After leaving the banquet, my mind was made up. This time, I would survive, and so would my pup.

I didn't return to my rooms in the pack's core territory. I went straight to the station.

In my previous life, staying had led to a dead end. This time, I had to leave before they could harm my child. They were ruthless, and I had nothing left to lose.

But I had underestimated Caleb.

The moment he discovered I was gone, he ordered the pack to seal all territorial exits. My scent was tracked, and every bus ticket and train reservation I'd booked was canceled.

I was a bird in a gilded cage, and the walls were closing in.

In the end, I had no choice but to hide in a small human motel on the edge of the territory. The landlady, seeing my pregnant belly, took pity on me and charged half the rent. But I knew the peace wouldn't last.

Sure enough, two days later, Caleb appeared at my door.

"Aurora, what are you doing in a place like this?" he asked, standing in the doorway with a gentle expression. His impeccably tailored suit was jarringly out of place in the run-down motel.

I looked at him coldly. "Is there something you need, Mr. Vance?"

"What are you talking about, Aurora? We were all worried sick about you."

A hint of sadness flickered in his eyes. "I want to take you home. Let's be a pack again."

My heart skipped a beat.

A pack? Had my compliance in this life finally changed something?

But his next words plunged me back into the abyss.

"Actually..." A flicker of unease crossed his face. "It's about Lorelei. Our shaman... he found an ancient ritual. He says the heart's blood of a powerful unborn pup could cure her."