"I discovered a filthy human-born whoring herself out to your Shadowfang guards. This is the bastard she was carrying!"
"I humbly beg the Supreme Alpha to find the wretch who fathered this thing and grind his bones to ash, so the dignity of the Shadowfang Pack remains unsullied!"
——
Three full years I had carried the child. The moon itself had turned strange colors, and wolves across every territory had howled without knowing why.
The movements in my womb had grown fiercer by the day, the unborn stirring with signs that its arrival was imminent. Some nights I could feel the pup's wolf already pushing against my skin, restless, eager.
I was lying in the den, preparing for the birth, when a commotion broke out beyond the doors.
"The Supreme Alpha keeps coming here every other day. Today, I'm going to see for myself what precious little secret he's hiding!"
"But, my lady, I've heard that the Abyssal Den is part of the Sacred Den grounds. No one is permitted to enter without leave!"