Chapter 192: What Happened
Aurora’s POV
Hailee let out a long, heavy sigh. She gently set the vegetables down onto the marble counter, her shoulders dropping as if the weight of the entire world had just settled on them. She wiped her hands on a clean kitchen towel, her movements slow and tired.
"A lot happened, Aurora," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
She walked over to a couple of wooden stools by the kitchen island and sat down, gesturing for me to do the same. I quietly slid onto the stool across from her, holding my breath and sensing the sheer gravity of the history she was about to share.
"Many years ago, I was involved with three men," Lady Hailee began, her eyes staring blankly at the counter as she drifted back into her past. "One of those men happened to be Callum, Oliver’s father. But as time went on, Oscar’s father turned out to be my true, fated mate. When you find your true mate, the pull is unlike anything else in this world. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to choose my mate."
She swallowed hard, her throat tightening as a look of deep pain crossed her elegant features.
"But then, I found out I was pregnant again," she continued, her hands beginning to tremble slightly. "And the child belonged to Callum, Oliver’s father. It was an incredibly complicated, risky pregnancy from the very start. The stress of the pack, the demands of the alpha bond, and the agony of being pulled away from my fated mate became too much to bear. One thing led to another, and during a moment of pure despair... I lost control of my wolf."
A tear slipped down her pale cheek, but she didn’t wipe it away.
"In that darkness, when I lost control, I accidentally killed the child inside my womb," she whispered, her voice cracking completely. "And in the chaos of that same day, I severely injured Callum. I almost took his life, too."
My heart stopped. I stared at her, completely stunned. The heavy, suffocating hatred radiating from Sir Callum upstairs suddenly made perfect, terrifying sense.
"Oliver was old enough to understand what had happened," Lady Hailee said, her shoulders shaking as she wept silently. "He saw the damage I had caused. He saw his father bleeding, and he knew his unborn sibling was gone because of me. Oliver decided to stay and be with his father. He turned his back on me, and that was exactly how our relationship became so bad. For years, he was deeply angry that I didn’t choose his father, and he could never forgive me for the death of his sibling."
Lady Hailee let out another long, heavy breath, her eyes clouding over as she remembered the absolute chaos of that era.
"But that wasn’t the only thing that tore us apart, Aurora," she continued, her voice dropping low. "A brutal war broke out between two completely different packs back then. The entire region was forced to choose a side. Nathan—Oscar’s father—aligned his pack to support one side, while Callum took his pack and supported the other. They assisted opposing sides, which meant it was only a matter of time before they faced each other on the battlefield."
She paused, her hands clenching tightly in her lap as if she could still hear the roaring of the wolves from that day.
"They finally met in the heat of a massive battle. It was a ruthless, savage fight between two powerful Alphas. Nathan and Callum fought with everything they had, tearing into each other without an ounce of mercy. In the end, Nathan completely overpowered Callum. He came terrifyingly close to ending it right there—he almost killed Oliver’s father on that field."
She looked up at me, the grim reality of the past hanging heavily between us.
"Callum barely survived that day, but the damage was already done. Because of that bloody battle, a deep, unbreakable enmity was forged between our two families. It wasn’t just a divorce or a broken home anymore; it became a blood feud between packs. And that hatred was passed down directly to the children."
I sat there in the quiet kitchen, the weight of her words pressing down on my chest. The sheer scale of the pain, the blood, and the broken bonds between these two families was almost too much to wrap my mind around. For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the low hum of the refrigerator and the faint, distant echo of voices from the palace above.
Looking across the island at Lady Hailee, I didn’t see a powerful, untouchable high wolf. I just saw a mother who had been tearing herself apart with guilt for decades, caught in the middle of a war she never wanted.
Reaching across the cold marble counter, I gently placed my hand over her trembling ones, squeezing them tightly.
"It will be fine, Lady Hailee," I told her, my voice soft but filled with absolute certainty. I looked directly into her tear-filled blue eyes, wanting her to feel the truth in my words. "Oliver defended you upstairs. He asked for your cooking because he missed you. The past is heavy, but he is alive, and he is letting you back in. Step by step, it’s going to be fine."
Lady Hailee sniffled, staring down at our joined hands for a second before a small, incredibly grateful smile broke through her tears. She nodded rapidly, squeezing my hand back before pulling away to wipe her cheeks with the back of her sleeve.
"Thank you, Aurora," she whispered, her voice clearing as she forced a newfound strength into her posture. "You are right. My boy is awake. That is all that matters right now."
With a deep, cleansing breath, she stood up from the stool and turned back to the counter, the frantic, anxious energy from before completely melting away into a calm, determined focus. She was a mother on a mission now.
I stood up to help her, and together, we finally began to make the meal.
Lady Hailee moved around the kitchen with an ease that only came from years of practice, preparing a rich, nourishing meat broth—something light enough for Oliver’s injured stomach but packed with the nutrients a healing Alpha wolf desperately needed. I helped her chop the fresh herbs and vegetables, the rhythmic sound of the knife against the cutting board filling the space with a comforting, domestic warmth that made the horrors of the spirit world and the battlefield feel miles away.
She seasoned the broth exactly the way she used to when Oliver was just a boy, her hands steady and careful as she stirred the steaming pot. The rich, savory aroma of the food quickly filled the grand kitchen, smelling of home, warmth, and survival.
Once the broth had perfectly simmered, she carefully ladled it into a deep ceramic bowl and placed it on a silver serving tray, adding a glass of fresh water and a clean linen napkin.
She stared down at the tray, her heart in her eyes, before looking up at me. "It’s ready."
I took the heavy silver tray from Lady Hailee’s hands, offering her a supportive smile. "Let me carry it," I said softly. "You’ve given enough of your energy today. Let’s get this up to him."
She wiped her hands on her apron one last time, a nervous but eager flutter in her eyes. "Thank you, Aurora. Let’s go before it gets cold."
We left the warmth of the palace kitchen, walking side by side down the long, echoing stone corridors. My heart was still a little heavy from the history she had just shared, but looking at the steaming bowl of broth, I felt a flicker of hope. This meal was a bridge. It was the first step toward healing a bond that had been broken by years of blood, grief, and misunderstandings.
As we ascended the grand staircase leading to the medical wing, the silence of the palace felt strange. The suffocating tension from Sir Callum’s anger was completely gone, replaced by an eerie, hollow quiet. The guards who usually stood at every intersection seemed restless, their eyes shifting nervously as we passed.
A sudden spike of anxiety hit my chest, making my grip tighten on the edges of the tray. I picked up my pace, and Lady Hailee kept up with me, her brow furrowing as she, too, sensed the sudden shift. The air felt thin, stripped of Oliver’s grounding presence.
We finally reached the heavy double doors of the medical room. I pushed one open with my shoulder, expecting to see Oliver sitting up in bed, perhaps arguing with his father or resting his injured chest.
Instead, the room was empty.
The white sheets on the mattress were thrown back, wrinkled and stained with a faint smudge of old blood. The IV lines had been ruthlessly yanked out, dripping clear fluid onto the stone floor. The corner lamp was still casting its yellow glow, but the room felt completely cold.
"Oliver?" Lady Hailee called out, stepping past me into the room. She looked around frantically, her breath hitching. "Oliver, where are you?"
There was no answer. The old healer was gone, and Sir Callum was nowhere to be seen.
I set the silver tray down on a nearby table with a loud clatter, the broth sloshing against the sides of the ceramic bowl. My heart began to hammer violently against my ribs. "Where is he?" I whispered, looking around the vacant room. "He was just here. He could barely stand."
I turned on my heel and rushed back out into the hallway, where a tall, broad-shouldered guard was standing at attention a few paces down.
"Where is Oliver?" I demanded, my voice raw and trembling with a sudden, terrifying panic. "Where is the Alpha?"
The guard hesitated, his eyes darting to Lady Hailee as she emerged from the room behind me, her face completely pale. He swallowed hard, bowing his head slightly in respect. "Luna... Lady Hailee... Alpha Oliver has left the palace."
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