Chapter 1

Pain hammered through my skull like a thousand tiny hammers.

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, its wood grain patterns strange and frightening. Sunlight filtered through heavy curtains, casting mottled shadows on the walls. When I tried to sit up, I was startled by the weight on my stomach.

What is this?

My trembling hands moved to my abdomen, feeling a huge, round belly.

"This is... my child?"

The words squeezed out of my dry throat, my voice hoarse as if I hadn't spoken in ages.

"You're finally awake, sweetheart."

A man's voice came from the doorway. He walked into the room, his tall figure blocking part of the light. Brown hair, blue eyes, reasonably handsome, but I had no memory of him whatsoever.

He sat beside my bed and gently took my hand. "You've been sick for a long time and lost some memories."

I stared at his face, trying to find any trace of familiarity. Nothing. "Who are you?"

"I'm Blaze," his smile seemed forced. "We've been together for a long time. This is our child."

Our child? I looked down at my belly.

The room was decorated warmly—light blue wallpaper, wooden furniture, fresh flowers on the nightstand. But these things felt like museum exhibits to me, completely foreign.

"The doctor said this is normal," Blaze continued. "Something happened that affected your memory. What's important is that you and the baby are safe."

"I can't remember anything," I said, panic creeping into my voice. "How did we meet? What did I do for work? What about my family?"

Blaze's grip on my hand tightened slightly. "Don't worry, the memories will come back slowly. Right now you need rest."

He stood up. "Let me get you something to eat."

After he left the room, I tried desperately to recall anything. It was like searching through an empty drawer in my mind—nothing there.

Footsteps came from the living room, along with another voice—female.

I struggled out of bed, my legs still weak, but I needed to know who else was here.

In the living room, a red-haired woman was speaking quietly with Blaze. When she saw me appear, she immediately flashed a brilliant smile.

"Frost! You're awake!" She hurried toward me. "I'm Crimson, we're best friends. You look good."

Friends? I looked at her face, still without any memory.

Crimson held a small plate with several pills and a glass of water. "These vitamins are very important for pregnant women. You must take them on time every day."

I took the pills and held them under my nose. There was a strange, metallic smell—definitely not ordinary vitamins.

"I... I'm not sure about these pills..."

Instinctively, my body was rejecting these things.

Blaze approached, his tone firm: "Trust us, we just want to protect you and the baby."

Protect? What threat were they protecting me from?

I noticed Crimson and Blaze exchange a look—the kind of understanding that only conspirators share. In that moment, I felt completely excluded, as if they had secrets between them.

This isn't right.

But I still swallowed the pills. Minutes later, drowsiness hit me and the world began to blur.

I curled up on the couch, pretending to sleep, but strangely, though my body was drowsy, my hearing became unusually acute.

Whispered voices came from the kitchen.

"How much longer will the medication work?" This was Blaze's voice, but much colder than when he spoke to me. "Her wolf nature is more stubborn than we expected."

"As long as she doesn't fully awaken, she's still under control," Crimson replied, her voice calculatingly cold. "Once the child is born..."

She didn't finish, but the implication in her tone sent chills through me.

I pretended to still be asleep. But my mind was in turmoil.

A sudden, sharp jolt shot through my abdomen—so intense it nearly took my breath away.

"Did she move?" Crimson's voice was suddenly closer.

"No, still sleeping," Blaze said. "But we need to be more careful. If she starts to suspect..."

"She won't. The medication will keep her in a confused state."

I felt nauseous, though I wasn't sure if it was from pregnancy or fear.

When night fell, I faced myself in the dresser mirror alone.

The woman in the mirror had pale skin, long brown hair, green eyes.

The baby stirred restlessly, a rhythmic pulsing against my ribs that felt almost like a heartbeat of rebellion. As if my child was trying to communicate something I couldn't yet understand.

"What are they hiding?" I whispered to my reflection.

Blaze said we'd been together for a long time, but why did I feel nothing for him? Even when I saw him, my first reaction wasn't love, but... wariness?

Crimson said we were best friends, but her smile felt like a mask, with no real care in her eyes.

And those medications. Vitamins definitely wouldn't have that smell.

I reviewed everything that had happened today. Blaze's nervousness, Crimson's fake warmth, those suspicious pills, and most crucially—their conversation about "wolf nature."

I was a werewolf, that much was clear. But why were they hiding it? Why were they controlling me?

The child in my belly moved again, more violently this time. As if it could feel my emotional changes.

No matter what I am, no matter what they want, I can't let them hurt my child.

This thought suddenly surged from deep within me, carrying a primitive, unquestionable determination.

Maternal instinct? Or something else?

I didn't know.

I caressed my belly, feeling the strong life force within.

"I will protect you," I whispered softly. "No matter what happens, I will protect you."

This was the first completely heartfelt thing I'd said since waking up.