I had literally torn myself apart to birth my pups.

When I finally delivered the first pup, he was already cold. Lifeless.

Blood gushed from between my legs like a fountain as the second pup got stuck in the gaping wound of my womb.

My hair was matted and sticky with blood. I held my bloody firstborn, my eyes wide, my breath gone.

If Frank saw this, how would his wolf react?

But at that moment, he was too busy holding Zerra, his voice laced with regret and guilt.

“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have let Martha get in your sight and upset you. I swear, this is the last time she’ll ever carry my pups. I won’t let you see another pregnant she-wolf in this house again.”

“You have no idea what lies she’s told me just to trick me,” he continued.

“She said the twins were too big, that she was afraid of a difficult birth. She even claimed the healer recommended she go to the medical center immediately.”

“She survived three whole days trapped in a pitch-black underground cavern! And now she has the gall to tell me she’s scared of childbirth!”

My heart ached with a pain I could no longer physically feel.

A pregnant she-wolf’s body is different. The restlessness of my inner wolf and the discomfort of the pregnancy had exhausted me from the start. Several times, my condition was so poor I needed suppressants just to keep the pups alive.

When I was locked in the basement, I desperately pleaded with Frank through our mind-link, begging him to let me out. I knew if I was trapped for three days, my pups and I would surely die.

But Frank had just told Kevin, “Melt the key to the basement. No one is to open that door. In three days, I want to see her crawl to Zerra and apologize!”

To survive, I had tried to escape through the mansion’s old sewer system. I endured the searing pain, clawing through the floor and crawling into the narrow, foul-smelling pipes.

I had just reached the garden exit when I saw them. Frank, holding Zerra tightly, kissing her madly under the moonlight.

Their bodies were pressed together, tearing at each other’s lips like animals in heat, Frank’s hand already sliding under Zerra’s skirt.

Then, Zerra pushed him away, looked up, and screamed.

Frank looked up and saw me, crawling pathetically from the sewer drain. His face contorted with rage.

He assumed I had appeared in front of Zerra on purpose. With an Alpha’s roar, he shot toward me like a cannonball and slammed a fist powered by his werewolf strength directly into my pregnant belly.

A wave of agony exploded from my womb. Blood poured from between my legs.

And in the end, I died with my eyes wide open, clutching my bloody firstborn son.

Upstairs, Frank fed the glass of blood to Zerra.

“I’ve already sent someone to bring Martha to you for her apology,” he said. “If she’s sincere, I’ll have her sent to the medical center. If not, she can give birth in the basement for all I care.”

Zerra took a small sip and choked, coughing until her eyes watered, looking utterly pitiful.

“Frank, you can’t treat Martha like this. It’s dangerous for a she-wolf to give birth to pups.”

Frank sighed, looking at Zerra with adoration. “You’re just too kind. That’s why Martha feels brave enough to bully you.”

“Martha is a survival expert. She can live for three days without food or water. Look at you, so fragile you choke on a sip of blood.”

He tweaked her nose. “And why would you say childbirth is dangerous? You say that like you’ve been through it yourself.”

A flash of panic crossed Zerra’s eyes, but she quickly looked down, her voice laced with sadness. “Frank, you’re the only one who can see the vulnerability beneath my strong exterior…”

She looked up again, tears welling in her eyes, biting her lip to make it look swollen and moist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.

Frank couldn’t hold back any longer. He kissed her, breathing like a beast, his tongue forcing its way past her teeth while Zerra moaned in satisfaction.

They kissed passionately, tearing at each other’s clothes. Frank’s hands roamed her body, kneading her soft breasts as she writhed against him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

But just before the final step, Zerra pushed him away.

“No! She’s still your mate, and she’s carrying your pups. I can’t… possess you at a time like this!”

Frank’s eyes burned with desire. “Fine,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I won’t let you down.”

“Just wait a little longer. I’ll sever the mate bond with her soon.”

“And then, you will be my one and only Luna!”

He placed a tender, longing kiss on her forehead, as if he were protecting a priceless treasure.

Zerra’s lips curved into a triumphant smirk.

Frank might not have seen it, but I did.

She didn’t want to ruin our relationship? The thought was so absurd it was almost funny.

She had come to me time and again, gloating that even if I was pregnant, I was just an incubator for her. That my children would one day call her “mother.”

So what was this act?

Zerra had moved into my home under the pretense that she was weak, cursed with wolfsbane by an enemy pack.

She flirted with Frank at the dinner table so brazenly that even our cook spoke up, mocking her. Zerra immediately turned the tables, accusing the cook of poisoning her food and demanding she be fired.

I was pregnant and had no appetite for anything except that cook’s meals. As Luna, I went to Zerra and offered to hire a private chef just for her. She responded by slapping me across the face.

“Her cooking is irrelevant,” she’d snarled.

“What matters is that she understands who the real mistress of this house is! Martha, let me tell you something today: Frank will have only one mate, and it will be me!”

To prove Frank’s love for her, she would curl up in his arms like a kitten, sobbing about how she was cursed and might never be able to give him healthy pups. Then she’d mention how seeing my pregnant belly walk by was just too painful for her.

“I’ve tried my best to avoid Martha, but I still see her every day. Maybe I should just move out. It’s too heartbreaking to live here!”

That was all it took for Frank to lose control.

His face went cold as he backhanded me, sending me to the floor.

“You know Zerra gets upset seeing pregnant women, and you deliberately parade yourself in front of her?! What are you trying to do?!”

“You’re vicious! You don’t deserve to be a mother!”

“I’m locking you in the basement to teach you a proper lesson!”

His Betas grabbed my arms and legs and threw me into the cold, damp cellar.

“The healer told me to go to the medical center for the birth! If I’m there, she won’t have to see me!” I cried, clinging to the doorframe, begging him to let me go.

But Frank just sneered. “If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable. Your due date is days away!”

He ignored my pleas and slammed the door shut.

The door slammed on my fingers, crushing them. The agony made my inner wolf howl. I pulled my hand back, speechless.

Frank shot me a triumphant look and locked the basement door.

Just as they were whispering sweet nothings, Kevin ran up, breathless and panicked. “Mrs. Martha… she’s gone!”

“Gone?!”

Frank shot up, annoyed that Kevin had interrupted him.

Kevin wiped the sweat from his brow. “The basement… it’s full of blood. Mrs. Martha, she’s…”

He couldn’t finish.

Frank straightened his rumpled shirt.

“What blood? Oh, I get it. She’s going into labor, so there’s blood, right? Fine. Send her to the medical center.”