CHAPTER 8: MIDNIGHT LOVE

Maya’s POV

I slapped a hand on my mouth to muffle my cry when I saw the ultrasound monitor. Three tiny hearts beat along with mine, and I didn't know if I should be happy or sad.

They were triple the happiness but my financial condition was in despair and living conditions looked bleak. Winter had arrived and I could barely survive in my hut at night. Without my wolf, my body had forgotten how to stay warm while the walls of the hut hardly kept the wind out.

Hence, I preferred the night shifts in the warm hospital. At least I didn't freeze to death and could save the overtime payment, even if my body bore the brunt of the pain that accompanied the exhaustion.

However, the nurses had made my life hell. They kept me on my toes all the time so that they could keep Carl free to themselves.

I was 29 weeks pregnant now and well into my last trimester. My body screamed for rest, but the staff seemed to make doubly sure that was not the case. With no other alternative in sight, I would trudge my way to the OB-GYN and "borrow" their meds. It was humiliating and degrading at first, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and I had to take them to survive.

After a stressful day shift, I was finally off duty. Hitting the print option of the ultrasound monitor, I tucked the beautiful picture of my triplets in the secret pocket of my lab coat and rushed out of the department, which was not my business.

I didn't want to get caught and lose my job, my only lifeline along with my pups. I rechecked the positions of the security cameras and exited as fast as I could.

I couldn't wait to lie down and let my sore, swollen feet rest and my back muscles relax.

Buying a few groceries on the way, I reached my hut. The sun was about to set and I had to build a fire and cook my meal before it got too dark to see. I didn’t want to attract any of the nocturnal animals either.

Heaven bless the smoker who threw away his lighter in a bush two months back. It was a small victory to not go caveman style and rub two stones all night. I had also come across an abandoned cart where the shopkeepers threw away their expired tins of food. Most of the time, I was lucky enough to find fresh tins for grabs. Sometimes it felt like someone was looking out for me. There would be pills and food in small packets, as if someone had forgotten them while unloading the tins.

Trudging my way to the makeshift kitchen, I stored away my stuff and got ready to cook. However, my swollen, throbbing feet won against my empty stomach. I could forgo food but not bear my own weight anymore.

I curled up in a corner and wrapped myself in my blanket to stay warm and rest. The cold stomach gel had started to dry against my skin and I needed to take a bath in the worst way possible, but the very idea of dipping in the cold pond, had my body shivering.

It was at times like these that I got homesick. I would miss my family and that is when my blood would boil and the urge to live just enough to get my revenge on my ex-mate would surface. But not tonight. Tonight, I just felt drained and exhausted to even think about my family or the monster who snatched everything from me.

I just wanted to sleep and never wake up. I wanted to give up. Just let go. Body and soul. Everything felt futile. Why was I even trying to live?

With that thought, I threw away my only source of warmth and let Mother Winter take my soul away as I closed my eyes… forever.

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Maya’s POV

My body hummed in comfort against the warm, dreamy mattress as I curled deeper against it. I had never touched something so soft, something so soothing, something so… comforting.

It felt like the softest wolf known to mankind had enveloped me in its warmth as its tail softly wound around me. The heartwarming scent of sandalwood and musk comforted me to deeper sleep.

Gentle paws rubbed my feet and let their radiating warmth seep deep into my bones. They felt like liquid fire and a balm to my soul. I had never felt so light before. My feet did not feel like lead anymore as they dug deeper into those tender, massaging paws.

My nose traced the most delicious route along something that resembled a long, arched neck. A smile etched on my face when the soothing “mattress” cradled my head on a soft and firm “pillow” and peppered my face with small licks.

I caressed my cheek against the pillowy source, sinking further into its comfort. I felt the mattress hug me closer to itself and I willingly eased into the loving embrace. Ah! I was definitely in heaven. 

Even a cashmere couldn’t rival the petal-soft fur I was sleeping on. Cozy and loved, I felt like I was under a beautiful, enchanting spell from which I couldn’t wake up from, nor did I desire to do so.

Suddenly, the stench of blood almost stirred me awake, before my stomach calmed down as blood dribbled into my lips. The sweetest blood, which could only belong to the pure-blooded royals, nourished my body through and through, and satiated my hunger like never before.

I felt a tentative, restrained lick at the corner of my mouth. Then another. And another. And another. And another before the beast seemed to have been unleashed.

However, I didn’t mind. I had never felt so cherished, so loved before. Leo had never been a passionate lover, or even a lover so to speak. I had never known the touch of someone who cared so deeply for me.

I sighed contently against the steady lull of a heartbeat and fell deeper into the abyss of blissful sleep, feeling a new strength and new energy overtake my senses.

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