CHAPTER TWO

Impossible.

Romero whispered the word, but it barely made a sound over the ringing in his ears.

The sounds faded into the background. Sound of the healers sobbing, sounds of Quinn’s rapid heartbeats, sound of them trying to deliver the other child...

The other child...

His breath was unsteady, his hands trembling as he looked at the newborn in his arms.  

Small. 

Too small. Fragile. Ugly, even. And yet... 

The Sovereign’s Howl had come from this mouth.  

No mistaking it.  

She was quiet now, her tiny chest rising and falling steadily. But her eyes, gods, those eyes were too large for her face, almost eerily so, the same piercing shade as her mother’s.  

His wolf, Kaiser, bristled. The instinct to protect—no, to claim—overtook him. The Sovereign’s Howl still lingered in the air, thick as fog, wrapping itself around his soul like an unbreakable chain.

 It had marked her. 

The firstborn.  

His heir.  

Or rather… his Heiress—  

Romero swallowed hard, his throat dry like he'dswallowed sand.  

'This shouldn’t be possible.'

For centuries, the Moon Goddess had chosen men to lead. Strength, speed, power—it had always been imbued into males.  

Not girls.  

Not daughters.  

A female Alpha was unheard of. Unnatural.  

His mind reeled, his grip tightening around the infant. The world had no place for a female heir—not in Vargrheim. 

Not anywhere.  

Then, a weak, broken voice cut through his thoughts.  

"Mero…?"  

His head snapped toward the bed. It felt like his world had tettered but the room was the same. Quinn had stepped out at some time.

Lillith,  

She looked worse than before.  

Her once-golden skin had turned deathly pale, her lips nearly blue. Blood—too much of it—stained the sheets beneath her, soaking into the thick linens like ink spilled on parchment.  

Romero’s gut clenched.    

She wasn’t supposed to look like this. Lillith was strength. She was fierce, stubborn. She had always been the only thing in the world that could match him.  

Yet here she was, lying frail and broken, a ghost of her former self.  

Romero rushed to her side, placing their daughter beside her. He took Lillith’s icy hands in his, gripping them tightly.  

"I don’t think I can hang on much longer,"she gasped.  

A soft whimper escaped her lips, her body tensing in pain.  

Romero shook his head. "No. Don’t say that. You’re strong, Lillith. We can get through this." 

Her lashes fluttered, despair clouding her eyes. "Mero… I can feel it. The magic… it’s trying to snuff out its life."  

He froze.  

The second child. 

His hands clenched around hers. "What do you mean?"

"It’s still inside me. Still fighting. But it won’t last. The magic—the Goddess’ decree... it's trying to correct this."  

Her words sent ice through his veins.  

The decree.  

One heir. No more.

Romero could already see little hands pushing against Lillith’s stomach. It was unnatural—as if the child was clawing its way out, desperate to live. It would kill Lillith at this rate.

But…  

He couldn't lose her.  

"Please."

His wolf clawed at his insides, a wounded animal howling in denial.  

"The first was a girl, love,"he whispered.  

Lillith’s eyes widened, barely focusing. Her lips trembled. "A… girl?"  

Romero nodded.  

Her reaction was weak, barely a flicker of surprise. Then, her voice broke into a fragile sob. "What does it mean for us? For werewolf kind? Did I… did I do something wrong?" 

Romero sucked in a sharp breath, but no words came.  

What could he say?  

That the world would turn against their daughter? That their people would see her birth as a mistake, an abomination? That he himself wasn't keen on the idea? 

He had been raised to believe no woman could ever rule.  

He couldn’t lie to her.  

So instead, he lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her bruised knuckles.  

"No," he whispered. "You did nothing wrong. Nothing, Lillith. Do you hear me?"

Her breath hitched, her grip tightening, but her strength was failing.  

"I’m tired, Mero…"  

His chest constricted.  

"No, no, please Moon Goddess."

She looked at him, resignation in her eyes. "Call them. Let them take the other child out."

Romero stiffened.  

This was it.  

His vision blurred. His lungs ached, as if the air had been sucked from the room.  

His mate,his soul was slipping from him.

He shook his head wildly.  

She gave him a weak smile. A smile that felt like goodbye. 

"I love you, Romero." 

His heart shattered.  

Kaiser howled, a deep, guttural sound of agony that echoed in his chest.  

The bond—their bond—was tearing apart.

Outside the castle, the wolves of Vargrheim felt it.  

The entire kingdom felt it.  

A ripple of sorrow spread through the pack like a tidal wave. Mates clutched each other as a sudden, painful emptiness settled in their chests. Heads tilted toward the moon, voices rising in mournful howls.  

The Luna was dying

And they all knew it.  

Inside the chamber, the healers moved like ghosts, their hands bloodied, their faces pale as they worked to deliver the second child.  

Romero didn’t move. He couldn’t.

He just held Lillith’s hand.  

"Stay with me, love."

She didn’t respond.  

He gritted his teeth, pressing his forehead against hers. "Lillith, please. Don’t leave me. I can’t—" 

A choked sound left his throat.  

"I can’t do this without you." 

Her fingers twitched. The last of her strength.  

"You can," she whispered. "Take care of them."

She struggled to look beside her at the baby she’d given birth to moments ago.  

Lillith thought she was...beautiful.

Her eyes stayed open wide, as if imprinting Lillith’s face into her mind.  

"Cinder." 

It was nothing more than a breath, but Romero heard her.  

Tears poured from his eyes so much so that he almost couldn’t see beyond them.  

And then... 

The breath left her body.  

And the bond, 

Snapped.  

Romero reeled back as if physically struck. Pain exploded in his chest, sharp, agonizing.  

Kaiser screamed in his mind, the sound of a wolf being torn apart from the inside. 

His vision blurred. His entire body convulsed.  

She was gone. 

A wail of grief ripped from his throat, raw and primal, shaking the very walls of the chamber.  

Outside, the mourning howls of his people rose higher, filling the night.  

Then—  

A new sound.  

Soft. Fragile.  

A baby’s cry.  

Romero's breath hitched. His head snapped toward the healer cradling a small, blood-covered form.  

This time, he looked down first.  

It was a boy.  

His son.

The second heir had survived.  

Lillith’s last act had been to bring him into the world.  

She had left him with two children.  

A miracle. 

A curse. 

A defiance of fate itself.

Romero’s hands trembled as he reached for the newborn.  

And then he realized—  

The boy had not let out a Sovereign’s Howl.

His hands curled into fists as his entire body went cold.