All Chapters of Mated to Three princes: And I hate it: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The healer arrives in minutes.Examines me while I'm still gasping. Still hurting. Still terrified."What's happening?" Damon demands. "Why is she in pain?"The healer's hands glow. Soft magic. Diagnostic. She frowns. Probes deeper."The baby's fine," she says finally."Then why does it hurt?" I get out through gritted teeth."Braxton Hicks. False labor. Your body practicing for the real thing." She sits back. "Completely normal for this stage of pregnancy.""Normal?" Kieran sounds murderous. "She's screaming in pain and you're calling it normal?""For werewolf pregnancy, yes. Especially accelerated ones." She gives me something. Bitter liquid. "Drink. It'll ease the contractions."I drink. The pain dulls. Fades. Leaves me shaking."How often will this happen?" Caius asks."Could be daily. Could be random. Hard to predict." The healer packs her supplies. "But each time means the baby's getting closer. More ready. Could be days. Could be weeks.""We have three weeks," I say."You might

Day one of recovery is boring.I'm confined to bed. Healer's orders. The brothers rotate shifts. Making sure I don't move. Don't stress. Don't do anything except rest.It's suffocating."I need to pee," I announce."I'll help," Kieran jumps up."I can walk to the bathroom by myself.""Healer said bed rest.""Healer didn't say I can't pee." I'm already standing. Wobbly but standing. "I'm going. Alone. You can wait outside the door if you're that paranoid."He does. I hear him pacing while I'm in there."I'm not dying," I call through the door."Not funny.""A little funny."When I come out, he's leaning against the wall. Worried. "You were in there a long time.""It's called using the bathroom. Normal people do it.""You're not normal people. You're pregnant. Post-emergency. Fragile.""I'm not fragile.""You almost died yesterday.""But I didn't. I'm alive. The baby's alive. Can we please stop acting like I'm made of glass?"Through the bond, I feel Damon and Caius listening. Amused. B

Morning comes too fast.We gather in Caius's library. The private one. Where he first showed me who he really was.The papers spread across the table. My mother's handwriting. Her research. Her desperate attempt to save a daughter she knew would face this."Where do we start?" Kieran asks."The beginning." Caius picks up the oldest dated entry. "She started researching twenty-six years ago. A year before Sage was born.""Why so early?" Damon asks."Because she saw it coming. Look." He shows us a page. "She writes about visions. Dreams. The Moon Goddess showing her the future. Her daughter bonded to three princes. Forced to choose. Dying if she chose wrong."My blood runs cold. "She knew. She knew exactly what would happen.""She knew enough to be terrified." Caius flips through more pages. "She spent a year trying to find a solution. A way to change fate. Save you from this choice.""Did she find one?""I don't know yet. Let me read." He goes quiet. Reading fast. Absorbing everything.

Nobody moves for a long moment.We just stand there. Connected. Breathing. Alive."Is it really over?" Kieran asks quietly. "The choice? The deadline? All of it?""Test it," Caius says. "Try to feel the bonds. See if they're stable."I reach through the connections. Four threads. Strong. Unshakeable. Permanent.One to Damon. Gold and fire and absolute certainty.One to Kieran. Honey and light and joy barely contained.One to Caius. Silver and ice and depths I'm still discovering.And one. One new bond. Centered on my stomach. On the baby. Connecting all four of us through them."They're stable," I breathe. "Completely stable. No strain. No weakness. Just solid.""Can you feel us?" Damon asks his brothers. "Through the bond? Not just Sage but each other?"Kieran's eyes widen. "Yes. I feel you. Both of you. It's weird. Like you're in my head but not invasive. Just present.""Same," Caius says. "I can feel your emotions. Your presence. All three of you. Connected."Through the bond their

Three days after Mira's birth, I wake up screaming.Pain. Sharp. Brutal. Ripping through my chest where the bonds sit."Sage!" Hands on me. All three. Panicking."The bonds," I gasp. "Something's wrong. They're hurting."Through the connections I feel it. The fourth bond. The one centered on Mira. It's flickering. Weakening. Breaking."No no no." Damon's up. "Get the healer. Get the witch. Get someone."Caius is already gone. Running. I feel him through the bond. Terror. Pure terror."What's happening?" Kieran holds me. "The ritual worked. We felt it work.""I don't know. But it's failing. I can feel it failing."The pain spikes. Worse. I scream again.In the nursery, Mira starts crying. Not normal baby crying. Screaming. Like she feels it too."The baby," I gasp. "Get the baby."Kieran runs. Returns with Mira. The second she's in my arms the pain eases. Just a little. But enough to breathe."She's the anchor," I say. "Being apart from her weakens the bond.""Then we don't separate,"