Chapter 51: The Truth Kael Wasn’t Ready For
Kael’s POV
For a mont, I didn’t hear anything after that. Not the healer. Not the guards. Not even my own breathing. The only thing that stayed was that one sentence.
This poison only works on soone who cannot shift.
My hand was still wrapped around Liora’s, but I couldn’t feel it properly anymore. Everything in had gone rigid, like my body didn’t know how to react to sothing this precise, this deliberate.
This wasn’t an accident. This wasn’t random. Soone had studied her. Watched her. Understood exactly what she was and what she wasn’t and then they made sothing ant only for her.
My jaw tightened slowly.
"Tell everything," I said, my voice quieter than before, but far more dangerous.
The healer didn’t hesitate this ti. She knew better. "It’s not spreading the way a normal poison would," she explained carefully, still watching Liora’s pulse as she spoke. "It’s not attacking her organs directly. It’s weakening her system first, slowly, like it’s waiting for sothing."
"For what?" I asked.
She hesitated for half a second, then answered, "For her body to give up."
Sothing in my chest snapped at that.
"No," I said imdiately. "That’s not happening."
She didn’t argue with . She simply continued, her voice steady but cautious. "It was never ant to kill her instantly. If that was the goal, they would have used sothing faster, sothing harder to trace. This..." She exhaled slowly. "This is controlled. It’s ant to weaken her over ti."
"So soone can finish it later," I concluded, my voice flat.
The silence that followed confird it. I looked down at Liora. She was still conscious, barely, her eyes half-open but unfocused, her breathing uneven in a way that made sothing cold settle deep in my chest. She wasn’t fighting the way she usually did. She wasn’t even trying to argue and that scared more than anything else.
"How does it affect the pregnancy?" I asked without looking away from her.
The healer stiffened slightly.That alone was enough to tell I wasn’t going to like the answer.
"I don’t know yet," she admitted. "This poison is rare. I’ve only heard of it being used in controlled executions, never like this. But considering her condition..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "It could weaken both of them."
My grip tightened around Liora’s hand without realizing it.
"No," I said again, sharper this ti. "You’re going to make sure it doesn’t."
"I will try," she replied, and that word try was not enough.
I finally looked up at her fully. "Not try," I said, my voice dropping into sothing colder. "You will do it."
She held my gaze for a second, then nodded. "Yes, Alpha."
That was the only answer I was willing to accept. I stood up slowly, careful not to pull my hand away from Liora too abruptly. The mont I did, the room seed to shift again, the tension settling into sothing heavier.
This wasn’t just an attack anymore. This was war.
"Lock the fortress," I ordered.
Every head in the room turned toward .
"No one leaves," I continued, my voice steady now, controlled in a way that felt more dangerous than shouting. "Not a single person. I don’t care who they are. Guards, servants, elders... no one steps outside these walls until I say so."
One of the guards hesitated. "Alpha, the council—"
"I didn’t ask what the council wants," I cut in sharply. "I gave an order."
"Yes, Alpha," he said imdiately, bowing his head before turning to leave.
"Double the guards on this room," I added. "Anyone who tries to enter without my permission doesn’t walk out again."
There was no hesitation this ti.
The guards moved quickly, the urgency in their steps matching the tension in the air.
I turned back to Liora.
She hadn’t moved much, but her breathing had changed slightly, slower now, heavier. I stepped closer again, sitting at the edge of the bed and brushing my hand lightly against her cheek.
"Stay with ," I said quietly.
Her eyes shifted slightly, like she heard , but she didn’t respond. That was enough to make sothing inside tighten again.
"You’re not dying," I added, more firmly this ti. "Not like this."
The healer moved around the room, preparing sothing, mixing herbs and liquids with practiced speed, but I could tell from the way she kept glancing back at Liora that she wasn’t as confident as she wanted to appear. I didn’t like that. Not at all.
Footsteps echoed outside the room not long after, louder this ti, more deliberate.
I didn’t need to turn to know who it was. The door opened without waiting for permission.
"Kael, what is the aning of this?"
Lord Valerius’ voice cut through the room, sharp and controlled, but there was anger beneath it.
Of course he would co. The entire fortress was being locked down. There was no way the council would stay quiet about it.
I didn’t stand nor did I move away from Liora.
"If you ca to question my authority," I said without looking at him, "you can leave."
"This is not just about authority," another elder added, stepping in behind him. "You cannot lock down the entire fortress without explanation. People are already talking. Panic is spreading."
"Then let them talk," I replied coldly.
"That is not how leadership works," Valerius snapped. "You don’t make decisions like this without consulting the council—"
"My Luna has been poisoned," I cut in, finally turning my head to look at them.
That shut them up. For a second, no one spoke.
Valerius’ expression shifted, but not in the way I expected. There was no shock, no real concern, only calculation.
"When?" he asked.
"Tonight," I replied.
"And you are certain?" one of the elders added.
I held his gaze without blinking. "If I wasn’t, you wouldn’t be standing here questioning ."
Silence stretched again.
"Then this is even more reason to act carefully," Valerius said slowly. "If there is a traitor inside the fortress, locking everyone in only traps us with them."
"I’m counting on that," I replied.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You’re letting emotion cloud your judgnt," another elder said. "You are reacting like a man, not like an Alpha."
I almost laughed at that.
"Good," I said quietly. "Because if I were reacting like an Alpha, this room would be empty except for her and the people keeping her alive."
No one spoke after that..They understood what I ant.
"If whoever did this is still inside," I continued, my voice steady, "then they’re not leaving. Not until I decide what to do with them."
"And what exactly do you plan to do?" Valerius asked.
I looked at him fully now.
"Find them," I said. "And make sure they never try this again."
The room fell silent again, but this ti it wasn’t just tension. It was understanding.
This wasn’t a discussion anymore, this was a warning.
"You’re taking a risk," one elder said carefully. "If this turns against you—"
"It won’t," I interrupted.
And even if it did, I didn’t care. Not right now. Not when she was lying here like this.
Valerius studied for a long mont before finally speaking again. "Very well. But if this decision causes instability in the pack—"
"It won’t," I repeated.
He didn’t argue further. None of them did. One by one, they stepped back, leaving the room quieter than before, but not calr.
Because the mont they walked out, the real problem remained. The person who did this was still inside and now they knew I was aware of it. I turned back to Liora again, my hand finding hers without thinking.
"You’re not alone in this," I said quietly, more to myself than to her.
The healer approached again, holding a small cup this ti. "This might slow the effect," she said. "But it won’t remove the poison completely."
"Then find sothing that will," I replied.
"I will try—"
"Don’t say that word again," I said sharply.
She nodded imdiately. "Yes, Alpha."
I helped her carefully, lifting Liora slightly so she could drink, even though most of it barely made it past her lips.
It wasn’t enough. None of this was enough.
Hours passed. I didn’t leave the room. I didn’t move farther than necessary. At so point, the fortress had gone completely silent, the kind of silence that only happened when fear settled in properly.
They hadn’t just attacked her. They had declared war on and I was done holding back. It was deep into the night when it happened.
At first, it was nothing more than a faint sound near the door. So small it could have been ignored.
But I didn’t ignore anything anymore. My head lifted slightly, my attention sharpening imdiately
One of guard outside spoke quietly. "State your purpose."
No answer.
I stood slowly, my body already reacting before my mind fully caught up.
The door handle moved Just slightly, soone was trying to get in. The guards drew their weapons outside, their footsteps shifting into position.
The handle moved again. More force this ti.
Whoever it was... wasn’t leaving.
And this ti, I was ready.
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