Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Paolo Greco had not expected me to be so considerate. He scoffed sarcastically when he saw my bleeding abdomen. “Drop the act, Grace Williams. The wound is so shallow. You shouldn’t be bleeding so much!” He ignored the pain the silver dagger caused me and shoved me aside. The dagger went even deeper. I could feel the pup in my tummy silently pass. Paolo held Ayla gently. His voice was soft and reassuring as he said, “Don’t worry. I’ve already found the best healers. You’re going to be fine.” Ayla only had a scratch on her arm, yet he was so gentle with her. My lips trembled, and my heart was so broken that I could not speak. He saw me staying silent and grew impatient. “For such a powerful werewolf, bleeding that much is implausible! If you want my attention next time, try a different trick!” I grasped my abdomen. Blood kept oozing from between my fingers. Ayla leaned weakly against his chest and whispered. “Captain, I’m scared… Will you come in with me for the treatment?” Paolo nodded lovingly and carried her into the infirmary. He did not even glance back at me. I let out a bitter laugh as tears fell. Was it because I was a sufficiently powerful wolf, so the notion of me being wounded seemed impossible? In the infirmary, Ayla’s tears did not seem to stop. “It hurts so much… I can’t even lift my arms. If I can’t wield a weapon anymore, how would I stand by your side and protect the pack?” Paolo comforted Ayla as he berated my colleagues. “Why is your medical treatment so lousy? Go get the best healer in this hospital now!” My colleagues could not hold themselves back. “Captain Greco, our best healer is out there bleeding! She’s your mate, and she’s carrying your pup. She got hurt that badly trying to save you. Please, just let us go out and treat her!” My other coworkers chimed in. “Grace has lost too much blood. It’s already more than what a werewolf could heal from naturally. If we don’t intervene soon, it could become life-threatening!” Paolo froze for a moment, clearly weighing the truth of those words. He glanced back at me. My face was pale as snow. Just as his expression began to soften, Ayla burst into tears. “It’s okay… My injuries aren’t serious. Let them treat her instead. They’re her colleagues, after all. They’ll definitely be biased toward her. I have no parents anyway. Nobody loves me. Even if I die, no one would care.” Paolo’s heart ached, and his tone turned sharp and mocking. “Grace, you really are something. Just one year working at our pack’s hospital, and you’ve already gotten so many colleagues speaking up for you, helping you stage this whole ‘critically injured’ drama! “You’ve always been good at winning people over. First, you won over my mother to force me into marrying you, and now you’ve won over your coworkers to defend you!” He glanced at my abdomen, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “So much blood… Who knows how many blood bags you’ve wasted?” I looked at Paolo in despair. In his eyes, I was nothing more than a scheming manipulator. My colleagues stared at him in stunned silence, but Paolo turned to them and said, “Don’t worry about Grace. This weak, pitiful act is just a performance to make me feel sorry for her and to grab my attention. Her belly’s stuffed with cotton and blood bags! She’s just jealous that I treat Ayla so well.” Behind him, Ayla gave me a mocking smile, like she was saying that she had won. When the rogue attacked, Ayla looked at me with a taunting smile and said, “Grace, if you got hurt alongside me, do you really think Paolo would save you?” I knew the answer: he would not. My coworkers were about to speak on my behalf. I rejected it. “It’s alright, go save Ayla. I’ll be fine.” I held my tummy, holding on to the corridor wall, and walked away from the infirmary entrance. Fresh blood drenched my clothes and dripped onto the floor. Staring at the startling red on the floor, Paolo frowned. “Why? Can’t keep up the act any longer? I called out your scheme, so you’re running?” In the past, if he had favored Ayla, I would have been eager to defend myself. But today, when I gave up defending myself, he felt that I was the one who had been exposed and felt guilty! “Hmph, hurry home. Change into clean clothes and come to the hospital to take care of Ayla. If it wasn’t for the fact that Ayla just tried to protect you, she wouldn’t have been injured! You have to take care of her!” I would not argue, never again. After leaving the infirmary, I took off the ring he gave me during the bonding ceremony and threw it into the trash. I was never looking back.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

The search and rescue team quickly arrived. Lieutenant Andrew Johnson instantly spotted my unconscious body through the doorway. He rushed to bring me back to the hospital. “Where’s the doctor? Come and save her! She’s still pregnant.”“Oh gosh. Would the captain go on a rampage if he knew his mate was so badly hurt? He often bragged to us that he was going to be a father. He’s been looking forward to the birth of his pup…” The door to the infirmary suddenly opened. The “father who was looking forward to the birth of his pup”, as they called him, opened the door and gave me a cold look. “You don’t need to be concerned about her. She’s just acting. I’ve exposed her, and she’s still putting up an act.” At that point, I was chilled to the bone. As a doctor, I was well aware that I was on the verge of death. The search and rescue team members looked at each other. Then, they looked back at Paolo like they were looking at a fool. “Captain, have you lost your mind? Come and take a look at her wounds for yourself, and you’ll know. Who would take their own life to put up an act?”“Captain, please, let her go into the infirmary, or you’ll definitely regret it!” The more the people from the search and rescue team pleaded for me, the more impatient Paolo became. He was always very certain of himself and hated it when people questioned his judgment. He walked forward and lifted his foot to kick my abdomen, which was wracked with pain. I subconsciously protected my abdomen. My pup… But I quickly realized that my pup was long gone. Paolo saw that I was awake. His gaze was filled with contempt. “See, isn’t she alive and well? Grace, that’s enough acting. Hurry up and end this ridiculous farce.” My body went limp, and I fell to the floor. The werewolves who were watching could not help but speak, “Oh dear god, how could such a cruel mate exist?”“Whether or not it’s an act, wouldn’t you know by looking at her wounds?” Paolo glanced across the crowd of onlookers. “How much did Grace pay to hire you guys to act? I can triple it for you guys, so shut up!” I laid on the cold floor and closed my eyes in despair. My stomach could no longer feel the pain, but my heart felt like it was being torn apart. When I closed my eyes, memories of my initial joy of pregnancy came flooding into my mind. Paolo was so happy that he hugged me and spun us around. ‘Paolo, our pup is gone,’ I thought. Things were completely over between us. Everyone was pleading for me. They hoped I would be able to get treatment soon. Paolo felt that everyone else was in on my supposed act. As things were at an impasse, Ayla came out of the infirmary. Seeing me lying on the floor, Ayla anxiously came over to help me. “Grace, don’t be so immature. Just to gain Paolo’s attention, you’ve gotten so many extras for your act. Don’t you even feel ashamed? “End this farce. No matter what has happened, I won’t hold you responsible.” As she said that, she blocked everyone’s view and viciously pushed the dagger in my stomach deeper! “Ah!” I screamed out in pain and violently pushed her away. Paolo immediately came up to hold her while giving me a disgusted look. “That’s enough! You crazy woman! Ayla is so kind as to forgive you regardless of the past, yet you still want to hurt her!” I collapsed to the floor as my consciousness faded away. My lover’s accusations were like sharp knives stabbing into my ears. He had no proof. Yet he judged me to be vicious just based on a few words from Ayla. He looked at me coldly and ordered the rest of the search and rescue team to lock me up. “Lock up the crazy woman until the matter is cleared!” The search and rescue team watched my pupils dilate and could not help but argue with Paolo. “Captain, we don’t have the power to enforce the law. The search and rescue team is here to protect werewolves…” Paolo interrupted them. “She’s my mate. Who are you all to meddle in our affairs? She has gone too far this time. I must teach her a lesson!” He stepped forward to pull me up. A tearing pain came from my abdomen. I could not help but scream out in agony. At that moment, my best friend, Retta Evergreen, arrived. She knew that our hospital had been attacked by rogues and came specially to check on my condition. However, when she saw Paolo dragging me in my severely wounded state, she grew furious. “Paolo, what are you doing? Aren’t you from the search and rescue team? Can’t you see that she’s dying?” She rushed over and snatched me back, crying as she checked my condition. She immediately contacted the hospital where she worked to prepare a green channel. With Retta by my side, I thought I would finally be saved… However, Paolo stopped us. “Who let her go? She made such a mess and hurt Ayla. She needs to apologize to Ayla!” Retta almost exploded with anger. “Paolo, open your eyes and see clearly. Ayla is alive and breathing, and your partner, Grace, is bleeding out dry!” I leaned against the wall and listened to them argue. Paolo would not let me go. He said even if I were to die, I would have to do so in front of him. Paolo suddenly walked over and gripped the handle of the knife in my stomach. “You all won’t stop talking about her wounds, so let’s all see whether the dagger is stuck in her body, or in the blood bag under her clothes!” I used the last of my strength to open my eyes. “If you pull out this dagger, there will be no more debts to pay between us.” I knew better than anyone that I would die if he pulled this dagger out. Paolo had once saved my life. I was about to pay it back with my life and my pup’s. Paolo sneered. “Don’t threaten me with this. Aren’t you just afraid that I’ll expose you?” After saying that, he gripped the handle of the dagger and pulled it forcefully. However, he quickly froze.