CHAPTER 126: SHE LEFT SOMETHING

Nathan’s POV

I yanked my phone back out, fingers trembling as I scrolled through my contacts until her name lit up. Without hesitation, I pressed call. It rang once. Twice. Then—

"Hello?" Lila’s voice was low and drained.

"Lila." My voice came out rough and panicked. "Is Hailee with you? Do you know where she is?"

Silence.

Every second stretched like a knife pressing into my chest. My wolf snarled, sensing her hesitation. She knew something.

"Answer me," I snapped, my tone harsher than I intended. "As your future Alpha, I’m commanding you to tell me the truth. Now."

On the other end, I heard her shaky breath, then a long sigh.

"I’m home," Lila whispered finally. Her voice cracked, and it made my blood run cold. "You should come. Hailee... she gave me something to give you. To give all of you."

My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles ached. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst.

"What do you mean something?" I demanded, panic spiking higher. "What did she give you, Lila?"

But Lila didn’t answer right away. The silence that followed was heavier than words, and in it, I knew—whatever she had... it wasn’t good.

"Lila, speak!" I barked into the phone, desperation cracking my voice.

All I got was her weary sigh. "Just come to my home, Nathan..." And then the line went dead.

I pulled the phone from my ear, my stomach twisting into knots.

Callum’s voice broke through my haze. "What did Lila say?" He was already half-tense, like he knew it wasn’t good.

I frowned, my grip tightening on the phone. "She said Hailee gave her something... to give to us."

The weight of the words hung in the air like a storm ready to break. None of us moved for a heartbeat, each of us trying to swallow the dread clawing at our throats.

Then Callum snapped, "We’re wasting time—let’s go."

I didn’t argue. I couldn’t. My body was already moving before the thought fully formed. We rushed toward our vehicles—me to my car, Dane mounting his bike with a furious roar, Callum sliding into his own ride. Engines thundered to life.

The three of us tore down the road, a convoy bound by fear and something deeper—love, jealousy, desperation—all for the same girl.

My hands strangled the steering wheel as the houses blurred past. Every second felt like an eternity, every red light another nail in my chest. My wolf was pressing hard against my skin, urging me to move faster, to find her, to stop this nightmare from unfolding.

And the only thing echoing in my mind was Hailee’s name.

Please... just let her be okay.

The drive to Lila’s place felt endless, though the speedometer screamed otherwise. My pulse pounded louder than the engine, my wolf clawing at me, urging me to break every law of man and nature to get there faster.

When I pulled up in front of her house, the others were right behind me—Dane’s bike growling low, Callum’s car screeching to a stop. We didn’t waste a second. All three of us slammed doors and stormed toward the porch.

The sun was low, painting the sky in streaks of orange and red. Shadows stretched long across the quiet street, making the small house feel heavier, darker than it should at this hour.

I pounded on the front door, hard enough to rattle it on its hinges. "Lila!" My voice thundered through the air. "Open the door!"

Silence.

My wolf bristled. The hair on my arms stood on end. I hit the door again, my fist aching from the force. "Lila, it’s Nathan. Open this damn door!"

Finally, light flickered inside, slow and hesitant. Then, the door creaked open.

Lila stood there in her simple clothes, eyes red and swollen, her hand still clutching the doorknob like she needed it to keep from falling. Her face was pale, haunted, and the sight of it nearly knocked the air out of me.

"Where is she?" I demanded, stepping forward.

Her lips parted, but no sound came. She looked at me, then at Callum and Dane flanking me, and her expression twisted with guilt.

That silence again. Thick. Suffocating.

My wolf surged, snapping inside me, demanding answers. I took another step, my tone hard, edged with command. "Lila. Speak. Now."

Her eyes filled, and she shook her head weakly, as if fighting herself. Her hand trembled on the doorknob.

"Please calm down," she whispered. Her voice cracked. "Come inside."

The three of us exchanged a look—fear, jealousy, dread—but none of us argued. We followed her in, the late-afternoon light slanting through the windows like heavy bars, the air inside the house thick, almost choking.

Something was coming. I could feel it. And I wasn’t sure if I could survive hearing it.

The air inside Lila’s house was suffocating. None of us sat down. Callum hovered near the door, Dane stood rigid by the window, and I stayed in the center of the room, my fists tight at my sides.

Finally, I broke the silence. "Enough. Tell us what’s going on, Lila." My voice was rough, sharper than I intended, but I couldn’t control it. "Where is Hailee?"

Lila’s lips trembled. She looked at me, then dropped her gaze, her fingers twisting in the hem of her shirt. "Nathan... you know Hailee isn’t from this pack."

Her words hit, but I frowned. "Of course I know. She came here four years ago." My voice lowered. "I don’t know why they left their old pack, but I know they weren’t rogues. And her mother is from here, from this pack."

Lila nodded slowly, her eyes glassy. "Exactly. You know the surface... but there’s more. There’s always been more." She swallowed hard, then pulled her phone from her pocket, her hands shaking.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dane snapped, his voice raw. "Just tell us straight."

Her thumb hovered over the screen, then she unlocked the phone with a trembling breath. "She knew this day might come," Lila whispered, almost to herself. "So she... she left you something." Her eyes flickered up, guilt and sorrow carved deep into them.

My chest tightened. "Something?"

Lila’s voice broke as she continued, "I’ve already sent each of you a video. She recorded them herself. For you. For all of you."

The words sank in slowly, like ice in my veins. My wolf stiffened, claws digging into me from the inside.

A video. From Hailee.

Dread and hope clashed violently in my chest.

"Check your phones," Lila whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Everything she wanted to say... it’s in there."