[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride":3,"chapter-the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-709":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Alpha's Unwanted Bride",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1497087,1945,"Chapter 709: THE BABY IS COMING","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-709",709,"\u003Cp>The ruby screamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not with sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Aiden crossed whatever invisible boundary guarded the outer tunnels, the stone on the pedestal flared so violently that the chamber was flooded in red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The glow spiked sharp and erratic, shadows jerking wildly along the walls as if the stone itself were trying to tear free of its restraints.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cried out, more in shock than pain, my hands flying to the floor to steady myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Maelis hissed, spinning toward the pedestal. \"No hold steady.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ruby pulsed again, brighter, faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hungry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t reaching for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was reaching for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt it then, sudden and horrifyingly clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh,\" I whispered. \"I think it knows him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maelis’s head snapped toward me. \"What did you say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The stone,\" I said, my voice trembling as another surge rippled through the chamber. \"It recognizes him. Like... like it remembers him hands.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ruby flared again, crimson light surging outward in jagged waves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air thickened, pressing against my skin until it felt hard to breathe. Every instinct in my body screamed danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He wielded a piece of it.\" Maelis said grimly. \"Even a shard is enough to bind a resonance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He didn’t just touch it,\" I said, realization blooming cold and sharp in my chest. \"He fed it. He used it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ruby answered with a violent spike of light, as if pleased to be understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Domination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wanted him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wanted what he had become.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another roar shook the cavern, closer now, the sound of wings beating against the air, of stone grinding under immense weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dust rained from the ceiling as the chamber trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And through it all, the ruby throbbed faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My emerald reacted too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But differently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The green glow at my throat deepened, spreading warmth instead of heat, a steady presence that wrapped around my ribs, my spine, my womb. It didn’t surge or spike. It anchored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It steadied me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt it settle around my baby like a shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Protective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Preserving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The contrast was so stark it made my stomach twist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maelis glanced at my necklace, her eyes widening slightly as the emerald’s glow strengthened, forming a soft halo around my upper body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t like this.\" I said with worry\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another pulse slammed through the chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then the pain hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Real pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>White hot and blinding, tearing through my lower body with a force that ripped the breath from my lungs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I screamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My back arched violently as a contraction seized me, sharp and merciless, unlike anything I had felt before. It wasn’t a warning ache or a distant pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I clutched my belly instinctively, fingers digging into fabric as another wave crashed through me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh gods,\" I sobbed. \"Maelis....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emerald flared brighter, its warmth intensifying as if responding to my distress, but it couldn’t stop what had begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something wet and terrifyingly real spread between my thighs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" I whispered in panic. \"No, no, no...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maelis was at my side instantly, dropping to her knees, her hands hovering but not touching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Breathe,\" she commanded softly, firmly. \"Look at me, Jasmine. Breathe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another contraction ripped through me, stronger than the last, stealing my voice entirely. I cried out, my vision blurring as tears streamed down my face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The baby,\" I gasped when it eased slightly. \"He’s... he’s coming.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maelis’s expression hardened with urgency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Already?\" she muttered. \"Damn it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ruby pulsed again, wild and erratic now, its light stuttering as if the stone itself were destabilizing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He’s too close,\" I whimpered. \"My father... he’s too close. It’s triggering everything.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maelis glanced toward the entrance, jaw tight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The ruby is reacting to his corruption,\" she said. \"And your body is responding to the surge. The magic is pushing you forward whether you’re ready or not.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another contraction hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I screamed again, the sound echoing off the cavern walls, raw and unrestrained. My whole body shook, muscles locking as pain tore through my pelvis and belly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can’t.....\" I sobbed. \"I can’t do this yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can,\" Maelis said firmly, gripping my shoulders. \"You are doing it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head, terror clawing up my throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It hurts,\" I cried. \"It hurts too much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\" she said softly. \"I know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emerald burned hot against my skin now, not painful, but intense, its glow wrapping tighter around me, around the baby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>felt something else then too, deep inside me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My wolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not bursting free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not raging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bracing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It pressed inward instead of out, a powerful presence settling low in my body, instinctive and focused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Protect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another contraction surged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I screamed, my nails biting into my palms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maelis,\" I gasped. \"I don’t think I can stop this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked me straight in the eyes, her voice steady despite the chaos around us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then we don’t stop it,\" she said. \"We guide it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ruby flared again, a violent spike that sent a shockwave through the chamber. The emerald answered immediately, its glow surging outward, stabilizing the air, dampening the ruby’s wildness just enough to keep the chamber from collapsing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stones were fighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can feel him,\" I sobbed. \"He’s so close.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\" Maelis said. \"Listen to me. Your wolf doesn’t need to be fully unleashed. It just needs to open.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another roar echoed outside, closer than ever now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hold on,\" Maelis urged. \"Just a little longer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I clung to her words, to the steady warmth of the emerald, to the protective pressure of my wolf curling around my womb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body shook with another contraction, stronger, longer, stealing everything from me but pain and instinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m scared,\" I whispered when it finally eased, my voice barely audible. \"I don’t want him to take my son.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maelis leaned in close, her forehead touching mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He won’t,\" she said fiercely. \"Not while you’re here. Not while you choose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ruby pulsed again, furious now, its light flaring in jagged bursts as if sensing it was losing control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emerald burned steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unyielding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another contraction surged, and I cried out again, louder this time, my body bowing under the force of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can not have this baby not now.\" I pleaded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She seemed to be in thought for a split second then said. \"I can try a magic trick. It will hold the baby for now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without invitation she placed a hand on my tummy and I felt the gnaw of pain slowly begin to melt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The contractions still present were now easier to handle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Open the portal before the contractions get worse.\" She advised\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I could smell my father already in the room\u003C\u002Fp>",1113,"2026-06-06T04:22:27.141Z",1,"novelbin.me","4f26c1f8a12ecfd2844a028d27ae331271999ca2b755876149adf9e35498df42","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-710","the-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-chapter-654",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-alpha-s-unwanted-bride-cover.jpg"]