CHAPTER 146: THE ONLY WAY

Hailee POV

"I don’t care about rules or marks!" Frederick snarled, his voice breaking through the chaos. His arms tightened around me, his cold strength like iron holding my trembling body upright. "Find a way to save her. Now." The midwife nodded softly as she wrung her hands. The doctors exchanged helpless glances, their instruments gleaming under the light but useless.

And then another contraction slammed into me. My scream filled the chamber as I bowed forward against Frederick’s chest. My vision went black at the edges. I couldn’t breathe. My heart hammered painfully as though it might stop at any second.

"She’s fading," the doctor muttered.

"No!" Frederick’s voice roared with command, his composure breaking. His hand cupped my cheek, forcing me to look at him though my eyes were heavy with tears and pain. "Hailee—stay with me. Don’t you dare leave me!"

The healer’s glowing hands pressed harder against my stomach, her voice urgent now. "There is only one way. She must be marked—now. By the father. If his bond is written into her flesh, the womb will open."

"The father is thousands of miles away; we don’t have the luxury of waiting. Operate on her. Take the babies out—now!"

The doctors froze, exchanging uneasy glances, their hands twitching over their tools. The midwife gasped, her eyes wide with fear.

The healer snapped her head toward him, her glowing palms still pressed against my stomach. "No!" she disapproved, shaking her head. "Do that, and she will bleed out. Her body will not survive such a wound. The babes will die with her."

Frederick’s jaw clenched, fury blazing in his dark eyes. "You’re telling me we do nothing? That we sit here and watch her die?"

The healer’s gaze flicked to me, sorrow heavy in her expression. "I tell you the truth. Unless she bears his mark, her womb cannot be opened safely. If you cut her, you end her life. If you force it, she loses strength and dies, and so do the babes inside her."

Another scream ripped through me, my back arching as my nails dug into Frederick’s arm. My voice was hoarse, barely a whisper. "Please... save them..."

Frederick held me tighter, his forehead pressing against mine as his voice broke. "I can’t lose you. I won’t."

"There is another way," the healer whispered suddenly, her glowing hands trembling against my stomach. All eyes snapped to her.

"What way?" Frederick demanded, his voice like a whip.

Her lips tightened. "If she drinks the blood of a vampire by birth, it will bind her womb. It will act as the sire bond and open the passage. But—" she hesitated, glancing at me. "The price is grave. Her bloodline will forever be tied to his. The next female born of her bloodline will belong to him."

The room froze. My heart lurched painfully, but not from the contractions.

"No," I rasped, shaking my head weakly. The pain twisted through me again, sharp enough to steal my breath. "I won’t let you curse my daughter. Not for me."

Frederick’s jaw tightened. "Hailee—"

"I said no!" My scream cracked, my voice breaking under the strain. "Better I die than doom them! Don’t you dare—don’t you dare!"

Another contraction tore through me. I screamed until my throat went raw, my body arching against him. My vision blurred with black spots dancing at the edges.

The healer’s glowing hands trembled on my stomach. "She is dying," she said urgently. "The pups too. Soon, it will be too late."

My chest heaved, shallow breaths dragging in and out like shards of glass. "Please, Frederick... let me go," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "Don’t chain my bloodline. Don’t steal their future."

But his arms tightened around me, his forehead pressing against mine. His voice was jagged, breaking apart with each word. "I won’t let you die. I can’t."

"You have to—" My lips trembled, my eyes fluttering closed. I could feel myself dying. "You have to let me go."

"Never."

The darkness pulled at me. My heart stuttered, slowing. I felt the life draining out, the babies’ heartbeats faltering inside me.

Frederick’s growl rumbled against my chest, low and feral. In one swift movement, he dragged his wrist across his teeth, blood spilling dark and thick. He pressed it hard against my lips.

"Drink," he snarled.

I turned my head weakly. "No—"

His hand cradled the back of my skull, forcing me steady. His voice cracked with desperation. "Drink, Hailee. Live."

The metallic taste hit my tongue as his blood slipped past my lips. Cold fire spread through me, burning down my throat, searing into every vein. I choked, tried to push him away, but my body was too weak.

And then—he did more.

With a snarl of pain, Frederick’s fangs pierced into my neck. My scream tore the room apart as he drank from me, pulling my blood into him, sealing the bond both ways. My nails dug into his arms, trembling, caught between agony and terror.

"Stop—" I gasped, tears streaming.

But his voice growled against my skin, raw and unrelenting. "I won’t lose you. Not now. Not ever."

The bond burned into me, scorching my soul like fire branded into flesh. My body shook violently, my screams breaking into sobs.

And then—suddenly—I felt them.

Three tiny heartbeats, strong, steady, alive.

The pain dulled, my breath shuddered, my vision clearing just enough to see Frederick’s face above mine—blood on his lips, his eyes glowing with a strange light, fierce and broken all at once.

The healer’s voice shook as she whispered into the stunned silence:

"It is done. Her bloodline is sealed. The next daughter born of her bloodline will belong to him."

I wanted to cry, to scream, but another contraction ripped through me, forcing my body forward. This time—it was different. The pain wasn’t empty. The passage had opened.

"She’s ready!" the midwife shouted. "Push, Hailee, push now!"

Frederick’s arm wrapped around me from behind, his lips brushing my temple, his voice rough but steady. "I’ve got you. Do it, Hailee. Bring them into this world."