Chapter 4

Then the house went still.

Only me and the pup inside me were left.

I could not even call for help properly. I could only lie there, crying, while the pain in my body and the ache in my chest dragged me under together.

When I had needed Damian most, he had chosen Lydia without a second thought.

And all for an injury that barely counted.

I forced myself to hold on long enough to call emergency services.

When I woke again, I was already in the hospital.

Nurses were hurrying me toward the delivery room.

“Hurry, get a doctor. She’s not doing well. She may deliver early.”

“Where’s her phone? Call her family. Call her mate. We need a signature.”

The ringing went on and on through the room, unanswered.

A tear slipped quietly from the corner of my eye.

Of course Damian would not answer.

He was with Lydia. Why would he care whether I lived or died, whether our pup survived or not?

After several tries, he finally rejected the call.

One of the nurses looked at me with concern.

“Is there anyone else who can sign? We still can’t reach your mate.”

My hand shook as I lifted it.

“I’ll sign.”

I forced myself to write my name.

From that moment on, neither my pup nor I needed Damian anymore.

But after they wheeled me into the delivery room, no doctor came.

I endured the pain for as long as I could before asking what was happening. The nurse looked helpless.

“Damian just arrived with another pregnant she-wolf.”

“She only has a minor burn, but he pulled every available doctor over to her side.”

“Even the obstetrics doctors were called away.”

The nurse wiped the sweat from my forehead and tried to reassure me.

“They should be back soon. Just hold on a little longer.”

A tearing pain split through me, but it still did not match the pain in my chest.

I was the one bound to Damian, yet I was the one left fighting for my life in that hospital bed.

Lydia, the wolf he had chosen, had only needed the smallest injury to take every bit of care away from me.

The pain left me barely able to breathe. My vision darkened in waves.

Just before I blacked out, I heard the nurse shout in panic,

“Someone get in here now. She’s crashing!”

I woke a day later.

The first thing I did was reach for my stomach.

It was flat.

For one terrible second, my mind emptied.

“My pup,” I whispered. “Where’s my pup?”

I tried to get out of bed despite the pain, but before I reached the door, a nurse came in carrying a tiny bundle.

The moment she placed my pup in my arms, I held him close and finally felt myself breathe again.

The next day, I went to the airport with my child.

Everything had already been arranged. My withdrawal from the pack had taken effect, and the witch had sent word that the mate-bond between Damian and me had been completely severed.

After cutting off Damian’s final call and blocking him, I held my pup close and boarded the plane without looking back.