Desired By Three Alphas; Fated To One novel Chapter 284

Hailee's POV

I didn't wake up the normal way.

There was no gentle stretch. No soft blink. No slow return to myself.

It felt like I was being dragged out of darkness by my bones.

My whole body ached—deep, heavy pain like someone had taken me apart and forced me back together wrongly. My arms felt too heavy to lift. My legs felt like stone. Even my ribs hurt when I tried to breathe.

I tried to move, and a sharp pain shot through my spine.

I gasped—and immediately regretted it.

My throat was dry. My mouth tasted like iron. My head pounded like a drum.

For a moment, I didn't know where I was.

Then a warm hand tightened around mine.

And a familiar scent reached me—stronger than the pain, stronger than the fear.

Nathan.

My eyes fluttered open, and the first thing I saw was him.

He was sitting beside me on the bed, his shoulders hunched forward like he had been holding his breath for hours. His hair was slightly messy, his face pale, his eyes red like he hadn't slept at all.

The moment he saw my eyes open, his whole body jerked.

"Hailee," he breathed, like he didn't believe the sound of my name could be real.

His hand came to my cheek, gentle—too gentle—like he was afraid I would vanish if he touched me too hard.

"You're awake," he whispered, his voice rough. "You're awake."

I stared at him, trying to understand why his eyes looked like that—like someone had brought him back from the edge of hell.

"Nathan…" My voice came out weak. Small.

His face crumpled for one second—relief breaking through everything else.

He bent down and pressed his forehead to mine.

"Thank the moon," he whispered. "Thank the moon you're awake."

I tried to swallow, but it hurt.

My fingers tightened around his, and it took effort just to do that.

"I feel…" I started, but my breath shook. "I feel like… someone used my body to fight a war."

Nathan's jaw clenched.

His eyes closed like my words cut him.

"You were burning up," he said softly. "Then you went cold. Then you wouldn't wake. The healers said you were… stuck."

"Stuck?" I repeated slowly.

He nodded, but his gaze wouldn't hold mine for long.

Like he didn't want me to see the fear still sitting in his eyes.

My mind tried to pull itself together—pieces of memory drifting in like smoke.

Callum.

The throne room.

The priest.

The ring on my finger.

The words I do coming out of my mouth like I wasn't the one speaking.

And then—

Callum leaning closer.

His mouth opening.

His teeth—

My stomach turned hard.

I flinched and tried to sit up, panic rising too fast, too sharp.

Pain stabbed my lower belly.

I gasped and clutched my abdomen without thinking.

Nathan moved instantly.

"Easy," he said, sliding an arm behind my back to support me. "Easy, Hailee. Don't sit up too fast."

But the pain didn't stop.

It spread, dull and throbbing, deep inside me.

And something inside that pain felt… wrong.

I froze.

My breathing turned uneven.

"Nathan," I whispered.

He stiffened.

I looked at him, my eyes wide with sudden terror.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice shaking. "What happened after… after Callum was about to mark me?"

Nathan's lips parted, but no sound came out.

His throat moved like he was trying to swallow something too big.

His eyes dropped to my stomach.

Then to my face.

Then away again.

The silence was too loud.

My heart began to pound.

"Nathan," I whispered again, but this time my voice cracked. "Tell me. Please."

He still didn't answer.

And that was when I noticed Peter.

He was standing near the door, arms folded tight across his chest, like he had been holding himself together the same way Nathan had.

His face looked older.

Tired.

His eyes were swollen too—like he had cried when no one was looking.

Peter met my gaze, and his throat bobbed.

"Hailee," he said quietly.

I felt my breath catch.

"No," I whispered before he even spoke again. "No… don't look at me like that."

Peter stepped closer slowly, like he was approaching something fragile.

Something that might break if he spoke too loudly.

"Nathan can't say it," he murmured. "So I will."

My fingers gripped the blanket so hard my knuckles hurt.

"Say it," I whispered, though my voice begged him not to.

Peter exhaled shakily.

"Your ability resurfaced," he said. "Your gift… it came out."

I blinked.

"My… gift?"

Peter nodded once.

"You know how Father used to be strict about certain things?" he continued. "How he always acted like he was scared of you getting too emotional? How he tried to control what you did, where you went, who you bonded with?"

My throat tightened.

"Yes," I whispered. "He always treated me like I was… dangerous."

Peter's eyes softened painfully.

"Because you are," he said gently. "But not in the way you think."

A cold wave crawled over my skin.

My stomach churned harder.

Peter kept going, voice lower.

"Father knew you carried something rare," he said. "A gift that isn't only healing. It's… two sides. Light and dark. And the dark side is tied to an ancient spirit in our bloodline."

My lips parted.

"No…" I breathed.

Peter nodded slowly, eyes shining.

"He sealed it when you were younger," he whispered. "Your wolf. Your power. All of it. He didn't want it to awaken the wrong way."

Nathan's hand tightened around mine.

Like he was trying to anchor me to him before I drifted away again.

Peter swallowed.

"The seal broke," he said quietly, "because everything happened at once. Your wolf returned. You were grieving Father. You were forced into a marriage you didn't want. Your mate bond was being ripped apart—"

His voice cracked.

"And Nathan was dying."

I stared at Nathan.

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