KAEL'S POV
"She might not survive."
The doctor's words echoed in my head as I stood outside the medical room, fists clenched.
Sera was pregnant. Eight weeks. The heir was secured—exactly what the contract required. I should feel satisfied. Victorious even.
Instead, Shadow was tearing me apart from the inside.
She's dying because of us, my wolf howled. Our mate is dying and it's OUR FAULT.
"Shut up," I growled internally. "She's not dying. The doctors will figure it out."
The pregnancy is killing her! The transformation is killing her! And you did this to her!
I couldn't listen to this. I pushed away from the wall and headed to my office. Work. I needed work to distract me from the bond screaming in my chest.
Marcus intercepted me in the hallway, his face grim.
"The doctor said the curse is breaking because of the pregnancy," he said quietly. "Her body is trying to shift, but it's happening too fast. If they can't stabilize her—"
"They will." My voice came out cold. Controlled. Even though inside I was screaming.
"Kael." Marcus grabbed my arm. "She's your mate. Not just a contract. When are you going to stop lying to yourself?"
"I'm not—"
"You ran into that medical room so fast you left a blood trail from your own wounds. You've been standing outside her door for two hours. You're terrified." His eyes held accusation. "And you should be. Because if she dies, that's on you."
I jerked away from him. "The heir—"
"I'm not talking about the heir!" Marcus's voice rose. "I'm talking about Sera. The woman you've been treating like property for three months. The woman who just collapsed because her body is literally tearing itself apart trying to transform. Do you even care if she survives this?"
Yes. The answer screamed through me. Yes, I cared. Too much.
That was the problem.
"Get back to work," I ordered, walking away before he could see my control cracking.
I made it to my office and slammed the door. Collapsed into my chair. The bond pulsed with Sera's pain—she was unconscious but I could still feel her through it. Feel her fear, her exhaustion, her heartbreak.
Three months of coldness. Three months of treating her like she was nothing. Three months of breaking her piece by piece because I was too afraid to admit she mattered.
You're a coward, Shadow snarled. You use Dad's death as an excuse to be cruel. But the truth? You're just scared.
"I'm protecting us—"
From WHAT? From love? From being happy? Dad died protecting Mom because he LOVED her. Would you do the same for Sera?
The question hit like a punch.
Would I?
If someone threatened her right now, would I throw myself in front of the blade? Would I sacrifice everything to keep her safe?
The answer terrified me.
My phone rang. The witch we'd hired to study Sera's curse.
"Alpha Stormridge," she said urgently. "I've finished analyzing Mrs. Stormridge's blood. You need to hear this."
"Talk."
"The Blackwood curse doesn't suppress wolves—it transforms them. Every generation, one child is chosen to carry an ancient power. Sera isn't wolfless. She's been incubating something far more powerful." The witch paused. "Have you ever heard of a Silver Wolf?"
Ice flooded my veins. "That's a myth."
"It was real. Three centuries ago, a Silver Wolf nearly destroyed the entire supernatural world. They're born once every hundred years, always to the Blackwood line. Unlimited power, impossible to control, driven by pure instinct." Her voice dropped. "The curse was created to prevent them from awakening. But pregnancy breaks the binding."
"You're saying Sera is—"
"A Silver Wolf. And when she fully transforms, she'll be the most powerful creature alive. More powerful than any Alpha. More powerful than entire packs combined." The witch hesitated. "The Nightshade Pack knows. That's why they want her. If they can control her—"
"No one controls my mate." The words came out as a growl.
"Then you'd better hope she survives the transformation. Because right now, her human body is fighting against the wolf trying to emerge. And that fight is killing her."
I hung up and ran.
Back through the halls, back to the medical room. The doctor tried to stop me.
"Alpha, she needs rest—"
I pushed past her. Sera lay in the hospital bed, pale as death, hooked to machines that beeped with her weak heartbeat. Her hand rested on her barely-there baby bump, even in unconsciousness protecting the child.
My child.
I sat beside her and took her hand. It was so small in mine, so fragile.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "For everything. For being cruel. For making you feel worthless. For—" My voice cracked. "For not protecting you better."
Her eyes fluttered but didn't open.
The bond pulsed between us, and I finally stopped fighting it. Let myself feel everything I'd been pushing down for three months. The need to hold her. The desire to hear her laugh. The desperate wish that she'd look at me with hope again instead of resignation.
I loved her.
I loved my mate, and I'd realized it too late.
"Don't die," I pleaded. "Please. I know I don't deserve you. I know I've been a monster. But don't leave me. I can't—" The words stuck in my throat. "I can't lose you too."
A tear rolled down my cheek. Then another. I was crying for the first time since my parents died.
"Sir." A nurse appeared in the doorway, her face white. "You need to see this."
She led me to a monitor. Sera's vitals were displayed, along with—
"What is that?" I demanded, staring at the second heartbeat on screen.
"That's the baby's heartbeat. Perfectly healthy." The nurse pointed to strange readings above it. "But this... we don't know what this is. It's coming from Mrs. Stormridge's chest cavity, where her wolf should be forming. But the energy signature is wrong. Too powerful."
As we watched, the readings spiked.
Sera's body started glowing with silver light.
Alarms blared. Doctors rushed in.
"Her wolf is trying to emerge!" someone shouted. "The transformation is starting!"
"Get everyone out!" I roared. "If she shifts in this small space—"
Too late.
Silver light exploded through the room, blinding and hot. The machines shorted out. Windows shattered.
When my vision cleared, Sera floated three feet above the bed, surrounded by swirling silver energy. Her eyes opened—but they weren't violet anymore.
They glowed pure silver.
And when she spoke, it wasn't Sera's voice. It was something ancient and terrifying.
"The Luna awakens," the voice said through her lips. "And she is HUNGRY."
Her head turned toward me, and I saw no recognition in those silver eyes.
She didn't know me.
And she looked at me like prey.