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. No,

take over..I hurt people—I.." my voice

need to

what are

keeps saying that...that he 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. She had to protect me. She needed to keep me safe. Where is she now? Where’s

Panic was

I haven’t.." My breath hitched.

gently, his hand reaching for

mom will wake up soon.

held on to that—just

this time, "As for your father... and

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

say

He was the one

But Ariel?

"No," I

for me

in two steps and grabbed Cayden by the shirt, slamming

I screamed into his face. "Why did you kill her?

didn’t answer. He didn’t even

even there. I slapped him hard. My

No guilt.

didn’t even get

echoed in

Monster.

And then... it cracked something deep inside

I stumbled back.

Monster.

Because suddenly, it wasn’t just

Innocent people who were just doing their jobs, trying to protect their

my knees, shaking,

monster," I whispered. "I’m also

for me again, but

Cayden finally

called me a monster. All your life, Hazel. But now you know what it feels like. When your actions don’t feel

looked up at him

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

I couldn’t read him. Not anger. Not

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

to Caspian, his voice clipped

find the babies. And

that, he walked

words didn’t. They

sat there, frozen, replaying

about him all

monster that I never saw the

it wasn’t really a whisper to me. It echoed loud in

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

me. He didn’t want to leave—his whole body screamed to stay. But Aurora tugged at him again. This time,