EPISODE 23
n my A wail, small and weak, pierced the silence. My entire body stiffened at the sound, and my breath hitched painfully in my
throat
My baby.
“No! No, please! My baby!” I sobbed, twisting against my restraints, my body screaming in agony. My arms burned from the tight ropes, my legs ached from their unnatural position, but none of it mattered.
Down below, the beta warrior moved at last. His gaze flickered to the fragile, blood–covered form lying on the dirt. His face was unreadable as he took slow steps toward the newborn.X
“Pick her up!” I pleaded, my voice raw, my entire body convulsing with anguish. “Please, she’s just a baby! Pick her up! The warrior hesitated. His hands twitched at his sides before he finally crouched, lifting the tiny bundle in his arms long silence followed as he examined the child. Then, his eyes widened slightly.
“It’s alive,” he stated flatly. He turned the baby in his arms, inspecting its delicate form. Then, almost hesitantly, he added, “And it’s a healthy baby boy.”
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. My baby is a boy?
Seram’s heir.
Tears blurred my vision. I didn’t care if it was a girl or a boy. I just wanted to hold my child, to warm him against my skin, to whisper that everything would be alright, even though I knew it wouldn’t. But all I could do was hang there, powerless, as the night swallowed us whole.
The beta warrior looked uncertain. He held the baby close, his grip awkward, as if unsure what to do next. My lips trembled. “Please, can you let me down? I want to hold him.”
The warrior grimaced, torn between duty and morality. “… I can’t. Alpha Seram ordered you to stay here. I can’t disobey.”
“Please.” I sobbed.
He glanced between me and the squirming baby in his arms before finally nodding. “Fine. But I’ll go to the pack and tell him first.“3
He hesitated for a moment longer before removing his coat. Carefully, he spread it on the ground, making sure the fabric cushioned the baby before placing him down gently.
“TI be back,” he promised. “I’ll tell Alpha.
With that, he turned and sprinted into the night, disappearing between the trees. My breath came in rapid, panicked. bursts as I stared down at the tiny bundle on the ground. My son’s tiny cries reached my ears, and my heart clenched painfully.
A rustling noise made my stomach twist with unease. The hairs on my arms stood on end, and a shiver crawled down my spine. Then, from the darkness, a figure emerged.8
Deanne &
My eyes widened in horror as she stepped closer, a slow, deliberate sme spreading across her lips.
“How pitiful,” she murmured, tilting her head as she gazed up at me. “Hanging there like a broken doll watching everything, yet unable to do anything.”
My breath came in shaky gasps. “Stay away from him,” I warned, my voice barely above a whisper &
Deanne chuckled. “Oh, Marian…” She took another step forward, her eyes flickering with amusement. “I wouldn’t hurt your baby. I’m not that cruel.”
For a fleeting moment, relief washed over me. But then, a low growl echoed through the clearing. I froze. My heart. pounded wildly as shadows shifted in the trees. Then, stepping into the torchlight, their eyes burning red with hunger, came a pack of wild wolves.
A cold dread seeped into my bones. “No…”
Deanne smirked, watching as the beasts prowled closer. “I won’t harm the child, Marian. But I can’t say the same to
them.T
“No!” I shrieked, struggling violently against my restraints. “Deanne, you can’t! Call them off!”
She merely gave a small wave, turning on her heel as she strolled away. “Goodbye, Marian. Try not to cry too much.”
“Deanne! Deanne, stop! Please!” My voice cracked, but she didn’t turn back.”
I whipped my gaze down at the wolves, who had already formed a tight circle around the baby. Their lips curled back, revealing razor–sharp fangs. Their hungry eyes gleamed with merciless intent.X
“Get away from him? I screamed, my throat burning. “GO AWAY!
But they didn’t listen. A deafening snarl split the air!
The baby’s cry was a desperate wail, high–pitched and terrified–until it wasn’t.
Silence.
A sickening crunch. My mind shattered. My body froze, my screams dying in my throat.
My baby.
Gone X
The world blurred. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My ears rang with a terrible emptiness, an aching void where my child’s cries should have been. Then, as if a joke, the ropes that I had been trying to loosen suddenly snapped.!
I plunged downward, crashing into the cold earth. My body trembled as I lifted my gaze, eyes locking onto the gruesome remains of my child. The wolves turned their attention to me now, their hunger unsatisfied, their glowing eyes filled with
madness.[
Tears blurred my vision. My lips parted, a hoarse, broken whisper escaping into the night. “Moon Goddess, have you forsaken me?”
The wolves lunged.&
And then, there was nothing.
There was nothing but cold darkness.
