Chapter 2: The Blood That Wasn’t Human

Three Months Later

Maisa went to see Delwyn, her closest friend and an obstetrician-gynecologist.

“Your uterus has recovered very well.” Delwyn said. “However, the number of healthy eggs you have left can now be counted on one hand. We can’t afford to delay any longer. If you want to conceive, you must proceed before your next cycle begins.”

Delwyn had grown up with Maisa in the orphanage. She later became an OB-GYN and now worked for the most exclusive sperm bank in the city. Maisa had never come to her before; she had always believed that she and Brian would eventually conceive naturally, that they would have a child together the way a married couple should.

Clearly, that future was no longer possible.

“My next cycle?” Maisa repeated, her mouth falling open in shock.

She loved children more than anything in the world. More than anything else, she wanted to become a mother.

Even if she could somehow find a man willing to have a child with her in time, she no longer trusted anyone after Brian’s betrayal. She would have to do this on her own, and Maisa knew Delwyn could help her. She didn’t have much money, but she had a way to gather enough to pay for the procedure. In truth, this was her one final chance.

But before she could proceed, there was one crucial decision she had to make.

“If this is going to be my only child.” Maisa said quietly, “then I want the best genes possible.”

Delwyn smiled and led Maisa into the consultation room, lowering her voice as though she were about to reveal a secret.

“We have samples from some of the finest donors—doctors, scientists, athletes… and even…” She glanced around before leaning closer. “Airden Kenneth has donated here as well.”

Maisa nearly choked.

“What?”

“Billionaire Kenneth?”

The powerful, aloof man whose name alone could silence an entire town. A man admired—and feared—by everyone. Maisa had seen him around the city before, but they had never moved in the same circles.

“He demands absolute confidentiality,” Delwyn said. “So don’t tell anyone. I’m not about to lose my job over this.”

“I swear.” Maisa whispered.

“Thank you.” Delwyn said gently. “I’ll bring you the files of our clients now so you can choose a donor. Once you’ve made your decision, we’ll proceed immediately—before your eggs are completely depleted.”

It wasn’t an easy decision.

In the end, Maisa chose a different profile—an intelligent engineer with a warm smile in his photograph. She didn’t know whether it was her heart guiding her, or simply exhaustion pushing her forward, but she nodded.

Delwyn left to make the preparations. When she returned, she seemed slightly unsettled… but she continued with the procedure nonetheless. Swift and professional, she completed the insemination without delay.

“That’s done.” Delwyn said, giving Maisa’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Now we wait. About two weeks. In two weeks, we’ll know whether the conception was successful.”

Two weeks, to decide the rest of Maisa’s life.

If only she had known that when those two weeks ended, her future would no longer belong to her alone, but to Airden Kenneth.

If only she had known that fate had already chosen a different sample…

and that the child growing inside her would not merely be a miracle, but something far beyond imagination, Alpha blood.

Fourteen days later.

Two red lines appeared clearly on the pregnancy test, bright, undeniable.

Maisa sat motionless on the bathroom floor, gripping the test strip as though releasing it might cause the truth to disappear. Her heart pounded violently, not with fear, but with something deeper.

Something unfamiliar.

She was pregnant.

It didn’t feel the way she had imagined. There was no triumphant music, no tears bursting forth in joy. Only a strange stillness settled over her, as though the world itself were holding its breath with her.

Maisa dialed Delwyn’s number. Delwyn screamed with happiness when she heard the news.

Then… silence.

“Is something wrong?” Maisa asked, tightening her grip on the phone.

“No… no, nothing…” Delwyn replied hesitantly. “It’s just… Maisa, do you feel alright? Have you noticed anything unusual?”

“Unusual?” Maisa frowned. “What do you mean? I’ve been having vivid dreams. And sometimes I feel this… burning heat in my chest, like fire.”

Delwyn was silent for a few seconds. When she spoke again, her voice was lower.

“It could be hormonal. Your body is changing very quickly. Don’t worry, come to the hospital tomorrow. I’ll run a thorough examination.”

Maisa nodded, though an inexplicable unease had already begun to coil in her chest.

Every morning she woke up to a tug-of-war between old pain and new hope. Brian had once told her she would never be “a woman meant to be a mother”—words that still haunted Maisa like a ghost. But now, if she truly was pregnant… then everything would be different.

She hadn’t been able to think of anything else since Delwyn inseminated her two weeks ago. Maisa had been too desperate to cling to something called hope, so desperate that she denied herself even a single moment to grieve. She refused to face the filthy betrayal of Brian and Kiera. She told herself that if she kept dreaming, if she kept imagining the baby, then she wouldn’t have to remember the way they looked at each other when they thought she wasn’t watching.

Maisa lay stretched out on the sofa, one arm wrapped around her stomach, drifting as she imagined a life growing inside her. Though everything was still vague, she felt a strange bond forming—something wild and unfamiliar, as if an unknown energy were flowing through her veins.

The doorbell rang.

This wasn’t the gentle knock of a delivery person. It was firm. Insistent. Decisive.

Maisa went to open the door, and nearly staggered backward.

Airden Kenneth was standing there.

In the flesh. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Thick black hair, icy gray eyes the presence of a king stepping out of the shadows. Every instinct in her screamed danger. And yet, she couldn’t look away.

“Maisa Robert?” His voice was cold steel.

“Yes?” she breathed, nearly choking on the word.

Airden’s gaze dropped briefly to her abdomen, then locked onto her eyes, unyielding.

“You’re carrying my child.”

A deadly silence followed.

The world seemed to stop spinning.

Maisa froze, her fingers curling into pale fists. “What… what did you say?”

“Don’t play dumb.” he growled softly. “Did you really think I wouldn’t know when a part of me was stolen? What’s your plan? Sell it? Keep it as leverage to extort money from me?”

“I didn’t know you were the donor!” Maisa cried out. “I chose a legal profile—an engineer. A technical engineer.”

“Delwyn made a mistake.” Airden said, stepping into the house as though it already belonged to him. “But you are at fault for using something that was never yours.”

Maisa stumbled backward until her spine hit the wall. She struggled to breathe.

“I—I just wanted a child.” she said hoarsely. “I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t even care who the father was.”

Airden’s eyes narrowed.

“So you don’t care that it isn’t a normal child either?”

Maisa frowned. “What do you mean?”

Airden stepped closer, his scorching breath brushing against her skin.

“You’re carrying an Alpha heir. A bloodline that isn’t entirely human. You’re carrying the child of a wolf.”

Maisa’s world collapsed for the second time in less than two weeks.

“Are you going to take my baby away from me?”

“I will not allow my blood to be raised outside the pack.”

“I am the child’s mother.”

“I don’t need your consent, Maisa!” His voice was rough, slamming straight into her spine. “I only need to make sure my child isn’t dragged away from the world it belongs to. And if you become an obstacle… then I’ll deal with you like any other intruder.”

Maisa stared into those icy eyes—and for the first time, she truly understood why he made her feel like prey in the food chain.

He wasn’t terrifying simply because he was a billionaire.

Not just because he was a werewolf.

But because, in the most twisted and instinctive way, her body… began to crave him.

Maisa hated the way he looked at her, as if he could see straight through her flesh and into her soul. But what terrified her even more… was that she couldn’t look away. She couldn’t stop herself from wondering—if this child was part of that beast, then what would she become after giving birth to it?

“Get out of my house. Now.” Maisa hissed through clenched teeth, her hands trembling with both fear and rage.

Airden didn’t move. His gaze locked onto her, as if he were measuring every beat of her heart.

 “Maisa. An Alpha heir cannot grow up without a pack. Cannot grow up without learning how to control its blood. Do you think the child will simply cry, eat, and sleep like an ordinary baby?”

Maisa instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach, as though her maternal instincts were fighting through a violent storm. She was shaking, but she didn’t step back.

“I will protect my child. Even from the child’s father.”

Something flickered through Airden’s eyes, not anger, but… respect? It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

“If you truly want to protect the child.” he said quietly, “Then come with me. Now.”

Maisa laughed, a sharp, icy sound.

“I’m not going anywhere with a stranger who claims to be my child’s father. I’m not even sure any of this is true. Leave. Get out of my house. Right now.”

“You’ll start to notice the abnormalities soon enough.” Airden said, taking a step back, his eyes flashing with an icy warning. “When you’re carrying a child born of Alpha blood.”

He turned away, but just before opening the door, he stopped. His voice dropped low and rough, echoing like a wolf’s growl in the dark.

“If you change your mind… or when you can no longer endure the truth flowing through your veins… go to Mooncrest. Ask anyone for Airden Kenneth. They’ll bring you straight to me.”

Airden’s retreating figure disappeared from view.

Maisa collapsed to the floor, her arms wrapping tightly around her stomach.

Inside her, something stirred—softly.

Maisa froze.

Was she imagining it?

Or was it… the baby?

She didn’t sleep that night.

She lay on the bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, every word Airden had spoken echoing relentlessly in her mind. Part of her still believed she had been deceived—that all of this was nothing more than an elaborate, delusional game orchestrated by a dangerous man.

But another part of her—deep within her womb, where the child existed—burned with a quiet, undeniable truth.

One she could no longer ignore.