Chapter 184: Picking Sides
Hailee’s POV
After they left, silence filled the room. I turned slowly to my boys.
They weren’t little anymore. Not really. Their eyes were sharp, too sharp for their age, and they all looked at me like they were peeling back my skin, searching for the truth I kept hiding.
Oscar crossed his arms, his green eyes narrowing. "Mama... why are all these Alphas fighting over you?" His voice was steady, bold. "What aren’t you telling us?"
My heart lurched. "Oscar..." I began, but my throat tightened.
Oliver leaned forward, his brows furrowed. "I don’t like it, Mama. You looked scared when they came. Who are they really to you?"
Ozzy, quieter than the rest, asked the question that cut deepest. His brown eyes locked with mine. "And why does each one say we belong to them?"
My lips trembled. I wanted to lie again, to soothe them with half-truths, but before I could, Oscar spoke once more.
"I like Alpha Nathan," he admitted, his tone matter-of-fact. "He’s strict, but he looks like he would protect us."
Ozzy shook his head quickly. "I think Alpha Dane is better. He’s strong. Brave. He didn’t back down even when Alpha Nathan was mad."
Oliver hesitated, then whispered, "When Alpha Callum looked at me... it felt strange. Like he knew me. I don’t know why, but I didn’t feel scared of him."
The three of them turned back to me, their voices mixing in my head.
Nathan. Dane. Callum.
My chest burned as panic swelled in me. My boys—my babies—were starting to take sides.
"No!" I said too quickly, my voice sharp. They blinked at me in surprise. I forced myself to soften, my hands shaking as I cupped their faces one by one. "Don’t... don’t ever choose between them. Don’t trust their words. You are mine. Do you hear me?"
Their little faces were still uncertain. And in their eyes, I saw it—the doubt. The questions. The cracks forming in the wall of lies I’d built.
I took a deep breath that felt too big for my ribs and forced my voice to be small and calm for them.
"Boys," I said, looking from Oscar to Oliver to Ozzy. "Listen to me. None of those men — not Nathan, not Dane, not Callum — are your fathers."
They stared at me like they did not understand. Oscar’s mouth opened a little. Oliver’s eyes went wide. Ozzy looked like he wanted to cry and would not let himself.
"You mean it?" Oliver asked, his voice thin.
"Yes." I lied. "I’ve told you, boys, countless times... why don’t you want to believe me? I am your mother."
They looked at me with confusion, like they had a lot to ask but I didn’t let them.
"I had to go downstairs for a minute," I whispered. "I’ll be right back. Stay here. Don’t open the door for anyone. Promise me."
They nodded in unison. I pressed a kiss to each forehead and stood up, fingers sticky with fear.
The corridor was cool and quiet. My feet felt heavy as I walked down. With each step the voices grew louder—until the living room opened like a stage and three shapes filled it.
Nathan was there, shoulders wide, eyes like flint. Callum stood opposite him, every line of his face hot with anger. Dane was between them, chest heaving, hands curled into fists.
They looked at me when I stepped into the doorway. For a second I wanted to turn and run back to the boys, but I kept my feet planted.
Callum’s eyes found me and burned. "So she is here," he said. His voice was low, but I could hear the hurt under it. "You brought her back and didn’t tell me."
Nathan moved like a shadow and stepped forward. "I brought her home," he said. "She’s under my protection."
Dane’s laugh was raw. "Home? Protection? She does not belong to you to be kept, Nate."
Their words slammed into me. My chest tightened. All the heat of the morning rushed cold into my face. I felt like I might choke.
"I didn’t return to Nathan of my own will," I said before I could stop myself. My voice came out louder than I meant. "I was kidnapped and almost sold, and Nathan saved me and my kids by buying us... that is why we are here."
Callum looked shocked. "What... who sold you? Kidnapped you?"
"That is not the case now... let’s forget about that," I pleaded. I didn’t want them to start a war over me.
Callum’s jaw worked. "Hailee, you disappeared. You left me without a word. We were—" He stopped, because there were witnesses, because there were too many men watching and because his pride hurt. He looked like he might fall apart and I wanted to go to him and hold him, but I couldn’t.
Dane stepped closer, cutting into our circle. "Enough." His voice was louder than before. "We don’t settle this like dogs in a yard. We talk. Now."
Callum and Nathan turned toward Dane like they might bite. For a moment the whole room felt like it could explode.
I swallowed. My hands were steady in spite of everything. I knew what I had to say. I needed to keep them calm. I needed to buy time.
"There’s nothing to fight for here," I said, forcing my voice to be steady. "I didn’t come back to pick sides. I came back to protect my children."
Nathan’s eyes flicked to the stairwell as if he might follow me up. Callum’s mouth was a hard line. Dane’s nostrils flared.
Then Callum said, slow and low, "We’re going to do a DNA test. For all of them. If you refuse, we’ll do it anyway."
My heart dropped like a stone. I should have expected that. Of course he would want the truth. Every Alpha would demand proof.
"I’m also doing a DNA test for the three boys."
I swallowed hard, my head racing. I had been able to fool Nathan—how could I fool Callum and Dane too?
Dane’s eyes landed on me, hard and unreadable. "You won’t run again, Hailee. If that was your plan, stop it."
My throat went dry. I opened my mouth to beg, to bargain, to do anything that would keep them from tearing my small world apart, but the living room door slammed from the other side.
Every head snapped toward it.
A guard stood there, face pale, holding an envelope. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
He cleared his throat. "Alpha Nathan... this came for you. From the hospital lab."
I raised a brow... so fast... it wasn’t even up to two hours... how were they able to get the result this quick?
Nathan’s fingers tightened on the arm of the chair. He moved like a blade. He took the envelope with hands that did not tremble.
Slowly, very slowly, he opened it.