see Liam again?
What would I do if Leo stared at me with those wide, innocent eyes that always softened me?
I would have to stand there.
Unmoving.
Pretending they were strangers.
My sons.
My blood.
My world.
And Olivia...
I inhaled sharply at the thought of her.
Seeing her face and acting like she was just another Luna.
Not my mate.
Not the woman whose tears soaked my shirt as I died in her arms.
Not the woman whose voice dragged me back from death twice.
I closed my eyes.
Could I stand in front of her and call her "Luna" like she was nothing special?
Could I watch someone else comfort her?
Could I watch her break and act as if I felt nothing?
This plan was going to hurt more than dying.
Much more.
I opened my eyes again and stared at the mirror.
"You can do this," I whispered to myself. "You must."
If I failed, the person who wanted me dead might strike again—
No.
I would bury myself a hundred times before letting that happen.
Just then, Golden returned—breathing lightly, holding a stack of folded warrior clothes, leather boots, and identity papers.
"Alpha Kaine," he said softly. "It is time."
My new name still felt strange.
Like wearing someone else’s skin.
But I nodded. "Let’s go."
Golden hesitated at the door.
"They are recruiting new warriors today," he said quietly. "If everything goes well... they will accept you tonight."
I breathed in slowly. "Good."
He studied me for a moment. "Are you ready?"
No.


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