Chapter 3

Thrown off balance by the force of Sabrina’s shove, I fell heavily onto the stone floor. My swollen body made even the simplest attempt to rise painfully slow, and for several heartbeats, I could do nothing but struggle to catch my breath.

The chamber erupted in laughter.

“Max, does your mate not look like a turtle helplessly overturned on its back?”

“A fat turtle, at that! Hahaha!”

My eyes burned with unshed tears, and humiliation surged through me, but before I could even gather the strength to answer, a sharp cramp tore through my abdomen.

Then I felt it.

Warmth spread beneath me, soaking through my robes and pooling across the cold stone.

My heart stopped.

No… this could not be happening.

Panic seized me as I instinctively reached for Cassian through our mate bond.

“Cassian, please, take me to the pack healer now!”

My voice broke as another wave of pain seized my body.

“My waters have broken!”

The haze of wine seemed to vanish from Cassian’s eyes.

He shot to his feet, and for the first time that night, genuine panic crossed his face. A flicker of regret followed as he stared at the spreading stain beneath me.

“Do not be afraid, sweetheart. I will take you to the healer immediately.”

But before he could reach me, Sabrina’s mocking voice cut through the sudden tension.

“I truly envy Luna Emilia. No matter what story she tells, Alpha Cassian always believes her without question.”

Cassian shoved Sabrina’s pale hands away from his waist, his expression turning cold.

“Stay away from me. If anything happens to my mate or my pup because of this, you will answer for it.”

Sabrina sank onto the fur-covered couch with exaggerated delicacy, as though his harsh words had wounded her deeply. Yet even then, she refused to retreat. One foot wrapped in crimson silk brushed lightly against his calf, a deliberate gesture that made my stomach twist.

“Max, surely you can see what is happening. Luna Emilia merely became too excited and lost control of herself. How could her waters have broken when she is only seven moons along? The pup is not due until much later.”

At her words, the wolves around us exchanged glances and began clicking their tongues.

“I have heard pregnant she-wolves sometimes lose control of their bladders. So that is what this must be.”

“She cannot even control her own body. No wonder the Alpha has taken an interest in someone else.”

Cassian, who had just begun moving toward me, stopped.

The panic that had briefly appeared in his eyes slowly faded, replaced first by relief, then irritation, and finally open disgust.

Without saying a word, he seized a nearby cushion and threw it at me.

“You will stoop to anything just to win my sympathy, will you not?”

“No.” I shook my head desperately. “I am truly going into labor. My stomach hurts so badly…”

I curled inward as another contraction seized me, my fingers digging against the stone floor.

Cassian stared down at me, his face devoid of warmth.

“You are quite the actress. If Sabrina had not made me see through this little performance, I might actually have fallen for it.”

Sabrina’s face brightened with triumph. She immediately slipped her arms around Cassian, her voice turning sweet and coy.

“Of course I did. I am your clever little secretary, after all. Someone has to keep you from being deceived.”

Pain tore through me again, and my vision blurred with tears.

“Please… help me. The pup…” I pressed both hands over my belly. “Please save my pup. Someone, send for the pack healer!”

Darius scoffed from across the chamber.

“Max, your mate will do anything for attention, even create a scene like this during the Winter Moon Feast. All this foolishness will only waste the healer’s time when there are wolves in the pack who genuinely need help.”

Sabrina immediately added fuel to his words.

“Luna Emilia, if word spreads through the neighboring packs that Alpha Cassian’s mate disgraced herself in front of everyone during the feast, what will that do to his standing? You are carrying his heir, yet you never consider his reputation.”

The suffocating smoke from the burning herbs mingled with the bitter scent of wine, but neither was as unbearable as the pain twisting inside my chest.

In that moment, I finally understood.

There was no one here who would save me.

Not my mate.

Not his friends.

Not a single wolf who had watched me fall.

Ignoring the agony ripping through my abdomen, I gritted my teeth and dragged myself across the cold floor toward the small leather pouch I had brought with me. My hands trembled violently as I reached for it.

Inside was my moonstone.

It was the one thing I could use to send a distress call through the pack’s mind-link, and if Cassian refused to summon the healer, I would reach the healers myself.

Their laughter followed me across the chamber, cruel and relentless.

“Max, your mate ought to become an actress for the traveling pack. Her performance is almost convincing!”

“Go on, Max. Soothe her if you want, but how are we supposed to enjoy the feast while she keeps pretending to lose control of herself?”

Sweat soaked through my robes, and damp strands of hair clung to my forehead as another contraction ripped through me.

I ignored every cruel word.

At last, my trembling fingers closed around the moonstone inside my pouch.

But the moment I began pouring my wolf’s power into it, Cassian’s boot came down hard upon my hand.

Pain shot through my fingers.

The moonstone slipped from my grasp and rolled across the stone floor.

Cassian kicked it away before I could reach for it, his voice sharp with anger.

“That is enough! Have you lost your mind? Do you truly intend to summon the pack healers over this nonsense and drag them away from the wolves who actually need them, especially on the night of the Winter Moon Feast?”