Dead Mate, Living Nightmare

I had literally torn myself apart to birth my pups.

When I finally delivered the first pup, he was already cold. Lifeless.

Blood gushed from between my legs like a fountain as the second pup got stuck in the gaping wound of my womb.

My hair was matted and sticky with blood. I held my bloody firstborn, my eyes wide, my breath gone.

If Frank saw this, how would his wolf react?

But at that moment, he was too busy holding Zerra, his voice laced with regret and guilt.

“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have let Martha get in your sight and upset you. I swear, this is the last time she’ll ever carry my pups. I won’t let you see another pregnant she-wolf in this house again.”

“You have no idea what lies she’s told me just to trick me,” he continued.

“She said the twins were too big, that she was afraid of a difficult birth. She even claimed the healer recommended she go to the medical center immediately.”

“She survived three whole days trapped in a pitch-black underground cavern! And now she has the gall to tell me she’s scared of childbirth!”

My heart ached with a pain I could no longer physically feel.

A pregnant she-wolf’s body is different. The restlessness of my inner wolf and the discomfort of the pregnancy had exhausted me from the start. Several times, my condition was so poor I needed suppressants just to keep the pups alive.

When I was locked in the basement, I desperately pleaded with Frank through our mind-link, begging him to let me out. I knew if I was trapped for three days, my pups and I would surely die.

But Frank had just told Kevin, “Melt the key to the basement. No one is to open that door. In three days, I want to see her crawl to Zerra and apologize!”

To survive, I had tried to escape through the mansion’s old sewer system. I endured the searing pain, clawing through the floor and crawling into the narrow, foul-smelling pipes.

I had just reached the garden exit when I saw them. Frank, holding Zerra tightly, kissing her madly under the moonlight.

Their bodies were pressed together, tearing at each other’s lips like animals in heat, Frank’s hand already sliding under Zerra’s skirt.

Then, Zerra pushed him away, looked up, and screamed.

Frank looked up and saw me, crawling pathetically from the sewer drain. His face contorted with rage.

He assumed I had appeared in front of Zerra on purpose. With an Alpha’s roar, he shot toward me like a cannonball and slammed a fist powered by his werewolf strength directly into my pregnant belly.

A wave of agony exploded from my womb. Blood poured from between my legs.

And in the end, I died with my eyes wide open, clutching my bloody firstborn son.

Upstairs, Frank fed the glass of blood to Zerra.

“I’ve already sent someone to bring Martha to you for her apology,” he said. “If she’s sincere, I’ll have her sent to the medical center. If not, she can give birth in the basement for all I care.”

Zerra took a small sip and choked, coughing until her eyes watered, looking utterly pitiful.

“Frank, you can’t treat Martha like this. It’s dangerous for a she-wolf to give birth to pups.”

Frank sighed, looking at Zerra with adoration. “You’re just too kind. That’s why Martha feels brave enough to bully you.”

“Martha is a survival expert. She can live for three days without food or water. Look at you, so fragile you choke on a sip of blood.”

He tweaked her nose. “And why would you say childbirth is dangerous? You say that like you’ve been through it yourself.”

A flash of panic crossed Zerra’s eyes, but she quickly looked down, her voice laced with sadness. “Frank, you’re the only one who can see the vulnerability beneath my strong exterior…”

She looked up again, tears welling in her eyes, biting her lip to make it look swollen and moist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.