Chapter 128 He's Sacrificing Himself For You

••• Charlotte's POV •••

I, again, felt myself falling into a dark void where there were many images passed in front of me like a movie.

"If you don't kneel and apologize, I will dissolve our matebond."

I watched the very beginning of my divorce with Hayden, then the scene changed.

"I'll let you go once you are mine."

Theo's vicious expression appeared as he was about to force-mark me and Rhett came to save me.

The scene changed again, showing me the many times Hayden had protected me.

Until…

Hayden appeared in the last frame, seemingly trying to tell me something…

Something that wasn't clear, and the next second, I woke up with a start.

The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Livie, Leo, and Nate gathering around my bed, looking very worried.

"Char!" Livie exclaimed when she saw me awake.

"Lottie!" Nate and Leo exclaimed at the same.

"You are finally awake. You've been unconscious for a few days and we were worried about you," Livie's trembling voice sounded before she threw her arms around me.

"Livie… Lottie has just woken up. Give her some space," Nate said helplessly.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Char." Livie stopped hugging me and sniffled. "I was too happy."

Leo gave me a cup of water and I took a sip.

"What…" I frowned as my voice sounded so hoarse.

"Drink more, Lottie," Leo urged me. "Take your time."

I flashed him a grateful smile and took another sip of the water.

I cleared my throat before trying to speak again. "What happened?"

"You've been unconscious for so many days, Char, making everyone worried," Livie explained again.

"How are you feeling, Lottie?" Nate asked.

I felt my body and surprisingly felt that I was feeling okay. No pain or anything at all in any part of my body.

"I'm fine," I answered.

"No pain?" Nate asked.

I shook my head. "No."

"Weak?" he asked.

I shook my head again. "Nope."

Nate, Livie, and Leo shared a look before Nate gave me a mirror.

I was shocked. I remembered Theo's claws had scratched my cheek.

Was I disfigured now?

I brought the mirror in front of my face, and looked into the mirror, expecting the worse before freezing when I saw my reflection.

I touched the wounds to make sure that what I was seeing was real.

The cuts on my cheeks were gone!

Only a very few shallow marks remained and they were almost invisible…

"How could it be…" I whispered in wonder and disbelief. "How long was I out?"

Weren't the cuts deep? Had I been unconscious for a long time?

"You were only unconscious for a few days," Loe answered my question.

"But… How?" How could my wounds heal in just a few days' time?

"Lottie…" Nate spoke. "You shouldn't be able to self-heal this fast since you are wolfless."

I frowned when I heard his words. "My ability to self-heal has disappeared."

They all shared another look before Nate spoke again. "Yes, it shouldn't be possible for you to self-heal those deep wounds, unless…"

Unless…?

My eyes lit up when I thought of the possibility that Lexi was back.

"Lexi?" I tried calling her out in my mind, but only silence greeted me. There was no Lexi responding.

"Can you guys step back and give me some room?" I asked them.

My three best friends seemed to know what I was about to do as they stepped back, giving me plenty of space to shift.

I got off the bed and tried to shift, only to feel disappointed when I couldn't.

I sat on the bed, instantly feeling lost. If it wasn't because Lexi had come back, then what could be the reason for my self-healed ability?

"Don't think about it too much, Lottie. There might be a miracle," Nate patted my hand reassuringly. "Maybe you just need more rest before Lexi could come back."

I hummed in response, not really convinced of his words, and lay back on the bed.

"What's been happening out there ever since I lost consciousness?" I asked no one in particular.

The last thing I remembered was Hayden grabbing my hand.

"All that can be determined is that Theodore has been banished from the royal family and the Ethereal Crown Pack, but his whereabouts are currently unknown," Leo told me.

"What about Hayden?"

I was worried about him since he was the one who first created trouble at my fake wedding and insulted the royal family.

"Well… The werewolf community is now questioning the authority of the Alpha King, and Hayden is leading the charge that the rules for the next Alpha King's selection should no longer be set by the royal family," Leo said.

"Hayden is now in charge of the Alpha King's selection?" I asked in surprise.

"Not really," Leo said and explained, "He suggested that the Alpha of every pack should confer together and then vote on a final proposal to be handed over to the werewolf council for the final judgment to take effect, to ensure fairness."

"Hayden's reputation is very high right now," Livie added.

It wasn't a wonder for him to take charge since he was the strongest Alpha right now, and very hardworking and diligent.

"Leo… Nate… Could you guys go out first?" Livie asked both he-wolves. "I want to spend some time with Char alone."

"Alright." They didn't hesitate to stand up and leave the room, giving privacy to Livie and me.

"Livie, how is my dad?" I asked.

"He's fine. He came to see you a few times but I sent him home since he is not fully recovered yet," Livie answered with a grin.

That made me laugh. Only Livie was daring enough to throw Dad out of my hospital room.

"Char…" she turned serious.

"What's wrong, Livie?" I asked and suddenly felt afraid that she was going to deliver bad news.

"No, nothing's wrong." She shook her head and took my hand in hers. "You don't have to worry about anything."

"Oo…kay… What's with the seriousness?" I teased her.

She seemed to hesitate a few seconds before finally sighing. "Hayden came to visit you in the past few days."

"And…?" I prompted. It wasn't a strange thing for Hayden to visit me.

"I took the opportunity to ask him if his public confession during the wedding was planned, but he said it was unplanned. He did it out of whim," Livie said.

"And?" I asked again.

"And I asked him why he did it, but he didn't reply. He just kept his mouth shut and asked me to take care of you since he'll be too busy these days and might not be able to stay with you. And then he left."

"And…?" I still had no idea where Livie was going with this information.

"Char… I think the reason he did it is to draw the royal family's hatred toward him. So the Alpha King thinks that he was the one who planned it all alone," Livie explained.

"Oh…" I answered. "But I was the one who wanted to expose Theo's bad side and stopped him from becoming the next Alpha King. Hayden was only helping me."

"Char… Can't you see that Hayden purposely spoke and insulted the royal family before you showed the video so everyone thinks that the showing of the video was his doing?" Livie looked exasperated as she tried to explain to me. "He doesn't want the Alpha King to take revenge on you! He's sacrificing himself for you, Char."

"Ohh… OHHH!" My eyes widened as I finally understood what she was trying to say. "Sorry, my mind seems to still be muddled after sleeping for so long."

Livie shook her head helplessly.

"Char, I can see that Hayden is really remorseful and trying his best to make up for every bad thing he had done to you, not even caring that he will be targeted by the royal family," Livie said and then asked a question I never thought she would ever ask me.

"Char, will you go back to Hayden and be his Luna again after everything he has done for you?"