Page 54 of The Baby Contract

"Alpha-with all due respect-you must stop!"

Doctor Rowan collapsed to his knees beside us, where Millie was lying, lifeless and pale in what was once the Eclipse pack house.

But it wasn't Eclipse at all. It was the Rose pack.

My wolf fought harder than ever before to push himself forward, desperate to do anything and everything to save his beloved mate.

My canines sank deep into Millie's soft skin, and in response, she let out a small, weak, gruff. "Fucking wake up!"

I didn't even realize my tears that had fallen until I saw the salty drops land on her sweet skin, blending our scents. "You can't die! You won't!"

"Stop, Alpha!" Doctor Rowan gripped my shoulder. "You will kill yourself!"

My thoughts went black. My body became tense; my wolf and I ran on adrenaline and the new poison that now ran through our veins.

"I can help her!" I sank my teeth back into meet the bitter taste of poison. "I won't let her die!"

"Alpha!" Axel's voice rang through the dense, smoky air.

Sounds of heavy boots followed behind him. "Alpha! I saw Millie, "he panted, shuffling his way through the house. "She was in the forest, headed to the train, and then- "

"Holy-" he gasped, followed by the sudden stop of the steps. His face lit up in response to the fiery scene in front of him. My wolf sensed there were other warriors with him.

"Axel- "Doctor Rowan stood. "Help me get Millie on the stretcher."

Axel nodded quickly, leaning down by my limp mate. "Millie," Axel cried softly. "Who did this to you?"

"You won't touch her!" I snapped as Axel and Doctor Rowan slipped their hands under her back. "She's mine!"

Axel's face flushed as his Alpha yelled at him.

"She won't make it to the hospital!" I cried, biting down on her neck again, the taste of poison trickling down my throat. "It's hours from here. She won't survive! She's already- "

My voice cracked. "Dying. She's already dying."

Axel looked back at the warriors. "We must move." A warrior spoke, pointing to the roof, which was now engulfed in flames. "This house is going to come down any minute!"

When I finally looked up at Axel, he was drenched in sweat.

Millie's heartbeat slowed. Her small, soft grunts in response to my bites became quieter as she drifted off. "No!"

I felt the poison trickle up my neck in response to the high dose. Suddenly, my head throbbed, pulsated, just like it had the night in the car when I tried to mark Millie.

"What the hell-"I seethed, my neck burning. "What the hell is happening?"

When I looked up, Axel and Doctor Rowan's eyes were wider than I had ever seen them. "What?" I snapped, grinding my teeth together in pain. "What are you looking at?"

"Your-"Axel stumbled. "Your- "

"My what?" I grunted, gripping my neck in pain. "Ugh, fuck!"

"Is that even possible?" Axel yelled out at Doctor Rowan. "How can that happen?"

Doctor Rowan didn't move. Instead, his body shivered, studying me with utter disbelief. "No one is going to believe this." He breathed. "In all my twenty-five years in medicine, I have never seen something like this."

Another shocking sensation ripped up my spine to my neck, leaving my body weak. "Shit!" I screamed. "Is this what dying feels like?"

"No-"Doctor Rowan covered his gaping mouth. "Quite the opposite."

"Oh, come on!" Axel scoffed. "Are you crazy, Doctor? Look at him!"

"Axel," Doctor Rowan said, standing still. "He is not dying."

"He is being freed."

A piece of wood from the ceiling fell beside us, making us jump. "What are you saying?"

Doctor Rowan looked at me, knowingly. "Alpha Stormblade is being freed from Ember's mark."

"The poison is- "he breathed. "It's healing his mark."

Axel and Doctor Rowan's voices blurred around me as Axel's voice became loud and unsure, and the Doctor's remained calm but stunned.

Suddenly, another large piece of wood came down closer to us, barely missing our bodies. That's when I felt it.

A wave of relief passed through my body like a huge wave. I imagined my wolf, black as the midnight sky, standing on the top of a cliff, looking down at his pack. He was strong and mighty, fierce and fearless. Our bodies were muscular and unwavering.

A new power coursed through our veins.

I blinked rapidly as my vision became clearer than ever before. Millions of scents hit me in that moment, ones I had never been able to smell before.

Millie's rose scent stuck out to me the most.

I leaned down, sticking my head into her thick, black hair, and took a huge sniff. It didn't make me shiver, but instead, it made sparks run through my entire body, lighting up my every being and awakening my soul.

"My soul mate." I blinked before grabbing a lock of Millie's hair and breathing it in deeper.

Axel gasped, this time, his voice louder in my sensitive ears. "His mark is completely gone!"

My hand snapped up to my neck in ultra-fast movements. My new speed surprised me.

Where there was once a small scar and bump of Ember's teeth marks, it was now smooth.

"The poison broke your bond," Doctor Rowan confirmed. "It severs mate bonds, which can kill wolves."

"But it didn't kill me because," I breathed I disbelief. "Because Ember was never meant to be my Luna."

Millie's heartbeat was evident to me now, my wolf able to reach Millie and track her well-being. He whined loudly, alerting me to the urgency and danger of our mate is in.

With my newfound strength, I hoisted Millie up into my arms and held her close to my chest. "I can make it back with Millie," I declared, as we ran out the door.

A large cloud of smoke followed behind us, clouding our lungs. "I am faster than any car."

Axel and Doctor Rowan didn't question it, but instead nodded, before I took off with Millie soon on my back instead of my arms.

The forest whipped by as my paws hit the ground lightly before picking up to new speeds. I looked around, surprised when I couldn't see my paws.

A large explosion rang in my ears a minute later. The Earth vibrated.

"It's Millie!" Nova's voice was strained. Ahead, the Stormblade borders came into view. "Boris, come quick!"

The pack house was hectic with the new pack members. My wolf felt their anxiousness, despair, and uncertainty. Our pack members rushed around, each helping the new, distraught wolves settle into their new homes.

I saw Boris on the porch, consoling a crying child from Eclipse. The child hung onto his arm, desperate for help.

"Hold on, buddy," Boris soothed him. "Sit here, I will send Ingrid to come and help you find your parents, okay?"

Boris patted him on the shoulder comfortingly before leading him to sit on the step of the porch. "I'm coming, mate!"

Nova, now wearing a long, flowy dress, ran fast to meet us. "Oh my moon goddess and the heavens above," she gasped. "Millie!"

Nova reached out to touch her best friend with a shaky hand. "No!"

I ran past Nova, charging into the pack house, up the stairs to the hospital. Nova and now Boris, followed me. "Her heartbeat is faint."

A group of nurses was ready. "Lay her on the table!" one called, motioning to another who wheeled over a large tray of metal instruments.

"She was given a poison to break bonds," I reported as I laid her limp, burned, and bloody body on the thin, crumpling paper. "She was hallucinating."

"What?" Nova shivered, shaking her head uncontrollably. "That fucker, Jasper I bet!"

"Mate, how did you come to that conclusion?" Boris probed, lightly touching his mark on her neck to soothe her. Her body instantly responded, softening under his touch. "Tell us, love."

Nova locked eyes with mine as the nurses went to work on Millie. Nova gulped, looking around at us and then back at Millie with concerned eyes as the Nurses inserted an IV in her arm and breathing tubes under her nose.

"Um-" Nova bit her lip as she squeezed Millie's hand. "Nothing really. Just a feeling."

Boris snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her tiny frame into his large one. "Mate-"

"I told Millie I wouldn't tell, okay?" Nova cried, letting out a big breath.

"Nova, we want to help her," Boris purred. "She is not only our friend, but also our Luna."

Nova sighed before stomping over to a chair and falling into it. "I was the only one she ever told. She made me promise not to tell anyone."

Boris kneeled next to her. "The week after Millie's parents passed, we were sitting in her father's Camaro." She closed her eyes. "We used to do that a lot, sit in his car. Millie liked it because it reminded her of them. The Camaro still lingered with her parents' scent."

"That night, Millie told me that she would always protect me," she smiled. "I guess I wasn't surprised. She was meant to be Luna after all."

"Millie's parents were Alpha and Luna," Boris concluded out loud.

"Of course they were," Nova nodded. "The whole pack adored them. Eclipse wasn't always the pack as everyone knows it today; it was just under Orion's rule. We were always poor- "Nova chuckled, shaking her head. "But we were so happy and free."

"The pack thought Millie's dad had become sick and died, and naturally, his mate did too," Nova said. "That's what I thought, too until- "

Boris squeezed her hand encouragingly. "Millie told me the truth. Orion had poisoned them. The poison slowly severed their bond. Millie's parents loved each other more than the moon goddess. They couldn't live without each other anymore."

"They died because their bond was severed," I said lowly. "And when I ingested it, it severed the bond I had with Ember."

"What?" Nova shot up. "No fucking way!"

"Thank goddess!" Boris threw his hands up. "That bitch was getting on everyone's last nerve!"

Nova looked at her mate questioningly. "She has been such a raging bitch since arrived back from the dead. I just couldn't tell you because you know- "

"She was our Luna. I didn't dare talk badly about the one marked by our Alpha."

"Wait- "Nova chimed in, rubbing her chin. "If your bond broke with Ember, then how are you still alive?"

I ran my hands down my face. "She was never my mate. Millie is. She always was and she always will be."

"No way!" Nova slammed her body down on the chair dramatically. "I can't believe this whole time I looked up to Luna Ember because she was mated to all mighty Theo Stormblade."

"When really, his real mate was right beside me!"

"Ugh-"Nova leaned over to put her head between her knees. "I knew it! I knew one day we were going to live together in a big house with sexy men as mates! I told her, and she never believed me!"

Boris' chest rumbled in happiness. "Sexy men?"

"And babies!" she whipped her head up. "Lots of little Elijahs and Elora's!"

Boris' wolf purred louder. "Babies?" I could imagine his wolf's ears perking up in attention.

"Alpha," one of the nurses spoke. "Millie's condition is dire." She looked at us all sadly. The nurse's demeanor changed, obviously overhearing the conversation we just had.

They knew now that Millie was not just my surrogate, but my mate and Luna. It wouldn't be long until the news got out.

"We put her on a machine to clean her blood," she reported. "We will know the prognosis by tomorrow."

"Please," I begged the nurse. "I can't wait until tomorrow. I will do anything to help her. I can't sit around while she dies in front of my eyes."

The nurse looked at me with sympathy. "The only thing you can do is get some rest." She ordered, looking at all of us. "It's been a long day for everyone."

But, as the nurses wheeled their carts out and Boris and Nova tearfully said their goodbyes, I stayed, listening to the beep of Mille's faint heartbeat.

I raised my shaky hand to her head, brushing her soft hair back sweetly, my wolf pushing forward memories of our beloved mate.

Our first meeting, the ultrasounds of the twins, and the time we had at the beach. He remembered Millie's smile as she tailored Aspen's mating ceremony dress.

He remembered the way she looked so powerful, as she brought our pups into this world.

"Knock, knock- "Mom's voice was soft. She slowly opened the door, peaking her head in. "It's Mom."

"Mom, it's late," I whispered, looking up at the clock. "You should be sleeping."

Mom smiled sweetly as she walked in, revealing two sleeping babies in her arms. "I know. But, Elijah and Elora said they wanted some time with their mommy and daddy."

I smiled lightly, shaking my head. "They are just babies, Mom. They can't talk."

Mom leaned down and placed Elora in my arms, and then Elijah. I looked down, seeing them both fast asleep, happily sucking on their pacifiers. "I could stare at them forever."

"You and Millie make beautiful babies," Mom rubbed my shoulder. "I pray to the moon goddess you will make many more."

After that, Mom touched Millie's cold hand sweetly, said a slight prayer, and kissed her head. I could tell Mom wanted to say more, but she couldn't.

She knew Millie's condition was bad.

So instead, with tears threatening to spill, she blew me a kiss before closing the door.

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