INTOXICATED

MAYA

I had my eyes fixed on the two of them, Alpha Edward and Clara, while they danced.

The grand hall was filled with soft music, glowing candlelight, and the loud laughter of the pack elders, but to me, everything felt completely silent. I stood near the marble pillars, my hands clenched so tightly in the fabric of my dress that my knuckles turned white. My skin was radiant, my 36-day spiritual healing was complete, and the Alpha’s mark burned warm on my neck, yet none of it seemed to matter anymore.

I was there. I was standing right beside the staircase in full view of everyone. If Edward wanted to dance, he would have done it with me, and not with the very woman he openly said he would have nothing to do with. Just a few minutes ago, he had roared at Maria, holding my hand tightly in front of the entire pack council, declaring to the elders that I was his marked wife. How could the same man who stood up for me turn around, take Clara’s hand, and lead her to the center of the dance floor?

The celebrant, Maria, was nowhere to be found. Even though it was her party, she still left, running up the stairs in tears after her embarrassing defeat. But her absence didn't make the room feel any better. In fact, it made the scene on the floor feel even more painful For me.

The music grew slower, deeper, and more intimate.

Edward’s dance with her was flirty. He didn't just hold her politely like an Alpha leading a guest. He pulled her close, his massive hands wrapping around her tiny waist, guiding her body against his with a strange, heavy looseness. Clara, who had been shaking with terror just an hour ago under Maria’s harsh glare, was suddenly leaning into his chest, her head tilted up, resting her small hand gently against his broad shoulder.

My chest ached with a deep, crushing pain. Every breath felt like swallowing broken glass. I watched his face—his dark amber eyes were hazy, unfocused, and half-closed as he stared down at her lips.

Then, right in front of the elders, right under the bright crystal chandeliers, Edward leaned down. He even put his lips on hers.

He kissed her. It wasn't a quick, accidental touch. It was a lingering, deep kiss that made the entire crowd gasp and whisper among themselves.

I felt the blood drain completely from my face. My breath caught violently in my throat, and I felt like the floor beneath my feet was dissolving into air.

I had my eyes on them, staring in utter disbelief, and somehow Clara saw me.

Over Edward’s broad shoulder, while his lips were still pressed against hers, Clara slowly opened her eyes. She looked directly across the crowded dance floor, her gaze locking straight onto mine. The frightened, timid girl who had been trembling like a lost leaf had completely vanished.

And gave me a dirty smile.

A slow, cruel, wicked grin spread across her lips right against Edward’s mouth. Her eyes glinted with a sharp, mocking triumph, sending a chill of pure disgust through my spine. She had been playing weak all along. She was not a helpless victim—she was another blade sent to cut my heart into pieces.

I wanted to run. I wanted to scream, tear off my dress, and throw the mysterious book into the fire. I had survived dying in blood, I had laid in a graveyard for five days, I had walked miles across red dirt with Mr. Orlando, and I had waited 36 long days just to give my body back to my mate. And this was my reward? To watch him kiss a stranger on the very night my healing ended?

Suddenly, Edward’s body wobbled violently.

He pulled back from the kiss, staggering sideways. His heavy hand let go of Clara’s waist, and his knees buckled right under him. From kissing, he fell on her body. His massive frame collapsed forward, his head resting heavily against her shoulder as he let out a low, incoherent groan, completely unable to stand on his own two feet.

Clara gasped, straining under his weight as she tried to keep him from crashing down onto the marble floor.

"Alpha!" two senior guards shouted, rushing forward from the edges of the room to catch him before he fell completely.

Then I realized he was drunk.

He was not just slightly tipsy from wine—he was heavily, dangerously intoxicated. The strong scent of spiced wolf-liquor and bitter sleeping herbs hit the air as the guards hauled him upright. His eyes rolled back, his tongue thick as he tried to speak words that came out as mindless mumbles. Maria must have spiked his goblet before she fled upstairs! She knew she couldn't force Clara into his bed through words, so she had poisoned his drink to break his mind and blur his sight!

"Get the Alpha to his bedchamber!" the head guard ordered, supporting Edward's arm over his shoulder.

"I will help him!" Clara offered quickly, her voice returning to that soft, innocent whine as she tried to grab Edward's other arm. "I can take care of him tonight!"

"Step away from my husband!"

My voice cut through the grand hall like a crack of thunder. I didn't even realize I had moved until I was standing right in front of them, my eyes flashing with a dangerous, golden light.

Clara flinched back, her eyes wide with sudden genuine fear as the sheer pressure of my restored royal aura slammed into her chest.

"I am his marked wife," I said, my voice low, cold, and trembling with rage as I stepped between her and Edward. "Touch him again, and I will personally throw you out of these gates into the dark woods."

The guards immediately backed away from Clara, bowing their heads respectfully to me. "Where should we take him, Lady Maya?"

"To my room," I ordered, my hands shaking as I helped steady Edward’s heavy arm over my own neck. "And leave us."

The elders didn't dare object. The party was officially over. Guests began clearing out of the room in hushed, nervous whispers while the guards helped me drag Edward up the grand staircase, down the long corridor, and into my private chamber.

They laid him down gently on my bed and quickly stepped out, closing the heavy oak door behind them.

The room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence, broken only by the sound of Edward’s deep, ragged breathing.

I stood beside the bed, looking down at the man I loved. He lay there unconscious, his black tunic messy, his dark hair falling wildly over his forehead. He had been poisoned, he had been drugged, and he hadn't known what he was doing... but my heart was already broken.

A single, hot tear spilled over my cheek, dripping onto the floorboards.

Understanding the truth didn't erase the pain. Seeing his lips on another woman’s mouth, seeing her dirty smile over his shoulder, it felt like a fresh dagger driving straight into old wounds.

"Edward..." I whispered, my voice breaking into a quiet sob as I sat down on the edge of the mattress.

I reached out my trembling hand, gently brushing the dark hair away from his forehead. He stirred slightly in his sleep, leaning his cheek into my warm palm, letting out a soft sigh as if his body instinctively recognized my touch even through the dark fog of the poison.

"Why is this path so hard?" I cried softly, staring down at his handsome, sleeping face. "Every time I think I am close to taking back my life, another trap opens beneath my feet."

I pulled my hand back and stood up, walking over to the wooden table where the dark leather journal rested. I picked up the book, clutching it tight against my pounding chest. The paper felt cool against my skin, humming with that soft, ancestral energy that had protected me through my 36 days of healing.

Maria was upstairs bleeding and losing her mind. Clara was downstairs plotting her next move. And Edward was lying on my bed, poisoned by the very woman he had married.

I wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand, my sorrow slowly hardening into something cold, sharp, and unbreakable.

I was done crying over their games. The Goddess had brought me back to life  not to weep over broken promises, but to reclaim my crown and destroy the snakes infesting my home.

I locked the door, pulled a chair beside the bed, and sat down in the quiet dark, keeping a tight grip on the book as I watched over my sleeping mate. Tomorrow morning, the poison would wear off, the truth would come to light, and I would make sure Clara and Maria paid for every single tear I had shed tonight.