180 His Illness
180 His Illness
Olivia’s POV
“Levi!” I called out in panic, dropping to my knees as his body slumped into me. “Levi, wake up!”
But he didn’t move. He felt ice–cold and terrifyingly still. Something in me cracked. I pressed my hand against his chest, trying to feel his heartbeat–faint, but there.
I placed my palm firmly, trying to do something, anything–maybe unleash my ability- but nothing was working.
Footsteps pounded behind me.
“Alpha!” a guard shouted. “Is everything alright?”
“No, get help!” I snapped. “He needs a healer–now!”
But before the guard could even react, two familiar scents hit me. Lennox and Louis appeared from the darkness, worry carved into their faces.
“What the hell happened?” Louis asked, eyes narrowing as he dropped beside me.
“I–I don’t know,” I stammered. “He just collapsed. I tried to stop him–he said he was fine–he lied.”
Lennox’s jaw tightened, and for a split second, his expression wasn’t surprised. It was… grim. Like he had expected this.
“Get the healer,” Lennox barked at the guards, his voice sharp with Alpha command.
“Now.”
Two of them shifted into their wolves and bolted off without hesitation.
Lennox knelt and effortlessly lifted Levi into his arms like he weighed nothing. “Come,” he said, already moving. “We need to get him back to his room.”
I scrambled to my feet and followed them closely, my heart racing with every step. The walk back felt endless, but finally, we reached Levi’s room.
Lennox laid him down carefully on the bed, adjusting his head on the pillow. I hovered
180 His Illness
at the edge of the mattress, unsure, afraid, watching Levi’s pale face like it might disappear.
Louis moved to the drawer, rifled through it, and pulled out a small glass vial. He uncorked it and held it to Levi’s nose.
A sharp, herbal smell hit the air.
Levi didn’t move.
“What is that?” I asked quickly.
“Stimroot extract,” Louis replied, still watching Levi. “Supposed to wake him. It usually works.”
Usually? That single word made the panic inside me swell.
My frown deepened. “What’s happening to him?”
They hesitated. The air in the room felt too still–like everything was holding its breath.
Then Lennox sighed and leaned back against the wall. “He has a condition. It started when we turned twelve.”
I blinked. “What kind of condition?”
Louis answered, quieter. “It’s called Lunar Respiris. A rare magical illness. It runs in our lineage. Our grandfather had it. Our father didn’t. Neither did we. But Levi… he inherited it.”
“What does it do?” I whispered.
Lennox looked at me, his voice tight. “Sometimes, his lungs just stop responding. Like they forget how to breathe. It comes with warnings and signs. Sometimes once a year. Sometimes it doesn’t come.”
I stared at Levi’s chest. His breath was slowing down.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “He just… stops breathing? Just like that?”
“Yes,” Louis said. “And when that happens, it’s like his body shuts down.”
My breath caught.
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180 His Illness
+5
“You’re lying.”
“We’re not,” Lennox said evenly. “He didn’t.want you to find out. He thought you’d feel pitiful for him.”
I blinked, shaking my head. “But… he was fine. He looked fine.”
Louis glanced at Levi, voice softer now. “He’s been hiding it for years. No one knows except family.”
I couldn’t breathe.
All these years… and I never knew.
“But why?” I whispered again, almost to myself. “Why not tell me all these years?”
Lennox met my gaze. There was sadness in his eyes now.
“Because, Olivia…” he said slowly, “he didn’t want you to see him differently. He didn’t want you to pity him. He wanted to stay Levi–the strong one. The one you admired.”
Louis nodded. “He’s been hiding it since we turned twelve. It doesn’t happen often. But when it does… we’re always ready.”
I frowned, eyes flicking between them. “What do you mean, ready?”
Louis rubbed the back of his neck. “He figured out the early signs–tightness in his chest, dizziness, this subtle shake in his hands. You probably never noticed, but he did. Whenever that happened, he’d glance at us. That was our silent signal.”
“And then what?” I asked, worried but curious.
Lennox answered. “Then he’d excuse himself from the crowd. Say he needed to get water. Or ease himself. Or just–walk. We’d follow quietly. Make sure he took the cork leaf blend to open his lungs. It worked… most times.”
I stared at Levi, a memory flashing through my mind.
Those afternoons when he’d disappear during bonfires. Or vanish after laughing too hard. I always thought he just needed the bathroom. I never noticed. I never knew.
“And when it didn’t work?” I asked slowly, a knot tightening in my throat.
Louis let out a breath. “If he fainted before he could take it… we’d catch him. Revive
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180 His Illness
him fast.”
“And I was never told?” My voice cracked. .
Lennox looked away, his jaw tight. “You weren’t supposed to know. He made us swear. He’d wake up, catch his breath, and be back beside you like nothing happened. Sometimes you didn’t even notice he was gone.”
The knot in my throat burned. I sank down beside the bed, my fingers curling into the sheets near Levi’s hand.
I wished I could stop this feeling of worry and pain in my heart, but I couldn’t.
I looked down at Levi’s face again. His breathing was slow… but it was there. His chest rising ever so gently.
“What if I hadn’t followed him?” I whispered. “What if I had let him go?”
“Thank you,” Lennox said firmly. “Thank you for following him.”
Just then the door opened, and hurried footsteps rushed in.
“The healer’s here,” one of the guards said.
I looked
up and immediately recognized the man being escorted in. The same healer who had helped me when I lied about my amnesia. He paused for a heartbeat, eyes scanning the room, then focused on Levi, His gaze sharpened, his brow furrowed.
I moved away, and he moved swiftly to Levi’s side, his hands already busy checking his pulse, lifting his eyelids, listening to his chest.
“I assume this is Lunar Respiris again?” he asked without looking up.
“Yes,” Lennox replied. “He fainted just now. We gave him Stimroot. It didn’t work.”
The healer frowned slightly. “Has he passed out already this year?”
Lennox nodded. “Yes. A few months ago.”
The healer stilled, eyes flickering briefly to Levi’s face. “Then he shouldn’t be having another episode so soon.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, stepping closer.
The healer began pulling out tiny pouches of herbs, grinding and mixing them with
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180 His Illness
practiced ease. “Lunar Respiris is unpredictable, but most who suffer from it only experience one serious attack per year. Two in such close time usually suggests something else… an external trigger.”
Louis shifted uneasily beside me. Lennox didn’t speak.
“What kind of trigger?” I asked quietly, though something in my chest already felt cold.
The healer didn’t look at me when he answered. “Emotional strain. Sudden shock.
Magical imbalance. Something that disturbs the body’s rhythm—especially something tied to the heart or bond.”
My heart stuttered.
Bond.
Emotional strain.
My lips parted slightly. My mind flashed to the moment in the woods–Gabriel’s hands on my waist, his mouth on mine. The overwhelming heat of the kiss. The guilt that followed,
I swallowed thickly.
“You’re saying… someone could’ve triggered this?” I asked, trying to keep my steady.
voice
“Not necessarily intentionally,” the healer said gently. “But yes. If he was already weakened… anything deeply emotional could’ve tipped him over.”
My stomach twisted. I glanced at Levi’s still face, his lashes resting dark against his cheeks.
The way he had looked at me afterward… the way his voice trembled when he asked if Gabriel and I were seeing each other. I thought he was just hurt. I didn’t realize…
It seems my kiss with Gabriel has done far more damage than I ever imagined.
