Billionaire CEO Killian Blackwood was looking for the perfect genes. He offered a massive reward for a surrogate mother.

Ten billion dollars for a baby.

But the 77 women before me had all vanished.

Drowning in debt, I had no choice. I gritted my teeth and became number 78.

I carried his child for ten months. I gave birth. And I didn't disappear.

But as I reached for my baby, ready for my ten billion dollars, I burst into tears of terror.

My newborn wasn't human. It was a litter of three wolf pups.

I took a billionaire’s fortune to carry his heir. But I didn’t give birth to a child. I unleashed a monster.

"Oh my god! What... What is that?"

The midwife’s scream was the first thing I heard after giving birth.

Her eyes were wide, fixed on the bassinet in front of me. The color drained from her face.

Then, she passed out cold.

Thud.

My body trembling, I pushed myself up and looked down.

Three wet, furry little things were curled up in the soft towels.

Their eyes were still sealed shut, but their tiny paws were already pawing at the air, letting out faint, whimpering sounds.

Their fur was a silvery gray, shimmering unnaturally under the harsh delivery room lights.

Not babies.

Wolf pups.

Three of them.

This was impossible.

A human womb can't carry wolves.

DNA doesn't just allow for that kind of... cross-breeding.

But there they were. Real. Sniffing the air with their little noses, searching for their mother's scent.

My brain couldn't process it.

"Miss Chloe, what is this?" The housekeeper, Martha, stood frozen nearby. Her voice was laced with pure shock and disbelief. "You just gave birth to..."

"I don't know!" My voice was a raw scream, shredded from the delivery. "I don't know why! How is this possible?!"

I tried to think back. The pregnancy.

The check-ups?

Every ultrasound showed a normal human fetus.

The heartbeat?

A normal human heartbeat.

I’d seen every single scan. I saw the outline of a human baby!

But now...

Now there were three wolf pups lying there.

Heavy footsteps and hushed, deep voices echoed from the hall.

Bodyguards.

Lots of them.

I could hear them pacing, waiting for news.

Waiting for the cry of a baby. Waiting for Killian’s heir to be born.

If they came in and saw this...

I would die. And these little things would die with me.

Panic flooded me like ice water.

My heart hammered against my ribs, so hard I thought it would burst.

I remembered the rumors I’d heard when I first set foot in this mansion a year ago.

"The 77 before her all vanished."

"They slept with Mr. Blackwood and were never seen again."

"Some people say you can hear wolves howling on the estate late at night."

"Susan said she was sending money home. The next day, she was just... gone."

"The cops? The cops won't touch anything involving Killian Blackwood."

I’d thought they were just urban legends, meant to scare off the new girls.

After all, ten billion dollars was a hell of an incentive.

If I could just give the mysterious billionaire CEO, Killian Blackwood, a healthy heir, I could pay off all the debt my father left behind.

Those numbers haunted my dreams.

Five million in medical bills.

Three million in loans.

Two million in interest.

That ten-million-dollar anchor was dragging me under. I couldn't breathe.

I had no choice but to stay.

I remembered the day I signed the contract.

Killian sat behind his desk, dressed in an impossibly expensive custom suit.

His gray eyes were ice-cold. His presence alone was suffocating.

"You know the price," he'd said, his voice a low growl, like a beast. "The consequences of failure."

I knew.

I remembered the night I slept with him.

I was so terrified, I'd hidden a handful of fruit knives under my pillow, convinced I'd end up like the other girls.

My hands shook all night. Every little sound made me jump.

Killian found my "arsenal," of course.

He just smirked, tossing the knives to the floor one by one.

"If I wanted you dead, little one, these toys wouldn't save you," he’d purred, his thumb stroking my chin. "But I need you alive. For now."

Then he took me, all night long.

His kisses were brutal.

His hands were rough, leaving marks all over me.

But strangely, in the middle of that absolute domination, I felt a flicker of... protection?

The next morning, I woke up covered in his marks.

And somehow, I didn't think he was the monster the rumors painted him to be.

At least he hadn't killed me afterward.

For the next few months, I barely saw him.

I lived like royalty in this mansion. I had a personal chef, maids, a private doctor.

The bathroom in my suite was bigger than my old apartment. The budget for my daily meals was more than my old monthly salary.

All I had to do was rest, grow his baby, and wait for my ten billion dollars.

The pregnancy was smooth.

Every ultrasound showed the baby was developing perfectly.

I even saw them kicking inside me.

Yes, them.

They found out it was triplets in the third month.

When Killian heard the news, I saw a flicker of... satisfaction? ...on his stone-cold face.

"Good," he'd said. "The Blackwood line needs heirs."

But now...

Now I'd given birth to three wolves.

How?

The footsteps outside were getting closer.

That suffocating presence, that aura that made the air feel thick… that could only be Killian Blackwood.

The doorknob turned slowly.

His voice, the same one that terrified the entire business world, cut through the door.

"Why is there no crying?"

The moment the door opened, the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

Killian Blackwood strode in.

His broad shoulders looked even more imposing in his tailored suit.

His deep-set gray eyes scanned every corner of the room, like a predator searching for prey.

Every move he made screamed absolute authority. The world was built to bend to his will.

Four bodyguards followed him, all in black suits, their faces blank.

I saw their hands resting near their waists.

Guns.

They were all carrying guns.

"Where is the child?" Killian’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

Thank god I’d shoved the pups into a medical waste bag...

The air was thick with the smell of blood, antiseptic, and something else... something wild.

It was a strange scent. Like a deep forest. Like wild musk.

I forced myself to look weak and helpless, my voice trembling.

"What child?"

His eyes immediately turned dangerous.

I'd seen that look before.

In a zoo, right before a lion lunges for its prey.

"Don't play dumb with me, Chloe," he said, his voice dropping lower. "It's been ten months. Where is my heir?"

My mind raced.

I needed a story. A good one. Something he might believe.

But what could possibly explain a woman being pregnant for ten months and suddenly having no baby?

I pointed a shaky finger at the unconscious midwife on the floor. "She said… she said I was never pregnant."

"What?"

The tension in the room ratcheted up. One of the bodyguards’ hands moved toward his gun.

"It was a phantom pregnancy," I blurted out, my brain scrambling to build the ridiculous lie. "My belly was so big because of a severe fluid buildup. Just now… all that came out was the fluid."

I didn't even believe it myself.

But I had no other choice.

Killian’s face was terrifyingly dark.

His jaw was clenched tight, a vein pulsing at his temple.

"Fluid buildup?" he snarled, walking slowly toward my bed. "You take me for a fool?"

"It's true!" I said, my voice sharp with fear. "The midwife fainted after she examined me. She realized she’d misdiagnosed me for ten months! It's massive medical malpractice!"

I pointed at the midwife again. "Look at her! She was so shocked by the discovery she passed out! A ten-month misdiagnosis, it's unheard of!"

The bodyguards exchanged a look.

The younger one frowned. He was actually considering it.

But an older one was clearly not buying it.

His hand went to his gun.

My heart was about to pound out of my chest.

The medical waste bag was on a cart right next to the bed. Only three feet from Killian.

If those little things made a sound right now...

If they smelled anything...

I remembered Killian once saying his sense of smell was inhumanly sharp. "Business is a hunt," he'd said. "I can smell betrayal and lies."

I thought it was just a metaphor.

Now, I wasn't so sure.

"Martha." Killian didn’t turn, but the housekeeper immediately stood ramrod straight. "Explain."

Martha's face was chalk-white, sweat beading on her forehead. Her hands trembled slightly, but she fought to keep her voice steady.

"Yes… Yes, sir. Miss Chloe did not… give birth. It was just a large expulsion of fluid. The delivery room is covered in… fluid."

She was lying for me.

Why?

She barely knew me.

Why would she risk her life for a total stranger?

Killian's gray eyes bored into me, trying to see right through me.

His gaze was like an X-ray, peeling back skin and bone, looking for my soul.

He leaned down slowly, his face getting closer and closer to mine.

I could smell him. That wild, primal scent.

"Do you know the price for lying?" His voice was a devil's whisper in my ear. "In my house, people who lie to me..."

"I'm not lying," I forced out, my throat as dry as a desert.

He suddenly shot his hand out and gripped my chin.

The pressure was light, but it held me in place.

His hand was warm, but that warmth only made me more terrified.

Then he did something I never expected.

He took a deep, deliberate sniff of the air around me.

His eyes narrowed. A strange emotion I couldn't read flickered in his gray irises.

"You're lying," he said, his voice colder than ice. "I smell fear. And… something else."

"Get Dr. Ravens," Killian commanded, releasing my chin. His tone left no room for argument. "Now."

My heart sank.

Dr. Ravens. I'd heard the name.

Killian’s private physician. A man who never worked in a public hospital, who served only the Blackwood family.

Rumor was, he treated… unusual ailments.

"You don't have to," I said quickly. "I'm fine, really."

"Shut up."

Fifteen minutes later, a tall, thin, middle-aged man walked in.

He had unnaturally pale skin and unsettling amber eyes.

"Killian," he nodded, his voice carrying a strange accent. "Another failed one?" he asked, his tone bored.

"Examine her," Killian ordered, pointing at me. "Thoroughly."

I closed my eyes in despair.

It was over.

If he was a real doctor, he’d know instantly that I’d just given birth.

The blood, the hormones, my physical state—it would all expose my lie.

Dr. Ravens approached the bed and pulled on a pair of medical gloves.

"Relax, dear," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "This won't hurt."

When his hand touched my stomach, I felt a strange warmth spread through me.

It wasn't normal body heat. It was more like... energy?

The examination lasted a few minutes.

The entire time, I could hear faint rustling from the medical waste bag.

Please, don't make a sound now.

"Well?" Killian asked impatiently.

Dr. Ravens straightened up, giving me a thoughtful look.

"She definitely did not give birth," he said slowly. "Her uterus is contracting normally, and there's no sign of a retained placenta. However..."

"However what?"

"Her recovery is... astonishing. Her blood work is nearly perfect. It's as if... as if she's being protected by some kind of special power."

Killian frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Perhaps just superior genetics," Dr. Ravens said, pulling off his gloves. "In any case, she is physically fine. It was just a medical misdiagnosis."

He was helping me.

Why?

Killian was silent for a long time.

The air in the room was thick enough to choke on.

Finally, he spoke, his voice cold.

"Since you failed to complete your contract, your time as an honored guest is over."

My heart dropped.

"From now on, you're a maid here," he said, his voice without a trace of warmth. "You will live in the servants' quarters out back. Your pay is two thousand dollars a month, until you've paid the debt for your failure."

Two thousand dollars.

It meant I'd be working here for decades before I could leave.

"I understand," I whispered.

"Martha, get her moved," Killian said, turning to leave. "And clean this place up."

The second the door closed, I finally dared to breathe.

Martha quickly helped me move the medical waste bag into a laundry cart.

"Go, quickly," she whispered. "Before they change their minds."

The room in the servants' quarters was small, damp, and dark. But at least it was safe.

My hands shook as I opened the bag.

The three little pups were curled together peacefully, seemingly unharmed.

"Are you guys okay?" I whispered.

To my shock, one of them lifted its head and looked at me with its barely-open eyes… and nodded.

It understood me.

That wasn't normal.

Even the smartest puppy couldn't have that level of comprehension just hours after birth.

I tentatively asked another question. "Are you hungry?"

All three of them started whimpering at once.

"Okay, hold on. I'll find you something to eat."

I searched the room and only found a few crackers and a bottle of water.

It was nowhere near enough for wolf pups.

Night fell.

I sat on the edge of the bed, watching the three little guys sleeping in a cardboard box.

They were so small, so fragile.

If they were discovered...

I couldn't even imagine what would happen.

Suddenly, a tiny voice broke the silence.

"Mommy?"

I whipped my head around.

What I saw nearly made me scream.

The three furry wolf pups were gone.

In their place were three naked human babies, staring up at me with bright, intelligent eyes.