Lennox’s POV
He leaned in close, his face barely inches from mine.
"You make it feel like he’s here," he hissed. "That’s the problem."
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
"What?" I asked quietly.
"You walk like him," Louis continued, his voice trembling with rage and anger. "You stand like him. You watch everything like him. And when you fought... Moon above—you fought like him."
His eyes burned into mine.
"And your aura," he went on, anger mixing with pain. "It’s wrong. Too strong for a guard. Too familiar. Every time you’re near, it feels like my brother is standing right behind me."
His grip trembled.
"You’re not supposed to feel like that," he said. "You’re not supposed to feel like family."
The word hit me harder than the wall.
Family.
My chest tightened painfully.
Louis swallowed hard, his jaw working like he was trying not to lose control.
"So tell me," he demanded, "why does being near you make it feel like Lennox never left?"
Everything inside me went still.
And in that moment—
I understood.
It wasn’t my face.
It wasn’t my voice.
It wasn’t my fighting style.
It was my aura.
Zira had warned me.
My scent would be intact.
My aura would be intact.
I had underestimated what that meant.
A wolf’s aura wasn’t just power.
It was presence.
It was memory.
It was identity.
Even without my wolf... even with a different face... my aura was still Alpha Lennox.
And Louis—who had shared blood, childhood, bond, and battles with me—felt it on an instinctive level.
My hands curled slowly at my sides.
Careful. One wrong word and this ends badly.
"Alpha," I said calmly, evenly, "grief can make the mind see things that aren’t there."
Louis’s eyes flickered.
"Don’t," he growled. "Don’t patronize me."
I met his gaze steadily, forcing myself to soften my aura, to pull it inward the way I used to during stealth missions.
"I am not your brother," I said quietly. "If I were... would I be standing here letting you grab me like this?"
That made him hesitate.
Just a fraction.
His grip loosened slightly.
Pain flashed across his face—real pain.
"You don’t understand," he whispered. "I watched him die. I buried him. I felt the bond snap. I know he’s gone."
Then his voice rose again, angrier now. "So why does every instinct in my body scream that something is wrong when you’re near?"
Because I’m not gone.
Because death didn’t keep me.
Because the Moon Goddess wasn’t finished with me.
But I couldn’t say that.
I lifted my hands slowly.
"I don’t know what you’re feeling," I said. "But I swear on the moon, I am not here to replace anyone. I am just a guard doing his duty."
Louis searched my face, his breathing uneven.
For a long moment, I thought he might hit me.
Instead, he shoved me back once more and released my collar.
"Stay away from me," he said harshly. "And stay away from Olivia unless she calls for you."
He turned away sharply.
Then paused.
Without looking back, he added in a low, warning voice, "My eyes are on you."

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