Chapter 88 ESMERALDA

Chapter 88 ESMERALDA
AVRIELLE'S POV

The rain kept pounding against the glass, but inside the room, the silence between contractions was absolute—broken only by Ivana’s wet, agonized wheezing.

Her light-blue silk gown was ruined, soaked through with sweat and fluid. Her pale skin had taken on a terrifying, translucent sheen, her dark hair matted across her forehead like drenched weed.

"I... I can't do it anymore, Avrielle..." Ivana gasped out, her head rolling limply against the pillows. Her eyelids fluttered heavily as if she were drifting into an inescapable abyss. "I can't... I don't have the strength..."

"Hey!"
I stepped forward, my hand moving on instinct. I brought my palm down sharp and loud against her cheek.

SLAP!

Ivana’s head snapped sideways, her eyes flying open in sheer shock.

"Open your damn eyes!" I yelled, leaning over her, my voice sharp enough to cut through the haze of death creeping into the room. "Look at me, Ivana! You have to stay awake! You have to push your child out! You can't die in this bed, do you hear me?! Push!"

Ivana let out a shaky, strangled breath, tears cutting clean tracks through the dried sweat on her face. "I'm sorry..." she whimpered, her voice breaking into a pitiful, childlike cry. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

'Avrielle.' Elle’s voice echoed suddenly in my mind. It wasn't the roaring, bloodthirsty wolf that had fought on the altar steps an hour ago. Elle sounded exhausted, her spirit heavy with grim certainty.

'She can't make it,' Elle whispered softly.'Her heart is failing. The physical trauma of the stress, the loss of her mate's bond, and the rapid labor... her body is shutting down. She won't survive the delivery.'

My jaw locked. I stared down at Ivana’s pale face, at the huge swell of her stomach where a tiny, innocent life was trapped, struggling to be born into a world of ashes.

'I'm not letting an innocent child die,' I replied to Elle in my mind, my voice unyielding. 'I've got to do something.'

Elle was silent for a fraction of a second before her aura flickered within my chest.

'You can just hold on to her hand,' Elle instructed softly, her tone grave. 'If you touch her, I can channel our soul strength directly into her system. It will force her heart to pump through the final contractions.'

'But Avrielle... it will drain both of us completely and even with our power... she still won't survive after childbirth. It will only give her enough energy to bring the baby out.'

"Do it," I said aloud, without a single moment of hesitation.

'Very well,' Elle murmured. 'Hold her hand.'

I reached down, wrapping my fingers tightly around Ivana’s freezing, clammy hand. I squeezed with all the remaining strength in my body.

SWOOSH.

The moment our skin connected, an intense, searing surge of pure Luna energy rushed out of my chest, flowing down my arm and pouring straight into Ivana’s failing body. My knees buckled slightly as a sudden, dizzying wave of exhaustion hit me. My vision flickered, the edges of the room turning dark, but I planted my feet firmly on the floor and held on.

Across the bed, Ivana’s body jolted as if struck by lightning. Color rushed back into her deathly pale cheeks. Her lungs expanded violently, taking in a massive, ragged gulp of air.

"PUSH!" I roared, my voice shaking the bedposts as I tightened my grip on her hand. "Push now, Ivana!"

The senior nurse dropped to her knees at the foot of the bed, her hands ready. "I see the head! Push, My Lady! Push with everything you have!"

Ivana threw her head back, her teeth gritted so hard her gums bled as she let out a long, ear-splitting scream of pure, primordial effort that echoed through the entire house.
"AHHHH!"

She pushed with one final, unbelievable heave.

SLIP.

A wet, miraculous sound filled the room, followed immediately by the sudden, sharp, glorious sound of a tiny voice cutting.

WAAAAAH! WAAAAAH!

The high-pitched, furious cry of a newborn baby exploded through the room.

The energy drained back into my chest, leaving me gasping for breath, my knees trembling violently as I leaned against the bedside table to keep from collapsing. I wiped a cold bead of sweat from my forehead, my heart hammering like a trapped bird.

"It's out! The baby is out!" the senior nurse gasped, quickly wrapping the squirming, crying child in a warm, sterile white cloth.

I leaned over the bed, my breath coming in ragged hitches, and gently patted Ivana’s damp hair away from her forehead. A weary, breathless smile touched my lips.

"You did it," I whispered softly. "You did it, Ivana."
Ivana lay flat on the pillows, her chest rising and falling in slow, shallow glides. I could see her life force ebbing away like sand through an hourglass.

"Can I... can I see my child?" Ivana rasped, her eyes barely open, her voice thin as paper.

The junior nurse walked over, stepping close to the side of the bed, holding the small white bundle gently in her arms so Ivana could look down at the tiny, red-faced newborn.

"It's a girl, My Lady," the nurse said gently, a warm smile on her face.

Ivana stared down at the squirming infant. She didn't even have enough strength left to lift her arm to touch the cloth, but a soft, breathtakingly beautiful smile spread across her pale, bloodless lips.

"She's... she's beautiful..." Ivana breathed out, tears slipping silently from the corners of her eyes.

I turned to the nurses, my voice steady despite my exhaustion. "Go clean the baby up."

The three nurses nodded respectfully. "Yes, Luna."

They gathered their bags and carried the small, crying bundle into the adjoining bathroom, pulling the door partially shut to begin washing and wrapping the infant.

The room grew quiet once more.

I let go of Ivana’s hand, stepping back, intending to step out into the hallway to let her rest. But before I could take a second step, a weak, trembling touch caught the edge of my sleeve.

I paused, turning my head back to look down at her.

Ivana’s weak fingers were hooked loosely into my cuff. She looked up at me through a haze of fading light, her eyes completely stripped of the arrogant malice she had worn her entire life.

"Can you... can you stay a little longer?" Ivana asked softly.

I stared down at her for a long beat and suddenly I could hear the rain tapping against the windowpane.

I didn't say anything at first, but I slowly pulled up a chair beside the mattress and sat down, leaning my elbows on the edge of the bed.

Ivana let out a tiny, bitter scoff, a faint, sad smile touching her lips.

"Can I even say sorry to you anymore, Avrielle?" Ivana whispered, her eyes searching my face with an overwhelming weight of regret. "It's... it's crazy, isn't it? How the very same person I tried so hard to destroy... is the only one standing beside me at my final moment?"

I looked at her pale face, my expression calm and unreadable.

"I want to tell you to be optimistic, Ivana," I said softly, my voice completely free of hatred. "But we both know you can't make it."

Ivana let out a breathless, tragic laugh, nodding her head slowly against the pillow.

"Then... can you forgive me?" she asked, her voice cracking into a small, fragile sob. "I don't even know what to ask forgiveness for first. Maybe... maybe for treating you like garbage from childhood... for hating on you just because you were more beautiful than me... for mocking your chubby self when we were young... for helping Adrian ruin your life... for taking your husband... for taking everything..."

She squeezed her eyes shut, a tear rolling down her cheek into her hair.

"I can't remember it all," Ivana whispered, her voice growing fainter with every passing second. "But now that I think of it... I've always been a complete jerk, haven't I? So... Avrielle... will you forgive your little sister?"

I looked away for a fraction of a second, staring out the window at the grey autumn sky, letting out a long, slow breath. The memories of our bitter past swept through my mind—the cruel taunts, the petty betrayals, the games that had forced me out into the cold. But looking at her now, broken and dying in an empty house, all the old poison simply evaporated into thin air.

I turned back to her, a small, genuine smile gracing my face.

"I hold no grudge against you, Ivana," I said gently. "It all happened for the best. If all those terrible things didn't happen... I would never have met Xavier."

I reached out, placing my hand over her cold fingers, giving her hand a reassuring, gentle squeeze.

Ivana’s eyes sparkled with tears again. "Thank you..." she breathed.

She took a slow, labored breath, her grip tightening slightly around my fingers with the absolute last reserve of her strength.

"Then... can I ask you to take care of my daughter for me?" Ivana asked, her eyes searching mine with a desperate, maternal panic. "I don't want her to be bullied while growing up... and she would be so much safer with you. I already know Adrian is dead... and now you're the only one who can help me. Please... please protect my daughter."

I looked at her, slowly trying to loosen my fingers from her weak grip.

"Are you sure you want to trust me with that responsibility, Ivana?" I asked softly, testing her resolve. "I'm still your rival. What if I take all my past anger out on your child?"

Ivana shook her head frantically against the pillow, tears spilling over her cheeks.

"Then can I ask my sister... to care for my daughter as if she were hers?" Ivana begged, her voice dropping into a desperate, heartbreaking whisper. "Can you... can you care for my Esmeralda?"

I paused, looking at her gently. "Is that what you want to call her? Esmeralda?"

Ivana nodded slowly, a radiant, peaceful warmth touching her face. "Yes... Esmeralda means 'precious green gem'... and she's my 'light in the dark'. So... will you take care of the light the world gave me?"

I let out a soft, dramatic sigh, rolling my eyes in that familiar, teasing way we used to do when we were little girls before the hatred consumed us.

"Okay, stop nagging me," I said, a faint smile on my lips. "I'll take care of her."

Ivana’s face lit up with absolute, pure peace.
"Thank you..." Ivana murmured, her voice fading into a quiet, contented sigh. "Now... I can rest easy..."

Her hand slowly went completely limp in mine.

Her fingers slipped from my knuckles, dropping heavily onto the mattress. Her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, unblinking, the faint smile still carved into her pale lips as the last breath left her chest forever.

I sat there, staring at her motionless face for a long, silent minute.

I let out a low, deep sigh, reached up with my hand, and gently pulled her eyelids down, covering her dead eyes.

Just then, the bathroom door swung open. The senior nurse walked back into the bedroom, holding the newborn baby wrapped snugly in a clean, soft pink blanket. The baby was washed, her tiny face pink and clear, her small lips making tiny sucking sounds in her sleep.

I stood up from the chair, looking at the nurse with a calm, quiet authority.

"Clean her up," I said softly, gesturing to Ivana’s body. "I'll have the pack guards move her to the sacred burial grounds to lay beside her mate."

"Understood, Luna," the nurse said solemnly.

I walked over to the senior nurse, extending my arms. I carefully, gently took tiny Esmeralda into my embrace, cradling her head against the crook of my elbow.

She was so unbelievably light, her little head resting against my chest, her tiny pink lips smacking together as her closed eyes fluttered in her sleep.

I looked down into her tiny face, a soft, overwhelming warmth blooming inside my chest.

"Esmeralda," I whispered into her little ear, a gentle smile gracing my face. "Your mom gave you such a beautiful name."

I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, carrying the newborn down the quiet, grand hallway toward the staircase.

The moment I reached the top of the stairs, the front door below swung open.

Xavier stepped into the house. His shoulders were still covered in rain and faint traces of dried blood, his golden eyes filled with an intense, anxious worry as he looked up the staircase. The second he saw me walking down with a pink bundle in my arms, he leaped up the stairs two at a time, meeting me on the landing.

He stopped right in front of me, his sharp gaze falling onto the tiny baby in my arms before looking up at my face.

"Ivana?" Xavier asked quietly, his voice low and heavy.

"She didn't make it," I replied softly, my tone calm.

Xavier closed his eyes for a brief second, letting out a solemn breath, before nodding his head. He looked back down at the small bundle in my arms, his brows pulling together in genuine wonder. He reached out a broad, calloused finger, lightly hovering over the baby's tiny blanket.

"She looks so tiny..." Xavier murmured, sounding completely out of his element.

A mischievous, teasing smile spread across my face as I looked up at him. "You looked the exact same at birth, Alpha."

Xavier immediately frowned, shaking his head with absolute certainty. "No. Alpha bloodlines tend to look much bigger at birth. And..."

He paused, leaning in slightly, his nostrils flaring as he took a subtle breath of the air surrounding the baby.

His eyes narrowed into two thoughtful slits.
"...I can't smell the blood-bond between us like I did with Adrian," Xavier said flatly, his voice utterly confident. "She isn't Adrian’s daughter."

My breath caught in my throat. I stared down at the tiny, squirming thing in my arms, a sudden, dark realization washing over me. Ivana had even dared to cheat on Adrian with another pack member before her mate died. She'd never cease to amuse me.

I looked up into Xavier’s eyes, my heart beating steady and strong.

"Then..." I asked softly, stepping closer to his broad frame, "...can I be her mother?"

Xavier blinked, his jaw dropping slightly in pure confusion. "Huh?"

"Henceforth," I declared, my voice rising with a clear, absolute authority that vibrated through the hallway, "Esmeralda will be known as my daughter, and not Adrian’s or Ivana’s. She will be raised under my wing, treated as the Pack Princess, and given all assigned respect. And anyone who dares to cross her... will be crossing me."

I raised my chin, locking my eyes with his with a fierce, challenging smirk.
"This is my very first decree as your Luna," I added.

Xavier stared at me for three long seconds and broke into a slow, breathtakingly handsome grin. He lowered his head, a soft chuckle rumbling deep within his chest.

"Noted, My Lady," Xavier murmured, his voice dripping with pure devotion.

I smiled, nudging his hip playfully with mine. "You let me do anything I want, don't you?"

Xavier let out a low, warm laugh, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down at the tiny baby again.

"I wouldn't dare not... but who knew I'd become a father so soon? I thought I'd have to wait at least nine months or something for our own."

I brought my hand up, playfully slapping his arm. "Focus on our daughter right now, okay?!"

Xavier’s smile softened into something breathtakingly gentle. He leaned down, extending his massive, calloused index finger, and very softly stroked tiny Esmeralda’s soft pink cheek.

The newborn made a tiny, happy sigh, leaning her head into his touch.

Xavier looked down at her with glowing, fiercely protective eyes.

"Welcome to this world, Esmeralda," Xavier whispered softly.