CHAPTER 381: DEEPEST FEARS...

Charis...

There was silence followed by a long exhale before she asked.

"Are you still there?"

"No, we signed a waiver. We’re going home now."

"I’ll come. First thing tomorrow. With a healer and a pack doctor."

"Nanny..." I whispered, my voice breaking again. "I can’t lose them."

"You won’t," she said firmly. "Now listen to me — you trust your body, yes?"

I nodded, tears sliding silently down my cheeks.

"Then don’t let those machines convince you otherwise. You’re carrying a miracle, Lyla. You’ve defiled the norm, and no one is going to change that, alright. The babies are fine, okay?"

"Alright."

She exhaled again. "Good. Get some rest tonight. I’ll come at first light. And Lyla?"

"Yeah?"

"Be calm, your agitation will affect them."

I turned the phone off and stared ahead, Ramsey’s hand tightening on the steering wheel.

"Did she say anything helpful?"

"She’s coming with a healer tomorrow. She thinks... she thinks they’re still alive."

Ramsey didn’t respond. He just reached over and grabbed my hand tightly.

The rest of the drive was done in silence.

When we finally pulled into the driveway of our house, exhausted and emotionally drained, we were surprised to find a figure sitting on our front steps. As we approached, I recognised the neighbour who had helped us with fixing Paul’s car.

He seemed to be fast asleep.

Ramsey gently tapped the man’s shoulder, and his eyes flew open. When he saw us, he jumped to his feet with surprising agility.

"Oh, thank goodness you’re back!" he exclaimed, his face creased with concern as his eyes immediately found mine. "Are you alright? Earlier today, you seemed so..." He trailed off, clearly unsure how to finish the sentence.

"We’re fine," Ramsey said gruffly, "Thank you for asking and for your help earlier."

The man nodded, but his worried gaze remained on me. "I couldn’t find the key to your house, and I was worried about leaving the place open, so I decided to stay and keep watch."

My heart warmed at his thoughtfulness, and tears pricked my eyes. "Thank you so much. That’s incredibly kind of you. And we don’t even know your name."

"It’s nothing, and my name is Elias," he said with a smile. "I’m just glad you’re both home safe. I’ll start heading back, get some rest, okay? And let me know if you need witnesses for the police issue."

Flashing us another smile, we watched him disappear into his own house before Ramsey unlocked our front door.

"I’m going to bed," I said quietly, heading toward the bedroom.

"Hold on," Ramsey called after me, his voice gentle. "Let me prepare a warm bath for you first. And I’ll make some chicken soup—you need to eat something."

I paused on the bottom step, not turning around. "I’ll just take a shower. And I’m not hungry."

"Lyla—"

"Please, Ramsey. I want to be alone right now."

I started up the stairs again, but his voice stopped me once more.

"I’m sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn’t have been angry with you. I left you..."

"You don’t need to apologise, Ramsey," I said quietly, stopping him midsentence "And I’m not angry. I just want to rest."

"Just eat something..." he insisted.

"I am not hungry."

"Come on, Lyla," he said softly, and I could hear the pain he was trying to hide. "It’s not your fault, and you need food for strength. You lost a lot of blood today."

Without turning to face him, I gripped the bedroom door knob tightly. "Don’t worry about me," I said. "I’ll be fine."

I practically fled to our bedroom, closing the door behind me and leaning against it as silent tears finally began to fall. The pregnancy clothes I’d been wearing felt like a mockery now, the gentle curve of my belly a reminder of what the human doctors believed we’d lost.

I must have fallen asleep almost immediately because the next thing I knew, I was standing in bright sunlight in front of the White Moon Pack house. But something was different—my stomach was much larger and more rounded than it had been, clearly showing an advanced pregnancy.

I turned around, wondering how I was back here.

Did Ramsey drive us back here in my sleep? I remembered going to the bedroom and lying on the bed.

Unable to understand what was happening, I turned to look at my surroundings.

Children were playing on the perfectly manicured lawn in front of the pack house, their laughter filling the air like music. One of them, a little girl with pigtails, ran up to me with a bright red ball.

"Luna Lyla! Will you play with us?" she asked with a gap-toothed grin.

"Of course, sweetheart," I replied, reaching for the ball.

But as the ball touched my hands, it slipped through my fingers and started rolling across the grass away from us. Without thinking, I began chasing after it, my heavy belly making me awkward but determined.

The ball rolled faster and faster, bouncing over flower beds and around trees. I followed it desperately, as if catching it was the most important thing in the world. The children’s laughter grew distant behind me, and the sunny day began to take on an odd, cloudy quality, as if it were about to rain.

Finally, just as my breath was becoming laboured, I managed to corner the ball against a garden wall. I bent to pick it up, then straightened to find someone standing directly in front of me.

"Clarissa?" I blinked in surprise. My sister stood there, but something was wrong. Her usually warm expression was replaced by something cold and malevolent, her eyes holding a darkness I’d never seen before.

"Rissa, what are you doing here?" I asked, taking an unconscious step backwards. "You didn’t tell me you were coming to visit."

She said nothing, just continued staring at me with that horrible expression.

"You’re scaring me," I whispered, clutching the ball against my chest like a shield.

Still, she remained silent, but now she began walking toward me with slow, deliberate steps. When she was close enough to touch, her hand shot out and wrapped around my throat.

I gasped, trying to pull away, but her grip was strong. As I struggled, her face began to change. Clarissa’s kind face became Xander’s cruel one, then melted again into Circe’s features, then transformed into my father’s disappointed expression.

But the most horrifying transformation was the last one—Nathan’s face, twisted with a hatred I’d never seen in life, stared down at me as the hand around my throat tightened.

"You will never be happy," Nathan’s voice said, "I’ll make sure of that."

His free hand drew back, formed into a fist, and aimed directly at my swollen belly. I could see the intent to harm my children in his eyes, the desire to destroy everything I loved.

"NO!" I screamed, throwing my hands up to protect my babies.

I jolted awake, my scream echoing in the real world as I found myself in my bed surrounded by the concerned faces of Ramsey, Nanny and two other people whom I didn’t recognise.

It was a dream.

It had been a dream.

Overwhelmed by how real it had felt, I began to cry. Nanny’s hand immediately came around me, comforting me as I cried.

"It’s okay, baby," she said soothingly, pulling me against her chest like she had when I was small. "You’re safe now. It was just a dream."

When I’d exhausted my tears, Nanny pulled back, cleaning my eyes with her hands. "Whatever dream you had is nothing. Just a response to the stress yesterday. Okay?"

I nodded and turned to look at the man and the woman standing next to the bed.

"This is doctor Morrison," Ramsey broke to silence, pointing to the man "And that is Jenny, she’s a pack healer and they’re both from White Moon pack."

Both of them gave me a polite bow.

"Luna," Dr. Morrison said with a good-natured smile. "We’re glad to be at your service."

"Can you tell me what’s wrong with the babies?" I asked quietly, my hands flying to my stomach. "I started bleeding yesterday and was rushed to a human hospital. The doctors could not find a heartbeat."

"But the babies are perfectly fine, Luna," Dr. Morrison said with a smile. "Strong heartbeats, normal developments, no signs of distress. Whatever those human doctors told you was completely wrong."

"We think it’s because of their machine and our unique biology as werewolves," Nanny added.

"Oh!" I sighed with relief as fresh tears sprang out of my eyes. "I was so scared."

"You didn’t have to be," Nanny chuckled. "I told you the babies are fine."

"But the bleeding—"

"Stress-induced," the healer said gently. "Your body was reacting to emotional trauma and the disruption of being away from pack lands during such a crucial time in the pregnancy. Thankfully, the Alpha told me that you’ve both decided to cut your journey short and come back home."