Sharp pain tore through my consciousness.

I tried to move my heavy body, but the immense weight of my distended belly pinned me down.

"What’s wrong? Is it time?" Derek’s voice cut through the haze, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

My Mate stood in the doorway, his tall, imposing frame nearly filling the entire frame.

But something was off.

I squinted. Derek looked far too young, like he did just after our Marking ceremony.

"Emma!" He was already at the bedside, his strong arms lifting me. His deep voice held a note of reproach. "How long has your water been broken? Why didn’t you call for help? This could kill you!"

As he carried me out of the bedroom, I caught a glimpse of the calendar on the nightstand.

My nails dug deep into the fabric of Derek’s uniform.

Dear Goddess. I had been reborn.

Back to the day Arthur stole my child.

In my previous life, I endured over two hours of excruciating labor before giving birth.

And while I lay exhausted and unconscious, Derek handed our newborn son to his Beta, Arthur.

When I awoke, they told me the child hadn't survived due to congenital weakness.

I believed them. For years afterward, I lived consumed by guilt, blaming myself for failing to give my child a strong body.

Later, I discovered by chance that my child was alive. But every attempt to find him was thwarted by Derek.

Derek spoke as if discussing the weather: "Arthur lost his fertility saving me. This is my debt to him."

"But that’s my child!"

"We can have more children. Pretend this one never existed. It’s better for everyone."

Better?

My child, treated as a bargaining chip to settle a debt—that's better?

From that day on, I began my long, desperate search.

But as the Alpha of the SilverMark Pack, Derek always managed to relocate the child just as I was closing in.

Until the year I turned forty, searching near the border, I fell into a hunter's trap.

I died without ever holding my child again.

Now, fate had given me another chance.

A contraction seized me, pulling me back to the present. This time, no one will take my child.

But first, I needed allies. In this critical moment of labor, I couldn't be alone with Derek.

"Wait," I gasped, clutching the badge on his chest between waves of pain. "Send someone to the Shadowhowl Pack to inform my mother. I... I need her here."

Derek looked down at me, a placating smile touching his lips.

"The Shadowhowl Pack is busy preparing for the trade season right now. Your mother likely can't get away. Don't worry, I'm your Mate. I'll ensure you and the baby are safe." As he spoke, he gestured for servants to quickly gather birthing supplies.

My heart sank.

Just then, Aunt Sophia, who lived in the guest wing, rushed over, drawn by the commotion.

Concern was etched on her face. "Moon Goddess bless! The Luna is in labor? What help do you need?"

Sophia was the Mate of an Elder, known for her cheerful nature, fairness, and considerable influence within the pack.

Crucially, like me, she had married into SilverMark from Shadowhowl.

With her present, at least Derek wouldn't dare act too brazenly.

I seized the opportunity, my voice trembling with pain. "Aunt Sophia... could you please accompany me to the pack clinic? I... I've never done this before. I'm terrified."

"Of course, dear!" The laugh lines around her eyes softened. "The first birth is always chaotic. You'll need another woman there..."

Her agreement offered a sliver of relief to my frayed nerves.

However, Derek's voice, cool and commanding, cut in from above me.

"Sophia, aren't you assisting the Elder with compiling those documents? Going to the clinic now would surely delay that critical work."

The Elder was working on a critical map of wolf tribe combat strength distributions, under Derek's tight deadline. Sophia, as the Elder's Mate, was naturally expected to help. Without this task, she absolutely would have accompanied me.

Derek was doing this deliberately.

Sophia hesitated visibly.

Seeing this, Derek added smoothly, reassuringly, "I've already sent word ahead to the clinic. Everything is prepared. Besides, am I not capable of caring for my own Mate and child?"

His tone was so confident, so utterly in control. Sophia finally nodded, clearly swayed.

My heart lurched again.

Another contraction hit, sharp and overwhelming. I gritted my teeth, reaching desperately for Sophia's wrist. "Aunt Sophia... I'm so scared... Please, come with me..."

I repeated my pleas, my fear palpable. The bitter truth was, no one knew Derek's true intentions. Even if I screamed it now, that he planned to give the child away, no one would believe me. Who would believe an Alpha would secretly give his own child away behind his Mate's back?

In my past life, I'd been blinded by that very assumption, readily accepting the lie of my child's "death." Only those discovered letters had revealed the truth.

—That my Mate could so readily offer our child as payment for a debt.

Sweat soaked my back, my lips pale from the pain. Seeing my distress, Sophia's eyes filled with pity. "Alright then, I'll—"

But at that crucial moment, her servant rushed up, waving a scroll of parchment. "Madam! The documents you needed! Is this them?"

Sophia's attention snapped away, her gaze instinctively drawn to the offered papers.

Sophia offered an apologetic smile. "Luna, I'm so sorry, the Elder urgently needs these. I must deal with this now. With the Alpha beside you, I have every confidence. You'll be fine."

It's precisely because of Derek that I'm not fine! I screamed inwardly.

Before I could protest further, Sophia was already striding purposefully towards the guest wing.

Derek adjusted his hold, that infuriatingly confident expression back on his face. "Relax, darling. I've got you."

A vicious contraction robbed me of speech. I wrapped my arms around his neck and suddenly sank my teeth into the soft flesh of his neck.

"Hiss—" He sucked in a sharp breath, his muscles locking tight.

A petty thrill of revenge shot through me. This child was half his blood; why should I bear the pain alone?

But the fleeting victory was quickly drowned by despair. The feeling of knowing a trap lay ahead yet being forced to walk into it was suffocating.

No. I won't submit. Rebirth isn't meant for repeating mistakes.

I released my bite, leaning my head against his shoulder to gather my strength. If I couldn't find help, the pack’s clinic was my last battleground.

Inside the vehicle, Derek rubbed my back soothingly while constantly urging the driver, "Faster! Go faster!"

He played the perfect Mate, his brow furrowed as if sharing my agony.

I closed my eyes, a bitter twist forming on my lips.

Derek, are you truly worried about us, or just afraid your 'repayment plan' will go awry?

The harsh fluorescent lights of the delivery room made me squint.

Drawing on my past life's experience, I focused on controlling my breathing. Pain crashed over me in relentless waves, warping time.

Finally, I felt a release.

"Wah—" The infant's first cry was abruptly cut short.

Why did the crying stop? I struggled to push myself up just in time to see a nurse hurrying away with a swaddled bundle.

"My baby! Where are you taking him?" I tried to follow, but the witch doctor firmly pressed me back onto the bed.

Above his mask, his eyes held a false sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Luna. The child didn't survive. For your health, let the Alpha handle the arrangements."

My heart plummeted. So the entire clinic staff was in Derek's pocket. Whatever happened, they would feed me the same lie.

In my past life, exhaustion had claimed me, and I'd swallowed the lie whole. But not this time.

"I don't believe you," I stated flatly, locking eyes with the witch doctor. "Not a single word." My child was alive. This time, I would find him.

I slapped my palm hard against the back of his hand pressing me down. "I heard my baby cry! Where are you taking him?"

The witch doctor's hand reddened, but he only shook his head resignedly.

"Luna, another woman is delivering in the next room. You're overwrought, imagining things." His tone carried a deliberate patience. "You're young. Focus on recovering your strength. Children... there will be more."

The words were like a dull blade, slowly sawing through my memories. The witch doctor's face blurred, morphing into the stern visages of the Elders:

"Luna, losing a child is painful, but is destroying the family worth it?"

"The Alpha made this decision with great difficulty. A life debt must be repaid; it's our tradition."

"Arthur sacrificed his fertility saving the Alpha. This is the most fitting compensation."

Then Derek's perpetually impatient face:

"Emma, enough. Arthur sacrificed so much for me. This is my debt."

"A healthy child—it's the best recompense I can give him."

My fingers clenched the bedsheet, twisting the fabric. In this absurd world, only Derek's suffering seemed valid.

He bore the weight of his debt, losing sleep.

He endured the agony of giving away his own flesh and blood.

He was in such pain, such torment.

And I—his Mate—instead of gratefully handing over our child, chose to scream and rage day after day, disrupting the household peace, denying Derek his rest.

How utterly selfish.

The Elders could counsel detachment so lightly because it wasn't their child.

Derek could blithely promise another child because he wouldn't endure the pregnancy.

No one asked my consent.

No one cared about my pain.

The resentment of my past life and the fury of this one boiled within me, coalescing into a surge of unprecedented strength.

I lunged, grabbing the witch doctor by his collar, using the grip to haul myself upright.

"You say my child is dead?" My voice was a ragged whisper. "Then show me the body! If you have nothing to hide, why won't you let me see my own child?"

The witch doctor's face flushed crimson as I tightened my grip. A nurse rushed over, trying to pry my fingers loose.

"Cough... Luna is hysterical!" the witch doctor choked out. "Prepare a sedative!"

The nurse swiftly fetched a syringe while another pinned me back onto the bed.

The witch doctor adjusted the needle, its cold point glinting under the lights.

"You'll thank us for this, Luna," he murmured. "It's for your own good."

I dug my nails deep into my palms, using the sharp pain to cling to consciousness.

In my previous twenty—year search across wolf territories, I'd never found my stolen child.

If Arthur left with my baby today, history would repeat itself.

As the needle touched my skin, I suddenly widened my eyes, looking past him. "Derek? What are you doing here?"

The witch doctor's head instinctively snapped towards the door.

Now!

I slammed my shoulder into the nurse holding me. As she gasped and loosened her grip, I snatched the syringe from her hand.

The metal needle gleamed coldly. Without hesitation, I drove it into the witch doctor's shoulder and jammed the plunger down hard.

"If you love sedatives so much, why not try one yourself?"

His pupils dilated in shock, but it was too late. His knees buckled, and he crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

I tore the IV line from my wrist, hauling myself up by gripping the edge of the delivery bed.

The antiseptic smell of the hallway hit me. Among the passing figures, Derek was conspicuously absent.

A fresh wave of nausea gripped me—couldn't he even bother to keep up the charade? Was he that desperate to hand over our child?

I hadn't taken three steps when the nurse I'd shoved scrambled after me, grabbing my arm, her voice shrill.

"Luna! You've just given birth! You need rest. Running around like this just makes more work for us!"

In the SilverMark Pack, medical resources were scarce, and medicine men and nurses held high status, commanding respect from ordinary pack members.

Her words found immediate support. A woman in a blue dress nearby chimed in, "Yes, Luna, the clinic is so busy. Don't cause trouble. Focus on getting well."

Bolstered, the nurse grew more severe. "Your actions could worsen postpartum bleeding."

"Worsen?" I let out a cold laugh, suddenly turning to the blue-dressed woman. "You're waiting for a family member?"

"My daughter-in-law," she beamed. "The pack witch doctor thinks it might be twins!"

"Then you'd better watch closely," I raised my voice, ensuring it carried down the corridor. "This clinic steals healthy newborns to sell to hunters."

The nurse paled, her voice rising in protest. "How dare you accuse us of such a thing!"

I sneered. "Then why won't you let me see my child? Why are you so insistent he's dead?"

The nurse floundered, her grip loosening slightly. "We... we just didn't want you distressed!"

My eyes welled up, my voice trembling with genuine anguish.

"Then let me see my child! Alive or dead, I want proof. If you have nothing to hide, why won't you let me see him?"

"You keep stopping me—isn't that proof enough? What use is such a tiny child? What reason could there be except selling him to hunters?"

A ripple of unease spread through the onlookers.

A young man tightened his arm around his pregnant partner, eyeing the nurse warily.

The blue-dressed woman's smile vanished. She suddenly grabbed the nurse's arm. "My daughter-in-law went in three hours ago! Why no news?"

"This is against protocol..." the nurse stammered, backing away.

"What protocol is more important than a mother seeing her child?" I seized the moment, wrenching free of her grasp. "I am the Luna of SilverMark Pack! If my child can 'die unexpectedly,' what about the children of ordinary pack members?"

Panic flared like wildfire. More family members surged forward, demanding to see their loved ones.

In the ensuing chaos, I dragged my weakened, post-birth body out of the clinic, stumbling towards the building on the corner marked with a wolf's head crest.

Outside the Shadowhowl diplomatic outpost, the guard stared in shock at my blood-stained state. I grabbed his leather armor, tears streaming uncontrollably.

"Contact my father immediately—tell him my cub has been stolen!"