18| Game of Hearts

DEKLAN MARIO

It was just a nick on my arm.

That’s what I thought when the man slashed me with his dagger. Wouldn’t have even happened if I hadn’t been foolish enough to jump in and save a total stranger. He looked like he had the situation under control, too. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t.

Either way, I should’ve minded my business and kept doing what I was supposed to do, track Dominus, shadow his movements, monitor every Elder he manipulates in those shady council meetings. Something’s brewing behind the scenes, and I’m sure Dominus has men out there looking for me too.

But they won’t find me.

Not while I’m hiding in plain sight, right under his nose.

I should have stayed focused. Instead, I let my guilt get the better of me. I saw a man in danger and projected my past all over him.

That’s always the problem.

Whenever I see someone trapped, helpless, cornered like prey, something inside me takes over. Maybe it’s because I know that feeling too well, the weight of shackles on my wrists, the taste of blood in my mouth, the burn in your chest when you don’t know if you’ll survive the next breath.

I’ve lived that moment before: fighting, clawing, screaming myself hoarse as I tried to rewrite the fate someone else planned for me. That pain doesn’t fade. It sticks to you like a second skin. I saw it in Cedar’s eyes the night the twin Alphas tried to take her life. I’ve seen it in too many faces before they breathe their last.

So when I see someone with that look, desperate, dying, I can’t walk away. I always try to save them. But this time, that instinct nearly killed me.

The old man escaped. The rogues who came to kill him weren’t so lucky. I ripped them apart, but after the fight, I felt… off. Dizzy. Weak. The small cut from that dagger wouldn’t stop bleeding, and it burned like fire in my veins.

Wolfsbane. That bastard had laced the blade.

I didn’t know where else to go. Couldn’t risk seeking help in a clinic or safe house. With a bounty on my head, anyone could sell me out.

So I ran. Clutching my satchel like it held my soul, I vanished into the shadows, bleeding into the night.

And somehow—I ended up here.

In Cedar’s room.

I’d masked my trail with everything I had left. Couldn’t afford to leave blood for Dominus’s men to follow. I knew this was dangerous. I could get her killed just by being here.

But where else could I go?

“Hey, stay with me! What happened to you?” she cried, her voice cracking with panic as she dropped to the floor beside me.

Her concern washed over me like warmth in the cold. Made me feel something strange… something I hadn’t felt in a while.

Wanted.

Maybe I should get injured more often, if this is how she’ll react. What does she know about me? Why would she even care about me this much if she's not a fool?

“I can’t believe you! I thought you were strong and untouchable!” She tried to prop me up, helping me sit with my back against the foot of her bed.

“I am,” I rasped, catching her hand in mine. Her scent, wild and soft, filled my lungs, soothing the sharp edge of my pain. “But I need to tell you something, Cedar...”

A cough tore through my chest, and I tasted blood. My heart thudded painfully, irregular and faint. I was fading.

“You better,” she said, voice shaking. She rushed to her closet, pulled out a head tie and some clean fabric. “Stay still. Please.”

She tied the cloth tightly above the wound on my arm, trying to stop the poison from spreading. With careful hands, she pressed her clean fabric against the cut, pushing the blood out, but avoiding direct contact with the wound.

“I don’t know what else to do,” she whispered. “I can’t call anyone or we’re both screwed.”

Cold sweat broke across my skin. My vision blurred. But she…she was still here. Still trying. Still worried.

And damn it, that felt good. Too good. If I had to die, maybe this wasn’t the worst way.

In her arms. Under her trembling hands. Watched by eyes that didn’t want me to go.

Was this fate? Another setup?

“Get the healer, Cedar,” I said, forcing my eyes to meet hers. “There’s nothing you can do alone.”

She hesitated, her brows drawn tight. “How do I know she won’t sell us out? What if she’s working for Dominus? I mean, she works for him since she always appears whenever he calls without wasting time. I don't know if anyone who's loyal to him can be trusted. This is—”

“What’s more dangerous than betrayal is the wolfsbane,” I interrupted, my voice weak but firm. “It’s already in my bloodstream. It’s spreading. Fast. If you don’t do something now, I won’t make it to sunrise.”

“I—” She clenched her jaw, her eyes flicking away.

“You don’t have to trust her. Just find a way to make her help. Quietly. We'll deal with the risk later.”

She nodded stiffly. “I’m only doing this because you need to stay alive to help me out of this hell. And I swear, if you die in my arms, I’ll drag you back and kill you myself!”

She wiped at her eyes and stood. “You’re not allowed to die, Deklan. Not today. Not in my damn room.”

“Got it,” I mumbled, barely able to keep my eyes open. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She took one last look at me, her hands shaking, then turned and bolted out of the room, securing the lock behind her.

I let out a slow breath, my head lolling back.

“I made a promise, Bubble…” I whispered. The world tilted sideways, and darkness rushed up to claim me.

When I opened my eyes again, the room was blurry, full of movement and shadows.

Voices murmured. Hands touched me. I tried to sit up, but the pain locked me in place.

Cedar’s scent hit me again, reminding me that I was still in her room, wounded, and my chances of surviving are slim.

And then another voice, a woman’s, unfamiliar but confident.

“There’s an antidote,” she said. “But it must be brewed from silver root and dragon’s bile. You’ll need to get it… before sunrise.”