The Poisoned Alpha

The penthouse suite of Blackwood Club had one rule on Wednesday nights.

No one enters, no exceptions.

Caleb Morgan knew this better than anyone. He had worked for Damon Blackwood for six years, and in those six years he had never once violated that rule. He understood what Wednesday nights meant.

So when the penthouse door opened at half past ten, Damon Blackwood walked in looking unsteady. Caleb was already on his feet before he could understand what he was seeing.

Damon was not the kind of man who ever looked weak. In six years, Caleb had never seen him lose control.

But tonight was different.

His black shirt was open at the collar, showing part of his neck and collarbone. His breathing was heavy and uneven.

His eyes were red and burning, but his face was still cold. He was clearly struggling, but he was trying hard not to show it.

Two bodyguards came in behind him. They looked at Damon, then at each other, unsure whether they should help him or stay back.

“Damon…” Caleb stepped forward immediately.

Damon raised one hand.

That was enough to make everyone stop.

He walked to the sofa and dropped heavily onto it. He rested his arms on his knees, and lowered his head as he tried to control his breathing.

Caleb turned to the bodyguards.

“What happened? He was fine when he left.”

One of the guards lowered his voice.

“His stepmother put something in his drink during the family dinner.”

His face became serious.

“The doctor said it was made for wolves. It makes the mating instinct much stronger.”

Caleb’s face changed.

“There’s no antidote?” he asked.

“None. He either endures it…” The guard hesitated. “Or…

“Or he finds a woman,” Caleb finished it.

The guard nodded.

Caleb turned immediately. “I’ll make the arrangements”

“Caleb.”

Damon spoke in a low voice and Caleb stopped moving.

Damon slowly lifted his head. His eyes were so cold and red.

“What day is it?”

Caleb’s voice was low. “Wednesday.”

“Then you already know the answer.” Damon closed his eyes again. “Get out. Lock the door. Nobody enters this floor tonight without my direct order. Nobody.”

“Damon, this is different. What she gave you is the not usual. you can’t just push through it alone, it could cause permanent damage to your wolf, it could….”

Damon opened his eyes.

Caleb stopped talking.

Six years. He knew that look. That was the look that ended conversations, ended careers, ended things permanently.

“Get. Out.”

Caleb pressed his lips together and looked at his Alpha. Damon was the most powerful wolf he had ever known, yet he was sitting there fighting his own body. Caleb hated that there was nothing he could do.

He nodded once.

He signaled the bodyguards to leave and followed them outside.

The heavy doors closed behind them.

Caleb leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

Damon’s stepmother had been trying to break him for years. She wanted to force him to mate with a woman of her choice. She wanted to weaken his authority over the Blackwood pack and strip away his control.

Tonight, she had gone too far.

Whatever she had given Damon was made to control a wolf’s strongest instincts. It was meant to make him lose control and give in.

But Damon was inside fighting it alone.

Caleb took out his phone and stared at it for a few seconds before putting it back into his pocket.

There was nothing he could do.

Damon had already given his orders.

Then the elevator chimed at the end of the corridor.

Caleb looked up.

The doors slowly opened, and a woman stepped out.

The two guards near the elevator stood straight immediately. Then they both froze.

She was tall and beautiful, even in her current state. Her dark hair was loosely tied back. There was dried blood on one side of her face, and her dress was torn. She was barefoot on the cold marble floor.

But none of that mattered because she carried herself like royalty.

The guards watched her as she walked toward them. One of them moved aside without even thinking.

She made it halfway down the corridor before the second guard snapped out of it.

“Hey…wait. This floor is restricted”

She didn’t slow down.

The first guard shook himself out of it and moved to block her path.

“Miss, you can’t be up here. This floor is completely closed tonight. You need to go back down.”

“I need to see Damon Blackwood,” she said simply.

The second guard stepped in front of her now, radio already in his hand.

“Mr. Blackwood is not receiving anyone tonight. This is your last warning. Turn around and get back in that elevator.”

She stopped and looked past them at the penthouse doors at the end of the hall.

For a moment, she said nothing. Then she suddenly moved.

She run between the two guards before either of them could stop her.

By the time they turned around, she was already at the penthouse doors, banging on them hard enough for the sound to echo through the corridor.

“Mr. Blackwood!” she shouted. “Please, I need the Nightbloom Serum!”

No response.

“Please!” Her voice loud and broken. “My mother is dying. Just hear me out!”

The guards grabbed her instantly. One seized her wrist while the other forced her down onto the carpet.

She felt a sharp pain on her injured hands as they pinned her arms behind her back but Aurora didn’t scream or cry.

She kept staring at the door.

“Please…” she whispered. “Please save my mother.”

Caleb stood watching this woman on her knees, bleeding, barefoot, refusing to break and made a decision.

“Let her up.”

The guards hesitated.

Caleb repeated it.

“I said let her go.”

They released her immediately.

Aurora sat upright and looked up.

Caleb watched her carefully. Then his chest tightened unexpectedly because he had seen those eyes before.

Years ago, he had accidentally seen a photograph hidden inside Damon’s desk drawer.

A woman in a surgical mask and white coat.

Only her eyes visible.

The same eyes standing in front of him now.

“My name is Aurora Vale,” she said before he could speak. “My mother is dying in Sterling Medical right now. The only thing keeping her alive is Nightbloom Serum. Sterling Pharma cut off her supply tonight on Ethan Sterling’s personal orders. She has less than eighteen hours.” She looked at him without blinking. “I am not leaving this floor. So you can either let me speak to him or you can watch me stand here until morning.”

Caleb studied her face. The dried blood. The bare feet. The hands trembling faintly at her sides.

Then he said,, “There may be a way. But I need you to understand something first.”

Aurora looked at him. “Say it.”

Caleb glanced at the closed door and lowered his voice.

“Mr. Blackwood has been poisoned tonight. A compound that forces his wolf’s instincts into overdrive. There is no medical solution. The only thing that can help him is a woman.”

The corridor was silent.

Aurora’s expression didn’t change. She listen carefully.

“If you go in there,” Caleb continued, “and help him through it. I will personally authorize a Nightbloom Serum delivery to your mother’s hospital tonight. Enough for several days. Whether Mr. Blackwood continues the supply after that depends entirely on what happens between you two.”

He looked at her directly. “Miss Vale. Are you willing?”

Aurora closed her eyes. She thought of her mother’s hand in hers. Cool, thin and fragile.

She opened her eyes.

“Yes.” The word came out without hesitation.

Caleb looked at her for one more second. Then he reached past her and pressed his hand to the door panel.

The lock clicked, and the door opened.

A low, rough sound came from inside the room. It sounded like a growl mixed with a groan.

Caleb’s voice came from behind her, very quiet.

“Miss Vale. Whatever happens in there, do not run from him.”

Aurora looked into the darkness of the suite and her heart was beating fast.

But her feet were already moving forward.

And from inside, as if it sensed her approach, that low rough sound came again.

Closer this time and waiting.