After five years of trying for a pup with my mate, I was finally pregnant. Despite the discomfort of pregnancy and the hassle of healer check-ups, I faced it all alone. Omari, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack and a renowned healer specializing in werewolf births, was always too busy attending to other pack members to pay much attention to me.

When it was finally time to give birth, I checked into the healing den as he suggested. "Winifred, don’t worry," he assured me, his Alpha tone steady and commanding. "I’ll be there for you. I’ll personally deliver our pup and be the first one our child sees."

His words calmed my nerves a bit. Later that evening, labor began unexpectedly, and complications arose. Just as Omari donned his healer robes to assist, he received a mind link. His face darkened, and he turned to his Beta, Liam West. “Liam, you take over. I need to attend to someone.”

I watched his retreating figure, my vision blurring. Omari, who could possibly be more important than me and our pup at this moment?

The dilation reached three centimeters, and the pain felt like I was being torn apart from the inside. Tears streamed down my face as I lay on the birthing bed, gripping the sheets, covered in cold sweat. Liam seemed even more flustered than I was, his eyes pleading with the healers and assistants around us.

“Beta Liam,” one healer snapped, pressing down on my stomach, her voice edged with frustration, “if you can’t manage this, call another healer!”

With the lead healer gone, the assistants hesitated to administer the pain-relieving herbs, leaving me to endure the agony. I overheard their hushed conversation, “How could the Alpha, usually so reliable, leave now?”

“Yes, he’s never abandoned a pack member in need before!” they whispered.

Their words only twisted the knife deeper in my heart. Desperate, I reached for my phone, trying to mind link Omari, but the connection remained silent.

Liam soon returned, looking even more frantic. “Everyone is tied up with other pack emergencies; no one else can come!”

The pup’s heartbeat grew weaker, my consciousness dimming. A midwife suggested transferring to the nearest healing den, about twelve miles away.

“No! It’s too far; the pup could suffocate!” was the terrified reply.

The thought of danger to my child sparked a weak determination in me. I clung to Liam’s hand, pleading with him to save my pup. “They say ‘a Beta’s duty is to protect the pack’... I trust you can do this. Perform the surgery.”

In the face of the emergency, Liam was left with no choice but to rely on his training for a cesarean. Mustering the last of my strength, I signed the forms acknowledging the risks, even though the herbs hadn’t fully taken effect. My vitals were dropping rapidly, forcing Liam to proceed immediately.

The scalpel cut into my abdomen, layer by layer. Liam’s hands trembled, each cut a jolt of searing pain, but I bit down hard, refusing to move, even as blood trickled from my lips.

The pup, slick with blood, was finally lifted out, yet silent despite the slaps on its back. "Beta Liam, what’s wrong with my pup?" I wanted to see it, but darkness closed in around me.

A nearby healer yelled, “She’s crashing! Severe amniotic fluid embolism!”

Just as Liam was floundering, Professor Smith, a senior healer from the pack who had just finished another surgery, rushed in. With professional composure, they began emergency procedures—herbal infusions, blood transfusions, battling death for every precious second.

After two tense hours, my heart rate steadied, consciousness gradually returning. As the healing den doors swung open, Omari approached with a look of urgency.

I thought he was there to save me. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Michael, where’s the tissue sample from my Luna? It should’ve been dealt with after the C-section.

Omari, my mate and the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, glanced around the room, his sharp gaze missing nothing—except me. His question wasn’t directed at me, even though I was lying there, barely clinging to life. My wolf stirred weakly in the back of my mind, but I silenced her, too exhausted to even acknowledge her presence.

"Your Beta, Scarlet’s mother, is anemic. She needs the fresh tissue for treatment," Omari said, his voice calm, almost indifferent.

His eyes never landed on me, despite the IV fluids and blood transfusion coursing through my veins, the oxygen mask pressed tightly to my face. I could feel the weight of his aura, commanding and unyielding, but it offered me no comfort. Not now. Not like this.

A senior healer, Professor Smith, stepped forward, his voice sharp with disapproval. "Alpha Omari, your Luna is still here, fighting for her life. How could you leave during such a critical moment? Have you forgotten your duty to your mate and your pack?"

Omari waved him off, his tone dismissive. "She’s strong. The pregnancy was smooth, and childbirth is natural for a wolf. She’ll be fine."

"But Alpha, she had an amniotic fluid embolism," a younger healer interjected, his voice trembling. "Professor Smith just saved her life."

Omari’s brows lifted slightly at the mention of the embolism, but when he heard Professor Smith’s name, his interest waned. He simply nodded, his focus already shifting back to the task at hand. "Good. Now, let’s get that tissue. Quickly," he ordered, his voice carrying the weight of an Alpha command.

Professor Smith, visibly frustrated, stormed out of the room, his tail flicking in agitation.

I could barely stay conscious, but I heard Omari snap at the healers. "Why is this taking so long? Don’t use her stabilized condition as an excuse! Step aside, I’ll handle it."

Then, his hands—cold, familiar, and devoid of any gentleness—pressed down on my abdomen with force. Pain ripped through me, and I let out a strangled scream.

"Alpha, please! It hurts!" I gasped, but he didn’t stop. He pressed harder, his expression unchanged, as if I were nothing more than an obstacle in his way.

"Hold her still," he commanded two healers, who reluctantly obeyed, their faces pale with discomfort.

Finally, the tissue was extracted, and I blacked out from the agony. Omari left without a backward glance, more concerned with the tissue than with me. It was Michael, a loyal Delta, who stepped in, ordering the healers to transfer me to the healing den immediately and to alert him if anything went wrong.

Later that night, two healers came to change my bandages, their whispers filling the room like a poison.

"I heard there was chaos in the healing den today, but Director Grant managed to cover it up," one murmured.

"Alpha Omari left his Luna during her birth to tend to his Beta’s mother," the other hissed. "Scarlet’s mother needed fresh tissue for her anemia."

"Thank the Moon Goddess for Professor Smith. Without him, the Luna would’ve died."

Their words cut deeper than any wound. Scarlet. Her name echoed in my mind, a bitter reminder of Omari’s constant praises—her intelligence, her ambition, her bright future. But now, it was clear. Their relationship was far from professional.

Tears slipped from my eyes, hot and unrelenting, soaking into the pillow beneath me. My wolf whimpered softly, her pain mirroring mine, but I couldn’t bring myself to comfort her. I tried to steady my breathing, to hold onto what little dignity I had left.

It wasn’t until the healers left that I let myself break, sobbing until exhaustion dragged me into unconsciousness.

Omari Castillo, how could you do this to me? How could you betray the mate bond, the vow we made under the Moon Goddess? I whispered the questions into the void, but no answer came—only the cold, unyielding silence of the night.