Single Mother of a Werewolf Baby

Chapter 186: The Shape of What Was

Laila’s turning ritual was successful without any problems. Although there was always a chance of failure... of never coming out alive from such a ritual. But physical condition, personal beliefs, and mental fortitude gave a greater chance of survival. Eleanor had been confident about Laila’s success, but she became slightly worried when the white light descended and Laila let out an ear-piercing cry.

This was the first time Eleanor had observed a turning ritual. Although she herself had been turned, it had happened under very different circumstances. At that time, she hadn’t been thinking clearly. Whatever life presented in front of her, she simply accepted it... without questions, without resistance.

She had been kidnapped and brutally raped. Then came the pregnancy, clearly from one of the kidnappers. Her boyfriend had broken up with her. She was devastated, utterly shattered, teetering on the edge of ending her life.

And when she learned that all her misfortunes were orchestrated by her family and boyfriend... and that they were planning to kill her, it was all over. Her entire world collapsed in that single moment.

She didn’t even know why she fled from home that day. Maybe she wanted to live. Maybe something else had stirred inside her. Even now, with her evolved memories when she was able to recall her childhood with painful clarity... she still couldn’t say for sure what had pushed her to run.

When the accident happened on the road, she’d felt... relieved. She had thought her suffering would finally end. She had accepted death as her escape.

Then she woke up. Ethan had brought her to his home. She was still alive... but inside, she had already died. So, when Selene told her she would not survive without being turned, she didn’t care. She didn’t want to live. She didn’t even react when Ethan revealed he was a werewolf.

She still remembered that dream of the unborn baby, of its pitiful cry. That vision changed everything. That child’s imagined voice gave her the courage to live. She reminded herself constantly: she wasn’t living for herself anymore. She was living for the baby.

She went through the turning with that sole purpose. Whatever Ethan, Selene, or Fiona asked, she followed. Many things were left unexplained. Some instructions contradicted each other. But she didn’t care. She endured all of it... for the baby.

By the time she was fully turned and began thinking clearly, days had passed. Her bloodline had already awakened. She had stepped onto a path she never chose... but one she walked nonetheless.

Now, thinking back, she wondered: if she had been in her right mind, would she have chosen to be turned?

Maybe she would have. Maybe not. But she would have asked questions first.

Turning by an Alpha’s bite was considered extremely dangerous. The chances of survival were so low that unless it was absolutely necessary, no one attempted it. Her condition had been so dire that Ethan believed the risk of turning was less than the certainty of death.

had happened turned out for the best. Her life now was good. The Raynors were good to

fleeting streetlight, no one saw it. Her convoy

and opened her eyes to see how long

casting a surreal shimmer over the

clung to the ground, thin as silk, rising off the heath that bordered the walkway. It drifted in slow, sleepy waves, catching the light like breath in winter. The sky hung vast

world beyond was still and open, yet it pulsed with a

the lives flickering in silence... strangers asleep behind quiet windows, foxes darting between hedges, wind carrying forgotten words over the fields. And above all that, the night wore its silence like

thin smile traced her lips... not one of joy, but of recognition. Of understanding. The road didn’t ask who she was. It didn’t care where she had been. It simply stretched forward, offering space. And in that space...

is like this," she thought. "We think we’re moving toward something... home, meaning, closure... but maybe we are simply meant to witness the passing scenes. Like actors who realise too late that

carving a brief, blinding arc through her reality before vanishing into the

thought, and closed her

***

Whitmore family. When William Whitmore returned home from the hospital, he found the Whitmore Estate surrounded by a team of security

Langford, and had officially reverted to the Langford family. As the former Chairman of EverBuild Solutions Limited, William had

to vacate the property within seven days. They were permitted to take personal belongings... but only in the presence of police, who would verify ownership of all items being

of EverBuild. He was still in his senses enough not to challenge an Earl’s claim on kingdom soil with forged

the estate staff cowering in fear. Learning that no one had actually

William felt no grief over losing the estate. He went to his bedroom and contacted a solicitor friend, explaining the situation and requesting an

documents, gathered the paperwork related to his properties into a single folder, and drafted a list of assets he could sell. He

questions about the estate and confirmed that he would bring a prospective buyer the following day. The conversation

records, gold, diamond jewellery, and other

in the drawing room, paid their outstanding wages in cash, and asked them to stay away for a few days. He told them there was an ownership dispute regarding the house and that he would call them

belongings. None of them wished