CHAPTER 96: THE LEAST

Hailee’s POV

"Peter, I’m really not in the mood," I groaned into the phone, dragging a hand over my face. "If you’re calling to yell at me or deliver someone’s orders, save it for tomorrow. I’m feeling sleepy."

Peter had been calling nonstop for over an hour, and I’d been ignoring him. But it became painfully clear that if I didn’t pick up, he would keep blowing up my phone until I did.

"Listen, Haileee..." he began, his tone carrying both irritation and warning. "Robert just left a few minutes ago."

I let out a sharp scoff. "So that prick decided to pay a visit."

Peter exhaled hard on the other end. "Everyone is not happy with you, Hailee. Robert said he called you, and you told him—word for word—that you’re never marrying him. Hailee, what the hell is wrong with you?"

I rolled my eyes, even though Peter couldn’t see me. "What’s wrong with me? Seriously, Peter? Do you actually think I’m going to marry Robert? That arrogant, self-absorbed—"

"Hailee!" Peter cut in sharply, clearly frustrated. "You don’t get it. This isn’t just about you. Robert’s not just some random guy—he’s the heir to the Eastern Lycan Kingdom. Do you know how big a deal it is to have an alliance like that?"

I flopped back onto my bed with a groan. "Yeah, I know exactly what it means. It means being stuck with a guy I can’t stand for the rest of my life. It means being miserable so other people can benefit from it. No thanks."

"You’re unbelievable," Peter muttered, clearly losing patience. "Do you have any idea how furious everyone is right now?"

I sat up, my irritation spiking. "Oh, I can take a wild guess. But you know what, Peter? I’m not going to sacrifice my life just to keep everyone else happy. Robert is not for me. End of discussion."

There was a pause on the other end. Then Peter’s voice dropped, lower, almost cautious. "Hailee... Robert’s not the kind of guy who takes rejection well. You might have just made yourself a very dangerous enemy."

I scoffed again, but the warning in his tone sent a faint chill down my spine. "Let him try. I’m not scared of him."

"You should be," Peter said quietly. "You’re playing with fire, Hailee. Just... be careful, okay? I’m serious."

Peter was right. Robert might be a dick, but he was a Lycan... a powerful one at that.

"Yeah, fine," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "Anything else, or can I go back to trying to sleep now?"

"Just... don’t do anything reckless," he replied with a sigh. "I’ll talk to you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Peter."

I hung up and tossed my phone aside, staring at the ceiling. My chest was still tight, but it wasn’t from fear, it was pure frustration. They could all want Robert for me a thousand times over, but it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t want him. And I never would.

My phone buzzed again. When I checked, it was a text from Dane.

"Come downstairs... am waiting outside for you."

I drew in a deep breath and pushed myself off the bed. I didn’t bother grabbing a jacket. I just left my room and headed down the stairs. It was already p.m., and my mother would be back soon.

Opening the door, I found Dane leaning casually against the hood of his car, hands shoved in his pockets, his expression unreadable. The cool evening air brushed against my bare arms, but I barely noticed it.

"Hey," he greeted, his gaze sweeping over me in that slow, assessing way of his. "Took you long enough."

I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes. "You didn’t even say you were coming. You just ordered me downstairs like I’m supposed to jump."

His lips curved into the faintest smirk. "You came, didn’t you?"

I rolled my eyes, stepping off the porch. "What do you want, Dane? I was about to—"

"Talk," he interrupted smoothly. He nodded toward the passenger side of his car. "Get in. I’m not standing out here all night."

Something in his tone told me this wasn’t just a casual visit. Still, I hesitated. "If this is about last night—"

"It’s about a lot of things," he said flatly, opening the door for me.

With a sigh, I slid into the seat, the leather cool against my skin. Dane rounded the car and climbed in beside me, starting the engine but not pulling away just yet.

For a few moments, he didn’t speak. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead, jaw tight, like he was sorting through the right words. Finally, he glanced at me.

"I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you last night. It just..." he paused and inhaled deeply.

I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t expected an apology. If anything, I should’ve been the one apologizing.

"I just got jealous," he said.

For a second, I just stared at him, caught completely off guard. "Jealous?" I repeated.

His fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel, but his eyes stayed forward. "Among the three of us, it feels like I’m your least option."

I blinked at him. "It’s not like that, Dane."

He let out a dry laugh, finally turning to look at me. "Then tell me how it was, Hailee. Because from where I’m standing, it looked exactly like that."

I frowned, shifting in my seat. "We were hanging out. Watching a movie. I didn’t plan to fall asleep there. I just... did."

"That’s not the point," he said, his tone sharper now. "The point is that every time I turn around, you’re with someone else. And maybe that’s my fault for thinking—" He cut himself off abruptly, shaking his head.

I leaned a little closer, searching his face. "Thinking what?"

His jaw flexed, but he didn’t answer right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. "Thinking I might mean more to you than just... the least option."

The words hit harder than I thought they would. I opened my mouth, then closed it again, unsure what to even say. "Dane... you do mean more to me."

He studied me, as if trying to decide if I was telling the truth or just saying what I thought he wanted to hear. "Then stop making me feel like I’m not even in the competition, because from where I see it, it seems like it’s just Nathan and Callum."

My chest tightened. "I’m not... trying to make you feel that way."

"Maybe not," he admitted. "But that’s how it feels." He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. "I feel like I’ve already lost even before the competition began, and damn it, Hailee, I’m not used to this feeling... this feeling of losing." He spat.

I swallowed and looked away, wondering what the hell I’d gotten myself into. Last night, it was Nathan. This morning, it was Callum. And now Dane...they all think I’m favoring the others.

I turned toward Dane, whose eyes were still fixed on the road, and just when I was about to speak, a sudden knock on my window made me flinch hard.