The relief from pain didn’t last long, and it came back like a torrent that drowned all else. Every time I breathed, it would hurt so bad that I was almost glad to slip into oblivion. Even so, I felt his arms clutching me close, carrying my limp body.
“Don’t die.”
I wanted to open my eyes, but my eyelids were too heavy. Everything was. I didn’t have enough energy or mental capacity to process what had formed between us. I also didn’t think it mattered because I was dying–or so it felt like. I had been left too long in that cold cell, who knew? Maybe my heart’s condition had worsened during that time.
“You will not die. Not until I allow you,” Desmond’s voice echoed in my ears. “Not when you’ve placed this cursed bond on me."
How was it even possible that a mate bond would form between us? The moon Goddess rarely offered second chances, and in this case, it appeared like she was playing with us. How could she match me with someone my parents had wronged?
I awoke in a soft mattress this time after passing out in Desmond’s arms. I took a look around and realized that I was in his room. I knew from the insignias around the room.
A healer was also present. She held my hand and said, “This isn’t an illness. It’s poison. Something has been poisoning your heart slowly.”
“What?” I muttered. My heart had been a problem for five years now, I couldn’t even shift because of it. All I knew was the healers couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so they couldn’t fix it. “H-how do you know that? Why didn’t the other healers know that?”
“I’m not like the others,” she said. “I’m the healer in the Alpha’s manor. Of course, I’d be different. I’ve seen this case before. Someone had been poisoning you in small doses. It doesn’t kill you right away, but it weakens your heart until it fails.”
“You mean… This burden I carried for five years. The reason why I couldn’t shift! It was all orchestrated by someone?” I asked, grabbing her arm. I couldn’t think of anyone who had been poisoning me for the last five years.
My parents might not be the best, but they still saw me as their daughter. It couldn’t be Andro, right? He truly did love me–at least before Stella came into the picture. There was no reason for him to do that. Stella–perhaps, but she had only been with us for a year. Who could it be?
“C-can you fix it?” I asked. “What can we do?”
“The Alpha can help. He knows how to fix it,” she flatly said.
Alpha Desmond would know how to help me? Even though we were mates, he hated me for what my parents did to his first mate. How could he possibly agree to help me? If anything, he might reject me and I wouldn’t be able to survive it with this heart.
“I don’t think Alpha Desmond would help me,” I replied, looking away.
“Why won’t he? I know his reputation’s bad, but he decided to take you as his luna. I’m sure he’d want you at your best.”
“He what?” I asked, my confusion written all over my face.
“Ah, right. You don’t know yet. It hasn't been officially declared. Only the people in the Alpha's manor knows. We were asked to treat you as if you're already Luna," she explained. It meant my parents and Andro didn't know yet. I wonder how they'd react to that.
“Why would he,” I muttered under my breath. It didn’t make sense. I thought he wanted me dead along with my parents and Andro?
I had a feeling that I was just a pawn in his game–a pawn he stole from his enemies. That would be the only reason why he’d want me to be his Luna.
Unfortunately for them, I was done playing the role of a pawn.
