Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother-Chapter 359: _ Devil’s Spawn

The following moments happened in a blur. My heart stood in my throat as I watched the elderly maids troop out of the main building with Lucia in tow.

From María José’s scream, I knew there was no time to rush her to the pack’s hospital. The maids seemed to understand that too, because some of them carried items like towels, pillows, large bowls filled with water, and blankets.

Moreover, there was the gnawing question at the back of all our minds.

Was it nine months yet?

Definitely not. María José’s childbirth was three months early.

I would be lying if I said that it did not scare the crap out of me.

I held my wife’s hand gently as I whispered words of comfort, which frankly, were for both of us.

"Axellll!" She screamed my name, her back arching with a strained movement. Her nails dug into my arm, drawing blood. I didn’t mind that. She could draw as much blood as she needed. As long as the pain could go away, even if it was just a fraction.

"Por favor, Diosa, let her be safe," I muttered under my breath.

The maids soon arrived before us. The eldest amongst them, a woman in her sixties, yelled orders to the others.

"Bring the pillows! Someone should keep her head warm. I need some assistance over here! ¡rápido!"

I shifted back to give them room to work, but María José suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Don’t you dare leave, Axel, or I swear to the Moon Goddess!"

I swallowed and nodded repeatedly. "I’m here, mi vida. I’m here." I gently held her hand as I forced myself to remain wide-eyed through the experience.

Was this how every other father felt?

Despite my seemingly calm expression, a thousand questions were bubbling in my mind. I was still worried about the safety of the babies, seeing as it would be a premature birth. I was also worried about María José.

She had been especially weak lately, barely being able to walk without help. I wondered if the delivery would go smoothly.

And of course... There was also that terrifying possibility.

I didn’t want to think about it, but damn, it stuck to my mind like glue.

"It will be yours." Hugo said with a degree of confidence that scared me even further.

I shouldn’t even be thinking about that right now! I clicked my tongue and looked at my dear María José. Her lips were tightly clamped together as she tried hard to heed the guidance of the maids.

"Breathe, Señorita María... and Push!"

"Push!"

That word echoed in my head, along with one lengthy ear-piercing grunt.

I tightly held my wife’s hand, supporting her through such an arduous moment.

And then... I heard a sharp gasp, and I saw María José’s chest drop. Her breathing slowed a little and one of the maids wiped her forehead with a warm towel.

My eyes instantly darted towards her legs. My breath ceased for a moment as I watched one of the maids slowly raise a baby wrapped in a white blanket. However, from the way the maid’s eyes flickered, I could tell something wasn’t right.

The woman muttered, "Sus ojos..."

Eyes? 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

I didn’t understand until I received the baby from her hands. And then, I froze too.

"...Axel?" María José’s exhausted voice sounded beside me. "Let me... hold... my baby... déjame ver..."

I swallowed, unsure what to do. Unsure how to feel.

The baby in my hands was... strange.

All around me, I began to hear the hushed whispers of the maids.

"The baby isn’t crying..."

"Look at his eyes..."

"Axel..." María José called again. "What’s wrong?"

What was I supposed to tell her? How was I supposed to tell her?

Indeed, the newborn child had his eyes open already. And, strangely enough, his pupils were rectangular and horizontal. Just like that of a...

The realization suddenly dawned on me.

"Hahaha hahaha haha!" Just then, I heard the deranged laughter of the person I loathed the most in the entire world. Luis.

He wormed around and laughed in a nauseatingly annoying manner.

That bastard. How dare he? HOW DARE HE?!

Before I could act, Álvaro struck him on my behalf. His fist bashed Luis’s face with sheer rage and some of the bastard’s teeth were sent flying.

"Shut up, maldito! I spit on your existence!"

Luis didn’t stop laughing, despite his sorry state. He raised his head with difficulty and said with obvious mockery, "Has it finally dawned on all of you? Haha, María José is carrying MY child! Well, more precisely, that of the devil!"

Gasps erupted around me, and I felt my blood run cold. My fear had come to pass.

He continued in his crazed manner, "Did you really think the baby was yours, huh, Axel?! I have defiled her more times than you can imagine! You have no right to call her yours! She’s mine, and will be mine forever!"

Álvaro struck him once more, this time, more forcefully than before.

"W-what is he saying?" María José asked with a trembling voice. "What is he talking about, Axel? Tell me it’s not true? Please let me see my baby..."

My gaze shifted to her, then to the maids. They all looked at me with pitiful, pained expressions.

I didn’t know what to say.

"My love..." I began to speak, but then, I suddenly felt the air tremble.

A cold wind wafted by as a dread unlike before clutched my heart. All around me, I saw the maids collapse to the floor with pained screams. Something terrifying was coming.

Lucia rushed towards me, her expression filled with panic. She said with a bellow, "It’s the devil! The devil is coming!"

Luis continued laughing in his deranged manner.

"That’s right! My former master, the devil, is coming right here! To claim me, and to claim what is his!"

"What?" I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to stay conscious. María José was barely clinging on too.

With this "devil" approaching, everything was bound to go wrong. None of us would survive. There was only doom ahead of us.

"However!" Luis’s loud voice slithered through the howling winds and encroaching darkness. "I know a way to banish him back to the depths of hell. With a certain condition, of course."

My eyes, darted to Lucia, then to Álvaro, then to María José who was slowly losing consciousness.

I gritted my teeth and turned to Luis.

"Tell me."