I’m a werewolf, eight months pregnant with my vampire mate's hybrid child.

When the contractions hit, my vampire mate, Justin, locked me in an ice coffin carved with runes meant to suppress childbirth.

I screamed. I begged him. He just said, "Wait."

But this was all for his childhood sweetheart. Isolde. The pureblood vampire had used dark blood magic to carry his pure-blood heir without having sex.

The first vampire child born in a millennium would receive the Progenitor's ultimate blessing. It would purify the bloodline. It would break a curse generations in the making.

"That honor belongs to Isolde's child," Justin said, his voice pure ice.

"You already have my love, Gracie. This coffin just ensures you give birth after her."

The pain of the contractions tore through me. I begged him to take me to the Bloodspring Sanctuary.

He leaned in, his cold fingers gripping my chin. "Stop the act. I should have seen it sooner. You never loved me. You were an outcast in the werewolf world. You only wanted my power and my title."

"You're so desperate you'd risk our child with your savage wolf tricks, just to ruin a pureblood's blessing... You're poison."

Tears streamed down my face. I trembled, my voice shattering.

"The baby's coming—I can't stop it. Please, I'll make a blood oath. I don't care about the blessing. I just want you!"

He scoffed, a hint of pained betrayal in his eyes. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have run to my mother. You wouldn't have poisoned her mind against Isolde."

"I'll be back after she receives the blessing. After all, the child you're carrying is mine, too."

He stood guard outside the sanctuary where Isolde's ritual was taking place.

He didn't give me another thought. Not until he saw the halo of the blessing crown Isolde.

He ordered his blood thrall to release me. But the thrall's voice trembled with terror.

"My lord… Lady Gracie and the child… their life signs… they're gone."

In that instant, Justin’s world shattered.

I’m a werewolf, eight months pregnant with my vampire mate's hybrid child.

When the contractions hit, my vampire mate, Justin, locked me in an ice coffin carved with runes meant to suppress childbirth.

I screamed. I begged him. He just said, "Wait."

But this was all for his childhood sweetheart. Isolde. The pureblood vampire had used dark blood magic to carry his pure-blood heir without having sex.

An ancient prophecy haunted the clan.

The first vampire child born in a millennium would receive the Progenitor's ultimate blessing. It would purify the bloodline. It would break a curse generations in the making.

"That honor belongs to Isolde's child," Justin said, his voice pure ice.

"You already have my love, Gracie. This coffin just ensures you give birth after her."

The pain of the contractions tore through me. I begged him to take me to the Bloodspring Sanctuary.

He leaned in, his cold fingers gripping my chin. His lips were so close to mine, his whisper a threat. "Stop the act. I should have seen it sooner. You never loved me. You were an outcast in the werewolf world. You only wanted my power and my title."

"You're so desperate you'd risk our child with your savage wolf tricks, just to ruin a pureblood's blessing... You're poison."

Tears streamed down my face. I trembled, my voice shattering.

"The baby's coming—I can't stop it. Please, I'll make a blood oath. I don't care about the blessing. I just want you!"

He scoffed, a hint of pained betrayal in his eyes. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have run to my mother. You wouldn't have poisoned her mind against Isolde."

"I'll be back after she receives the blessing. After all, the child you're carrying is mine, too."

He stood guard outside the sanctuary where Isolde's ritual was taking place.

He didn't give me another thought. Not until he saw the halo of the blessing crown Isolde.

He ordered his blood thrall to release me. But the thrall's voice trembled with terror.

"My lord… Lady Gracie and the child… their life signs… they're gone."

In that instant, Justin’s world shattered.

...

Dragging my heavy body, I used my last ounce of strength to push at the coffin’s lid.

But the moment it locked shut, the birth-suppressing runes flared, their crimson light weaving into a net.

Icy power surged through me, a thousand needles piercing my skin and chaining the wolf inside.

The baby sensed the threat.

It kicked violently inside me.

Each kick was a war against the runes, sending a fresh wave of agony tearing through me.

On top of the contractions, it was too much. A scream ripped from my throat.

But Justin's mind was on Isolde. He was deaf to my cries.

Then, I felt a sudden gush of warmth between my legs.

My water broke.

Ice-cold panic clamped around my heart.

I forced down the panic, desperately reaching for him through our mate bond—the indelible mark he’d burned onto my soul.

But Justin... he had severed the connection.

The baby inside me kicked wildly, as if fighting the runes that suppressed it.

Every movement brought a new wave of tearing pain.

I was soaked. I couldn't tell if it was sweat or blood.

I could feel my life force draining away. The heat of my wolf was being frozen, bit by bit, by the coffin’s deathly chill.

I screamed with what little strength I had left.

Finally, I heard footsteps outside.

"Please, help me!" I cried, my voice raw. " I’m trapped! I'm in labor!"

I repeated it over and over, thinking I was saved.

But then I heard a voice I knew and hated. It was proud and cold as ice.

"Oh, Gracie. Look at the filthy state you're in. Justin should have put you in your place long ago—reminded you that you're just a savage wolf."

It was Justin's mother. Morwen. The clan's matriarch and a master of mind magic.

She just looked down, a goddess of ice judging a sinner.

The shadows swallowed her face. Only her eyes remained. They were blood-red, glowing with cold, mocking light.

For a second, I thought she might help.

But she just stood there, watching my agony with cold amusement.

"Let you out? So you can ruin the sacred blessing with your animalistic birthing ritual? Justin sent me to watch you. He knew you'd pull a stunt like this."

She paced slowly into the room.

"Just make things easy for Justin, Gracie. He has enough to deal with without you causing more trouble."

"Isolde's child must receive the Progenitor's blessing. It is that child who will purify our bloodline and finally break the damned Blood Curse! Your pathetic struggles change nothing."

Another contraction seized me, and I curled up in pain, a scream caught in my throat.

Tears cut paths through the grime on my face.

Gasping, I begged her. "My baby won't interfere! Just tell Justin to let me out. I swear I'll disappear from your lives forever."

My screams seemed to annoy her.

Her brow furrowed. "Filthy wolf," she muttered with impatience. "Who are you trying to attract with all that noise? So loud. Since you won't be quiet, I'll help you."

She didn't move closer. She just lifted a single, elegant finger and pointed it at me.

Instantly, the world changed.

The cramped space of the coffin vanished, replaced by the golden, gleaming ritual sanctuary.

I saw Justin and Isolde standing under a halo of light in the center of the hall. He was kissing her forehead gently as she leaned weakly against him.

They both turned to look at me, their faces twisted in mocking smiles.

"See?" the illusion of Justin's voice echoed coldly. "The savage wolf still dreams she can have my love."

The vision was a blade twisting in my soul, sharper than any physical pain.

I screamed, trying to break free of the horrible visions, but they clung to my mind.

Then I saw Morwen open a blood bond communication to Justin.

"Yes, Justin, don't worry. I'll keep her quiet with some illusions. She won't bother you again," she said lightly.

I felt a flicker of his presence through our frayed bond and clung to it. I shrieked through our connection with every last shred of my soul. "Justin! The illusions are hurting the baby! Her power is attacking our child! Please, make her stop! Take me to the Blood Spring! Now!"

My inner wolf was howling, out of my control.

Morwen seemed to notice something was wrong. She hesitated.

I heard her murmur into the connection. "Justin... I think she's really in labor. Her mind is fighting me. It's... violent. A cornered animal protecting its young."

"Maybe I should take her to the sanctuary. After all, she carries your child. If something happened..."

Justin paused. The seconds stretched into an eternity.

I thought I felt him soften.

Then his tone truly did soften. "Alright, take her to..."

But a frail, weak voice cut him off from his end. "Justin, darling, I feel so cold... My body has been so weak since I sacrificed my psychic gifts for our child. The alchemist said I need extra energy to welcome the blessing."

The voice paused. It was laced with the perfect amount of feigned worry.

"Oh, is Gracie in labor? My dear, don't worry about her. She's a werewolf, blessed with fearsome strength. She will be fine. Unlike me... so fragile now..."

She wasn't in pain.

Every alchemist and precious potion in the clan had been moved to her lavish sanctuary.

She was being pampered in every way possible.

And Isolde’s soft words were all it took.

Justin's voice turned to steel.

"What could happen? She's a master manipulator! She's just screaming to trick you into freeing her, to get sympathy! Don't fall for it!"

He was practically roaring.

"Keep her down with the illusions! Until Isolde's ritual is over!"

The blood link snapped shut.

Scolded by Justin, Morwen turned all her fury on me.

She intensified her mind magic.

This time, I felt a cold, shapeless hand plunge directly into my mind. It shattered my defenses and its icy grip closed around my child's fragile soul.

"This is your fault! How dare you fight my power!"

Morwen’s voice echoed in my head, full of offended rage.

The next second, a pain so deep it felt like it was tearing my soul apart shot through me.

I let out a shriek and my body arched violently before slamming back onto the ground.

Morwen's mind magic was recklessly draining the life from both me and my child.

I curled into a ball, a hand clamped over my stomach. I could feel the strong kicks inside me grow faint, then fainter still.

"No... please, no..." I begged, but it was useless.

Warm blood trickled from the corners of my mouth, my nose, my eyes.

My vision blurred. The world was spinning.

All I could hear was Morwen's cold cursing and the faint, fading beat of my own heart.

My consciousness started to slip away. I felt Death's cold fingers on my cheek, beckoning me closer.

Just when I thought it was over, Morwen seemed to realize something was wrong.

Seeing me bleeding from my eyes and nose, my breathing shallow, her face went pale.

She hadn't expected this. She never imagined my hybrid child could make her magic spiral out of control.

She seemed to panic, fumbling to stop the spell, but it was too late.

The force draining my life was a vortex she could no longer command.

The secret chamber was dark. She had to grab me by the hair and yank my head up just to see my face.

Suddenly, she grunted and slammed my head back against the bottom of the coffin.

"You pathetic bitch. Not screaming now, are you? Keep pretending!" she spat, trying to cover her own guilt.

Her eyes filled with disgust, but I saw something else behind it. Fear. She was afraid of her own power.

"You think this will make Justin feel sorry for you? It will only make him more disgusted!"

She stormed out.

Before she left, she sprinkled a circle of silver dust and moonpetal ashes around me. A ward. It smothered my senses and cut me off from the world.

The sharp, cold scent of the mixture made my already shattered mind ache even more.

In the endless dark, I heard my baby's cry—not in the air, but in my soul. A tiny voice, already fading, pleading for "Mama."

I broke down, sobbing.

I was supposed to meet my baby today. Hold him in my arms.

I was so close.

Why was fate so cruel to me and my child?

A guttural, animalistic howl tore from my throat.

Helplessness pierced my heart.

The hope of rescue was almost gone.

I stroked my belly through the pain and spoke to my baby.

My baby deserved better. He should have been born in a loving pack. He should have had a father who cherished his mother. He would have been happy.

My breathing grew shallow, the blood turning to ice in my veins.

Suddenly, the secret chamber door was thrown open and a magical torch flared to life.

A young blood thrall startled when he saw me lying in a pool of blood.

I used my last bit of strength to inch forward, whispering, "Help... me."

His voice trembled with fear. "Who are you? What did you do to be punished by the lord like this?"

He was wary.

"I'm... Justin's mate," I said, my voice a dry rasp.

With a blood-smeared finger, I struggled to pull down the tattered collar of my dress, revealing the mate's mark Justin had left on my neck.

It was stained with blood, its light dim and barely visible, but the unique shape of the brand was unmistakable.

"This is his mark."

He recognized the mate's bond and started to move toward me, but then he hesitated, immediately opening a blood bond to Justin.

"My lord, I'm in the secret chamber. I've found Lady Gracie. She's... she's lying in a pool of blood. Should I take her to the Bloodspring Sanctuary?"

Justin's reply was full of confusion. "You're mistaken. It's not blood. It's an illusion, a symptom of her wolf going feral. The entire secret chamber is contaminated by it. No wonder my mother was so angry."

His voice hardened. "Don't take her to the Sanctuary. She's fine. She's just pulling another desperate trick to give birth first and ruin the Progenitor's blessing. Leave her. I'll come get her myself."

The thrall tried to explain, but Justin had already cut the connection.

He looked at me with pity, then walked past me to move some supplies.

Just when I thought he was going to abandon me, he came back.

War waged within him.

The lord's command terrified him, but the gruesome scene before him pricked at his conscience.

"You're pregnant," he said, his voice firming. "I can't just let you die."

He looked down, his voice full of sorrow. "My sister... she's human, and she's carrying a child. I cannot stand by and let a curse fall upon her family because I did nothing."

He had finally overcome his fear of the lord.

Without another moment of hesitation, he strode forward, carefully lifted me from the coffin, and rushed toward the clan's main healing chamber.

I finally let out a breath of relief.

I was saved.

But when we reached the healing chamber, there were no alchemists. No potions.

There was nothing. No way to deliver my baby.

Worried about Isolde, Justin had moved every available resource and person to her sanctuary.

I was still in mortal danger.

The clan’s alchemist saw the state I was in and knew he had to get me to a true place of healing.

He sent a frantic message to Justin through their blood bond.

"Lord Justin, this is an emergency! Please, come to the Sanctuary! Gracie's condition is critical, she's suffering from a severe psychic backlash!"

Justin's voice was full of irritation. "Gracie! You're more resourceful than I thought. You actually escaped and found someone to help you."

"I don't care what trick you're pulling. I'm not coming. I know your body better than you do, Gracie. You're not in any real danger."

"I told you, it's my child, too! Your turn is after Isolde. What's the rush?!"

The alchemist looked at me with deep sympathy, then turned to an apprentice. "Get her to the outer sanctuary. We have to try."

I never imagined they would take me to the same sanctuary as Isolde.

The alchemist pleaded with the guards there, but Justin's orders had been given.

Not a single drop of healing spring water was to be spared for me.

Through the wall, I heard Justin's cold, firm words. "I don't care who it's for. I won't risk anything with Isolde. I need this to be perfect."

I collapsed onto the floor in despair.

Just then, my eyes met a man’s at the doorway.

It was Justin's second-in-command.

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

He rushed to Justin's side.

"My lord, there's a woman outside, covered in blood. She… she looks like Lady Gracie."

Justin frowned, rubbing his fingers together.

"Impossible," he snapped. "She can barely walk. She couldn't have made it this far."

The second-in-command tried again, his voice low. "Perhaps you should go see, my lord. If it is her, she and the child are in extreme danger."

Justin glared at him.

"I said it's impossible! If it were her, she wouldn't be so quiet. She would have stormed in by now. Besides, a proud she-wolf like Gracie would rather die than be seen like that. Weak. Covered in blood."

The alchemist was still arguing, trying to secure even a single potion.

Justin threatened him with his position, and he fell silent.

The alchemist returned to my side, his face an apology.

There was nothing more he could do.

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

The psychic trauma and blood loss were pulling me under.

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

"The magical trauma... it's too severe... she can't heal herself..."

"The second heartbeat is fading..."

"Quick, get the Heartsease Draught! Now!"

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

I could only watch the blurred shapes of people rushing around me, helpless.

My hand drifted to my belly. The frantic kicking was gone. The life I’d sheltered for months… was silent. An empty, cold stillness had taken its place. My baby was gone.

Tears blurred what little vision I had left.

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

A single tear slid from the corner of my eye.

Then, the darkness swallowed me whole.

---

Justin's POV

Justin paced outside the ritual sanctuary.

The moment the doors opened, his first thought was of Isolde.

He rushed to her bedside and gazed at the infant, conceived by a blood curse, now sleeping in a halo of magical light.

His eyes filled with hope for the future.

"He looks like a true noble," he whispered. "So pure."

For a fleeting moment, he wondered about Gracie's child. A girl, perhaps. With her mother's wild, untamed beauty.

After setting a protective ward over Isolde's child, Justin turned to leave.

A day had passed.

It was time to bring Gracie to the sanctuary.

Just then, his second-in-command appeared.

Justin tossed him the key to the secret chamber.

"Go back to the castle. Get Gracie from the secret chamber and bring her here."

His second-in-command wouldn't meet his gaze.

He stood frozen. A deep terror rolled off him in waves, something Justin couldn't understand.

Just as Justin's patience wore out, the man finally spoke, his voice shaking.

"My lord… Lady Gracie and the child… their life signs… they're gone."