Chapter 2

I don't know how long I suffered in that cellar.

More blood kept coming, everything beneath me soaked through.

As my consciousness faded, the door suddenly opened.

Not Lyra. Not the guards.

The pack healer, Bennett.

When he saw my condition, his face went white.

"Luna? What are you doing here?"

"The Alpha said you were resting in the recovery chamber."

I tried to speak but couldn't make a sound.

I could only point at my belly, tears streaming down.

Bennett rushed over and knelt to check me.

The moment his hand touched my abdomen, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Fully dilated! Your water broke!"

"She needs surgery immediately!"

He tried to lift me, but the second I moved, a hot gush came.

Blood.

So much blood.

Bennett's hands were shaking as he yelled toward the door:

"Someone! Anyone! She's hemorrhaging!"

The hallway was empty.

This private healing hall was owned by the Frostwood Pack—tonight they'd cleared it for Vivienne's delivery.

Every healer and midwife was on standby in the third-floor birthing chamber.

Bennett reached for the mind link, but it was blocked.

"I'll carry you up. Hang on!"

He gritted his teeth and lifted me, stumbling toward the exit.

The stairway was long, every step jarring me toward death.

I could feel the pup dropping lower, but it wouldn't come out.

The drug was still working, contractions coming and going.

This was the most dangerous situation.

"Bennett..." I grabbed his collar, voice barely a whisper. "Save the pup. Please."

"Don't talk nonsense! You'll both be fine!"

He finally burst onto the first floor and ran toward the surgery chamber.

But when we reached the entrance, we both froze.

The surgery chamber door stood wide open.

Inside was empty.

The enchanted healing lamps—gone.

The birthing table—gone.

Monitoring crystals, oxygen apparatus, all the medical equipment—everything was gone.

Only an empty room and a few anchoring runes on the wall remained.

Bennett stood frozen in place.

I heard a choking sound come from his throat, like someone was strangling him.

"How is this possible..."

"I checked the equipment this afternoon..."

Footsteps echoed from the end of the hall.

Lyra walked over with two midwives, raising an eyebrow at us.

"Bennett, what are you doing here?"

"Vivienne's in the third-floor chamber. Why'd you come down?"

Bennett pointed at the empty surgery chamber, voice shaking:

"The equipment? Where did all the surgical equipment go?"

Lyra looked completely innocent:

"Moved to the third floor, obviously."

"Vivienne's having a C-section—she needs the best equipment. What if there's an emergency? How could a regular chamber be enough?"

As she spoke, her eyes landed on me and she smiled.

"Elara's ready to deliver?"

"You'll have to wait. Vivienne's not done yet."

"Just be patient."

I stared at that perfectly made-up face.

Suddenly remembering six months ago when she'd linked arms with me at the market, saying sweetly:

"Elara, you're so good to me. Better than my own blood sister."

I'd bought her enchanted accessories worth over a hundred thousand gold that day.

Now it all seemed like a sick joke.