I looked up at Erick. My voice was perfectly calm, betraying nothing. "I couldn't sleep with tomorrow's succession ceremony on my mind, so I came to pay my respects to my father."
Erick's gaze swept over the secret compartment I had opened, then fell on my ash-stained hands. "Lillian, you have a ceremony to preside over tomorrow. Don't let your thoughts spiral."
His words were ambiguous, but I knew he was suspicious of me.
I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face against his chest. I whispered, "I just miss Father. After tomorrow, I'll be the true leader of the Silverbeam Pack. But he's dead. He can't even offer me a single blessing."
I could feel Erick's body gradually relax. He raised his hand and stroked my hair, his voice gentle. "If our great former leader were still alive, he would be so proud of you."
Hearing him refer to my father that way made my stomach churn.
"Still, you shouldn't sneak out of your home tonight. It was too dangerous. The borders have been in chaos lately, and rogue werewolves have been spotted in the Black Woods again. I need to make sure you're safe before the ceremony tomorrow."
He reached out and tried to take the leader badge hanging around my neck.
I immediately grabbed his hand to stop him. "What are you doing?"
Erick looked down at me. His expression hadn't changed at all, but a look of worry was evidently in his eyes. "I'll keep it for you."
"Without the badge, I can't command the guards," I said.
"Everything for tomorrow's ceremony is already prepared. All you need to do tonight is go back and rest." As he spoke, he used a little more force to pry my fingers off the badge one by one. "Lillian, be good."
He took my badge.
"Fine." I didn't argue further. I simply turned and walked toward the door.
As I passed Erick, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
The tip of the wolf fang pierced through the fabric and sank into my skin. The pain made my fingers go numb, but I didn't dare let anything show on my face.
"Lillian." Erick stared into my eyes. "You seem a little... different tonight."
My heart skipped a beat, but I raised my other hand and touched the side of his face where I had kissed earlier. "I'll be the leader tomorrow. Of course I'm nervous. Erick, you said that no matter what happened, you would be there for me. You won't go back on your word, will you?"
Erick clearly hadn't expected me to say that. He froze for a moment, then leaned in and kissed me affectionately. "Never."
…
Before dawn broke, the horn of the ceremony sounded ahead of schedule.
I hadn't even finished getting dressed when screams erupted from outside. "Something's happened to Mr. Noah Lawson!"
I rushed to the altar and found Noah collapsed at the base of the stone steps.
Misha knelt beside him, cradling him in her arms.
Beside her lay a shattered bowl.
I recognized it at once. It was used to hold the tonic Noah took every day to fortify his body.
"Noah!"
I rushed forward, but two priests stopped me.
"Move!" I shoved them aside, but Misha yanked Noah behind her.
"Don't touch him!" She glared at me, her eyes red and swollen. "Lillian, how much longer are you going to keep hurting him?"
The pack members around us froze, staring over with shock and suspicion.
I forced down the unease rising in my chest. "What are you talking about?"
Misha picked up a shard of the bowl, still stained with the medicine. "There's a chronic toxin in Noah's body. Based on the dosage, he's been poisoned for at least six months. In this entire pack, you're the only one who made him drink that tonic every single day!"
The crowd immediately broke into loud, stunned discussion.
"Mr. Noah Lawson was poisoned?"
"Isn't Lillian his mother? Why would she hurt him?"
"Could it be that she knew all along Noah wasn't her biological son?"
I ignored what they said and knelt down to check on Noah.
He struggled to open his eyes, and the moment he saw me, tears spilled out of his eyes. "Mother..."
Before he could finish, Misha clamped her hand over his mouth. "Don't be afraid, Noah. No one will ever force you to drink poison again."
Noah kept shaking his head, reaching out his hands desperately toward me.
"Your word alone doesn't prove the tonic was poisonous." I stood up and looked toward the healers from the apothecary. "Have someone else re-examine the medicine and check Noah's body."
The healers exchanged uneasy glances, and not a single one dared step forward to do what I had just told them to.
Misha sneered. "Did you think I wouldn't come prepared with evidence?"
The apothecary manager stepped out from behind Misha and dropped to her knees with a thud, holding up a record book with both hands. "Ma'am, for the past six months, your attendant has come to the apothecary every seven days to get some Bloodvine Powder. Bloodvine Powder on its own can strengthen the bones and muscles, but when brewed together with Shadoweeds, it produces a chronic toxin. The tonic Mr. Noah Lawson took daily contained both of these materials."
I snatched the record book from her.
Every entry for the Bloodvine Powder bore my seal, even with my signature right beside it.
But I had never sent anyone to collect Bloodvine Powder.
"These are forged!" I closed the book and looked up at Erick.
He stood at the very front of the crowd, the leader badge he had taken from me last night hanging around his neck.
"Erick." I stared straight at him. "You know I wasn't the one who collected that medicine."
Before Erick could speak, Misha raised Noah's arm, showing everyone the large patches of bruises on his skin.
"Then what about these?" She cried out in tears, turning to the pack members. "Noah told me himself last night. Lillian beat him regularly and forced him to drink the poisonous medicine. Because she has no wolf, she was afraid Noah would look down on her when he grew up, so she tried to destroy his wolf with poison!"
