CHAPTER 216: A VISITING MOM

Hailee’s POV

Nathan didn’t wait for my response. He just turned around and walked back inside, his shoulders stiff. For a moment, I stood there alone in the cold air, trying to steady my breathing. My hands were shaking, my heart still pounding painfully against my ribs. His words, "Go back inside, your boys need you," echoed in my head like a whisper I couldn’t ignore.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and forced myself to move. Each step back toward the hospital, my legs trembled, my chest ached, and my throat burned from crying. The bright hospital lights stung my eyes as I stepped down the long corridor. Nurses passed by, whispering softly, their eyes filled with quiet sympathy, but I couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze.

All I could think about were my sons, their faces, their words, the way they’d looked at me before I ran. I was terrified. Terrified to face them. Terrified to see the hurt in their eyes again. Terrified that no matter what I said, it wouldn’t change how they saw me, a liar, a failure, a mother who had broken her children’s hearts before they even understood what heartbreak meant.

As I reached their room door, I hesitated. My hand hovered over the handle, trembling. What was I supposed to say? "I’m sorry"? I had said those words too many times already; they had lost their meaning.

What kind of mother was I?

I pressed my forehead lightly against the cold metal door, whispering a shaky breath. "Get it together, Hailee..."

Then, with every ounce of courage I could find, I pushed the door open.

The sound of soft voices greeted me, Frederick speaking quietly to one of the nurses, Callum standing near the window with his arms crossed, Dane sitting near Ozzy’s bed, and Nathan... Nathan by Oscar’s side, his hand resting on the boy’s shoulder as if trying to offer comfort.

All three of my sons turned when they saw me. Their eyes, once full of confusion and anger, now just looked tired.

I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. "Hey... my boys."

They didn’t answer right away. Ozzy looked down. Oliver glanced away. Oscar just stared, his expression unreadable.

I took a hesitant step inside. "I... I’m sorry for everything," I said softly. "Still no answer."

My voice trembled as I continued. "I know I’ve made terrible mistakes. I know I hurt all of you. But please, believe me when I say—"

My words broke off. I didn’t know what to say. I was lost for words.

Frederick stood up, gently guiding me toward a chair. "Sit," he murmured softly. "You need to rest."

But even as I sat down, my gaze never left my boys. My heart ached for them, for the childhood I had ruined.

Callum broke the silence first. His voice was low but firm. "I think the four of us need to talk."

I nodded quietly. My throat felt dry. I stood, straightened my hospital gown, and followed them out into the hallway. Nathan, Dane, and Callum walked beside me, each man carrying the same heavy silence. Frederick stayed behind with the boys.

We stopped in a quiet waiting area near the end of the corridor, far from the nurses and the soft beeping of monitors. For a moment, no one said anything. The tension between them was suffocating.

Then Callum spoke again. "We need to discuss what happens next," he said, his tone all Alpha now, controlled, direct, emotion hidden behind command. "About the boys. About parenting."

My heart sank.

"They’re our sons," Callum continued. "And after ten years, it’s time they’re raised properly. Each of them should be with his father." He paused, his gaze shifting toward me, softer but still resolute. "Oliver is my heir. He belongs to my pack. I’ve missed too much of his life already."

Nathan nodded slowly, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "Oscar’s coming with me," he said flatly. "He’s my blood. My responsibility."

Dane exhaled deeply, his tone quiet but steady. "And Ozzy will stay with me. He’s mine, my son, my legacy."

They spoke like they were dividing land, not lives. My stomach twisted.

I looked at them one by one, trying to speak, but no words came out. My lips trembled as I finally whispered, "What about me?"

Nathan turned his head toward me. His expression softened slightly, but his voice remained guarded. "Where will you stay, Hailee?"

The question pierced deeper than any accusation ever had.

"I..." My voice cracked. "Can’t the boys stay with me? Please. They’re still children. They need their mother."

Dane shook his head slowly. "You know that’s not possible," he said, his tone calm but final. "They’re heirs now. They need to be groomed, trained for their futures. Ten years have already passed."

I blinked hard, my eyes burning. "But they’re only ten," I whispered. "They still wake up at night when there’s thunder. They still argue about who gets the last cookie. They still need bedtime stories—"

"Hailee," Callum interrupted softly but firmly. "We’re not saying you won’t see them. But things have changed. The truth is out now. We can’t go back to the way it was."

Nathan looked away, his jaw clenched, his voice barely audible. "You hid them from us for ten years. You don’t get to decide where they go anymore."

His words hit me like a blow.

I wanted to scream. To tell them they were wrong. That I had done it to protect the boys, not to punish them. But I couldn’t speak, not when every argument sounded like an excuse.

The silence between us stretched, suffocating me.

Dane finally spoke again. "You’ll always be their mother. But we’re their fathers. And this time... we’ll be there."

I looked down, tears spilling silently onto my hands. My world, the little family I had built in secret, the years I had fought so hard to hold together, was being torn apart piece by piece. And I couldn’t stop it.

I whispered shakily, "Then what happens to me?"

None of them answered.

Nathan looked at me once more, his expression unreadable, before turning away. "You’ll have to choose who you will stay with."

I swallowed hard. Choose where to stay? That was a cruel decision, one I never wanted to make. I wanted to be with my three boys—together, the way we used to be.

Callum shrugged. "Maybe you can visit Oscar in Nathan’s pack next week," Callum suggested quietly, "then Oliver in mine, then Ozzy in Dane’s. That way, you’ll still be part of their lives."

I forced a small nod, but my lips were trembling. "Right," I whispered, "visit."

The word visit shattered something inside me.

I wasn’t just losing them, I was being reduced to a visitor in my own children’s lives. A mother who could only show up once a week, if they let me.

Nathan leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the floor. "That’s fair," he said finally. "You’ll have time with all of them. But they’ll stay where they belong."

"Belong?" I repeated weakly. "They belong with me."

Dane sighed deeply, shaking his head. "Hailee, this isn’t about you anymore. It’s about them. They’re future Alphas, heirs. They need to grow into what they are meant to be."

My frown deepened now. "They’re not just heirs, Dane," I whispered. "They’re children. My children. Don’t turn them into symbols of power."

Callum rubbed the bridge of his nose, clearly struggling to keep his calm. "No one’s taking them away from you, Hailee," he said softly, "but you have to understand, things can’t go back to the way they were."

I looked at all three of them, the men I once loved, the men whose children I bore, and for the first time, I realized that nothing I said would change their minds. The decision had already been made long before this conversation began.

My voice came out barely audible. "You’ll never understand what it feels like to wake up every morning terrified they’ll be taken from you... and now it’s happening anyway."

Nathan looked up then, his eyes sharp with restrained pain. "You made that choice when you lied to us," he said coldly. "Now we’re just making ours."

That was it. The final brutal hit.

I pressed a trembling hand to my mouth as a sob escaped. I turned quickly before they could see my face break completely. "Excuse me," I whispered and hurried down the corridor, my vision blurred by tears.

Behind me, I heard Callum sigh and Dane murmur something about giving me time. Nathan didn’t say a word.

I reached a corner, and the tears poured freely. I gasped and shut my eyes, shaking my head before opening them again. "No..." I whispered. "I’m not losing my sons. I will fight for them, even if it’s with my last breath."