My Mate Tried to Kill Me

The bridal suite was on the third floor, guarded by two Delta wolves who'd left for lunch rotation ten minutes ago. I'd counted. Timed it. Memorized their pattern while scrubbing floors this morning.

I shouldn't be doing this. If I got caught, they'd throw me out—or worse. But that sickly-sweet scent clinging to Kieran wouldn't leave my mind. Wolfsbane. I was sure of it now. And if someone was poisoning him, if someone was manipulating his memories...

I had to know.

The door wasn't locked. Ava was at the spa with her bridesmaids, wouldn't be back for at least an hour. I slipped inside, my heart hammering so loud I was sure someone would hear it through the walls.

The suite was obscene—all white silk and gold fixtures, like a wedding cake come to life. Ava's luggage sat open on the chaise, designer clothes spilling out in a waterfall of expensive fabric. I moved toward it, my hands shaking.

There. Tucked beneath a layer of lingerie—a leather case, small and discreet.

I pulled it out, fingers fumbling with the clasp. It opened with a soft click.

Vials. At least a dozen of them, filled with dark purple liquid that seemed to absorb the light. My wolf whimpered, recognizing the scent even through glass. Concentrated wolfsbane. Enough to suppress an Alpha's wolf for months. Years, even.

Beneath the vials lay a journal, the pages covered in Ava's precise handwriting. I flipped it open, my eyes scanning frantically.

*Day 47: Increased dosage to 15ml. His wolf is almost completely dormant now. He doesn't question the memory gaps anymore.*

*Day 89: Planted the false scent trail near the rogue border. Made sure his patrol found it. He believes she betrayed him now. Finally.*

*Day 120: The bond is nearly severed. Just need to maintain the dosage until the marking ceremony. Once I'm Luna, nothing can undo it.*

My hands trembled so badly the journal nearly slipped from my grip. Three years. She'd been poisoning him for three years, twisting his memories, making him hate me.

The rogue attack. She'd orchestrated it. All of it.

"Find something interesting?"

I spun around.

Ava stood in the doorway, still in her spa robe, her wet hair dripping onto the carpet. But her expression—there was no surprise there. No shock. Just cold, calculated satisfaction.

"You came back early," I whispered.

"I never left." She closed the door behind her, the lock clicking with a finality that made my stomach drop. "I saw you watching the guards this morning. Saw you counting their rotations." She smiled, and it was the cruelest thing I'd ever seen. "I wanted to see if you'd actually be stupid enough to take the bait."

My fingers tightened around the journal. "You poisoned him. You made him forget—"

"Forget?" Ava laughed, the sound sharp and brittle. "Oh, Estelle. He doesn't remember anything that didn't happen. I just... helped him see the truth." She crossed the room, her movements predatory. "That you were always beneath him. That the Moon Goddess made a mistake pairing a future Alpha with a changeling nobody."

"I'm his mate—"

"You're nothing." She ripped the journal from my hands, her nails scratching my skin. "You were nothing the day you were born, and you're nothing now. I'm the Alpha's true daughter. I'm the one who deserves to be Luna. Not some switched-at-birth charity case who can barely shift."

I backed toward the door, but she moved faster, blocking my path.

"The rogue attack," I said, my voice shaking. "You set it up. You wanted Kieran hurt—"

"I wanted you gone." Her eyes flashed gold. "I wanted him to see you for what you really are. A liability. A weakness." She pulled out her phone, her thumb hovering over the screen. "And now, thanks to your little breaking-and-entering stunt, everyone else will see it too."

"Ava, please—"

She pressed dial.

"Guards," she said sweetly into the phone, her eyes never leaving mine. "I have an intruder in my suite. The Omega girl—Estelle Anderson. She's stolen from me. Attacked me." She touched her neck, and I watched in horror as she dragged her own nails across her skin, drawing blood. "She's dangerous. Unstable. Lock her in the dungeons until after the ceremony. I don't want her anywhere near my mate."

Footsteps thundered in the hallway.

"You can't—" I lunged for the door, but Ava grabbed my arm, her grip iron-strong.

"Watch me," she whispered.

The door burst open. Four guards flooded in, their faces grim and determined. I tried to explain, tried to show them the vials, but Ava was screaming now, playing her part perfectly.

"She tried to poison me! She's insane—she can't accept that Kieran chose me!"

Hands seized my arms. I struggled, my weak wolf snarling uselessly, but it was four against one and I was already injured from the morning's fall.

"The vials," I gasped as they dragged me toward the door. "Check the vials—test them—"

But Ava was already tucking the leather case back into her luggage, her tears perfectly timed, her performance flawless.

The last thing I saw before they hauled me into the hallway was her smile.

Victorious. Poisonous. Absolute.

And I knew—with crushing, terrible certainty—that no one was coming to save me.