Chapter 4: Thrown into the Storm

"Inject the high-dose sedative now, hurry!" the cold-faced woman hissed in my ear.

An icy chill slowly crept through the veins in my left arm. My eyelids felt heavy as lead, robbing me of my remaining consciousness and vision.

My world blurred dramatically, but the desperate surge of my wolf senses sharpened my hearing tenfold. From the corner of the dimly lit room, I caught the hushed whispers of two nurses standing near the stainless steel table.

"This first baby is too small," the first nurse whispered in a cold, empathetic tone. "His breathing is weak, and his body is extremely frail."

"The Silvercrest Pack can never find out a defective product was born from this woman's womb," the second nurse replied with a sharp hiss. "Alpha Kaelen only needs one perfect, pureblood heir."

My weakening heart leaped wildly as a wave of sheer horror washed over me.

"Put this small baby into the yellow medical waste bag," the second nurse continued nonchalantly. "We'll toss him into the incinerator with the placenta later."

Medical waste?! The incinerator?!

The blood in my chest exploded into a scorching fire. They were going to kill my firstborn—my sweet, innocent baby—just because this cursed pack deemed his body too weak!

A mother's primal instinct instantly burned away the haze of the sedative invading my nervous system. Fear, rage, and a boundless love merged into a massive surge of adrenaline, overpowering my physical pain.

I slowly shifted onto my side on the delivery bed. Both nurses had their backs turned to me, busy tending to my second, larger baby, who was crying loudly.

This was my only chance.

Thud!

I tumbled off the high bed, hitting the ice-cold tile floor with a harsh thud. Agonizing pain tore through my damaged pelvis, bringing tears to my eyes as I swallowed the scream burning in my throat.

Fresh blood trickled down my pale thighs, staining the cold tiles as I began to crawl. With white knuckles and fingernails digging into the grout, I dragged my helpless body forward inch by inch.

My breaths came in ragged, desperate gasps, like a critically wounded beast. The fifteen feet separating me from that stainless steel table felt like a trek straight through hell.

Every time my chest hit the floor, I pictured my baby's tiny face—the baby they were planning to throw into a furnace.

Never.

They would have to cross my dead body before they could hurt my child!

With the absolute last shred of strength left in me, I pushed my upper body up beneath the stainless steel table. My violently shaking fingers reached up, scooping up the fragile body of my firstborn lying cold on the metal tray.

Waaah...

The tiny baby let out a soft whimpering cry as my hands touched his soft, damp skin. Quickly, I grabbed a sheet of sterile gauze from the table and gently held it over his mouth to muffle his quiet cries.

I cradled his feather-light body against my chest, holding him tight. Crawling backward into the shadow of the bed, my hand snagged my heavy fur-lined coat—the only warm piece of clothing left draped over a wooden chair.

In a frantic yet painstakingly careful motion, I tucked my baby's tiny body deep into the inner folds of the heavy coat. I pressed the bundled coat against my chest, curling my blood-soaked body into the dark corner of the room.

"Wait! Where is the smaller baby?!" one of the nurses shrieked as she turned around.

Her face drained of all color when she saw the metal tray sitting completely empty.

"Where did you put him?! Don't play games!" the second nurse shouted in utter panic.

But before they could move to search the corners of the medical room...

BANG!

The double doors of the room slammed open, crashing hard against the concrete walls. Three towering guards in black uniforms strode into the room.

A rigid, terrifying dominant aura flooded the room, instantly killing the nurses' panic.

"Where is Alpha Kaelen's heir?!" the lead guard demanded in a booming baritone.

The first nurse, trembling violently, pointed straight toward my second baby—a healthy, chubby boy crying loudly on the medical table.

"H-here! A healthy, strong baby boy!" the nurse stammered, deliberately hiding the disappearance of the first baby to save her own skin.

The cold-faced guard stepped forward, scooping up my second baby, who was already wrapped in a thick silk blanket embroidered with the Silvercrest Pack crest. Devastation tore through me as I watched my second child being carried away.

My other son was being taken to a place I would never see. Not a single one of them cared about my limp, bleeding body sprawled on the cold floor.

To them, I was nothing more than an empty vessel, worthless the moment I produced their leader's prized seed. The second guard glanced down, staring at my gasping body in the corner with utter disgust.

"This woman is done. Drag her off the property immediately," he commanded coldly, without even looking at my face.

"Yes, Captain!"

Two massive men strode toward me. I tightened my grip around the heavy coat against my chest, shielding little Leo with everything I had left in me.

Without a shred of empathy, one of the guards grabbed the collar of my hospital gown and dragged my body forcefully down the basement corridor. My back and legs scraped against the rough, cold concrete.

The excruciating pain in my thighs and pelvis pushed me to the brink of blacking out again and again.

But every time my eyes fluttered shut, I felt the soft, warm breath of my baby moving gently against my chest inside the coat.

I had to survive... Leo needed me...

They dragged me up the concrete stairs toward the villa's side exit. The biting night air stung my face, which was slick with tears and cold sweat.

SLAM!

The massive iron door was shoved wide open. A roaring blizzard raged outside, whipping through the pine trees and piling thick snow on the ground.

Without a second's hesitation, the guard tossed my weakened body out the doorway.

THUD!

My body hit the frozen snow bank hard. The searing cold bit straight through the flimsy fabric of the medical gown—a gown I had paid for with my very soul.

I rolled into the snow, instantly curling inward to protect the coat against my chest, shielding my child from the merciless ice.

A guard stepped out, grabbed my worn canvas bag filled with my old clothes, and hurled it onto the snow next to my head.

He glared down at me with murderous eyes from the doorway as the howling night wind tore through the quiet forest.

The guard shouted above the roaring wind, "Your job is done! Take your money and never show your cheap face in this territory again!"