My Alpha Poisoned Me To Keep Me Weak

The infirmary smelled like failure and herbs.

I stood at the wooden table, a shallow cut on a volunteer's arm waiting between us. Rosalie circled it like a predator, her fingers hovering over the wound with theatrical concentration.

"Focus on the silver light," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Let it flow from your core, through your hands, into the damaged tissue."

Her hands glowed. Barely. A weak flicker, like a candle about to die.

The cut didn't move. Didn't knit. Didn't even twitch.

"This is ridiculous," Rosalie snapped, jerking her hands back. "You're not explaining it right."

"I'm explaining exactly how it works." I demonstrated again, letting that strange silver warmth pool in my palms. The volunteer's skin pulled together seamlessly, leaving only a faint pink line. "See? You have to connect with the injury on a deeper level. Feel the broken pieces and guide them back together."

"I am feeling it." Her voice rose, sharp with frustration. "You're sabotaging me. Teaching me wrong on purpose because you're jealous."

The accusation hit like a slap. "I'm doing exactly what you asked—"

"You want me to fail." She stepped closer, her eyes glittering with something ugly. "You can't stand that Jaden chose me over you. That I'm wearing the Healer's Crest instead of you."

My chest tightened. The crest—my crest—gleamed at her throat like a brand.

"That's not—"

The infirmary door crashed open.

Two warriors stumbled in, half-carrying a third between them. The injured one's face was gray, his breathing ragged. Blood soaked through the makeshift bandage on his shoulder, and the smell hit me immediately—bitter almonds and rot.

Poison.

"Rogue attack at the eastern border," one warrior gasped. "Poisoned claws."

I moved instantly, reaching for my supplies. "Get him on the table. I need to—"

"I'll handle it." Rosalie shoved past me, her chin lifted. "I'm the Healer's Crest bearer. This is my responsibility."

"Rosalie, you don't understand the poison—"

"I understand perfectly." She grabbed a jar from the shelf, not even reading the label. "Silverleaf extract neutralizes toxins. Everyone knows that."

"Not this toxin." I tried to step forward, but she blocked me with her body. "That's nightshade poison. Silverleaf will accelerate it. You need moonpetal root mixed with—"

"Stop trying to undermine me." She uncorked the jar, her hands shaking slightly. "I know what I'm doing."

She didn't.

The moment the silverleaf touched the warrior's wound, his back arched. A scream tore from his throat, raw and animal. His veins turned black, spreading from the injury like cracks in glass.

"What did you do?" The other warriors backed away, horror written across their faces.

Rosalie's face went white. For one second, I saw panic flash in her eyes.

Then she spun toward me.

"She tampered with the supplies!" Her voice cracked with false hysteria. "Ocean switched the labels! She's trying to kill him because she's jealous of me!"

"What? No—"

"I saw her in here last night, messing with the jars!" Tears streamed down Rosalie's face, perfect and calculated. "She's been sabotaging me from the beginning!"

The warriors looked at me. At the screaming man on the table. At Rosalie's tears.

They believed her.

"That's insane," I said, but my voice sounded weak even to my own ears. "I would never—"

Footsteps. Heavy. Commanding.

Jaden filled the doorway, his presence sucking the air from the room. His eyes swept the scene—the dying warrior, Rosalie's tears, my empty hands.

"Alpha, thank the Goddess." Rosalie ran to him, burying her face in his chest. "She tried to kill him. Ocean poisoned the supplies because she can't accept that I'm better than her."

"That's not true." I stepped forward, desperate. "She used the wrong herb. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. I can fix this if you just let me—"

Jaden's eyes locked on mine.

Cold. Merciless.

"Kneel."

The word hit me like a physical force. Not a request. Not even a command.

An Alpha Tone.

My knees buckled. I fought it, every muscle screaming in protest, but the weight of his authority crushed down on me like a mountain. My body betrayed me, folding to the floor against my will.

Shame burned through my chest.

"You dare endanger my pack?" Jaden's voice was ice. "You dare harm my warriors out of petty jealousy?"

"I didn't—" The words choked off as his hand closed around the back of my neck, forcing my face toward the ground.

"Fix him." He shoved me toward the table, his grip bruising. "Now."

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. The infirmary spun around me, faces blurring together—warriors, healers, Rosalie's satisfied smirk.

The dying man's screams filled my ears.

Jaden's hand stayed locked on my neck as I reached for the moonpetal root with shaking fingers. The silver light in my palms flickered weakly, struggling against the humiliation crushing my chest.

But I worked.

Because that's what I did.

I saved people, even when they thought I was trying to kill them.