I Was the Starter Mate

A brutal cramp ripped through my stomach.

Black blood filled my mouth.

Daisy started yelling about the healer, but I grabbed her wrist.

"Take me home."

I wasn't dying in a room that smelled like antiseptic. I wasn't letting the pack see me like this.

I tried to stay awake so she wouldn't panic.

The pain won.

Everything went dark.

Through the haze, I heard her screaming into the phone.

"Eric, you bastard! Wherever you are, get back here now!"

She took me home.

By the time Eric showed up, the healer had already pumped me full of painkillers and left. Daisy was gone too.

I lay there alone, swallowed by a heavy black robe, curled into myself.

The silver poison had sunk into my marrow. I was all bone, my face the only thing swollen from the toxins.

"What stunt are you pulling now? Daisy says you're dying? You look fine to me."

The door swung open. Eric walked in, frowning, staring at me like I was trash.

My throat was too dry to answer.

Velda slipped in behind him, holding a basket of berries.

Before I could speak, she said softly, "Zara, are you not feeling well? Did you maybe eat too much lately? Gaining weight can mess with your stomach. I picked sour berries for you. They help."

So he brought her to watch me embarrass myself.

"What's with that look?" Eric snapped. "Velda came to be nice. You can't even say thank you? Since when are you this rude?"

I looked at him, voice hoarse. "Your manners include bringing a side she-wolf to humiliate your Mate?"

He faltered, then glanced over me.

The loose black robe swallowed my body. All anyone could see was my swollen, pale face.

"Look at you." He turned away like even staring at me was gross. "Eating all day, puffed up like a pig. Not a trace of Luna grace left."

He never tried lifting the robe.

One look and he'd see it wasn't fat. Just bones.

"Done?" My voice stayed even. "Then leave."

His chest rose and fell. He pointed at me. "Zara, don't test me."

Velda grabbed his arm, voice shaking. "Eric, don't blame Zara. It's my fault. If she doesn't like me, I'll go."

"You're not going anywhere." He yanked her back, fury snapping in his voice. "I'm the Alpha of this pack! What is she next to me?"

His phone lit up. The Elder Council.

He paused, let go of Velda, and stepped out onto the balcony.

The second Eric stepped out, Velda dropped the act.

She walked to my bed, looked down at me, then leaned close to my ear.

"Zara, you know what Eric says about you when you're not around?"

She smiled, smug. "He says my waist's slimmer than yours ever was. Soft like water. This is what a she-wolf's supposed to feel like."

"And he also said..." Her voice dipped, venom-slow. "Every time he touches you, it's torture. Being with a fat pig makes him sick."

I went still.

Every soft memory twisted into blades, shredding what was left of my pride.

"Oh, you didn't know?" She straightened, brow lifting. "He didn't come earlier because we were busy. On that white bear pelt. So soft..."

I gagged.

"Oh no, Zara, why are you throwing up?" She gasped, fake concern dripping off every word as she grabbed a fruit knife. "Too much fat upsetting your stomach? I'll peel a berry for you. You love sweets, right?"

She made a show of peeling it.

Then the knife tip slashed straight for the back of my hand.