Chapter 1

"Hang in there. Don't panic. I'll get you to the hospital now."

I heard my mate Ragnar Clairmont's anxious voice, muffled by the water.

I wanted to tell him my body felt so heavy, my legs were tangled in water weeds, and I could barely breathe.

But no sound came out.

Suddenly, I felt weightless. I realized I wasn't struggling in the water or lying on the bank.

Floating above the river, I looked down and saw a woman's body submerged in the water.

Her face was deathly pale, her lips had turned purple, and her pregnant belly sat beneath the surface like a boulder, rising and falling with the current.

It was my body.

Meanwhile, Ragnar was running through the woods with my cousin, Hallie Thorne, in his arms. She leaned against his chest, coughing weakly.

When Ragnar reached the edge of the woods, he glanced back, just once. Then he got into his car and rushed Hallie to the hospital.

I hovered over the water and reached out to pull myself up, but my hand passed right through my body.

I couldn't feel a thing. Even the canyon wind had lost its warmth.

I could hear my heartbeat. It grew slower and fainter until it finally stopped, leaving only a trail of bubbles rising to the surface.

Not long after, a vehicle from the werewolf hospital arrived. The paramedics waded in and hauled me out onto the bank.

They dropped to their knees and began desperately performing CPR. My ribs cracked under the pressure, and my body didn't respond at all.

After a while, one of the paramedics spoke into his radio. "Pregnant female. Prolonged submersion. No vitals."

I floated nearby as they loaded me onto a stretcher.

When they covered my body with a white sheet, I finally accepted the truth. I was dead.

My unborn pup, who had never even gotten the chance to see this world, had died with me.

The hospital corridor felt endless, heavy with the bitter scent of herbs.

By the time I drifted inside, Hallie had already changed into a hospital gown and was sleeping peacefully in a bed.

Ragnar sat beside her with a look of deep concern, clutching her hand in both of his.

She frowned slightly, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

The moment Ragnar saw it, he freed one hand to smooth back her hair. Then he pulled the blanket over her and carefully tucked it around her.

He used to take care of me like that.

During my first trimester, I suffered terrible morning sickness and often vomited bile. He would stroke my hair and wrap me in warm blankets just like that.

Hallie stirred. The moment she opened her eyes, tears spilled down her cheeks. "Ragnar."

He pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back. "I'm here. Don't be scared. You're safe now."

"I was so scared." She sobbed, burying her head against his chest. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Hey. I'm right here, aren't I?" he murmured against her hair. "Don't worry. The healers said you're going to be fine."

I floated beside them, watching Ragnar gently wipe the tears from her face with his fingertips, patiently reassuring her over and over.

That same hand had massaged my cramped calf just last night. He'd joked that once our pup was born, he was going to have a serious talk with the little troublemaker for putting me through so much.

"Ragnar, is Nerys okay?" Hallie asked tentatively.

Ragnar hesitated. "I was in a hurry to get you here. She's an Alpha, so she… should be okay."

After saying that, he tried to reach for me through the mate bond. Then he remembered I'd shut it off early in my pregnancy so he wouldn't have to suffer through my morning sickness with me.

"I'll call her," Ragnar said, standing up.

Before he could step away, Hallie threw her arms around his waist. "Don't leave me!"

Her tears soaked into his clothes. "Ragnar, you're all I have left. My parents died when I was young. You know that. And my mate is gone too. You're the only one in this world who still cares about me. Are you going to abandon me too?"

Ragnar hesitated, pity flickering across his face. After a moment, he sat back down. "Just lie back and get some rest. I promise I won't leave."

I watched him settle onto the edge of her bed and almost laughed. "Nerys, do you see that? Once again, he chose her over you."

Hallie leaned into him, resting her cheek against his palm.

Ragnar pulled out a tissue and patiently wiped her tears away. "You're safe with me. I won't let anything happen to you again."

She nodded obediently, her voice soft and fragile. "Will you... stay here with me?"

"Of course."

I couldn't stand to watch any longer, so I backed away until I passed through the wall and drifted into the crowded hallway.

Two paramedics pushed a gurney carrying a body covered by a white sheet past me.

One of them murmured, "What a tragedy. This pregnant she-wolf was already dead when they pulled her from the river. The pup didn't make it either."

The prominent bulge beneath the sheet was my pregnant belly.

I trailed after them all the way to the morgue. I tried to pull back the sheet to see my face and my pup, but my fingers caught only thin air.

Of course. I was just a lingering spirit now. What could I possibly do?

I drifted toward a small window at the end of the corridor. The setting sun hung low in the sky.

I stood there for a long time, but there was no reflection of me in the glass.

I no longer existed in this world.

From the room behind me, Ragnar's deep, gentle voice drifted through the wall. "Don't worry. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."