Caged in Labor

The healer, seeing how close to death I was, knew he had to get me to a real facility.

He sent a frantic mind link to Damien.

"Alpha Damien, this is an emergency! Please, come to the private clinic! The Luna is in bad shape. There's a risk of silver poisoning spreading!"

Damien's voice boomed with irritation. "Elena! You're more resourceful than I thought. You actually got out and found someone to help you!"

"I'm telling you, I'm not coming, no matter what tricks you pull! I know your body better than you do. You're not in any real danger."

"I told you, that's my pup too! Your turn is after Victoria's. Why are you in such a rush?!"

The healer looked at me with deep sympathy, then turned to a nurse. "Get her to the private clinic. We have to try."

I never imagined they would take me to the same clinic as Victoria.

The healer pleaded with the staff, but Damien had given his orders.

Not a single herb was to be spared for me.

Through the wall, I heard Damien's cold, hard words. "I don't care who it's for. I will not risk Victoria's life. I need this to be foolproof."

I collapsed on the floor in despair.

Just then, my eyes met a man's in the doorway.

It was Damien's Beta.

His eyes widened in shock when he saw me, but he seemed unsure.

He rushed to Damien's side.

"Alpha, there's a she-wolf outside, covered in blood. She… she looks like Luna."

Damien frowned, rubbing his fingers together.

"Impossible," he said with certainty. "She's too pregnant to have made it all this way."

The Beta tried again, his voice low. "Maybe you should just check, Alpha. If it is her, she and the pup are in grave danger."

Damien shot him a glare.

"I said it's impossible! If it were her, she wouldn't be quiet. She'd have already stormed in here demanding the inheritance. Besides, a gold-digger like her is too vain to ever let herself get covered in blood!"

The healer was still arguing, trying to get just one set of equipment.

Damien shut him down by threatening his position.

The healer returned to me, his face a mask of apology.

There was nothing more he could do.

I tried to tell them not to worry, but my vision was blurring.

The silver poison and the blood loss were pulling me under.

I could hear the medics whispering, their voices growing distant.

"The silver poisoning… it's too severe…"

"The pup's heartbeat is fading…"

"Quick, get the emergency kit, now!"

I tried to ask, to scream, but no sound would leave my throat.

All I could do was watch helplessly as their frantic, blurry shapes moved around me.

My hand fell limply to my flat, empty stomach.

Tears clouded what little I could see.

I'm sorry, my heart cried out. My baby, I'm so sorry. Mama couldn't protect you.

A single tear escaped the corner of my eye.

Then, the darkness swallowed me whole.

---

Damien's POV

Damien waited anxiously outside the operating room.

The moment the door opened, his first thought was of Victoria.

He rushed to her bedside and picked up the newborn pup.

His eyes were full of joy.

"He looks just like you," he said softly. "So beautiful."

Then he paused, a strange thought drifting through his mind.

He wondered who Elena's baby would look like.

If it was a girl, she would probably look more like her.

She would be even more beautiful.

After lulling the pup to sleep, Damien turned to leave.

A full day had passed.

It was time to bring Elena to the clinic.

Just then, his Beta appeared.

Damien tossed him the keys. "Go back to the estate, get the Luna from the basement, and bring her to the clinic."

The Beta didn't look up.

He stood frozen, trembling with a fear Damien didn't understand.

As Damien's patience wore thin, the Beta finally spoke, his voice shaking.

"Luna… and the pup… they're… dead."