Dead Mate, Living Nightmare

My Alpha mate locked me in the basement while I was carrying his twin pups.

He did it for his mistress, Zerra, who couldn’t bear to see my pregnant belly.

He called my warnings of premature labor an “act,” sneering that a survival expert like me was just seeking attention.

Alone on the cold stone floor, I died with one pup in my arms and another trapped in my womb, my blood pooling around my still-open eyes.

The next morning, annoyed by the silence from below, he delivered a command:

“Tell Martha to stop her games and apologize to Zerra properly. I will consider allowing her to go to the medical center for the birth.”

He spoke to an empty room, never knowing I was no longer trapped in the basement.

A ghost now, standing beside him, hearing it all.

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1

“Why’s it so quiet in the basement? Has Mrs. Martha stopped screaming?”

“Alpha, do you think… something happened to the Luna? Her cries yesterday… they sounded real.”

My mate, Alpha Frank Blackwood, was tearing into a rare steak, with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He let out a disdainful snort, his powerful Alpha presence filling the room.

“No one knows Martha better than I do. And my wolf agrees.”

“She’s putting on a show! This time, I’m teaching her a lesson. We’ll see if she dares to provoke Zerra again!”

His personal assistant, Kevin, glanced nervously at the basement door.

“But, sir, the Luna is carrying twins. The healer did say the gestation for werewolves is short. She could go into labor at any moment and needs to be at the pack’s medical center…”

Frank paused, his resolve wavered. “Is that so?”

He poked at his plate with his fork, a flicker of hesitation on his face.

“Fine. Tell Martha to make me breakfast, then tell her to get out here and apologize to Zerra. If her apology is sincere enough, I’ll send her to the medical center. Today’s her due date, after all.”

With that, he picked up a glass of fresh blood and headed for the guest room.

Zerra Kane lay on the bed, her breathing even. A silk blanket had slipped off her shoulder, revealing her alluring curves and smooth skin. The air was thick with the sweet pheromones she was deliberately releasing.

Frank’s throat tightened. He watched her for a long moment, his gaze lingering, before he bent to kiss her.

Zerra slowly opened her eyes, stretching and pouting. “Frank, you messed up my nightgown again.”

Frank lowered himself over her, letting her sit in his lap. His hand slid possessively up her thigh, his rough thumb stroking her delicate skin. “The way you sleep, no male could resist, let alone an Alpha.”

Zerra buried her head in his solid chest with a contented hum.

“But Martha is your mate, and she’s carrying your pups. I’m a woman, too. I can’t just watch you be… unfaithful to her when she’s at her most vulnerable.”

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she said anxiously, “Martha was screaming so loudly last night. Is she going into labor? Oh… even if the pain is terrible, I’m almost jealous. If I could carry your pups, I’d die of happiness, no matter how much it hurt.”

Would she, really?

But I was just a spirit now, a ghost tethered to them by the mate bond, forced to drift at their side.

Down in the basement, the stone floor was slick with my blood.

The walls were covered in deep gashes, my own flesh and fingernails embedded in the claw marks I’d gouged in agony with my wolf’s claws.