Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Lucien POV
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I hadn’t slept in days. The tick of time felt louder than usual. Each second was like another drop of dread in the pit of my stomach. Auren’s scent surrounded me. It was calming and maddening all at once. I looked at her, sitting at the edge of the bed. She was glowing. She was so radiant, round, and impossibly beautiful that every time I saw her, my heart went out for her. She was just a few days away from delivering our pup.
But me—I was a wreck. I had asked Remus to contain my emotions so that our mate wasn’t affected, and my wolf did a fantastic job at it. How could I tell Auren the full extent of my fear? I just couldn’t. Not when she smiled at me with so much trust, not when she didn’t once think of the curse looming over us as she hummed while folding baby clothes that we had bought together or when she pressed my hand to her belly to feel our pup kick. How could I dim the glow in her eyes?
Sometimes, I would just spoon her from behind as she slept and watched her for the whole night, praying to the goddess that please don’t let these be my last days with her. I wanted to spend my entire life with her, get old with her, and tell stories to our children and grandchildren. Please goddess, please. I’ve never begged you, but I’m begging now. Tears would swell in my eyes and I cried many nights. Every night, I would put my hand on her belly when she was fast asleep, whispering into her skin. “It’ll be fine. You;ll be safe. I’ll keep you safe. Please, Moon, don’t take her from me.”
Inside me, the curse coiled like a serpent. I’d broken so many pieces of it, but was it enough? It had broken so many pieces of me, and it didn’t seem enough. The curse had stolen every she–wolf who carried the heir of the Shadowfang pack. Would it take her too?
I had seen tattoos on my father’s body when I was a pup. He had those exactly like mine. The one on our chest of that of a wolf was what we were born with. But the thorny vine tattoos appeared slowly on our body as we grew older. By the time we were eighteen, they fully covered our body. When my father died, he still had those tattoos, and I knew that when I would die, I would have them on my body. But after they disappeared partially, hope built in my chest. Sometimes, I would try to scratch away or wash away the remaining ones, hoping against hope that they were just useless ink. But they fucking remained.
Food lost all meaning. I didn’t feel like eating at all. Tarian had commented that I looked like a ghost. I didn’t care. I couldn’t leave her side. I wouldn’t. When she forced me to eat, I would eat, just to appease her.
I sat at the edge of our bed, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor like it held answers I couldn’t find in the stars, while she hummed.
Suddenly, she gasped. Her body stiffened. I snapped my gaze at her, heart slamming against my ribs.
“Lucien…” she said. “It’s happening.”
Panic surged like wildfire. I tried my best to stay calm, but my voice cracked when I called for help. I opened my mind link. “Get the car ready! Auren is in labor!” My hands trembled as I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her. “I’ve got you,” I said, holding her close. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
Her fingers clutched the front of my shirt as I carried her out of the manor, down to the porch where the car was. Tarian met us halfway, wide–eyed and pale. Vivi was rushing beside us with a basket that she always kept ready.
“Get the car. NOW!” I barked. As soon as the car was there, I laid Auren down as gently as I could in the back seat and crawled beside her.
“Lucien!” she cried, her breath coming in short bursts.
Remus howled inside me, frantic as hell. The big bad wolf who would kill so many at the drop of a hat, was whimpering inside me like a pained kitty. I held her hand, not letting it go for a second. “Everything’s going to be okay, love,” I said, over and over. I didn’t know if I was telling her or to myself.
Tarian drove the car, not allowing any other driver to drive it. The ride to the hospital felt like forever. The moment we arrived the doctors came rushing. They tried to separate me from her for delivery, but I growled at them, “I’m not leaving
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13:40 Sun, 13 Apr MM
Chapter 132
her,” I barked in a razor–sharp voice, making other wince.
“She’ll be okay, Alpha Lucien,” Tarian said, trying his best to steady me.
But he didn’t know. No one knew. Not the way I knew. The curse hadn’t whispered anything in months. And now at this time, I feared it the most. Please, Moon Goddess. Let me keep her. I’ll do anything for you.
As I carried her to the labor room, I saw that Elias was already waiting over there for us. I made her lie on the bed. Her contractions were coming faster now. It seemed like our pup really wanted to come out fast.
Elias examined her belly and said, “It should take at least an hour for the head to form.”
“Okay…” I murmured as I looked at him helplessly.
– “Would you like to have coffee?” he asked.
I scowled at him. How could he think of having coffee when my Luna was in so much pain? He winced and backed off. Tarian came to me. “Alpha Lucien, please come out with me.”
I knew why he was asking me to come out. I would have torn the place down because I couldn’t bear seeing Auren in pain.
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But when we were out of the room, I placed my hands on his shoulder and said, “I trust you with life, Tarian. When we both are dead, take care of my pup.”
Tarian’s eyes widened in shock.
AB
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