I can’t die yet. I can’t close my eyes and sleep knowing that my babies will be delivered into the hands of someone else. They might kill them or turn them into slaves for another pack. A gift.
"Push..." the midwife urged, her eyes signaling something to the man behind me.
I gripped the bed and let out a low groan, my body aching.
"If you do anything to harm me or my child, you will all die. I’ve already arranged for someone to kill your family once we can’t leave this place alive," I threatened.
The midwife and the man froze at my words. I cried out in pain, but I used every ounce of my strength to push my babies into the world.
“Twins…” she muttered.
"Ahhh!" I shouted in agony with the final push.
I gasped for air as I heard the first cries of my child. The midwife held him up, handing him to me, clearly shaken by my earlier threat.
She was about to leave, but I stopped her.
"I need you to do something for me. Once you’re done, I’ll give you enough gold to feed your family," I said, despite the pain. "Someone will assist you. If you don’t cooperate, both you and your families will die."
They had no choice but to agree. I explained my plan. I had arranged to purchase two babies from the black market—one dead, one alive. I knew Karina; she was easily fooled when there was someone else by her side.
The dead baby would be presented to her after I had ordered the milk to be laced with wolfsbane—just enough for her to believe the baby had died of natural causes. The important thing was that Daniel had prepared it, so Karina would blame him for her loss.
The live one would serve as the gift to the pact, just as Daniel wanted.
I instructed one of my loyal servants, a trusted friend, to take my babies and hide them. I placed the bought child beside me. I allowed myself a moment of rest before swallowing a fake poison, one that would stop my breath for thirty minutes.
"Lady Karylle, it’s time to return to your house," Greg, my loyal servant, whispered, waking me up.
I was still weak, and part of me wanted to escape, to leave it all behind. But I had to see how this would unfold—how Devon and Daniel would fight, how my sister would come to loathe my husband for stealing her.
"Y-you killed my child?" I heard Karina ask, holding the dead baby in her arms.
My husband was stunned. He didn’t expect this.
"I didn’t," his voice shaking.
Karina grabbed the glass of milk he had given her to drink before she gave birth.
"There’s wolfsbane in this! It killed my baby! You killed my baby! Why?!" she cried, devastated by the loss.
Just then, Devon arrived, his growls echoing as he searched for his child. He stopped in his wolf form, sniffing the air before turning his attention to Karina, who was kneeling and holding the dead baby.
"My baby…" she sobbed.
I was hidden behind a window outside, watching.
"Who killed my child?!" Devon roared.
Karina, stunned and furious, pointed at my husband in grief.
"H-he killed him!" she shouted.
Devon lunged at Daniel, and my husband had no choice but to shift into his wolf form to defend himself. But he was no match for Devon. They were both strong, but Devon had experience in prolonged pain, a masochist by nature who had changed for Karina. He was used to hurting himself just to feel alive.
I watched as my sister, now out of control, left with the lifeless child in her arms. I glanced at the carriage where the three live babies waited.
Devon was on the verge of killing my husband when a few of his men and some council members arrived to stop him.
"Give me that bastard! I’ll kill him! He killed my child with Karina! He fucking covets my fiancée!" Devon seethed.
They ignored him and focused on Daniel, who was now the alpha of the pack and needed to be kept alive. They left Devon alone, and all he wanted was to find Karina.
That was when I appeared.
"He’s not dead," I told him.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. Slowly, he shifted back into his human form, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
I smiled bitterly, knowing how this all seemed.
"Your child is with me. Alive."
I approached him eagerly.
"Help me with my revenge. Let’s plan wisely. We’ll raise our children and return here when they are old enough to claim what’s rightfully theirs."
"For what?" he spat.
I smiled at him.
"He can’t have a successor for all the wealth but my daughters. No one is allowed to be alpha except your son. He can't produce another child. You know that. Let’s return here and take our revenge when the time is right."
His brow furrowed, but after a moment, he pulled me closer. His teeth gritting.
"Then fake a name. Marry me, Karylle. In that way, I’ll show Daniel that I’m taking what’s his, just as he took what’s mine."
