Chapter 3

"She's… she's carrSerag!"

The Pack Doctor checks her twice, three times, then whirls on Ethan with shining eyes.

"Truly the she-wolf with the strongest breeding capability in the entire pack. Just a few nights and she's already carrSerag a pup!"

"Alpha, you can start preparing the nursery!"

I stand off to the side, numb from head to toe.

I can't even feel a single emotion left inside me.

I just watch Ethan's face shift from frozen, to stunned, to a wet, broken kind of joy.

So this is what he really wanted. A pup.

My hand drifts to my own stomach without me telling it to.

For three years, I've been quietly poisoning my own womb with musk powder. Because I never wanted a pup.

In this world, every she-wolf is born with a Breeding Totem.

It marks how strong her breeding capability is.

The stronger the capability, the darker the Totem. The weaker it is, the fainter the mark.

And me, a modern human, of course I don't have one.

So naturally, they treated me like a freak. A cripple.

Even after I ended up with Ethan, I never broke the lie.

Birthing in this world is already a coin flip with death, and this place is so backward on top of it.

I wasn't going to die for a pup.

But back then I was naive enough to think… if it was Ethan…

I force down the wave of nausea and press hard on my cramping belly.

The truth is, I'm pregnant too.

This pup picked the worst possible moment to come.

"Because of the shock, and because Cynthia's body is fragile, besides plenty of rest, by tradition…"

The Pack Doctor hesitates, then lets her eyes drift over to me.

I know what she means.

Every pup is a treasure to the pack.

When one female in the household is carrSerag, the other females are expected to wait on her alongside the male.

But the Pack Doctor can't bring herself to say it out loud.

Because I'm not like the other females in this pack.

I've given everything to this pack. I brought them prosperity.

That's why every member here respects me.

I shouldn't have to lower myself to do something like this.

For a moment, no one speaks.

Then Ethan speaks.

"It's fine. Sera can do it."

I turn my head so slowly I hear my own neck crack.

"This is Sera's pup too. There's no reason she'd refuse."

He says it like it's nothing. Like he's commenting on the weather.

He wants me. To take care of Cynthia. To nurse the female he's been mounting next door every night.

My hands ball up so tight my nails cut my palms.

The Pack Doctor flinches and looks away. No one defies the Alpha. Not out loud.

I look at the floor. My mouth tastes like blood.

"No."

Ethan's head snaps toward me. His brows pull together, disbelieving.

"What did you just—Sera, this is your pup too, how can you—"

"It is NOT my pup!"

Before Ethan can finish, my voice rises, even cracking at the edge.

My voice shakes. "Ethan… is a pup really that important?"

"When you begged me to be with you, do you remember what you said…?"

His jaw locks. His eyes drop. He doesn't answer.

I take a step back. Then another. The disappointment in my chest is so heavy I can barely stand up under it.

I forgot. I let myself forget. Ethan was born in this world. He was raised on the gospel of the bloodline. Of course he was never going to change for me. Of course.

I was the fool. Choosing to stay here for him. Choosing this frozen, ugly place over my own world.

Cynthia's lashes flutter. She tugs weakly on his sleeve, biting her lip, doing the wounded-doe routine.

"Ethan… it's alright. Sera has done so much for the pack. And I'm only your father's leftover Mate. I—I don't deserve this. I'll have the pup quickly and move out, I promise—"

Cynthia's words hit Ethan like cold water tossed into a pot of oil. His face goes cold in an instant.

It looks like he's made up his mind.

When he raises his eyes again, his face is a stranger's.

"If you don't want to, then move out."He says to me.