Chapter 1

I’m a werewolf, eight months pregnant with my vampire mate's hybrid child.

When the contractions hit, my vampire mate, Justin, locked me in an ice coffin carved with runes meant to suppress childbirth.

I screamed. I begged him. He just said, "Wait."

But this was all for his childhood sweetheart. Isolde. The pureblood vampire had used dark blood magic to carry his pure-blood heir without having sex.

An ancient prophecy haunted the clan.

The first vampire child born in a millennium would receive the Progenitor's ultimate blessing. It would purify the bloodline. It would break a curse generations in the making.

"That honor belongs to Isolde's child," Justin said, his voice pure ice.

"You already have my love, Gracie. This coffin just ensures you give birth after her."

The pain of the contractions tore through me. I begged him to take me to the Bloodspring Sanctuary.

He leaned in, his cold fingers gripping my chin. His lips were so close to mine, his whisper a threat. "Stop the act. I should have seen it sooner. You never loved me. You were an outcast in the werewolf world. You only wanted my power and my title."

"You're so desperate you'd risk our child with your savage wolf tricks, just to ruin a pureblood's blessing... You're poison."

Tears streamed down my face. I trembled, my voice shattering.

"The baby's coming—I can't stop it. Please, I'll make a blood oath. I don't care about the blessing. I just want you!"

He scoffed, a hint of pained betrayal in his eyes. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have run to my mother. You wouldn't have poisoned her mind against Isolde."

"I'll be back after she receives the blessing. After all, the child you're carrying is mine, too."

He stood guard outside the sanctuary where Isolde's ritual was taking place.

He didn't give me another thought. Not until he saw the halo of the blessing crown Isolde.

He ordered his blood thrall to release me. But the thrall's voice trembled with terror.

"My lord… Lady Gracie and the child… their life signs… they're gone."

In that instant, Justin’s world shattered.

...

Dragging my heavy body, I used my last ounce of strength to push at the coffin’s lid.

But the moment it locked shut, the birth-suppressing runes flared, their crimson light weaving into a net.

Icy power surged through me, a thousand needles piercing my skin and chaining the wolf inside.

The baby sensed the threat.

It kicked violently inside me.

Each kick was a war against the runes, sending a fresh wave of agony tearing through me.

On top of the contractions, it was too much. A scream ripped from my throat.

But Justin's mind was on Isolde. He was deaf to my cries.

Then, I felt a sudden gush of warmth between my legs.

My water broke.

Ice-cold panic clamped around my heart.

I forced down the panic, desperately reaching for him through our mate bond—the indelible mark he’d burned onto my soul.

But Justin... he had severed the connection.

The baby inside me kicked wildly, as if fighting the runes that suppressed it.

Every movement brought a new wave of tearing pain.

I was soaked. I couldn't tell if it was sweat or blood.

I could feel my life force draining away. The heat of my wolf was being frozen, bit by bit, by the coffin’s deathly chill.

I screamed with what little strength I had left.

Finally, I heard footsteps outside.

"Please, help me!" I cried, my voice raw. " I’m trapped! I'm in labor!"

I repeated it over and over, thinking I was saved.

But then I heard a voice I knew and hated. It was proud and cold as ice.

"Oh, Gracie. Look at the filthy state you're in. Justin should have put you in your place long ago—reminded you that you're just a savage wolf."

It was Justin's mother. Morwen. The clan's matriarch and a master of mind magic.

She just looked down, a goddess of ice judging a sinner.

The shadows swallowed her face. Only her eyes remained. They were blood-red, glowing with cold, mocking light.

For a second, I thought she might help.

But she just stood there, watching my agony with cold amusement.

"Let you out? So you can ruin the sacred blessing with your animalistic birthing ritual? Justin sent me to watch you. He knew you'd pull a stunt like this."

She paced slowly into the room.

"Just make things easy for Justin, Gracie. He has enough to deal with without you causing more trouble."

"Isolde's child must receive the Progenitor's blessing. It is that child who will purify our bloodline and finally break the damned Blood Curse! Your pathetic struggles change nothing."

Another contraction seized me, and I curled up in pain, a scream caught in my throat.

Tears cut paths through the grime on my face.

Gasping, I begged her. "My baby won't interfere! Just tell Justin to let me out. I swear I'll disappear from your lives forever."

My screams seemed to annoy her.

Her brow furrowed. "Filthy wolf," she muttered with impatience. "Who are you trying to attract with all that noise? So loud. Since you won't be quiet, I'll help you."

She didn't move closer. She just lifted a single, elegant finger and pointed it at me.

Instantly, the world changed.

The cramped space of the coffin vanished, replaced by the golden, gleaming ritual sanctuary.

I saw Justin and Isolde standing under a halo of light in the center of the hall. He was kissing her forehead gently as she leaned weakly against him.

They both turned to look at me, their faces twisted in mocking smiles.

"See?" the illusion of Justin's voice echoed coldly. "The savage wolf still dreams she can have my love."

The vision was a blade twisting in my soul, sharper than any physical pain.

I screamed, trying to break free of the horrible visions, but they clung to my mind.

Then I saw Morwen open a blood bond communication to Justin.

"Yes, Justin, don't worry. I'll keep her quiet with some illusions. She won't bother you again," she said lightly.

I felt a flicker of his presence through our frayed bond and clung to it. I shrieked through our connection with every last shred of my soul. "Justin! The illusions are hurting the baby! Her power is attacking our child! Please, make her stop! Take me to the Blood Spring! Now!"

My inner wolf was howling, out of my control.

Morwen seemed to notice something was wrong. She hesitated.

I heard her murmur into the connection. "Justin... I think she's really in labor. Her mind is fighting me. It's... violent. A cornered animal protecting its young."

"Maybe I should take her to the sanctuary. After all, she carries your child. If something happened..."

Justin paused. The seconds stretched into an eternity.

I thought I felt him soften.

Then his tone truly did soften. "Alright, take her to..."

But a frail, weak voice cut him off from his end. "Justin, darling, I feel so cold... My body has been so weak since I sacrificed my psychic gifts for our child. The alchemist said I need extra energy to welcome the blessing."

The voice paused. It was laced with the perfect amount of feigned worry.

"Oh, is Gracie in labor? My dear, don't worry about her. She's a werewolf, blessed with fearsome strength. She will be fine. Unlike me... so fragile now..."

She wasn't in pain.

Every alchemist and precious potion in the clan had been moved to her lavish sanctuary.

She was being pampered in every way possible.

And Isolde’s soft words were all it took.

Justin's voice turned to steel.

"What could happen? She's a master manipulator! She's just screaming to trick you into freeing her, to get sympathy! Don't fall for it!"

He was practically roaring.

"Keep her down with the illusions! Until Isolde's ritual is over!"

The blood link snapped shut.

Scolded by Justin, Morwen turned all her fury on me.

She intensified her mind magic.

This time, I felt a cold, shapeless hand plunge directly into my mind. It shattered my defenses and its icy grip closed around my child's fragile soul.