Chapter 3

By the time I came to, I was back in my own room.

Kieran stood by the bed, staring at me with a frown. “Raina, Celeste told me that you volunteered to reflect in the silver holding cell. Why?”

The silver had ravaged me from inside out. For a moment, I couldn’t find the voice to speak.

Met with my silence, Kieran scowled harder, his eyes reflecting displeasure. “Raina, you are always so headstrong. I can’t believe you put your health at risk out of spite this time. If not for Celeste, the silver would’ve killed you. You should be grateful to her!”

He then walked away.

Adrian handed me a healing potion. “You have lost the ability to heal. You’ll need this.”

I nodded.

He didn’t have to say it. I could already feel my wolf getting weaker by the day and slipping away by the minute.

That night, Kieran held a birthday party for Celeste.

I arrived just in time for Kieran to present her with a gown.

That was the very gift he had promised me after his victory on the battlefield. Yet now, it had been handed to Celeste.

Celeste chuckled and pretended to decline. “You spoil me, Alpha. Raina’s not going to be happy if she sees this.”

Kieran waved his hand dismissively. “Upset about what? I’ve given her everything she could want over the years.”

I grinned without a word.

A server approached and passed me two glasses of wine. Taking them, I walked up to Celeste.

“Happy birthday, Celeste.”

With a smile, Celeste accepted the glass and took a sip.

Moments later, she clutched her throat out of nowhere, color draining from her face.

Celeste jolted to her feet, doubling over to retch violently. Her lips turned blue.

“Wolfsbane… It’s wolfsbane!” She pointed her finger at me tremblingly. “Raina… Why would you harm me?”

My eyes widened. “It wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything!”

However, the moment the words left my mouth, my throat suddenly tightened.

I stumbled and grabbed the edge of the table as darkness crept into my vision. My lips turned the same livid blue as Celeste’s.

It was wolfsbane. I’d been poisoned too.

Ronan emerged from the crowd, his finger jabbing at me and his voice shrill. “I saw her put something in her pocket when she came in!”

Pressing my hand against the searing agony in my stomach, I choked out, “I did not... Ronan, what are you talking about?”

Kieran lunged forward and grabbed my arm with an iron grip. Meanwhile, he thrust his other arm roughly into my jacket pocket, pulling out a small packet of powder with its seal half-opened.

I froze.

“This isn’t mine… How did it end up in my pocket?”

Kieran snapped an angry look at me, his voice icy. “Raina, I have let the last incident slide, but you have shown zero remorse! To make things worse, you poisoned Celeste even when she saved you from the silver holding cell!”

I parted my lips, but the excruciating pain straight from my wolf paralyzed my mind.

The door swung open, and Adrian rushed in with his medical kit, quickly assessing the situation.

Before he could speak, Kieran jumped in. “Celeste is expecting. She’s the priority!”

I collapsed to the floor, my eyes fixating on Kieran’s aloof expression. Whatever hope I’d held on to was gone.