Desired By Three Alphas; Fated To One - Chapter 259

Chapter 259: Out Of Control
Callum’s POV

Something inside me snapped.

Or maybe… it wasn’t me.

Maybe it was him.

My wolf.

The moment her silence stretched…

The moment she stepped back from me…

The moment she whispered, “I love Nathan”…

My wolf went insane.

A savage, animal desperation exploded through my chest.

Mate. Pup. Ours.

His howl roared inside my skull, clawing, ripping, pushing to the surface so violently I staggered forward, gripping the table for balance.

“Callum?”

Her voice wavered.

“Are you okay?”

No.

I wasn’t.

My vision blurred.

My ears rang.

My breath came out in low, trembling growls.

She took another step back.

“Callum…?”

I could hear her heart pounding.

I could hear the tiny flutter of the pup inside her.

I could smell her fear… her confusion… her heartbreak.

And it drove my wolf mad.

Before I could stop him,

My wolf pushed forward. Hard.

My eyes burned.

My canines lengthened.

My muscles tightened so fast it hurt.

I grabbed the edge of the table, trying to stop the shift,

But my wolf wasn’t listening.

He surged through me with one thought:

Mark her.

Claim her.

Protect the pup.

NOW.

“Callum, stop,” she whispered, stepping back until her back hit the wall. “You’re scaring me.”

I tried, I swear I tried, to step away.

But instead I moved toward her.

Slow.

Shaking.

Barely in control.

Her eyes widened, panic rising.

“C-Callum…”

Her scent hit me again, soft, warm, mixed with the baby’s heartbeat.

My wolf snapped.

I grabbed her shoulders, not roughly, but desperately, shaking, as if losing her would kill me.

“Callum!” she gasped.

I lowered my head toward her neck. My wolf controlling me.

Her pulse throbbed beneath her skin.

She froze.

“Callum, no, STOP!”

My teeth grazed her skin,

just barely,

a feather-light scrape…

A breath away from sinking in.

A breath away from claiming her forever.

A breath away from forcing a bond she DID NOT WANT.

Her terrified scream shattered through my skull.

“CALLUM!”

Her voice, fearful, hurt, small,

It hit me like a lightning strike to the chest.

My wolf jerked back.

Hard.

I stumbled away from her like I’d been burned, my eyes wide, my heart pounding out of control.

Hailee pressed herself against the wall, clutching her neck, shaking violently.

Tears streamed down her face.

She looked at me as if I were a dangerous stranger.

“Y-you almost…”

Her voice cracked.

“You almost marked me against my will.”

My heart dropped.

My breath died.

“Hailee… I’m,”

I swallowed hard, my voice breaking.

“I’m sorry. I never meant to, my wolf, he panicked. He felt the child, he thought, he thought you were trying to take him away.”

She shook her head, frowning.

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

I took a step toward her,

She flinched.

Flinched.

My chest caved inward, painfully tight.

“Hailee…”

My voice fell to a whisper.

“I would never hurt you. You have to believe that.”

But she didn’t answer.

She couldn’t.

She was too shaken.

Too scared.

Too heartbroken.

Her hand pressed over the faint red spot where my teeth had grazed her skin.

A mark that wasn’t a mark.

A near-miss.

A near-claim.

And possibly…

A near-betrayal she would never forgive.

“Callum…” she whispered shakily, eyes glassy with tears.

“I can’t do this. Not if your wolf sees me as something to force. Not if choosing Nathan makes you lose control.”

My heart twisted until I could barely breathe.

I reached out again…

She stepped back again,

“Callum… please… don’t come any closer.”

And for the first time in my entire life,

I stopped moving.

Because she asked me to.

Because she was crying.

Because she no longer felt safe with me.

And that,

hurt more than anything.

My wolf curled in on himself, whining in agony.

And then,

A roar shook the entire hallway.

“Callum!”

His voice thundered through the mansion so violently the walls rattled.

My eyes snapped toward the door,

And he appeared.

Nathan stood there, chest heaving, eyes wild, his body shaking with fury. His stitches were bleeding again, fresh red spreading through his shirt, but he didn’t even notice.

His eyes locked on Hailee first.

She was still pressed against the wall, shaking, her hand on her neck.

Then his gaze snapped to me.

Something in him broke.

“Callum,” he growled, voice low and ragged, “what did you do?”

Hailee whispered, “Nathan,”

But he didn’t let her speak.

In two strides, he was in front of me, grabbing my shirt and slamming me back so hard my spine hit the wall with a crack.

My wolf snarled, but I forced him down.

I deserved this.

Nathan’s face was inches from mine, his eyes glowing with Alpha power.

“You almost marked her,” he hissed.

“You almost forced a mark on her.”

My jaw clenched, pain ripping through my chest. “I didn’t. I stopped,”

“BECAUSE SHE SCREAMED!”

His roar shook the air.

Hailee flinched behind him.

That alone twisted a knife deeper into my heart.

“You think stopping after scaring her half to death makes it better?” he snarled.

The door burst open.

The healer rushed in.

Her eyes widened at the sight: Nathan bleeding, Hailee shaking, and me against the wall.

“What happened?” she demanded.

Nathan didn’t answer. He didn’t take his eyes off me.

The healer hurried to Hailee. “Are you hurt? Did he break the skin?”

Hailee shook her head quickly. “No… he didn’t. He stopped.”

The healer checked her pulse, her breathing, her stomach.

Then she inhaled sharply.

“Your heart rate is too high,” she said urgently. “Hailee, sit down, your stress is affecting the baby.”

Nathan froze.

Then he turned toward her.

His voice was low and terrified. “The baby?”

The healer nodded. “She’s safe, for now. But any more shocks like this… she could faint again.”

Hailee sank into the nearest chair, her hands trembling. Nathan dropped to one knee beside her, checking her face, touching her cheek like she was made of glass.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” His voice was soft, shaking, full of fear.

She shook her head. “No… he didn’t.”

Nathan exhaled shakily, pressing his forehead against her hand.

He didn’t say it.

He didn’t have to.

He almost lost her again.

And that fear consumed him.

A fresh wave of guilt crashed over me.

I had done that.

I had scared her.

I had endangered her pup, my pup.

I stepped back from them, my heart splitting open. My wolf was silent. Small. Curled in pain.

Nathan stood slowly and faced me.

Not angry now.

Something worse.

Disgusted.

“You nearly marked her against her will,” he said quietly. “If I had been one second late… you would have taken away her choice forever.”

My throat tightened. “I didn’t,”

Hailee whispered, “Nathan, it wasn’t all his fault, his wolf,”

“No,” he snapped softly. “He doesn’t get excuses. Not for this.”

He turned back to me.

“You’re done here.”

I swallowed hard. “Hailee asked to talk,”

“Not anymore.”

His voice was ice.

He stepped closer, his green eyes now gray.

“You will leave. Now. Before I tear your throat out myself.”

My wolf whimpered.

Not because of the threat.

But because Hailee didn’t stop him.

She didn’t say, “Nathan, wait.”

She didn’t defend me.

She didn’t reach for me.

She sat still, shaking, her eyes lowered.

I wanted to refuse; I wanted to tell him Hailee is having my pup and I have the right to take her away with me, but I realized now was not the time for it. I should just leave as Nathan asked.

I nodded slowly. “I’ll go.”

I turned in Hailee’s direction and could tell she was avoiding meeting my gaze, and it hurt, it hurt so much.

Slowly I walked out of the room, my chest hollow, my breath uneven.

But the moment I stepped into the hallway,

My knees buckled.

My back hit the wall, and I slid down to the floor, gripping my hair with both hands, breathing hard as my wolf howled inside me.

I tried to hold it together.

I failed.

Tears burned down my face, hot and silent.

I have gone through pain before, real pain.

But this,

Losing her while my pup grew inside her?

Watching her choose another man?

Being treated like a danger to her instead of someone who could protect her?

This hurt more than anything in the world.

Behind the door, I could hear Nathan’s voice, soft, comforting, telling Hailee she would be fine. But that was supposed to be my line, I’m the father of that child, I’m the one supposed to be by her side, the one to protect her and the baby, not Nathan.

And then I heard her voice, shaky, relieved, answering him.

My wolf whimpered again.

I pressed a hand over my mouth, choking on the pain, forcing myself to stay silent.

But then,

Nathan stepped into the hallway.

He didn’t look surprised to see me on the ground.

He looked like he expected it.

We stared at each other.

Just silence.

Then,

Nathan spoke, his voice low but authoritative.

“Let this be the last time you ever scare her.”

I looked up at him, my eyes burning, my heart hurting.

“I love her.”

“I know,” Nathan whispered. “And I don’t fucking care.”