Queen Bellatrix swept into the room holding a bouquet of flowers, and every wolf in it went still.
King Tiberon followed a step behind her, his eyes sharp with open skepticism.
It was the most un-Bellatrix thing imaginable. So wrong it drew every eye like a snapped thread.
Serena was asleep and completely unaware of Dex and Gavriel flanking her like a pair of extrely tense, stupidly good-looking bookends.
"Poor dear." Bellatrix’s voice ca out motherly. She turned her attention to Alaric. "Are you certain it wasn’t the flu? Or so little bug?" Her lips curved. "Perhaps she caught sothing from one of the beds she warms."
Alaric didn’t look up from Serena’s chart. "It was poison."
Dex went rigid, jaw tight and he didn’t bother hiding his agitation. "She does not warm anyone’s bed. Spare us the bullshit and stop insulting her."
His eyes narrowed at his mother.
"And considering you are the one who poisoned her, I am struggling to understand why you are here at all."
Aegon: I am not struggling. I understand perfectly. She ca to finish the job.
The air went taut, like a drawn bowstring.
Bellatrix gasped softly, one hand flying to her chest. "Has she poisoned your mind with these lies? I was nowhere near her when the incident occurred."
As she spoke, she set the bouquet into a vase on the nightstand beside the bed.
Fine pollen shook loose, drifting lazily into the air. It caught the sunlight in thin, glimring threads. Dex’s gaze snagged on it imdiately. Sothing about it felt wrong.
Surely she would not poison all of them.
No, that would be crazy, even for Bellatrix.
Gavriel watched the flowers like they owed him money.
All color drained from Elara’s face. "Is that Nightvein Lily?"
"I’m not sure," Bellatrix answered lightly, turning to Elara with a pleasant, friendly smile. "I’m terrible with plant nas."
A hard, knowing stillness settled over Tiberon’s features. Bellatrix was nothing but precise. There was no chance she did not know exactly what she had brought.
Serena’s eyes flew open and she inhaled sharply, her breath catching wrong. Then she started coughing, her windpipe tightening as panic bubbled in her chest.
Dex felt it instantly through their matebond.
Alaric was already in motion, hands steady as he pushed a syringe in Serena’s arm, delivering the shot to stop an allergic reaction.
Her breathing eased, gradually, painfully.
"Antidote and epipen in twenty-four hours," he muttered, checking her vitals. "On top of silver in her blood still. I swear to the gods."
Serena tried to stand, but Dex swept in before she could find her balance, catching her up in his arms and stalking out of the room.
Aegon: Good. Carry mate. Do not put her down. Ever.
"I can walk," Serena muttered against his chest.
"You could barely lift a jar," he shot back, grinning.
That earned a reluctant laugh, soft and raspy, and his smile widened.
The rest of the room moved carefully, following Dex and Alaric into the next chamber like a procession of very tense nobles trying not to step on a landmine. Everyone checked their clothes for pollen.
King Tiberon lingered behind, watching Bellatrix.
She rolled her eyes and shrugged like she’d been accused of bringing spoiled wine. "Oh, co off it. Only a buffoon would do that on purpose. I’m not an idiot," she said breezily.
Then, louder—too loud—as the door began to close, she called down the hall.
"Alaric, do make sure she eats more. Half the castle calls her Skeletor instead of Serena behind her back. Thought you should be made aware. Among other colorful words: breeding stock, harlot, rat, bedwench, grotesque... but I probably don’t need to tell you the list."
The door clicked shut.
Elara snorted. "Skeletor was a new one yesterday. The first thing Agnes called her."
Gav gave a shrug. "If you play your cards right, that could replace slut."
Dex, torn between murder and hysteria, launched a pillow at him hard enough to knock a lesser man unconscious.
It bounced off Gav’s face.
"What?"
Dex pinched the bridge of his nose. "One day. I am asking for one day where you do not say the worst possible thing at the worst possible ti."
Gavriel considered this. "That sounds boring." He claid the chair nearest the bed unapologetically.
Dex began to pace the length of the room like a caged wolf, which wasn’t far from the truth.
Alaric caught his arm before he left. "Two attacks in twenty-four hours. A third, and an antidote may not hold."
Dex’s voice dropped low enough to scrape the floor. "There won’t be a third."
Alaric studied him, decided he ant it, and left without another word.
Another few hours passed.
Dex hadn’t moved to leave. Neither had Gavriel. She woke briefly to the feel of a hand adjusting her blanket and a weight on the edge of the bed.
Sleep tugged her back down before it even fully registered.
Dex had already mindlinked his colonels, captains, and the elders, delegating his responsibilities for the next week without ceremony. Orders were issued. Schedules shifted. No one argued. He wasn’t going anywhere.
He didn’t trust leaving Serena alone. More than that, he did not want to.
Being near her cald sothing volatile inside him, a storm he had been carrying since the mont he laid eyes on her. He wanted her in sight at all tis, within reach, and preferably touching.
Aegon:Touching is non-negotiable. I want our scent on her at all tis. Other wolves need to know.
Unknown to Serena, he had also already mindlinked ogas to move her belongings into his room. She did not have much and that realization irritated him more than it should have.
So he mindlinked again, reaching out to the seamstress who had fitted her dress, the one who knew her asurents by heart, and instructed her to prepare clothing. She’d been wearing training suits ant for warriors, but she deserved more.
Too much? Too soon? Too fast?
Too bad.
Dex was done fighting it.
Not listening to his instincts earned him a poisoned mate and a shattered bed.
He was done fucking around. She was under his care now, and she didn’t get a say.
Aegon:About damn ti.
✦✦✦
Another day slipped by, most of it lost to sleep. Serena drifted in and out until Dex finally forced himself to leave long enough to freshen up and change.
While he was gone, Elara took over, arriving with a fresh silk camisole, shorts, and matching robe.
She helped Serena wash, slow and careful, mindful of every sore place, then guided her back into bed and arranged the pillows just right.
"Hale cares for you and will want you to be his mate," Serena murmured, like she was comnting on the weather. "Forgot to tell you my thoughts."
Elara turned beet red. "Oh. That. Right. I... forgot to tell you Hale moved all my things into his quarters after the ball."
Serena blinked. "Wait—what?"
"Half his closet is full of clothes for . Including what you’re wearing."
Serena clapped her hands once, delighted. "Oh my gods. He’s nesting. You’re his emotional support oga."
"He didn’t even tell until I tried to go back to my room," Elara added, grinning despite herself. "He also casually ntioned we’re fated mates."
"Shocking. As if you hadn’t noticed."
"We haven’t done more than kiss and cuddle." Elara fell back with a heavy thud at the foot of the bed. "I can’t tell if he’s shy or just as lost as I am."
"What do you an? We’re whores, rember. That’s how we got into this pack," Serena said, voice dry as sand.
""You minx." Elara grabbed a nearby pillow and hurled it at her. "Speaking of... which one are you interested in?"
"Dex told we’re fated mates," Serena whispered, even though they were alone. "He didn’t approach sooner because he was still publicly tied to Agnes."
Shock flashed across Elara’s face, only to be chased away by a slow, dragging exhale. "Gavriel is going to be disappointed. You wore his dress. You were basically his date. He carried you here."
Serena’s stomach dropped at those words. He’d been so caring towards her, and the guilt cut sharper than she expected, considering how little ti they’d actually spent here.
She’d found Gavriel attractive. Bold. Ridiculously so. He made her laugh, and their banter had flowed without effort. If Dex hadn’t told her about their fated bond, she knew the truth. She would have continued with Gavriel and chosen him.
"Please tell Gav is like that with everyone. Because I am running out of emotional bandwidth."
Elara winced, the word catching in a dry throat. "No."
"No?"
"Hale swears you’re the only woman he’s ever acted like that with. And apparently he’s not usually that forward. Ever."
Serena grabbed the nearest pillow and pressed it firmly over her face, letting out a long, muffled groan into the fabric. "Fantastic," she muttered against it. "Just excellent."
"You didn’t know."
"He grew on ."
" too," Elara said, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "But maybe Dexmon will too."
"Elara." Serena lowered the pillow she had over her face just far enough for her eyes to peer over the edge.
"Mm."
"One of my first nights here. I found myself in a tunnel and I accidentally ended up looking through a tapestry into the war room."
Elara sat up abruptly, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "That is a ridiculous alibi. Go on."
I saw Bellatrix and Gav having sex." Serena paused, her face heating up. "And he did sothing... weird."
Elara didn’t even blink. If anything, her grin widened. "Use your words, Serena. I need every single degenerate detail."
"He poured candle wax on her back. Then he called out my na while thrusting into her. Bellatrix smacked him."
"And you stayed to watch."
"I was immobilized."
"You watched the candle wax."
"I was processing."
Elara burst out laughing. Full, uncontrollable laughter she tried to smother with her hand and completely failed.
"You dirty girl," she said mid wheeze. "Gav is twenty-three. Bellatrix is forty-five." she added. "Respect."
"That’s one word for it." Serena dragged the pillow down from her face, clutching it tightly against her chest like a life raft. "Given what you just told , I really thought he was like that with everyone."
Elara laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling too. "He certainly has a type."
"Bellatrix and I are not in the sa type."
"You’re sounding like her more and more as this conversation goes on."
Serena fixed her with a look so deadpan it was almost impressive.
"Why do I still feel guilty?"
"Because you’re decent. Gav is charismatic, I’m not going to lie. And he aggressively pursued you. The man was on his knees when you were hunched over and carried you here."
Serena’s expression went unreadably still, the kind of quiet that precedes a storm.
"Alright, enough of that," Elara said, clapping her hands twice. "No more feeling bad about a boy you’ve known for two weeks."
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