The Bitter Betrayal

Back at the pack’s infirmary, the air was thick with tension and the sharp scent of antiseptic. Healers bustled around, tending to the wounded, but my focus was solely on Lyra. She lay on a cot, her face pale and motionless, surrounded by concerned pack members.

Jacobs, our senior healer, approached with a grave expression. “Luna Mira, her injuries are severe. The head trauma... it’s critical. We’ll do everything we can, but we need to stabilize her quickly.”

“Do whatever it takes. Please, save her,” I pleaded, my voice barely above a whisper. Desperation clawed at my insides, a mother’s helplessness crashing over me in waves.

Jacobs nodded, moving swiftly to organize his team. As I watched him work, Tobias silently sidled beside me and lowered his head as if in apology.

“Forgive me, Luna. I failed to protect the princess.”

“What happened, Tobias? Why are you gravely injured? Where is Aiden?” I demanded, my voice trembling with both fear and anger.

There was a long stretch of silence before the Beta answered, as if he was weighing his words.

“I'm sorry, Luna, but I'm not sure myself. Alpha Aiden received an urgent call, and judging from his expression, it seemed important. So he ordered us to lead your daughter to the spring. We tried to protect her, but the rogues—”

“Aiden left Lyra!?" I interrupted in utter disbelief. “He abandoned his own daughter in the woods?”**

"It wasn't supposed to be like this,"Tobias said softly, guilt etched across his face. "We were supposed to protect her, Luna, but the rogues—"

"The rogues wouldn't have even dared attack if Aiden had been there!" I snapped, my voice rising with anger. “How could he just leave her like that? Our daughter needed him, and he walked away!”

Tobias flinched at my words, but I couldn’t stop. The betrayal burned in my chest, searing and unrelenting.

“He was supposed to be with her, to guide her to the spring! This was meant to be a sacred moment for her, not a nightmare! I trusted him, Tobias! I trusted him to keep her safe, and he failed us both!”

Tobias nodded, his eyes cast downward. “I know, Luna. I know. I wish I could have done more. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many. They were relentless. It was as if they knew exactly when to strike.”

My heart clenched at the thought of Lyra in danger, the image of her alone in the woods making my blood run cold. My disappointment in Aiden was like a weight pressing down on me, heavy and suffocating.

“Aiden will have to answer for this. He abandoned his own child, Tobias. He left her vulnerable and unprotected. I can’t forgive that.”

*

The dimly lit corridors of the pack's infirmary buzzed with a sense of urgency. Healers moved with purpose, gathering herbs and remedies, their faces etched with determination and concern.

Hours seemed to stretch into eternity as I paced the infirmary’s corridors, the sound of my footsteps echoing like a relentless clock ticking down my sanity. Every passing minute felt like a lifetime as I waited for news on Lyra’s condition.

The rest of the pack had gathered outside, yet there was one face noticeably absent—Aiden’s. I had been told he had an urgent errand in a nearby pack and wasn’t returning anytime soon. Perhaps it was for the best. If he were here, I feared my anger might drive me to do something irreparable.

Lyra lay unconscious on a hospital bed, surrounded by the hum of medical machines and the steady beep of monitors. Her face, normally so full of life, was pale and still, a heartbreaking reminder of the attack's brutality. I clenched my fists, steeling myself against the tide of emotions threatening to overwhelm me.

Finally, Jacobs emerged, his face drawn and weary. He approached me with the kind of solemnity that made my heart sink.

"Luna Mira, I have some news about Lyra's condition," he said, glancing at the clipboard in his hands. "It's not good. The venom coursing through her veins is rare and potent. We've identified it as Shadowbane, a toxin that targets the nervous system."

My stomach twisted at his words.

"Shadowbane?" I repeated, the name sounding ominous and foreign on my tongue. "Can you do something?

"Our resources are limited. This is beyond our current capabilities."

"But there is a cure, right?"

As long as there's a cure.

Jacobs hesitated, then nodded slowly. "There is an antidote, but it's incredibly rare. Only the Healers of the Blood Coven know how to make it. The medicine is stored in a secure vault, and it requires someone with significant experience in handling ancient poisons. We need someone with more experience in rare toxins... like Maria.”

The name dropped like a stone into the still waters of my mind.

Maria. As in Maria Raven, Aiden's ex-lover and Head of Blood Coven?

The very thought of asking Maria for help felt like a betrayal of everything I stood for. She was the reason for the growing distance between Aiden and me—the invisible wedge that had driven us apart. How could I possibly warm to her, knowing there was still a place in Aiden's heart that would always remain hers? Yet, what choice did I have?

I knew what had to be done.

Despite the bitterness that twisted inside me like a thorn and the anger simmering just beneath the surface, I needed Maria's expertise. For Lyra, I had to put aside my pride and confront the woman who had become the unwelcome shadow in my life. The stakes were too high, and I had to do whatever it took to save my daughter, even if it meant seeking the help of my enemy.

I turned to Jacobs, my resolve hardening.

“Then I’ll speak to her."