Fated to the Alpha–And His Triplet Brothers

Chapter 79: She’s awake!

**~ Hazel’s POV ~**

"Is she awake?"

"Hazel...?"

Voices. Familiar ones..muffled, cracking through the pounding in my skull like the aftermath of an explosion. Aurora’s silhouette hovered beside me, her hand carefully tipping a spoon toward my lips, whispering something I couldn’t quite catch.

Caspian’s hands were wrapped around mine, thumbs tracing soothing circles over my knuckles like he was holding onto a lifeline. Or maybe I was his.

My head throbbed. My chest ached.

My breath hitched, and my fingers trembled. I felt it. That pain. That... weight. The cold grip in my chest had loosened.

Wait...was that an emotion?

Did it come back?

Caspian’s grip on my hand tightened as his gaze met mine and his eyes shimmered. No, more than shimmered. They glowed with tears that clung to the corners, refusing to fall, but threatening with every breath.

"Oh my god," he whispered, a desperate grin cracking through his stunned face. "Hazel... it’s you. You’re back. It worked!"

Before I could even process it, he pulled me into his arms like he never wanted to let go again. His hold was warm, trembling, frantic.

Aurora exhaled a breath she must’ve been holding for days. Her shoulders dropped, eyes fluttering closed as if the entire war she’d been carrying eased in one moment.

And then everything came crashing back.

Like a tidal wave slamming into my soul.

The pain.

The sorrow.

The screams.

The bodies.

The blood.

The hurtful things they said.

The hurtful things I said.

The people I killed

It all came flooding back and it hurt. Oh god, it hurt so much. My chest heaved. My lungs burned. And then I whispered

Caspian’s name.

"Caspian," I choked, tears now freely falling. "I’m a monster."

my cheeks, eyes wide with fierce

those things! I let it take over..I hurt people—I.." my voice broke, breath hitched,

father," I whispered, my voice shaking. "I need

blinked, confused. "Hazel... what

hated me. That he hurt me. But they don’t know. He didn’t. My mother wiped his memory. But before she did... he loved me. Even if it was just for a minute. He loved me. He was going to run away with her..but she stopped him.

was crawling its

breath hitched. "I hope I

gently, his

Hazel, listen to me..your mom will wake up soon.

held on

he added, quieter this time, "As for your father... and

stopped. I didn’t even need to ask. My eyes snapped across the room

silent. Standing still he didn’t say

He was the one who killed my father.

But Ariel?

"No,"

to reach for me again, but I shoved

two steps and grabbed Cayden by the shirt, slamming him

into his face.

He

slapped him hard. My hand stung from the force of

expression. No

was a child! She didn’t even get to

echoed in the

Monster.

out loud. And

I stumbled back.

Monster.

different now. Bitter. Because suddenly,

had killed too. Wolves. Pack members. Innocent people who were just doing their jobs, trying

my knees,

whispered.

me again, but I pushed

Cayden finally

rough. "You’ve always called me a monster. All your life, Hazel. But now you know what it feels like. When your actions don’t feel like yours. When you can’t stop it, even though you want to. When you live with the aftermath

at

you carry the pain and the shame and can do nothing about it.

at me, and I couldn’t read him. Not anger. Not pain. Just...

easy," he added. "You turned your emotions off. You got to disappear from the pain. But me? I’ve always been awake. I’ve always remembered. I’ve always had to live with the things I’ve

Caspian, his

to find the babies. And we

with that, he walked out—leaving silence in

his words didn’t. They stayed behind with

sat there, frozen, replaying every

been wrong about

monster that I never

Caspian’s arm gently and whispered something to him but it wasn’t really a whisper to

said softly. "We should give her space... privacy to breathe and sink into everything. She’s going through too much right now. She’s a paranoid mother who hasn’t even held her own babies..hasn’t fed them, hasn’t touched them.

eyes toward me. The hesitation in them sliced through me. He didn’t want to leave—his whole body screamed to stay. But Aurora tugged at him again. This time, he gave in. Quietly. And the door shut behind them