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."

cheeks, eyes wide with fierce denial. "No.

over..I hurt people—I.." my voice broke, breath hitched, and

voice shaking. "I need

what are

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. She

voice cracked. Panic was crawling its way

hitched. "I hope I haven’t killed

head gently, his hand reaching

alive. She’s just unconscious. Hazel, listen to me..your mom will wake up soon. And when she does, we’ll make a plan. We’ll find your babies. I

held on to that—just

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

didn’t even need to ask. My eyes

say a

him. He was the one who killed my father.

But Ariel?

"No," I

reach for me

in two steps and grabbed Cayden by the shirt, slamming him back into the

into his face. "Why did you

answer. He

even there. I slapped him hard. My hand

No guilt. No pain. Just...

child! She didn’t even get to live! Why are you such

word echoed in

Monster.

it out loud. And then... it cracked something

I stumbled back.

Monster.

Because

Innocent people who were just doing their jobs, trying to protect their Alpha. I had blood on my

to my knees, shaking,

whispered. "I’m also

reached for me again, but I pushed

Cayden finally

he said, voice quiet and 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

looked up at him

carry the pain and the shame and can do nothing about it. That’s been my

me, and I couldn’t read

from the pain. But

turned to Caspian, his voice clipped

the babies. And we need to alert the packs. Lock the

he walked out—leaving silence in his

words didn’t. They stayed behind

sat there, frozen, replaying

about

monster that I never saw the war he was fighting within

to him but it wasn’t really a whisper to me. It

her alone," she 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. She needs time. Maybe us

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