Chapter 3

"Blood! There's blood everywhere!"

An older female worker's shrill scream dragged me back to reality.

The ripping pain in my lower abdomen hit its peak.

Through the endless agony and rushing black blood, a fully formed, five-month-old dead pup with faint wolf ears slipped out of my body.

Dead silence fell over the courtyard. For an eternity, nobody dared to breathe.

Killing a pureblood pack pup was an unforgivable sin against the Moon Goddess. Even with the strict rank between them, the deep respect in the workers' eyes vanished completely. They only stared at the arriving inner staff with cold disgust.

Chloe rushed into the courtyard with a trauma kit. The second she saw the tiny, bloody shape on the grass, the soul drained from her body. She dropped to her knees right in the pool of blood.

"How did this happen..." Chloe's face turned ash white. "Weren't you just throwing a tantrum..."

Silence swallowed the yard.

I closed my eyes. I didn't care to answer her.

Chloe took a hard breath. Her hands shook as she pulled out her comm and dialed Declan's private line.

The first call rang out.

The second call was rejected.

On the third try, Declan's impatient voice finally came through.

"I told you not to clog this line until the harbor sweep is done. Talia was terrified. She needs total quiet."

"Declan, get back to the manor right now."

Chloe's voice did not crack, but it was cold as ice, each word filled with pure fury. "The vault leak was real. We just dragged Gwen out. Your pup is dead."

The line went dead quiet for a second. Then Declan let out a cold laugh.

"Chloe, you're usually smarter than this. When did you start helping her with these cheap stunts? I checked the vault myself, and there's nothing wrong with it! She's perfectly fine, and now she dragged you into this ridiculous act. What's the point?"

"Declan! I am looking at her in a pool of blood—"

"Enough," Declan cut her off coldly. "Tell Gwen that when I wrap up here, I'll get her the best recovery tonics. I won't hold today against her."

Suddenly, cheers and whistles from the guards at the harbor erupted through the speaker.

"Kiss her again, Boss! Miss Talia finally stopped shaking!"

In the background, Talia's soft, tearful voice whispered, "Declan, everyone's watching..."

Chloe's face went blank. She threw the tactical comm against the marble steps with all her strength. The expensive casing shattered into pieces on the stone.

She stood straight in the freezing wind, but for the first time, her calm eyes were filled with disgust and heartbreak for her own brother.

My cheek pressed against the freezing mud. I had no strength left to turn my head. I didn't want to look at another person from the Sterling Pack.

The siren howled as an ambulance van tore into the courtyard. The medical team jumped out. When the chief pack doctor saw the dead pup and my silver-burned body, his temper snapped. He ignored Chloe's high rank and roared at her.

"Who left a five-month pregnant female in a silver containment zone?! Where is her mate?! Why isn't he here?!"

A nurse pulled out a thick stack of emergency surgery waivers. "The silver is in her bloodstream. Her wolf core could collapse at any second! Get her mate to sign right now!"

With a stone-cold face, Chloe pulled out her backup phone, dialed Declan's line again, and put it on speaker.

The moment it connected, Declan's voice snapped through the phone.

"Stop this joke! I reinforced that vault myself before leaving. The leak couldn't touch her. Tell Gwen to cut the crap!"

The doctor snatched the phone away. "The patient is bleeding out from severe silver poisoning! The pureblood pup was born dead! If we don't operate immediately, she dies too. In the name of the Moon Goddess, authorize the emergency consent now!"

A bitter laugh came from the other end.

"You even hired actors to play doctors now? Impressive, Gwen. I truly underestimated you. And by the way, we never officially mated at the sacred altar. I'm not her mate. Let whoever cares sign it!"

The call was cut off completely.

My heart sank into an endless abyss.

Years ago, he told me the Moon Goddess's blessing was enough to prove our bond. He said the formal ceremony didn't matter and we would hold it once my pregnancy settled.

Later, he said he didn't want to trigger Talia, putting it off day after day.

I thought moving into the main house, staying by his side, and holding our mate bond meant he was my mate.

I never knew that deep down, he never saw it that way.

Inside the ambulance, the monitors shrieked in panic. Red warning lights flashed across the walls.

"This is bad! Her silver toxicity is spiking, and her wolf's core is shutting down! Hurry, inject the anti-silver stabilizer now!"