Fated To Not Just One, But Three

Chapter 187: Bad Father

Louis' POV

We left Anita at the hospital. The doctor said she'd be discharged later in the day, so there was no point sticking around.

The drive back home was tense. Heavy. Silent.

I was in the driver's seat. Levi sat beside me, and Lennox was in the back. I glanced at Levi briefly. He looked completely lost in thought, staring out the window like the road wasn't even there.

I wondered what was running through his mind.

Was he having second thoughts about saving the pups?

I gritted my

Hell no—not me.

I didn't care how loud their tiny heartbeats sounded on that screen or how weak one of them looked. There was no way I'd make Anita my mate. Not for them. Not for anyone.

Because doing that… would mean losing Olivia.

And I'd rather lose everything—my rank, my power, my pride—than lose her.

That woman… Olivia. I'd rip my own heart out before I let us hurt her again.

She already hates us for everything we did to her—for all the ways we broke her. For the pain we caused her just because of a stupid payback. And now, what? We're to mate Anita? Officially tie ourselves to the one woman who caused her pain, too?

No. Absolutely not.

I didn't care if the pups were mine.

I didn't care if they were all of ours.

There was no going back.

Suddenly, from the back seat, Lennox groaned.

"Ugh. This is a damn mess," he muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "I can't get the image out of my head."

"You mean the ultrasound?" Levi asked, finally speaking up, his voice flat.

"Yeah. That," Lennox answered grimly.

"They might not be ours," I snapped, gripping the steering wheel tighter. "We don't even know for sure. Until we do, we're not doing anything."

silence filled the

leaned back, rubbing his temples. "And if they

I replied coldly. "But we are

I'd ever mark as a mate. Ever. I don't care what the healer says. If those pups die

deeply,

this," Levi muttered. "It didn't have to be this

"And we're going to live with it. We already made our

No one responded.

car felt heavier with every

what guilt tried to crawl its way

Nothing—nothing—was worth losing Olivia.

think we all knew

didn't say it out

as the afternoon sun was dipping behind the trees, casting

out of the car, I spotted our mother—waiting by

"I heard from the staff," she said, her

fine… for now," I muttered, not meeting her

doctor said there's a chance… the pregnancy might

Why? What are you

took a breath and laid it

We told her everything.

verdict. That the only way to truly give the pups a fighting chance was for

I finished, her eyes were wide

mean to tell me," she said slowly, her voice rising, "you would let your children die just because

stepping forward. "We're not making

us like we

her flaws—yes, she's loud, manipulative, and entitled at times—but she's not a whore. She's not the kind of woman who

clenched his jaw

pups exist. They are already growing inside

me more

felt Levi grunt beside me. Even Lennox didn't have

this?" she added sharply. "For letting innocent children die just so you can prove your loyalty to her? This isn't love. It's fear. Selfish, stubborn

looked at each of us with

firmly. "With or without your mark. But when they grow up, they'll know exactly what kind of fathers

she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving us standing on the steps like

a long time, none of us

at the floor,

Terrible fathers.

That part stuck.

and yet her words still