Ella’s POV.

“Jason…” I choked out through tears, my voice breaking. “The pups… please… I can't…”

“You're… pregnant?”

Dahlia snatched the paper from his hand before I could answer. She stared at it, and for a moment, something flickered across her face… before it suddenly hardened. She let out a short laugh.

“Seriously…?”

She turned to face Jason. “You can't possibly believe this,” she said sharply. “You know she's been infertile for years. And now she suddenly turns up pregnant?” Her laugh rang through the room. “She probably slept with someone else. Maybe even fabricated this just to trap you.”

She threw the paper back onto the bloodstained floor and immediately grabbed Jason's arm.

“Don't fall for this. I know her. She's pretending.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

“That's a lie!” I screamed, my voice trembling with pain and rage. “The pups… they’re yours, Jason!”

I looked at him, desperately searching his face for any sign that he still cared.

“How… how can you just stand there and let her say all this about me…?”

He said nothing. He just looked at Dahlia, then back at me. His gaze flickered with doubt and hesitation… but it didn't last. He straightened, his face now holding nothing but a cold stare.

“Dee is right. There’s no proof that they’re mine,” he said flatly.

Those words shattered me more than the fall ever could. I stared up at him, my vision blurring with tears I couldn't hold back anymore.

Was this really the man I had fallen in love with? How could he watch me, his fated mate, bleed out right in front of him and still choose her?

Another wave of pain tore through me as the cramps twisted into something more savage. I screamed, clutching my stomach as more blood spread beneath me. Dahlia stepped back, wrinkling her nose.

“Well, you brought this on yourself,” she said coldly. “You attacked me first. Jason was only trying to protect me.”

Through the haze of pain, I clenched my teeth. I knew I needed to save my babies, but I wasn't going to beg them. I wouldn’t give either of them the satisfaction of watching me crawl for mercy.

Using the edge of the bed, I forced myself onto my knees, then slowly to my feet. Fire shot through my abdomen with every movement, but I didn't stop. I picked up the bloodstained sonogram from the floor, pressing it tightly against my chest. Cold sweats trickled down my face as I stood there, trying not to fall.

Jason reached for me, and just for one brief second, I thought he was going to help me. Then he glanced at Dahlia, who was watching him with narrowed eyes, and just like that, his hand slowly fell back to his side.

A weak, bitter laugh slipped out of me.

“You…” I swallowed against the pain. “You don't deserve to be a father.”

I tightened my grip around the sonogram.

“And I swear by the Moon Goddess, if anything happens to my babies… because of what you did…” My voice shook, but I forced myself to look straight at him. “I’ll spend whatever life I have left making both of your lives miserable!”

My gaze shifted to Dahlia.

“You wanted my life so badly? Fine. Just pray nothing happens to my pups.”

Neither of them said a word. I turned away from them and staggered toward the door. Every step sent a wave of pain through my body. Blood dripped from the hem of my gown, leaving small red stains across the polished tiles behind me.

I stumbled down the stairs, one hand pressed against my stomach, the other clutching the sonogram like it was the only thing holding me together. The front doors swung open just as the workers started filing in through the gates. They were carrying the bags and packages from their errands and chatting amongst themselves.

The moment they all saw me, the chatter died instantly. Everyone froze with widened eyes.

One of the maids dropped the basket in her hands and rushed toward me.

“Luna!”

Jason's chauffeur hurried over as well.

“What happened to you?” he asked, reaching for my arm.

I pressed my car key into his palm. “Please…” My voice shook. “Help me. I need to get to the hospital.”

His fingers closed around the key. But before he could move, every servant in the villa suddenly went still. Their eyes glazed over, and a second later, Jason's voice echoed through the mind of everyone in the compound, including mine.

“Everyone, stand down!”

My heart sank.

“Let her leave on her own.”

The chauffeur’s hand slowly dropped. The maids exchanged helpless glances. They stared at me with frightened eyes. But nobody moved. Of course, they couldn't dare disobey the Alpha, not even for me.

And in that moment, I knew no one was coming to save me. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and forced myself to breathe. When I opened them again, I reached for the key in the chauffeur's trembling hand and took it back. Immediately, I unlocked my car, climbed in while struggling against the pain, and then slammed the door shut.

The engine roared to life, and I drove through the gates without looking back.

– – – –

The streets rushed past me in a blur. My vision kept swimming in and out of focus, and the pain in my stomach was getting worse. I slammed my palm against the steering wheel, screaming through my tears.

“Please…” My voice broke. “Please… my babies… just hold on a little longer…”

I pressed a trembling hand against my stomach. “Mommy's taking you to the hospital. Just hold on, okay? Please…”

I didn't care that I was crying like a child. I didn't care that blood was soaking into the driver's seat or dripping onto the floor. All I could think about were my babies. I had prayed for them for years, and I couldn't afford to lose them now.

My head dropped forward, but I jerked it back up.

“No. Stay awake, Ella.”

I blinked furiously, trying to clear my vision, but the road kept shifting in front of me.

Out of nowhere… a deafening horn blasted through my ears. I looked up and saw headlights. A car was speeding toward me from the opposite lane. My heart jumped, and I immediately yanked the steering wheel to the side. The tires screamed against the road, and the car swerved violently.

My vision went dark again, and I felt my body slump forward. My forehead slammed into the steering wheel, and my car horn blared continuously.

Through my fading vision, I saw a tall figure running toward my car. The sound of his hurried footsteps reached me a second before my door was ripped open.

“Easy… I've got you.”

His deep voice cut through the ringing in my ears, and his strong hands slipped around me, one behind my back and the other beneath my knees. He lifted me out of the driver's seat like I weighed nothing.

“Stay with me!”

I tried. I really tried to, but my eyes were already closing. I forced them open one last time and caught a blurry glimpse of his face… dark hair, a sharp jaw and eyes I couldn't quite make out.

As he adjusted me in his arms, the collar of his shirt pulled open, and something caught my eye.

There was a mark on his left chest. A crescent-shaped moon. I knew that symbol. I'd seen it before, years ago, in old books and stories everyone said were nothing more than legends. The mark of a Lycan. But that was impossible. Lycans didn't exist in packs like Stormwolf. At least, that's what I'd always been told.

My mind was spinning, but the pain crashed over me again, and my eyelids grew heavy. The last thing I felt was his cool hand brushing against my forehead as he laid me in the back seat of the waiting SUV.

I gripped his wrist with what little strength I had left.

“Please… just… save my pups.”