Chapter 8: The Taste of Poison

The morning after my whispered betrayal, the air in the pack was thick with suspicion. I could feel it in the way the warriors’ eyes followed me, in the way the elders’ whispers died when I entered the hall. My power—that cursed, seductive voice—had been dormant for weeks, but Cain’s rigidity told me all I needed to know. He had heard me breathe his name. And now, he kept his distance like I was a live grenade.

I should have been relieved. Instead, I felt hollow.

It was Margot who found me in the gardens, her smile too sharp, her eyes too green. She was the pack’s finest female warrior—a rival for Cain’s attention, or so the gossip claimed. Her black hair was braided tight against her skull, and her hand rested on the dagger at her hip with practiced ease.

“Elara,” she said, her voice sweet as spoiled honey. “You look pale. The Alpha’s been working you hard, has he?”

I tensed. “What do you want?”

“Just to be friendly.” She produced a small vial from her pocket, the liquid inside a shimmering gold. “A tonic. For strength. The curse takes a toll on your body, doesn’t it? I’ve seen the dark circles. Drink it.”

I should have refused. Every instinct screamed it. But I was tired—so tired of being weak, of being the fragile human at the mercy of werewolves who saw me as a weapon or a liability. And Margot was a warrior. Why would she lie?

I took the vial and drank.

The first swallow was sweet. The second was ash. A searing pain ripped through my throat, down into my chest, and I gasped, dropping the glass. It shattered on the path.

Margot’s smile turned wolfish. “How does it feel, little bird? The Wolfsbane Lily. Slow, but certain. You won’t die—not yet. But you’ll wish you had.”

I clutched my stomach, the world tilting. My knees hit the ground, and I heard her laugh as she walked away. “The Alpha will blame himself, you know. That’s the beauty of it. He’ll think his rage did this. He’ll break.”

Darkness swirled at the edges of my vision. I tried to cry out, but my voice—my voice was a curse. I couldn’t use it. I wouldn’t. I pressed my lips together, tasting copper and blood.

Then the ground shook.

Cain’s roar was primal, a sound that ripped through the garden like a hurricane. I saw him vault over the hedges, his eyes blazing molten gold, his claws extended. He was on Margot before she could scream, his hand around her throat, slamming her against a stone pillar.

“What did you do?” His voice was low, deadly, a promise of annihilation.

Margot choked, her bravado crumbling. “She’s—she’s just a human, Alpha. A distraction. I did you a favor.”

Cain’s jaw tightened. “A favor.” He repeated the words like they were poison. “You poisoned my mate.”

_Mate._

The word echoed in my ears, even as I struggled to breathe. My heart stuttered. Had he just—?

“She’s not your mate!” Margot spat, her face turning purple. “She’s a curse-bearer! An abomination!”

Cain’s eyes flickered to me, and something in his expression cracked—a raw, naked fear I’d never seen on his proud face. “She’s my mate,” he said, quieter now, broken. “And you’ve hurt her.”

He didn’t kill her with a claw. He didn’t use his teeth. He opened his mouth, and a sound—a sub-vocal command, a frequency that made my ears ring—ripped through the air. Margot’s body convulsed, her eyes wide with terror, and then she crumpled, lifeless, her neck snapped by the force of his voice alone.

The garden fell silent. Cain turned to me, his chest heaving, his hands shaking as he dropped to his knees before me. He cradled my face, his thumbs brushing away the blood from my lips.

“Elara. Elara, stay with me.”

I tried to smile, but my lips were numb. “You said… mate.”

His eyes shimmered, and I realized—with a shock that outweighed the poison—that he was crying. “Yes. My mate. From the moment I saw you. But I couldn’t—I wouldn’t—bind you to me. Not when my voice could destroy you.”

“The curse,” I whispered.

He nodded, his voice cracking. “It’s not just my power. It’s my punishment. I was cursed by the Moon Goddess for my arrogance—for killing an innocent pack in my rage. My voice can command anyone, but every time I use it to force obedience, it drains my soul. And if I ever use it on my true mate…” He swallowed hard. “It will kill you. Elara, my voice was made to destroy, not to love. That’s why I pushed you away. That’s why I locked you in that cage.”

The poison burned, but not as much as the truth. I reached up, my fingers weak, and touched his cheek. “So you locked me away to save me.”

He let out a broken laugh, tears streaming down his face. “And I failed. I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t—I can’t—do this right. I’m a monster, Elara. But I love you. Gods help me, I love you.”

The world spun. My vision flickered. I heard him roar again, heard him call for a healer, felt his arms tighten around me.

Then a whisper slithered through my fading mind—a voice that wasn’t mine. It was low, feminine, and amused.

“Foolish girl. You think the Wolfsbane Lily is the only poison I’ve planted? The Alpha’s confession is just the beginning. The real trap is already set. And it’s wearing your face.”

My eyes flew open, the darkness receding for a single, horrifying moment. In the reflection of Cain’s silver belt buckle, I saw my own face—but my smile was wrong. Too sharp. Too cruel.

I hadn’t been poisoned for my weakness.

I had been poisoned to make me the weapon.

And somewhere in the pack, someone else was wearing my face, walking free.