The Night He Chose Her

Astrid's POV

  I turned to her, trying to hide the bag behind me, watching her warily. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the room, making Iris's pale face look almost ghostly in her wheelchair.

  She rolled closer, her movements deliberate and slow. "You were at the hospital, weren't you? So, you're leaving because you don't want to save me, right?”

  "What are you talking about?" I kept my voice steady, shifting the bag further behind me. "I was just planning to visit my friend."

Her lips curved into that familiar mocking smile I’d seen behind closed doors. "You're lying. You're leaving with Darius’ babies."

 "Stop," I whispered, my hand instinctively moving to my swollen belly.

   “That’s not going to make him change his mind about you,” she laughed, "did you know that on your wedding day, he stayed with me in the hospital all night?" She rolled closer, her voice mocking me. 

  My chest tightened. I’d waited for him in my wedding dress, believing duty came first.…but that turned out to be a lie.

  "He held my hand in the hospital every time while you waited at home." Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Every full moon when you thought he was at council meetings? He was with me."

 "Stop it." My vision blurred, tears threatening to spill.

  "And every time he touched you, he was wondering if it could save me." She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You were just a cure for me.”

 Each word cracked something inside me. The room spun and I grabbed the dresser to stay upright. All those nights, all those moments I'd treasured, thinking that he was different, that he genuinely loved me…they were lies. Every single one.

  "I've always envied you," she said bitterly, her perfectly manicured nails digging into her wheelchair arms. "You're fat, but healthy. Somehow you matched with me for the cord blood transplant, and even mated with Darius, and that's why you got to marry him. You're so damn lucky, Astrid!"

  I almost laughed at that, Lucky? Should I thank them for the privilege of being lied to, used, and discarded like a breeding machine?

  She hissed, leaning forward, "After you give birth, take those two bastards and get out. Don't ever bother me and Darius again. We will have our own pups."

 Rage surged through me, hot and protective. My wolf stirred within me.  

  "Don't talk about my children," I growled, my voice low.

  She let out a cold laugh that echoed off the walls. Then, without warning, she spun her wheelchair sharply and slammed her head into the corner of the table with a sickening thud. The sound made me jump back in shock.

"Ah, Astrid, please stop!" she screamed, her voice carrying through the house.

  She threw herself from the wheelchair, letting it tip and crash to the floor. She crumpled beside it, clutching her forehead. I stood frozen, unable to process what I was seeing.

  I started to move toward her, instinct telling me to help, when the door burst open with such force it slammed against the wall. Darius stormed in first, followed by our parents, their faces twisted with alarm.

 Iris lay collapsed on the floor, the wheelchair overturned beside her, her whole body shaking with practiced tremors.

  She groaned, tears streaming down her face. "Don't pressure Astrid anymore. We can't force her to save me. She's right, me being alive is just wasting everyone's time."

Darius's face darkened to something murderous. "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't–" I had barely opened my mouth before he was kneeling beside Iris, his hands gentle as they examined her face.

"Iris, are you okay? Are you in pain?" His voice was rushed, almost shaking with genuine concern I'd never heard directed at me.

  She sobbed harder, clinging to his shirt. "It's fine. I just don't want to be your burden anymore. If she hates me, maybe it's better if I'm gone."

 "Don't say that!" His voice cracked, and he pulled her against his chest.

 Tears burned in my eyes, hot and angry. "I never said that! She cursed my children and…"

 "Stop!" Darius shouted, his Alpha command rippling through the room. "We don't have time for your jealousy. You already know Iris needs your cord blood. Her condition is getting worse and she could die any minute."

  I was trembling all over, my body shaking with rage and fear, but my desperate need to protect my babies made me speak. "I won't agree to this. I won't let my babies be put in danger for a surgery that might not even work."

  "Teresa will handle the surgery herself. She's the best healer here, and she promised it's a routine procedure," Darius said quickly, still cradling Iris.

  "Even normal C-sections have risks. And they aren't due for another two months," I choked on the words. "Darius, did you ever even care about me and our babies? "

The silence that followed was deafening. Behind him, Iris smiled at me over his shoulder, smug and victorious. That smile broke something in me. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms, and let go of the last shred of hope I'd been clinging to.

  My dad's voice boomed through the room, his face red with fury. "Enough of this selfishness. You're coming with us, Astrid. Now."

I opened my mouth to protest when Iris suddenly convulsed and coughed up blood, bright red against her pale lips.

  Darius grabbed her face, genuine panic flooding his features. "Iris! Stay with me!"

  "I'm not worth it," Iris gasped, her performance O. "Save Astrid's babies instead. I never blamed you…" Her hand slipped dramatically from his grasp.

  A terrible, cold feeling rose inside me. Every instinct screamed danger. I covered my belly with both arms, backing away slowly, trying to edge toward the door.

My dad shot me a furious look that could have melted steel. "I'll take Iris to the hospital first. Astrid will be there, and we'll start the surgery within the hour."

 I kept backing up until my back touched the wall, and there was nowhere to go. 

  I wrapped my arms tighter around my belly, feeling my babies move inside me. "Don't… don't take them!"

  He stared at me with confusion mixed with disappointment. "She's your sister, are you going to watch her die?"

  My mom stepped forward, her voice honey-sweet. "I know you're scared. But this could save your sister's life. You're a mother now. You understand what that means, right? Family. Sacrifice."

  Her hand touched my cheek, warm and familiar. The same hand that used to wipe my tears, braid my hair, tuck me in at night. Now it felt like it was burning my skin.

"You were always the sensible one," she whispered. "Do this, and we'll make it up to you. I promise. We'll give you anything you want."

  Make it up to me? Like all the birthday parties they missed for Iris's treatments? Like the college fund they emptied for her experimental procedures? Like my wedding night spent alone?

"I won't," I said, my voice stronger now. "Not this time."

  "Enough. Astrid, stop being dramatic," Darius said sharply. "Iris's life is at stake. We need to save her now. An early C-section has risks, yes, but it won't kill you."

"No, I won't let you hurt my babies!"

Darius growled, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the door. "I can't just watch Iris die."

My heart dropped. No one could save me now. 

They were going to cut them out, risk their tiny lives for Iris. 

I prayed desperately to the Moon Goddess. If She'd ignored everything else in my life, She could at least grant me this one wish.

Just as my mom reached for the car door, her hand on my other arm, voice thundered across the garden.

"Wait!”