Seraphina POV:
I woke up to the smell of antiseptic and stale blood.
Not a private suite. The supply closet in the Pack Infirmary.
My legs were bandaged, throbbing with the unique, rhythmic ache of silver burns. My healing factor was stalled; the metal residue was still fighting my cells.
The door opened. Dante.
He tossed a styrofoam container onto the bedside table.
"Eat."
I struggled to sit up, wincing. "I'm not hungry."
"Isabella was worried," Dante said flatly. "She couldn't finish her dinner because she was so upset about your... clumsiness. She sent this."
I opened the box. Leftover steak. Covered in a rich, dark sauce.
I sniffed. Beneath the garlic, the sharp, metallic tang of wolfsbane.
Not lethal. Just painful. Enough to cause cramps and vomiting. Isabella's favorite childhood prank.
"I can't eat this," I said. "It has wolfsbane in the sauce."
Dante rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. It's a five-star restaurant. Stop trying to make Isabella look bad."
"Smell it," I challenged.
He didn't. He couldn't be bothered.
"I said, eat," Dante growled.
Alpha Command.
A psychic anvil dropped on my brain. My muscles twitched, betraying me.
"No," I gritted out, sweat breaking on my forehead.
"Eat."
My hand moved like a puppet's. I picked up the fork. Stabbed the meat. Lifted it to my mouth while tears of humiliation streamed down my face.
I swallowed.
Liquid fire. I gagged, clutching my throat.
Dante watched with disgust. "Always the drama queen. You're fine."
He turned and walked out.
An hour later, after retching until I saw bile, I dragged myself to the infirmary garden.
Isabella was sitting by the koi pond.
"Did you enjoy the steak?" she asked, examining her nails.
"You're a monster," I rasped.
"And you are a waste of space," she countered lightly. She stood up. "Do you know why Dante hates you? Because you remind him of weakness. He looks at you and sees a wolfless cripple."
"I saved him," I whispered. "In the cabin."
Isabella's smile vanished. "He doesn't know that. And if you tell him, I'll have Daddy harvest a kidney next time. Without the sedative."
She stepped back towards the edge of the pond.
"You're pathetic, Sarah."
Then, she threw herself backward.
Splash.
"Help! She pushed me! Help!"
The psychic scream hit the Pack Link like a siren.
Dante! Help me! She's trying to kill me!
A wind rushed past.
Dante materialized. Red eyes. Fangs extended.
"I didn't..."
"Silence!"
He pulled a sputtering Isabella out.
"She... she said she wanted me dead," Isabella sobbed. "She said she wanted to be Luna."
Dante turned to me. Pure hatred.
"You tried to kill your future Luna."
"I didn't touch her!"
"I saw you standing over her," Dante snarled. "You are jealous. You are petty. And now, you are a traitor."
He took a step towards me. Death hung in the air.
"I should kill you right now," he whispered.
Part of me wished he would.
"But death is too easy," he decided. "Guards!"
Two warriors appeared.
"Take her to the Cooler. Let her think about her crimes in the dark."
