Second Chance Mate Regretted

After Jaxon spat his venomous words, he stormed out of the auction with Aubrey on his arm.

I dragged myself home, a mess of rage and hurt. All night, Jaxon didn't come back.

By morning, my phone was blowing up with notifications.

Headlines screamed across the internet: photos of Jaxon and Aubrey slipping into a hotel in the dead of night. I scrolled through them, my face blank. Aubrey, in her pink dress, looked soft and gentle, her eyes and smile echoing my sister Lauren's-maybe seventy, eighty percent of her.

Over the years, Jaxon's paraded countless stand-ins for Lauren, but this she-wolf? She's the closest he's ever gotten. His favorite, no doubt.

I set the phone down and forced myself to eat breakfast, ignoring the dull ache in my liver. I'm used to it by now.

The front door slammed open. Jaxon strode in, still in his sharp suit, and his eyes narrowed when he saw me at the table. "You're still here?" he sneered. "Weren't you gonna give me some big 'closure' in Three weeks? Shouldn't you be off scheming?"

I looked up, ready to snap back, but my liver churned violently, a metallic taste flooding my throat. I bolted to the bathroom, collapsing over the sink, dry-heaving until a thread of blood trickled out.

The maid gasped from the doorway. "Is the lady having pup-sickness?"

Jaxon's face darkened. He stormed in, grabbing my wrist. "You're carrying my pup?"

His mind must've flashed to Three months ago, that night he came home drunk. We tore into each other, not just with words but in bed, a twisted, angry tangle.

"Go to the healer. Get rid of it," he said, his voice like ice. "Is this your big plan? Use a pup to make me stop punishing you?"

I yanked my arm free, biting back the pain in my gut. "Relax, I'm not carrying your pup. Never will."

He didn't buy it. "We're going to the healer. Now." He dragged me toward the door.

"I'm not going!" I dug my heels in, struggling.

His brows knit, impatience flashing in his eyes. "You've never been scared of healers before. What's with you today? You sick or something?"

"Yeah," I said with a bitter laugh. "I'm sick, alright."

"Fine, don't go." He let go of me and turned to the maid, his voice cold as steel. "Get the unbinding potion."

The maid didn't dare argue. She scurried off and came back with a bowl of dark, murky liquid. Jaxon grabbed my chin, forcing my mouth open. "Drink."

I clenched my jaw, but he was stronger. The bitter potion burned down my throat, and my liver erupted in flames. I crumpled to the floor, cold sweat soaking through my clothes.

"Gah-" I vomited blood, my vision blurring, and then everything went black.

"Margot!"

Jaxon's voice sounded almost panicked, but it faded as I slipped away.

I came to in a haze, muffled voices floating around me.

"She's not carrying a pup. How could you give her an unbinding potion?" The healer's voice was low, urgent. "We need to flush her system, now."

I tried to open my eyes, but my lids felt like lead. A cold tube snaked down my throat, and I trembled, pain ripping through me. My liver, already ravaged by cancer, felt like it was being torn apart.

"Just hold on," a nurse whispered, her hands steady but relentless.

Every second stretched into eternity. I gripped the bedsheets, sweat drenching my hospital gown. When they finally wheeled me out of the procedure room, the anesthesia was wearing off, leaving me raw.

I forced my eyes open just as the head healer stood before Jaxon, holding my chart, hesitating. "Jaxon, your mate's condition is worse than we thought."

"Worse?" Jaxon snapped, cutting him off. "She took the wrong potion, you flushed her system. What's the big deal?"

The healer paused, his voice heavy. "It's not just the potion. The tests show she's got."