Chapter 3

The pack gathering was in two days and I could not stop thinking about what I heard.

Sienna's terrified voice. That slap. The mysterious herbs making her sick.

I needed to talk to someone. Elena. Mira. Anyone who might know what was happening.

But Kael had guards watching me more closely now. Not obviously. Just always there. Following at a distance when I went to meetings. Standing outside the great hall when I had Luna duties. Lurking near my training sessions with Elena.

He knew I was planning something. Or suspected. Either way, I had to be more careful.

The morning after hearing about Sienna's pregnancy, I went down to breakfast in the main dining hall. Usually I ate alone in my rooms but I needed to seem normal. Act like everything was fine.

The hall was already full of pack members eating and talking. Conversations died when I walked in. Eyes followed me. Whispers started.

Poor Luna Aria.

Did you hear about Sienna?

She must be devastated.

Can you imagine?

I kept my head high and got my food. Sat at the ranked wolves table where my father was already eating with Gamma Thorne and a few senior warriors.

"Good morning, Aria," my father said quietly.

"Morning."

Awkward silence. Nobody knew what to say to me. The barren Luna whose mate was having a baby with his mistress.

I ate mechanically. Food tasted like dust but I forced it down. Had to keep my strength up for the escape in less than two weeks.

Elena caught me after breakfast. Grabbed my arm and pulled me into an empty corridor.

"We need to talk," she said, voice low and urgent. "Privately. Not here."

"The guards"

"I know about the guards. Meet me at the old storage building behind the training grounds in one hour. I will make sure no one follows you."

She walked away before I could respond.

One hour later, I slipped out of the pack house through a side entrance used mostly by servants. Kept to the shadows. Moved quickly but not suspiciously fast.

The old storage building was falling apart, unused for years. Perfect for secret meetings.

Elena was already inside, pacing like a caged animal.

"Something is very wrong," she said the moment I closed the door. "Mira came to me this morning. She is worried about Sienna."

My stomach tightened. "What do you mean?"

"Sienna came to the healer's cottage two days ago. Before the pregnancy announcement. She had bruises on her arms. Bad ones. Like someone grabbed her hard enough to leave marks."

I thought about the slap I heard last night. "Kael is hurting her."

"That is what Mira thinks but Sienna would not confirm it. Claimed she fell." Elena stopped pacing and looked at me. "But there is more. Kael brought in an outside healer. Some old wolf from his mother's pack. This healer has been giving Sienna special herbs for the pregnancy."

"I know. I heard them arguing about it last night."

Elena's eyes sharpened. "You heard them? What did they say?"

I told her everything. The herbs that made Sienna sick. Her fear. Her wanting Mira instead. Kael's insistence on this mysterious healer.

"This does not feel right," Elena said. "Why would Kael use an outside healer when we have Mira? She is one of the best in the region."

"I do not know but Sienna sounded terrified."

"Mira wants to examine her properly but Kael refuses to allow it. Says his healer has everything under control." Elena resumed her pacing. "Aria, I have a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling."

"What are you thinking?"

"I am thinking that in all my years as a warrior, I have seen Alphas do terrible things to maintain power. And Kael cares about power more than anything." She stopped and faced me. "What if the pregnancy is not what he actually wants?"

I stared at her. "You think he would hurt his own child?"

"I think he would do whatever serves his purposes. And I think we need to watch Sienna very carefully over the next few days."

We talked for another half hour, making plans. Elena would try to get close to Sienna at the gathering. Mira would watch for any signs of distress or illness. I would play my role as supportive Luna and keep my eyes open.

When I left the storage building, I felt more anxious than before. Something bad was coming. I could feel it.

The next two days crawled by like torture.

I attended my Luna duties. Smiled when I was supposed to. Acted gracious about Sienna's pregnancy when pack members offered their awkward congratulations and pitying looks.

"You are handling this so well, Luna," one of the older she-wolves said to me. "So mature and dignified."

I wanted to scream that I was dying inside. That my mate loving someone else was killing me slowly. That the mate bond made it impossible to just stop caring.

But I smiled and thanked her and moved on.

I saw Sienna twice during those two days. Both times from a distance. She looked pale. Tired. Like she was not sleeping well.

Once I saw her leave Mira's cottage looking upset. Mira stood in the doorway watching her go, concern written all over her face.

I wanted to talk to Sienna. Ask her if she was okay. Warn her that something felt wrong.

But how could I? She was carrying my mate's baby. She was the reason my heart was breaking. Even if Kael was using her, even if she was in danger, would she trust me?

Probably not.

The night before the gathering, I could not sleep at all. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, my mind racing.

Tomorrow Kael would announce the pregnancy officially. The whole pack would celebrate. I would have to stand there and smile.

And then in eleven more days, I would run. Leave all this behind. Start over somewhere far away where no one knew me.

If I could just survive eleven more days.

I must have finally dozed off around dawn because I woke to someone pounding on my door.

"Luna Aria!" A young pack member. Female. Sounding panicked. "Luna, you need to come to the great hall immediately!"

I threw on clothes and ran downstairs. My heart pounding. Something happened. Something bad.

The great hall was already full of pack members even though it was barely past sunrise. Everyone talking at once. Voices raised. Confusion and worry thick in the air.

I pushed through the crowd until I saw what everyone was staring at.

Sienna. Sitting in a chair on the raised platform. Looking deathly pale. Mira kneeling beside her with a medical bag.

Kael stood behind Sienna, one hand on her shoulder. His face showed concern but something about it felt wrong. Like he was acting worried instead of actually being worried.

"What happened?" I asked, climbing onto the platform.

Mira looked up at me. Her eyes held a warning I could not read. "Sienna collapsed in her room this morning. She is very weak. I am trying to determine the cause."

I moved closer and that is when I saw it. Sienna's lips had a bluish tint. Her breathing was shallow and rapid. Sweat beaded on her forehead despite the cool morning air.

These were not normal pregnancy symptoms.

"Has she eaten anything unusual?" Mira asked Kael. "Drunk anything new? Taken any herbs or medicines?"

"Just the herbs my healer prescribed for the pregnancy," Kael said. "The same ones she has been taking for days."

"I need to see those herbs." Mira's voice was firm. Not a request. A demand.

"They are in my private quarters. I will retrieve them."

Kael left and the moment he was gone, Sienna grabbed my wrist. Her grip was surprisingly strong for someone who looked so weak.

"He is poisoning me," she whispered. So quiet only Mira and I could hear. "The herbs. They are poison. I know it. Please. You have to believe me."

Before I could respond, Kael returned with a leather pouch. He handed it to Mira who opened it carefully and sniffed the contents.

Her face went very still. Very controlled. The face she made when treating horrible injuries and trying not to scare the patient.

"These herbs are extremely strong," Mira said carefully. "Probably too strong for a pregnant wolf. Who gave you this mixture?"

"My mother's healer. He has decades of experience with difficult pregnancies."

"I would like to examine these more carefully in my cottage. With your permission, Alpha."

"Of course. Whatever you need."

Mira stood, still holding the pouch. "I recommend Sienna rest today. No stress. Lots of water. I will prepare a gentler tonic for her."

"But the gathering is this afternoon," Kael said. "The announcement”

"Can wait until Sienna is feeling better." Mira's tone left no room for argument. "Her health and the baby's health must come first."

Kael looked angry for just a moment. Then his face smoothed into concern again. "Of course. Sienna's health is most important."

He helped Sienna to her feet. She swayed and nearly fell but he caught her. Guided her toward the door.

As they passed me, Sienna's eyes met mine. Terror. Pleading. A silent scream for help.

Then she was gone and I was left standing on the platform wondering what I just witnessed.

Mira caught my arm. "Walk with me to my cottage. Now."

We left the great hall together. Walked quickly through the morning mist toward her cottage on the edge of the village. She did not speak until we were inside with the door firmly closed.

"Those herbs are toxic," she said, setting the pouch on her work table. "Not immediately deadly but extremely harmful, especially to a pregnant wolf."

"What do they do?"

"Cause weakness, nausea, organ stress. And if taken long enough in high doses, they cause miscarriage." Mira started pulling out testing equipment. "Aria, I need to know something. Did you hear anything suspicious in the last few days? Anything about Sienna or her pregnancy?"

I hesitated. Telling her meant admitting I had been eavesdropping. But this was too important.

I told her everything. The argument I overheard. Sienna's fear of the herbs. Kael's insistence she take them. The slap.

Mira's face grew darker with each word. "He is doing this deliberately. Kael is poisoning his own mate and unborn child."

"But why? He wanted this baby. The heir"

"Did he though?" Mira interrupted. "Or did he want everyone to think he wanted it?"

I stared at her, my mind trying to catch up. "You think this is all some kind of plan?"

"I think Kael does nothing without calculating every angle. And I think we need to figure out what he is planning before Sienna or her baby dies."

She started examining the herbs more closely. Crushing leaves. Smelling stems. Making notes in her careful healer's handwriting.

I watched, feeling useless. Feeling scared.

"There is something else," Mira said without looking up from her work. "Something that worries me even more."

"What?"

"These herbs contain traces of Mortwert."

The name meant nothing to me. "What is that?"

"A very rare abortifacient. Causes violent miscarriage in pregnant wolves. It only grows in specific regions and very few healers know how to identify it, let alone use it safely." Mira finally looked at me. "In fact, in this entire pack, only

two wolves have the knowledge to work with Mortwert."

My blood went cold. "You and who else?"

"You."