CHAPTER THREE - THE SAVIOR

The bulb lights above me blurred my vision as my body convulsed. Nurses screamed, different hands held onto my arms tight, but I only heard the voice echoing: “Your life or the child’s? Choose Leah.”

I wept, rubbing hands on my swollen belly. “I can’t choose. I can’t… he’s all I have.”

The doctor’s voice was sharp. “Without the f*e, we can’t undergo this surgery. You and your child will die if you wait.”

The doors to the ward shut open. A tall muscular handsome wolf came in, his presence was with power yet calm. His voice slide through the situation.

“I’ll pay. Whatever the cost is. I’ll pay”

Heads turned in surprise. The doctor looked at him confused. “Sir?”

“I said I’ll cover the bill. Perform the surgery. Now!!”

My weak and teary eyes widened as i recognized him. “Y-you? Dan? Why… why are you here?”

Dan came closer, his kind grey eyes meeting mine. “You don’t have to know why. Just hold strong.”

Dan brought out a credit card from his wallet. “Take your charge, and begin the surgery now! Every second you waste risks two lives.”

The nurses glanced at each other, then wheeled me straight to the operating room.

⸻

Hours later, i opened my eyes to the faint sound of crying. My heart raced. “My baby?”

The nurse smiled. “You have a son. Healthy and strong.”

Tears flowed down my cheeks. “A son…”

You’re stronger than you think,” a calm voice said.

I looked towards the direction where I heard the calm voice. Dan stood there, arms folded, as he looked straight at me. The one who had paid the price for my life and my child.

“Dan,” I said in a low tune. “Why would you do this for me?”

He came closer, his intentions unreadable but his voice gentle. “Because no one should suffer alone. And because…” he looked at my son, then back to me. “Because I care.”

“You… care? About me?” I said in confusion.

“Yes, Leah. Every day you fought. Every time you gave up your meal so your baby could grow. You think I never saw that?” His voice dropped, raw and certain.

“I did this genuinely, I don’t want repayment. What I want… is you. You, and that child.”

My chest tightened painfully. “No… don’t say that. You don’t mean it.”

“I do,” he said, firmly. “Let me guide you and give you a peaceful shelter. Let me be there for both of you.”

I shake my head in disappointment, heading my son closer. “You don’t understand. I’ve been abandoned once. Torn apart. I won’t… I can’t give anyone that chance to control me again. I won’t live as someone’s second choice.”

“You’d never be second, and neither will you be controlled.” he said quickly.

My voice cracked. “Then why does it hurt to even hear those words? I won’t rely on you. I’ll pay you back. Four months….. give me just four months, and I’ll repay everything you spent.”

He frowned. “That wasn’t what I asked for.”

“It’s what I choose,” i said, looking right into his eyes as I tremble.

For a long silent. Finally, he took out his breath, face straightened. “You’re stubborn.”

“Then at least sign an agreement,” he said at last, pulling a random sheet from the table. “Not because I want the money. But because I need to know you’re serious about this… and not running away the first chance you get.”

My eyes softened despite being myself. “You really would’ve let me stay, wouldn’t you? Even without repayment.”

He didn’t answer, just held out the paper.

I swallowed hard, laid my baby in his crib next to my bed, and scribbled my name with signature. “Four months,” i whimpered.

Dan’s glare on me was unreadable. “Four months,” he said. But in his eyes burned a silent promise: I’ll make you mine before then.

⸻

Days went by. Dan the Beta, second to the Alpha of the northern packs visited my home often. He’d bring meals and fruits, then leave before i could thank him.

One evening, i spoke out, “Why do you keep coming? Haven’t you done enough?”

His lips curved faintly. “You think saving your life is ‘enough’? You think I could watch you waste away again?”

I felt nervous and said. “Don’t… don’t look at me like that. I don’t want pity.”

“It’s not pity,” he said. “It’s respect.”

His eyes softened. “For a mother who chose life, even when it broke her.” Then he left.

⸻

Weeks turned into months. I worked eagerly, taking every other odd jobs i could find. Scrubbing floors, washing plates, sewing clothes. But my wages still barely covers a meal.

At night, i whispered to my son, “I’ll pay him back, little one. I won’t owe him forever.”

But deep down, i knew the deadline was near.

⸻

The four months ended in a gray dawn. Dan visited my workplace and stood in the doorway, silent.

I offered him a sit as I went to grab my purse.

I straightened, holding few pieces of coins. “This is all I have.”

He weighed it in his palm, then tossed it onto the table. The coins scattered and he said.

“Pitifully few. This isn’t even half.” His expression hardened.

My chest tightened. “I tried. I worked every day. Please, give me more time.”

He shook his head. “The contract was clear.”

My voice cracked. “Then what? You’ll take me to court to face the consequences of the breach of contract? Let them take my son?”

His eyes narrowed. “No. I’d never let anyone touch him.”

“Then what do you want from me?” I cried.

Silence stretched. Then his voice dropped.

“Be mine, Leah. Give me a chance. I will raise your son as my own.”

I breathe caught. “Be… yours?”

“I’ll wipe the debt clean,” he said. “No court, no punishment. You’ll have safety, a home, protection. And your child will never know about his father who cast you aside because I’ll care for him with love”

Tears clouding my eyes. “Why would you want someone like me? Torn, used, abandoned.”

“Because you’re not broken,” he said firmly.

“I see you, Leah. And I see a future with you.”

I shook my head. “No… this isn’t fair. You’re giving me no choice.”

I carried my son to my chest, tears flooding down my eyes. “You’re asking me to forget everything. To erase the bond, the rejection, the pain. To pretend he never existed.”

Dan’s voice softened. “Not to pretend. To heal. Start over again. But this time with me.”

My knees buckled as i sat down. “I… I don’t know if I can.”

He knelt before me, his eyes right into mine. “Then ask yourself this, what’s more important? Holding to a bond that broke you… or giving your son the father he deserves?”

My son whimpered in my arms. My heart bleeds. I closed my eyes, torn between past and future.

And as the silence continued, Dan’s voice dropped the words that froze my thoughts:

“Choose, Leah. Will you be accept me and give your child a lovely family… or will you hold onto the past and face the law alone?”