SERENITY KELLER
I sat by the window in a daze, motionless as a withered tree.
Mountains rose in layers outside, draped in lush green. This sanatorium was hidden deep in the wilderness. That was why I never saw anyone coming or going, never spotted a road leading down.
Five full months had passed since the night of the Moon Ceremony. Five months since I was brought here. The baby in my belly had grown strong, kicking more often now. I rested my hand on my obviously rounded stomach, as if I could feel his eagerness to enter the world. It was the only comfort in this cold, sterile room.
"Ma'am, time for your medication."
The door suddenly opened. A nurse walked in carrying a tray loaded with bottles and jars.
Here, they never called me by name. As if I were nobody important, just "Ma'am."
I turned slowly and held out my hand. The nurse placed a handful of pills and a glass of water in my palm, then watched to make sure I swallowed them. I tilted my head back, numb, and choked them down. Even with water, the bitter taste spread through my mouth.
I forced myself not to spit them out.
These medications were supposedly for "stabilizing the pregnancy," but I suspected they'd mixed in sedatives. Every time I took them, I grew drowsy almost immediately.
But I didn't want to sleep right now. I asked the nurse, "Can I go for a walk?"
"I'm sorry, but you need to rest quietly," the nurse answered without a trace of emotion. "You disturbed the pregnancy during the Moon Ceremony, and your checkups since then haven't been satisfactory. Mr. Alfred is very displeased. Stricter supervision is required."
I clenched my fists.
I used to think Elias's "protection" was the same as imprisonment. But now, with something to compare it to, I finally understood what real imprisonment looked like.
I couldn't help feeling regret. If I had known, I should have rested longer after waking up at the mansion instead of forcing myself to leave while I was still weak, only to collapse on the roadside.
But the guard watching me that night had looked at me with such hatred.
Pure contempt, as if I were nothing but a traitor.
Escaping had used up the last of my strength. I hadn't gotten far before the world started spinning. In my haze, I felt myself being moved somewhere.
When I woke, I was in this sanatorium room. My freedom was gone.
The one responsible for all of this was Alfred.
He had come to see me once. His first words were a harsh rebuke. "You've disappointed me, Serenity. I overestimated your abilities. I thought you could properly care for the Vernal heir on your own, so I allowed you to raise this child by yourself. But look at you! The doctor says you nearly miscarried!"
"That wasn't my fault —" "I don't care whose fault it was!" Alfred cut me off sharply. "I only care whether the Vernal bloodline continues! Since you can't handle this responsibility, I'll personally oversee everything about this child's care from now on!"
"What do you mean?" I stared wide-eyed at this "room," at the barred windows and multiple locks on the door. A chill ran through my bones.
"You're going to lock me up? You promised me freedom!"
"Quiet. Of course I haven't forgotten our deal." Alfred's face was expressionless. "But I never specified when you'd get your freedom. You'll stay here until the baby is born! I'll provide the best medical equipment and staff. They'll ensure the child's healthy delivery. As for you —" He glanced at me dismissively. "Once the child arrives, what happens to you doesn't matter. If you want to leave then, be my guest."
With that, he left this prison disguised as a hospital room, taking the nurses with him.
The door slammed shut behind him. I collapsed onto the bed, forced to accept this reality.
After all, I was alone.
No pack. No family. Against the might of the Vernal pack, I was completely at their mercy.
But I hadn't given up entirely. The thought of escape never left my mind.
Early in my confinement, the doctors said a happy mother was good for the baby, so I was allowed one hour outside my room each day. My range was limited to a small courtyard, but I had mentally mapped out the sanatorium's layout.
The building had about three floors, with several auxiliary structures nearby. Every exit was guarded, and surveillance cameras were everywhere.
At first, I had hoped there might be other patients here, potential allies. But eventually I realized this entire sanatorium had been built specifically to imprison me. Everyone here was my jailer.
To prevent escape, they monitored me around the clock and forbade anyone from speaking to me beyond medical necessities. One young nurse had chatted with me briefly while I took my pills. The next day, I never saw her again. After several failed escape attempts, I gave up. Security had tightened with each try. Escape had become an impossible dream.
Even now, if I merely suggested going for a walk, the nurse's eyes would fill with suspicion as she would refuse.
She put away my empty medicine bottles and left me with words that were half advice, half threat. "Ma'am, your body has been deprived of your mate's pheromones for too long. You're already in bad shape. If you don't want to lose the baby, you should do as we say."
I touched my swollen belly but didn't argue. Pregnant wolves needed their mates' comfort and pheromones to keep both mother and baby healthy and strong. But Alfred would never allow me to see Elias, and I doubted Elias wanted to see me anyway.
Even though he had given me a temporary mark without my knowledge.
Thinking of that mark, I reached up to touch the back of my neck. The bite mark had long since faded, but it felt permanently branded on my heart. I had wondered countless times why Elias had marked me.
Wasn't he supposed to be busy with Liv? He should have forgotten all about me.
I hadn't forgotten what happened after the Moon Ceremony. When I woke up at the mansion, the guard outside my door had been loudly discussing how perfect Liv and Elias looked together leading the ceremony, how sweet and in sync they were… To compensate for Elias's absence and its effects on the baby, I needed extensive medical intervention just to keep the child healthy.
"I'll behave," I said, making myself look cooperative.
The nurse relaxed. "Good. If you're feeling restless, try listening to some music. A happy mood is good for the baby."
A happy mood?
I almost laughed.
How could I possibly be happy? Even my baby could feel his mother's despair and pain. He kicked hard against my belly, expressing his own discontent in the only way he could.
The only thing that brought me any joy was imagining what life would be like after he was born.
Even though this child would never be mine.
Before I knew it, my due date arrived.
Once I delivered this baby, I could leave this prison. But when the day finally came, I couldn't even get out of bed. After my water broke, all I could do was frantically press the call button through the waves of contractions.
Doctors and nurses swarmed in and rushed me, bed and all, into the operating room.
"Cervix is dilated! Get me the forceps!"
"The baby's positioned wrong. It's not coming out easily…" They worked methodically while contractions tore through me like waves ripping my body apart. My consciousness grew hazier. I could barely make out what they were saying.
The delivery was difficult. Without a mate present, without pheromones to soothe me, an Omega's body instinctively resisted. I could hear Novella howling inside me. She needed Elias, the man who would never come.
"Heart rate dropping!" A nurse's voice turned sharp.
"No choice. Prep for C-section!" the doctor ordered calmly.
A scalpel sliced through my skin. My soul seemed to float out of my body.
The smell of blood grew overwhelming, suffocating.
"Waaah—" Suddenly, a baby's piercing cry rang out. Like a trumpet blast, it injected life back into my fading spirit.
The baby! My baby was born!
Let me see my baby!
I screamed the words in my mind, but the doctors and nurses ignored me completely. They passed the infant among themselves, celebrating. "It's a boy! A healthy baby boy!"
"Quick, notify Mr. Alfred!"
Someone picked up the baby and headed for the door. One nurse glanced at me, then asked the doctor nearby, "She's hemorrhaging badly. Should we give her a transfusion?"
"No need." The doctor stitching my abdomen didn't even look up. "Mr.
Alfred said the child is all that matters. The mother can be disposed of early if circumstances allow. Get the baby to the nursery first and arrange proper care. As for her —" The doctor's gaze lingered on me for less than a second before he snipped the last suture. "Her task is complete. This is all we can do. She's on her own now."
They left me there. Everyone walked out with the baby.
The lights switched off one by one. Footsteps faded into the distance. The final door clicked shut, echoing in my ears.
My wound was still bleeding. Warm liquid dripped from the edge of the operating table onto the floor. Drip. Drip. Drip. My body temperature was dropping. Cold crept from my fingertips, spreading through my entire body.
Death had never felt so close.
So this was how it ended.
I had given birth, completed my "task," and now I was being discarded like a used tool.
How pathetic. I had thought I could negotiate with Alfred. But that cunning old wolf had probably never intended to let a lowly-blooded Omega like me leave alive.
But I didn't want to die.
The will to survive surged through me. Instinct flooded my limbs with sudden strength. I rolled off the operating table and crashed to the floor. The wound tore open. The pain nearly knocked me unconscious. I sucked in a sharp breath, clung to awareness, then crawled across the floor like a dying animal, leaving a long trail of blood behind me.
The operating room door wasn't locked.
The hallway outside was empty.
All the medical staff had gone to tend to the precious heir. No one cared about me anymore. I had finally gotten my "freedom."
Drawing on memory, I used the wall to pull myself upright. Step by agonizing step, I made it to a doctor's office on the same floor. I found some basic bandages and wrapped my wound haphazardly to slow the bleeding.
Then I found a phone that could call outside.
Pain blurred my thoughts. My fingers moved on pure instinct as I dialed.
Halfway through the number, I realized I wasn't calling emergency services or the police.
I was calling Elias.
The number was carved so deep into my heart I could never forget it. The most familiar string of digits I knew.
My fingers trembled. Hanging up to redial was already too difficult. All I could do was keep pressing the remaining numbers.
Ring… ring… Ring… ring… ring… The dial tone stretched on and on. My heart raced with desperation. Over and over, I prayed to the Moon Goddess to let Elias answer.
Maybe she heard me. The ringing suddenly stopped. The call connected!
The other end sounded noisy, like some kind of party. But my consciousness was fading, and I couldn't afford to care. I grabbed the receiver and cried out for help. "Elias, it's me, Serenity! I need help —" Before I could finish, the person on the other end snorted with laughter.
That familiar female voice made my heart plummet. Every word jammed in my throat. The one who answered wasn't Elias.
It was Liv.
"Why is it you?" My voice shook. "Where's Elias?"
"Elias gave me his phone to hold. Because I'm the person closest to him."
Liv's tone was light and cheerful. "But you, Serenity, you really don't know when to quit. Elias has nothing to do with you anymore, and you're still calling."
"No, that's not —" Cold sweat rolled down my face. I could barely stand. Survival instinct made me swallow my pride and beg. "Liv, please let Elias take the phone?
I'm dying… Please, I need help…" "What? Is this your new trick to get Elias's attention?" Liv's voice dripped with venom. "Give it up. Elias would be happy to see you dead."
I lost all strength and crumpled to the floor. For a moment, I couldn't tell which wound hurt more, my body or my heart.
Just then, I heard Elias's voice in the background. "Liv, who are you talking to?"
Hope flared. I called his name into the receiver. But I was too weak. My voice was barely audible. On the other end, Liv deliberately raised her voice to drown me out.
She lied to Elias. "Nothing. Just a telemarketer."
She seemed to cover the mouthpiece. She and Elias were talking, but their voices were too muffled for me to make out.
Then suddenly the barrier lifted. I could hear clearly again.
I heard Liv laugh, as if asking on purpose, "I was about to reject her.
Unless… Elias, did you want to take this call yourself?"