Fated to the Alpha–And His Triplet Brothers

Chapter 37: Doomed

Hazel’s POV

The moment my eyes met Aurora’s, I knew something was wrong. She’d looked at Caspian, and then back at me, giving a sharp nod before whispering something under her breath I couldn’t quite catch.

Then, without another word, she turned and walked ahead into the woods. Caspian and I followed in silence.

The forest around us was eerily quiet, the kind of quiet that made every twig snap feel like a gunshot. As we walked, I noticed how familiar everything felt—the bend of the trees, the twisted vines, the crunch of dried leaves underfoot. It was all too familiar.

Then it hit me.

This place... I had seen it before.

In my dreams.

I paused for a moment, heart pounding in my chest. The air smelled of burnt herbs, and ahead of us was a small wooden hut. Smoke curled from the crooked chimney in thin, ghostly streams. It was exactly the same as the one from my dream. The same tilted roof, the same moss-covered stones around it. Every detail.

She was standing by the doorway, the witch. Her cloak fluttered slightly with the wind, and her face was hidden under her hood. Without a word, she gestured us inside.

Aurora went first. Caspian followed, glancing back at me for a brief second. I stepped in last.

The inside of the hut was darker than I expected. Strange symbols glowed faintly on the walls, and a single candle flickered on a wooden table in the center of the room. Dried herbs hung from the ceiling, brushing our heads as we sat across from her.

She tilted her head and looked at me, then at Caspian. Her voice rasped like dried leaves.

"I see you brought his brother, not him."

I stiffened, trying not to show any emotion. "Who are you talking about?"

She smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "The monster."

"What monster?" I asked, playing dumb.

"The monster," she repeated, eyes locked on mine.

slightly. "What are you talking about?"

toward him, pretending to whisper, "She means Cayden," with

to mine, sharp and confused, but

are you calling my brother a monster?" he asked, voice suddenly hard. " Do you even know

he is," the witch said. "He’s the Alpha of

I blinked.

you think he is.

throat. So

here to learn the truth about yourself. I will keep my end of the deal, because

narrowed my eyes.

smile. "Something you can give easily. Something you’ll be happy to

If you tell me who I am, I’ll give

settled." She leaned forward. "Stretch out

this part—Dahlia told me the same thing back

but then

blade," the witch muttered, reaching for

my wrist. "What are

just need her blood," the witch

huge, cursed-looking knife!" Caspian’s voice

turned to him,

took a breath. "It’s fine. I want

jaw tight, but said

a small cut across my palm. The metal burned against my skin, but I didn’t flinch. She caught the blood in a scrap of white cloth, then dropped it into a cup filled with a thick, dark liquid. She began to chant, her

and swirling—rose

she looked

she whispered. "Exactly as I suspected. Hazel... you are very

"What do you mean?

"Not so fast. A deal is a deal. I tell you what you are... after you give me what I

was tight. "And what

toward her slowly. "The child," she said