Chapter 14: Changed

Hagon is happy—very happy. Three days ago, he lost all hope in life. Three days ago, he was ready to leave his family, friends, and employees behind and die. But everything has since changed for the better.

He and Carol are now lying in the hospital bed together. The nurse was dismissed. The doctor once again attached the IV to Carol's hand and told her to rest for two more days. She has to be careful of her arm, which is still in the sling. The doctor said that the sling could only be removed once the bullet wound is healed, which may take one month.

Hagon knows that Carol is human, and it takes time for her to heal. He also knows that if he marks her, the wound will heal within just two days, but he doesn't want to rush her. He wants to wait for her to be ready before he marks her.

Carol is also very happy. She loves Hagon very much now that he is no longer indifferent to her. Now, he also loves her; in fact, he's loved her for almost fifteen years. She starts crying.

Hagon doesn't know what to do. He's never been very involved with his family and friends, so he doesn't know how to console her. Now, he regrets distancing himself so much from other people. He doesn't even know why she's crying, so he just awkwardly pats her head to try and console her. Seeing Hagon trying to comfort her even though he clearly doesn't know what to do makes Carol burst out laughing. Now, he doesn't know why she's laughing, and he feels even more awkward. At least she's laughing, which makes him happy.

"I was crying because after I lost my dad and the puppy I loved, I thought there was nobody for me. After I escaped, I made lots of friends, but even though everyone treated me like family, I never felt this sense of 'I am home.' But after seeing my puppy safe, sound, and all grown up—I feel like I'm home. That's why I was crying. And upon seeing my big puppy trying to console me, I couldn't stop myself from laughing," Carol explains, bursting out into laughter again.

Hagon hugs her, not knowing what to say. But he will remember all her teasing comments and pay her in kind one day. He is a little bit rusty in terms of human interaction nowadays, so he has to upgrade himself.

Carol's painkillers soon take effect, and she starts feeling sleepy. Hagon falls asleep alongside her and dreams about their future, marriage, children… But then, suddenly, his happy dream changes. Everything looks dark, and there's blood everywhere. Their children are standing and crying near Carol's dead body. Nobody else is hurt—only Carol is dead. It's almost like she died trying to protect everyone.

Hagon wakes up, sweating and panting. He sees his Carol sleeping peacefully in his arms. He will not allow anything to happen to her. He will protect her with his life. He failed once; he will not fail again. He will protect their future.

Suddenly, he senses the door open and hears footsteps. He goes into protective mode, holding Carol tight enough to break her bones. Carol wakes up because of all commotion, but it turns out that the intruders are just Sofia, Stella, Rachel, and all their mates. They can only see Carol's back, so they assume that she is still unconscious and look at Hagon with eyes full of pity because he is holding onto his mate like his life depends on it.

Hagon whispers to Carol, asking her to play along with him, and she agrees.

"What do you want?" Hagon asks them in his Alpha voice.

"We just came to see Carol," Oliver replies.

"Oh…so you just came to see her and not to talk to her," Hagon says with an imperceptible smile. Sofia feels that something is not right—something has changed about her son's tone.

"Brother, we all love Carol, just like you. We won't harm her. Don't be wary of us," Oliver says seriously, not knowing that Hagon is playing with him.

"Then what about Rachel? I love Carol more than my life. If you love Carol more than your life, then how much love are you going to give Rachel?" Hagon asks, keeping his face blank.

Rachel glares at Oliver. Even though she loves Carol, she doesn't like the idea of Oliver loving Carol more than her.

On seeing his mate's reaction, Oliver panics. "No, no, no…baby, it's you I love. I love Carol like I love my sister. You know she is my brother's mate, probably my sister-in-law, and also our future queen. As a royal Beta, I am in charge of her safety. That's why… I-I love you more! Only you…please, baby, talk to me," he starts pleading. Carol cannot control her laughter, so she bursts out laughing. Everyone is shocked. Oliver stands there with his eyes wide open. He can't believe he's been pranked again—after fifteen years of nothing.

Rachel and others are happy to see Carol safe and laughing. Only one person, Oliver, doesn't express delight—and that's just because he's still surprised. "Brother! After fifteen years, as soon as you find your mate, the first thing you want to do is prank me, ah?" he asks Hagon, still in shock.

Hagon stands up from the bed and helps Carol get up. Then, he just shrugs his shoulders at Oliver. "That's what 'little brothers' are for. I missed doing it for fifteen years. You know messing with you is my favorite game," he says casually, like his teasing tone is a regular thing.

"Do you know how much I suffered because of that?" Oliver yells at Hagon. Then, he moves towards his brother with his arms raised like he is going to beat him. However, instead of beating him, Oliver hugs Hagon tightly. "I suffered because I missed you. I missed your pranks. I missed being your little brother," Oliver cries onto his brother's shoulder. Rachel can't control her tears because even though she has spent very little time with Oliver, she can still see that he misses his brother more than anything. Sofia and Stella are hugging each other and crying because they have gotten their son and brother back. Charles King, Hagon's father, wipes his tears before anyone can see them. He is still the former King. He doesn't want to lose his cool. He is also a man of few words.

Ezra doesn't care about his prestige because Hagon is his best friend, and now, his friend is back. His tears are flowing like a river, and Stella takes a photo of him with her phone so that she can use it to tease him later.

Hagon pats Oliver's back, trying to calm him down. After he cools down, Oliver sees Carol standing there, watching the two brothers affectionately, so he removes himself from Hagon and hugs Carol. "Thank you…thank you…thank you very much… Thank you, Carol…thank you." He can't say anything else. Then, Oliver hears a growl coming behind him. "Ok, jealous Alpha, can't a little brother hug his sister-in-law?" he asks Hagon and sighs playfully.

"If you want to hug someone, then go and hug your mate. Leave my mate to me," Hagon growls impatiently and drags Carol towards him and hugs her. Carol glares at her mate and softly punches him on the shoulder. Even if she hit him hard, it would have just felt like a massage to him, but Hagon whines in fake pain. "What did I do?" he asks immaturely. Everyone in the room starts laughing. They can all see that he has joined the Wife's Slave Club and cannot be retrieved.

After that, they all congratulate Hagon and Carol, giving her a hug and wishing her a speedy recovery. Sofia also hugs Hagon for a very long time, still crying. It feels like they stay in that position for a decade. She is so happy that her son is back. Carol knows how much Sofia missed Hagon, so she's happy. After dinner, everybody goes back home.

Once again, the mates are alone. Carol is tired because of all the laughing and hugging, and she quickly falls asleep.

Hagon thinks about how things have changed in the past three days. He is happy that his life has changed for the better. He will try to keep it that way. He will try to change the vision in his dream. Visions are given so that he can change them, and even if that means that he has to die instead of him, he will do it. But the one thing he will never do in this life is lose her again.