Desired By Three Alphas; Fated To One Chapter 73: He Knew

Hailee’s POV

I was still staring at the necklace in the mirror when the doorbell rang.

I blinked, turning away quickly. I’d half-expected Nathan to show up through my window again like he always did, but the doorbell?

That was new.

I opened the door and found him standing there, his bag slung over one shoulder, his laptop tucked under his arm. His face was neutral, unreadable, but not cold like earlier. Just...blank.

"Hey," I said softly, stepping aside. "Co in."

He gave a small nod and walked in without a word, his eyes scanning the space briefly before he followed toward my room. There was no unnecessary small talk. No teasing. Just silence and tension.

The mont we stepped into my room, he moved toward the bed, sat down, and opened his laptop like this was just another assignnt. Like we were just classmates.

He didn’t even look at when he said, "I already did so research and drafted an outline. I organized the sources and split the main points by subtopics."

I frowned, crossing my arms as I watched him click through a folder labeled with both our nas.

Wait.

"Hold on," I said slowly, walking over. "You already did all of that?"

He still didn’t et my eyes. "Yeah. I figured I’d get a head start."

I moved closer, my tone rising just a little. "Nathan, this was supposed to be a partner project."

"I know."

"Then why the hell did you do everything yourself?"

Finally, he looked up at .

And for the first ti today, he looked straight in the eyes. "I thought you’d be busy."

I blinked. "Busy?"

He gave a small shrug, eyes flicking back to the screen. "With Dane. Or Callum. Or whoever else is currently making out with you."

The air between us tightened instantly.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, unsure what to even say.

That one sentence—so calm, so casual—hit harder than anything he’d said to before.

I stared at him, stunned.

"What do you an by that?" I asked softly.

Nathan didn’t respond right away. His fingers tapped sothing on the laptop, his eyes locked on the screen like it held all the answers. Like I hadn’t just felt his words cut through .

"Nathan?" I pressed again. "What do you an by that?"

He finally spoke, but his voice was flat. "Nothing. Forget it."

And just like that, he went right back to talking about the project.

"We can use this source for the main argunt. I already drafted the intro, but you can revise it if you want." He flipped the screen slightly toward and pointed at a paragraph. "We need to split who presents what. I thought I’d cover the first two parts—"

I sat down beside him, barely hearing a word.

He was so calm. Too calm. But I could feel the weight behind his silence.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

"Nathan," I said, cutting him off. "Just say it."

He kept staring at the laptop.

"Please," I whispered. "Say what’s on your mind. I can’t take this... weird tension. If you’re angry with , just—say it."

He was quiet for a few seconds. Then he slamd the laptop shut and shoved it off his lap with a frustrated growl.

"Fine," he snapped, finally turning to face . "You want to know what’s on my mind?"

His voice rose, sharp and wounded. "How would you feel if we made out all night—if we stayed up touching, holding each other, if I told you things I’ve never said to anyone—and then, hours later, you saw making out with soone else?"

My heart dropped. My lips parted, but I couldn’t find any words.

Nathan laughed bitterly, no humor in it at all. "You can’t, right? Because that’s exactly what happened. To ."

I blinked, stunned.

"I ca to your house," he said, his voice trembling now. "Yesterday. I was going to surprise you. I had sothing I wanted to say. Sothing I needed to tell you."

I sat frozen, watching as his jaw clenched, his throat bobbing like he was fighting sothing down.

"I saw Callum’s car parked outside," he continued. "At first, I thought maybe he was just dropping you off. But you didn’t get out. You didn’t leave. And the windows were tinted, but..."

His voice cracked.

"I’m a wolf, Hailee," he said, his eyes eting mine now. "I could hear everything."

My blood went cold.

He stared at , and I could see it—the mont his heart shattered again just from rembering it.

"I heard you," he whispered. "Your voice. Your moans. Your words. Everything."

Tears welled in my eyes, but he wasn’t finished.

"As if that wasn’t enough," he went on, quieter now, "I find out you made out with Dane too."

I covered my mouth, feeling like I couldn’t breathe.

"And yet here I am," he continued, voice barely above a whisper, "trying to act like this is normal. Like it doesn’t hurt."

He stood suddenly, pacing a few steps, then turned back to , his eyes glassy with tears.

"Why don’t you just co out and say it, Hailee?" he asked, his voice pained. "Tell the three of us the truth. That you want to date all of us. That you want to keep us all around just long enough to figure out who makes your heart skip the hardest."

I shook my head quickly, tears slipping down my cheeks. "That’s not what I’m doing—"

"Isn’t it?" he cut in, painfully. "Because it sure as hell feels like it. One second I think you’ve chosen . Then you’re kissing Dane. And then I hear Callum making you moan his na."

I stared at him, shattered. "Nathan... I didn’t an—"

He exhaled shakily, looking away.

There were tears in his eyes.

Nathan. The strong, unreadable, stubborn Nathan... was crying.

And I couldn’t breathe.

He looked at again, but this ti, there was sothing different in his eyes. Not anger. Not hate. Just... pain.

"There’s a lot going on in my life right now," he said quietly, rubbing his palm against his chest like he could soothe whatever pain was inside him. "So much pressure. So much I don’t even talk about. My family. The pack. My own mind."

I said nothing, frozen in place.

He let out a shaky breath. "But I still chose to push all of that aside for you. I made space for you, Hailee. I let myself hope. I thought..." His voice cracked slightly. "I thought I found sothing good. Sothing real."

Tears slid silently down my cheeks.

"I don’t think I can do this," he said finally. "Not like this."

He turned away, grabbing his laptop and bag from the bed. My chest tightened.

"Wait," I choked out. "Nathan, please—"

"I’ll send you my part of the project tonight," he interrupted softly, without looking at . "You can work yours around it however you like."

He took a step toward the door.

"Nathan," I tried again, my voice trembling.

But he didn’t turn back.

He paused at the door, his hand on the knob, his shoulders tense.

"I hope you figure out what you want, Hailee," he said. His voice was so low I almost didn’t hear it. Then he opened the door.

And as the door clicked shut, I realized... I might’ve just lost him for good.