Third Person POV “I don’t understand why you are so nervous… It’s not like this is your first child,” Cora teased her older brother, Zachary, who was pacing back and forth outside of Selene’s hospital room. He didn’t want to disturb his wife while she slept. Sleep hadn’t come easily to Selene; this had been a rather difficult pregnancy, and Selene’s body had taken a serious toll. The doctors finally gave her something that allowed her a bit of comfort. Zachary and Cora decided to step out of the room to give her some space, and Zachary hadn’t stopped pacing since. His wolf didn’t like the idea of being away from Selene, having her out of his sight, even for a second. He was trying hard to contain his wolf’s growing agitation, and Cora’s teasing wasn’t helping. Zachary and Cora always had a good relationship; they really only had each other since their parents’ untimely death when they were young. “You said it yourself, this child is the most powerful witch to exist,” he muttered. “Plus, this is my first daughter. I’m not sure I know how to raise a daughter.” Cora gave her brother a comforting smile. “It’s not like you’re going to do this on your own,” she said, putting a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “If she survives giving birth to this baby,” Zachary said grimly, his wolf not liking those words coming out of his mouth, growling immediately. “She’s weak… weaker than I had ever seen her, and she’s in so much pain.” “That’s why I’m here and I’m not leaving,” Cora assured him. “I’ll make sure she survives giving birth to this baby.” “How do you suppose you do that?” Zachary asked, narrowing his eyes. “I read somewhere about magic transfer. Magic can be transferred to family heirlooms and kept safe until the intended owner of said magic spills their blood onto the heirloom… only then will the magic be restored.” Zachary raised his gaze to meet his sister, and he could see the seriousness of her words. “What?” He asked, his breathing coming out in short rasps. “Are you serious?” Cora nodded, and she pulled out a pendant from her pocket. It was wrapped in a cloth, and when she unraveled the cloth to reveal the Moon Gem, Zachary’s breath hitched. “Is that—” “Mom’s Moon Gem?” She asked, nodding her head. “Yes.” “I thought it was lost years ago,” he breathed, reaching out to touch the gem, but Cora pulled it back, her eyes narrowed, and her lips turned into a scowl. “Don’t touch it with your greasy fingers,” she scolded. “I don’t need you ruining it. It took a lot for me to keep this from you… But it was never lost. I took it and hid it for safekeeping.” His eyes snapped to hers, and they widened. “Why would you hide it from me?” “Because Mom asked me to before she died,” Cora admitted. “I’m not entirely sure why. But she didn’t want this to get into the wrong hands… so she told me to keep this a secret from everyone, especially you.” Zachary shook his head, disbelief clouding him. He didn’t have a great relationship with his parents. When they got word of their accident and went to the hospital to see them, they learned that their father died almost immediately and their mother was in critical condition, but coherent. She didn’t want to see Zachary in her last moments, though; she wanted to see Cora. Apparently, that was the reason she wanted to see Cora, and Zachary couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt. He was the big brother after all… you’d think she would trust him more than Cora with something like this… but that wasn’t the case. “I don’t tell you this to hurt you,” Cora continued, reading his expression. “I’m telling you so you understand why I didn’t tell you about this in the first place. But now I get it… she knew I would need it more than anything. I can transfer your daughter's magic and put it in this gem for safekeeping. Then you can give it to her when she’s older.” Zachary stared at the gem for a long while before his head started to bob up and down. “Okay… if you think it’s possible—”“I know it’s possible,” Cora said, holding up her hand. “I’ve been practicing with my magic, and I think I’m strong enough to be able to pull this off.” Zachary visibly relaxed, and he nodded. The screaming coming from Selene’s room brought them back to the current moment, and Zachary’s face went pale. He rushed into the room behind the doctor. “She’s crowning,” the doctor said, turning to the nurse. “Be prepared to assist me. The baby is coming.” The nurse went to prep to assist the doctor, while the other nurse went to secure Selene and get her ready to give birth. Zachary looked close to passing out as he held onto Selene’s trembling hands. “I’ll get you some water,” Cora told him, her voice carrying over the commotion. Zachary snapped a look at her. “You’re leaving??” She shook her head. “I’ll be back,” she assured him. “Plus, Grandma Esme will be here soon, and I might need her help with the magic transfer.” Esme had been the one to train Cora in the art of magic after all; she figured if anyone could help it… It would be her. Zachary nodded, though he looked uncertain. Cora left the room quickly and her breathing was coming out in short gasps.She was confident when assuring Zachary, but Cora was anything but confident. She was nervous, and she needed her grandmother more than anything. As she rounded the corner, she ran into a body, and she froze when she stared up at the familiar, beautiful face that glared down at her. She couldn’t help the gasp that came out of her mouth. “Ivy?” She asked. “W…what are you doing here?” Ivy Churchill folded her arms across her busty chest, narrowing her icy blue eyes at Cora. “My daughter is giving birth to her baby,” she said. “And you?” “Uh… my brother’s mate is giving birth today,” Cora said, her cheeks flushing. She never thought she would see Ivy again, and honestly, she had hoped she wouldn’t. At one point, they used to be friends, but all of that changed during one night… one party… and the two became enemies. “Well, isn’t this an interesting coincidence,” Ivy said, a sparkle of something in her eyes. “Has the prophecy finally come true? Is the third child of your brother finally the all-powerful little girl?” It was clear that Ivy had been keeping tabs on the Blackwell family and was largely aware that Zachary had two boys. She was there the day that Cora’s grandmother had this prophecy when they were little girls. At the time, Cora had no reason not to trust Ivy.She wasn’t born into the Churchill family, or else they would have never trusted her. She was married into the family after her first husband divorced her, the reason behind her and Cora’s falling out. When she met Spencer Churchill, she moved her and her daughter into the Churchill manor, and Cora thought she would never see her again. But that ended up not being true. Their paths had crossed many times since that unfortunate night. Including the night of her parents’ death. Ivy happened to be in the hospital when she overheard Cora crying to her grandmother, Esme, that the death of her parents was her fault. Cora was in the car the evening of the accident, and she lost control of her powers, causing the car to flip over. Ivy overheard the confession, and she knew she finally had Cora where she wanted her. “It seems you already know the answer to that,” Cora said. “You are correct,” she said. “It seems fate wanted our paths to cross once again. And it’s even better because my very own daughter is expecting a little girl as well… a weak thing at that.” “What?” Ivy rolled her eyes. “My daughter got pregnant with a rogue's baby… can you believe that?” Ivy scoffed. “A damn rogue… I swear. On top of that… she thought it was wise to run away from her home and give birth in this god forsaken place.It took a while for us to track her down, but we finally found her, and we aren’t letting her out of our sights again. But I don’t want that disgusting baby in our home. There’s no place for rogue's blood in the home I’ve worked so hard to build after you tore my first home down.” Cora opened her mouth to reply, but she had no words. “But anyways… this works out perfectly. I’ll keep your little secret about you killing your parents in exchange for that powerful little witch.” Cora’s heart stopped. “I can’t just give you my brother’s baby…” Cora breathed. “Sure it is,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Or else I’ll have my husband, a very powerful Lycan… more powerful than your brother… kill the entire Blackwell family, and then we will take your baby anyway. It’s up to you.” Cora’s entire body trembled. “You’re so cruel,” Cora whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “You destroyed my life,” she said through her teeth. “You deserve every bit of cruelty I throw at you. My daughter won’t know the difference if you switch the babies. She was never bright like that. The choice is yours. I’d choose wisely.” Cora knew she was trapped… but she also knew she was about to take the magic out of her brother’s baby anyway… so it’s not like this magic would fall into the wrong hands. Not that Ivy knew that… she couldn’t let more deaths be on her hands, and she certainly couldn’t let her brother find out about what happened all those years ago.She knew what she had to do; she just hoped she was brave enough to do it. With her mind made up, she turned away from Ivy and went back to her brother.