Desired By Three Alphas; Fated To One novel Chapter 283

Nathan's POV

The moment Hailee collapsed into my arms, the entire throne room seemed to stop breathing.

Her body was limp—too limp. Her skin cold—too cold. Her pulse faint—too faint.

My arms tightened around her instinctively.

"Hailee… Hailee!" I whispered urgently, brushing her hair away from her face. "Open your eyes. Please… look at me."

Nothing.

Her head rolled slightly against my chest, completely unconscious.

Peter ran toward us, panic written across every inch of his face.

"What happened to her?" I shouted in panic.

Peter's eyes widened, fear swallowing his expression.

"That… must have been her gift. But it awakened too fast. Too violently." He pressed a trembling hand to his forehead. "If her power was forced out… then she's in danger. Her mind, her spirit—"

He stopped, staring at her. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

At the blood on her dress.

At the weakness in her breaths.

My heart cracked.

I looked down at the woman in my arms—my mate, my soul—and felt something inside me twist painfully.

"Hailee," I whispered again, barely able to breathe. "Come back to me. Please."

She didn't move.

Didn't speak.

Didn't open her eyes.

I pressed her closer, burying my cheek in her hair. Her scent—sweet and warm—was fading. Not gone, but faint. Like a candle burning out.

I felt sick.

Terrified.

Because I had just come back from death…

And now she was slipping toward it.

Peter placed two fingers against her neck, checking for a pulse.

His jaw tightened.

"It's weak… too weak. She's burning through her energy. Her life force was used to heal you."

Ice stabbed through my chest.

"No…" I whispered. "No, she—she shouldn't have done that. Why would she—"

Peter snapped his head toward me sharply.

"BECAUSE SHE LOVES YOU!" he roared, his voice breaking. "Because she couldn't watch you die the way we watched Father die!"

His words hit me like a physical blow.

My grip on Hailee tightened.

My voice cracked.

"I didn't ask her to sacrifice anything—"

"She didn't need you to ask," Peter shot back. "She always chooses you first. Always."

I closed my eyes, pain tearing through me.

Gods… she did.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to stand, lifting her carefully into my arms.

"We need the healers," I said, trying to stay composed despite how terrified I was. "She needs help now."

Peter nodded and ran ahead, shouting for assistance.

Suddenly I heard footsteps and noticed it was Oliver… He had run back into the throne room, tears still streaming down his small, frightened face.

His eyes were full of hate. A look a child his age shouldn't wear.

My body stiffened.

Oliver stared at the blood on her dress, at her unconscious form in my arms, and his expression twisted painfully.

"You killed my unborn sibling…" he whispered, voice breaking. "You… you killed him…"

My jaw clenched.

"Oliver—she wasn't in control," I said quietly. "You saw that."

But he shook his head violently.

"You're lying!" he screamed. "Mommy is not a monster! She wouldn't do that! She wouldn't hurt us—unless you made her! YOU and that stupid mate bond! YOU ruined everything!"

His words stabbed through me.

I couldn't even be angry.

He was a child.

A hurting child.

Watching his mother fall apart…

He needed someone to blame.

But Hailee flinched weakly in my arms at his shouting, even unconscious.

Her brows pulled together.

A small sound left her lips.

Pain.

Fear.

I turned my body slightly, shielding her.

"Oliver," I said softly but firmly, "I won't let you speak about her like that. Not now."

He trembled—angry, confused, devastated.

Then he spat:

"I hate you!"

Peter stepped between us before the boy could get any closer.

"That's enough," he said sharply.

Oliver's lip trembled. His face crumpled. And he ran—ran out of the hall, sobbing so loudly it echoed across the walls.

When the door slammed shut, the silence that followed was suffocating.

I exhaled shakily and looked down at Hailee again.

She was still unconscious.

"Peter," I said quietly, "we need to help her. Now."

Peter nodded immediately. "The healers are waiting. Come."

I followed him, clutching Hailee tightly.

Peter pushed the door to her room open, and the healers and seers were already waiting—like they had sensed her collapse.

Two healers hurried forward and gestured.

"Lay her down, Alpha Nathan."

I gently placed her on the bed.

Her hair spread across the pillow, and her lips had lost their color. She looked fragile… far too fragile for someone who had just thrown a full-grown Alpha across a room.

The seer—a woman with white eyes and gray hair woven with beads—stepped forward immediately and placed her glowing hands above Hailee's chest.

A soft hum filled the room… then a vibration… then a cold wave that brushed over my skin.

I froze, watching every tremor in Hailee's body.

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