Jameson POV:
"My Pup..."
The words echoed in my mind, a haunting loop that drowned out the panic in the room.
Lana was limp on the floor. Her face was turning a terrifying shade of blue.
"Lana!" I screamed, dropping to my knees.
I reached for her, but my hands were shaking so hard I could barely touch her skin. The smell coming off her wasn't the sweet scent of my mate anymore. It was acrid. It smelled like death and burnt sugar.
"She's faking it," Caren whimpered behind me. "She just wants attention, Jameson."
I turned on her, a growl ripping from my chest that I couldn't control. "Shut up! Can't you smell it? It's Wolfsbane!"
I scooped Lana into my arms. She was dead weight.
"Get the car!" I roared at the guards outside. "Now!"
Lana POV:
The world came back in a rush of blinding white light and the sharp sting of antiseptic.
My throat felt like it had been scrubbed with steel wool. Every breath was a labor.
"She's awake," a soft voice said. My mother.
I blinked, my vision clearing. I was in a private room in the Pack Hospital. My father, the High Elder, stood by the window, his aura radiating a fury that made the air heavy. My mother was holding my hand, tears streaming down her face.
And there, at the foot of the bed, was Jameson.
He looked wrecked. His hair was wild, his eyes bloodshot. But he wasn't alone.
Caren was clinging to his arm, sobbing into his sleeve.
"Thank the Goddess," Jameson breathed, taking a step forward. "Lana, I..."
"Stay back," my father growled.
Jameson flinched, his Alpha instincts bristling at the command, but he held his ground. "She is my wife. She is my Luna."
"You poisoned her," my mother spat, her voice trembling.
"It was an accident!" Caren wailed, stepping in front of Jameson. "I didn't know! The herbalist said it was for fertility! I would never hurt the Luna!"
I looked at Caren. She was putting on the performance of a lifetime.
"Wolfsbane," I rasped. My voice sounded like grinding stones. "It burns the moment it touches the tongue, Caren. You knew. You watched me drink it."
"I have a weak nose!" Caren cried. "I'm just a weak Omega!"
"Stop attacking her," Jameson snapped, his protective arm going around Caren's waist instinctively. "She's traumatized, Lana. She didn't mean to do it."
My mother stood up, her eyes flashing silver. "She nearly killed your heir, Jameson! Are you blind?"
Jameson's mother, the former Luna, stormed into the room at that moment. She took one look at Caren clinging to her son and marched forward.
"Get your hands off him, you filth," the former Luna snarled, reaching out to drag Caren away.
Jameson moved faster than I had ever seen.
He stepped between his mother and his mistress. He curled his lip.
A low, warning growl rumbled in his chest. He bared his fangs at his own mother.
The room went deathly silent.
In a pack, baring teeth at a parent-especially a former Luna-is a sign of absolute disrespect. It is a threat of violence.
Jameson froze, realizing what he had done. His eyes widened, the Alpha aggression fading into shock as he realized his instinct to protect Caren had overridden his sanity. His mother stepped back, her hand over her mouth, horror in her eyes.
"You chose her," I whispered into the silence. "You chose the wolf who tried to kill your child over your mother. Over your mate."
Jameson lowered his head, the shame finally hitting him. But he didn't let go of Caren's hand.
"It was an accident," he mumbled, trying to salvage his reality. "We can fix this. The pup..."
"There is no 'we'," I said. I sat up, ignoring the pain in my chest. "I want you out. I want a divorce."
"You can't," Jameson said, his voice rising. "The alliance..."
"The alliance is dead," my father said, walking to the door and opening it. "Get out, Alpha. Before I forget my rank and tear your throat out."
