Chapter 1
I held my newborn cub, and Rhys’s kiss brushed my forehead.
“My Queen, you’ve been through so much.”
His voice was gentle, his eyes overflowing with affection.
The cub slept peacefully in my arms, his tiny face flushed, his breathing even.
This was the happiest I’d been since I woke up in this cursed book.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Breeding mission complete. Energy full. Initiating sacrifice protocol. Your flesh and blood will reconstruct Queen Lyra’s body.]
The System’s cold, metallic voice rang in my ears.
My blood ran cold.
Rhys’s eyes turned to ice. All tenderness vanished without a trace.
He roughly snatched the crying cub from my arms.
“Rhys? What are you doing? Give him back!”
I reached out to reclaim my child, but he pushed me away.
“Time to fulfill your final purpose.”
I was forcibly dragged from the bed, my legs so weak I could barely stand.
Post-birth weakness left me utterly defenseless.
The altar was ready, bathed in silver moonlight pouring through the high dome.
At the altar’s center, Lyra’s ‘perfect doll’ lay still.
Her face was identical to mine, yet somehow more exquisite, flawless.
Her soul drifted out from a shimmering prayer crystal, clad in a Queen’s gown that should have been mine.
Golden embroidery gleamed on the hem of her dress in the moonlight.
“Well done, my little breeding tool.”
She contemptuously ran a finger down my cheek.
“Thank you for bearing such a perfect vessel and bloodline for me.”
“Now, it’s my turn to be reborn.”
Her smile was beautiful and venomous.
Rhys forcibly shoved the wailing cub into Lyra’s arms.
The cub, sensing a stranger, cried even harder.
“Look closely, this is your true mother.”
Rhys pointed at me, his eyes filled with disgust and disdain.
“She? She’s just a stain, a filthy vessel that polluted your pure bloodline.”
The cub struggled desperately in Lyra’s arms, tiny hands reaching frantically for me, tears blurring his golden eyes.
“Mommy… Mommy…”
It was his first word. It might be his last.
My heart tore into a million pieces.
Rhys raised the sacrificial blade, its edge glinting coldly in the moonlight.
“Don’t be afraid. Sacrificing your life for Lyra’s rebirth is the greatest honor you could ever achieve.”
“You should be proud.”
The blade point hovered over my heart.
Gazing at his alien, cruel face, everything clicked into place.
From start to finish, I was nothing but a tool. A tool to bear their child, to provide the very flesh they needed.
The instant the blade was about to plunge into my heart, I bit down hard on my tongue.
My heart’s blood surged out, arcing a crimson line through the air.
“By my blood, I bind thee! By my soul, I swear!”
I screamed the ancient symbiotic pact, pouring every ounce of my spiritual energy into it.
“In life and death, we are one! Blood to blood, heart to heart! Harm me, harm my son!”
The crimson pact transformed into golden chains, swirling and dancing in the air.
One end bound to me, the other searing itself onto the cub’s brow.
Golden light flared. The pact was sealed.
Rhys’s blade plunged into my shoulder without hesitation.
Excruciating pain flared, but I bit back a scream, gritting my teeth.
Blood streamed down the blade, dripping onto the altar.
At the same moment, the cub in Lyra’s arms let out a shrill wail.
An identical wound appeared on his tiny shoulder!
Blood stained his swaddling clothes, and his little face instantly went pale.
“What’s happening? Why is the Royal Heir injured?”
Rhys stared, horrified, at his bleeding son.
The blade in his hand trembled, unable to plunge deeper.
“A symbiotic pact! It’s a symbiotic pact!”
Archon Gabriel rushed in, face ashen.
“My King, you cannot kill her! If she dies, the Royal Heir dies too!”
Rhys’s hand trembled violently.
He frantically poured his power into me, desperate to stop our bleeding.
Warm healing energy flooded my body.
The sacrifice was halted, and Lyra’s scream ripped through the entire altar.
“No! My rebirth! My perfect body!”
Her soul-form trembled violently, on the verge of dissipation.
“It’s all your fault! You cursed wretch!”
“I’ll kill you! I’ll tear you apart!”
I collapsed into the blood, holding my child close.
His wound was already healing, his breathing steadying again.
At least we were alive. And I still had a chance to protect him.