My Fated Mate Tried to Poison Me for Power

The pain hit me like lightning, fast and merciless. One moment I was sitting on my thin mattress in the cramped attic bedroom, staring at the water stain on the ceiling, and the next—agony ripped through my body.

My bones cracked and reshaped. My skin burned as if I'd been thrown into fire. I bit down on my pillow to muffle the screams that threatened to escape.

"What's happening to me?" I gasped, my voice sounding strange in my ears.

And then I heard it—the faint sound of footsteps below. My heart froze. I could hear.

"Hallie?" A voice called from downstairs. "Are you awake?"

I didn't answer, couldn't answer. My body continued to contort, muscles stretching and contracting of their own accord. This wasn't normal. This wasn't supposed to happen—not to me, not now.

"I'm coming up to check on you," Adriana called, her voice dripping with false concern.

Panic surged through me. If she found me like this—if anyone saw me—everything would change. The pack already treated me like a defective Omega, a charity case. What would they do if they discovered I was a Late Bloomer?

"Leave me alone!" I shouted, surprised by my own voice.

There was a pause, then Adriana's footsteps retreated. "Fine. Be rude."

As soon as she was gone, I collapsed back onto the bed, tears streaming down my face as another wave of pain crashed through me. My skin felt too tight, my bones too brittle.

*Hello?* A voice whispered inside my mind.

"Who's there?" I whispered aloud.

*I'm here. I've always been here, waiting.* The voice was soft but confident. *I'm Luna.*

"My wolf?" I breathed, hardly daring to believe.

*Yes. I'm sorry it took so long.*

The pain intensified, and I arched off the bed. Suddenly, my hearing sharpened to an impossible degree. I could hear the faint hum of appliances downstairs, the rustling of leaves outside, the distant sound of cars on the highway miles away.

"My hearing—" I gasped.

*It's part of us now. We're whole.*

When the pain finally subsided, I lay trembling on sweat-soaked sheets. Something warm and alive stirred within me—my wolf, Luna. After all these years of being deaf and wolfless, I was finally whole.

---

Two days later, I moved silently through the pack house, dust cloth in hand. No one suspected anything had changed. I still flinched when spoken to, still pretended to read lips poorly, still played the part of the defective Omega.

"Clean Preston's office next," Beta Marcus instructed, not bothering to look at me as he passed.

I nodded meekly and made my way to the Alpha's office. The rich wood and leather scent of Preston's space usually made my heart flutter. Today, it felt like entering a lion's den.

I was dusting his desk when I heard it—Preston's voice, clear as crystal through the pack mind-link.

"—can't wait until this is over," he was saying. "The thought of marking that defective Omega makes me sick."

My hand froze mid-motion.

"But she's your fated mate," came Carter's reply.

"Fated mate?" Preston scoffed. "She's a tool. Nothing more."

I pressed myself against the wall, heart pounding.

"Once I've used her anchor aura to stabilize my wolf and secure my position, I'll reject her. Adriana's been patient enough."

"Adriana's worth it," Carter agreed. "When are you taking her to the border cabin?"

"This weekend. Hallie will never know. She's too stupid and deaf to suspect anything."

Their laughter echoed in my mind. My newly awakened wolf whimpered, the betrayal cutting deep into our bond.

"Besides," Preston continued, "the wolfsbane in her ceremonial corsage should weaken her enough that the rejection won't be too painful—for me."

My legs nearly gave out. The corsage he'd given me yesterday—the one I'd been so excited about—was poisoned?

"And if it works too well?" Carter asked.

"Then we'll just say she had an accident during the ceremony. Either way, I win."

I finished cleaning in a daze, my mind reeling with their words. Every moment I'd spent in this pack, every kindness I'd believed was genuine—it had all been a lie.

---

Back in my room, I collapsed onto the floor, sobs wracking my body. Luna howled in anguish inside me.

*They betrayed us,* she growled. *Our so-called mate planned to use us and discard us.*

"I know," I whispered, wiping tears with the back of my hand.

For twelve years, I'd been groomed to believe I was special, that I was destined to be Luna of the Silverfang Pack. Now I knew the truth—I was nothing but a tool to fix Preston's broken wolf.

"We have to leave," I told Luna, my decision crystallizing through the pain.

*Yes. But not yet.*

I nodded, wiping my tears. "Not yet."

I stood up and moved to the small window overlooking the pack grounds. Somewhere out there was my future—a future that didn't include Preston or the Silverfang Pack.

"We'll play their game," I whispered to Luna. "For now."

*Until we can escape,* she agreed.

I touched my throat, feeling the vibration of my own voice—a voice that would soon call out Preston's betrayal for all to hear.