Stolen Heart: An Alpha's Sin for His Mistress

Midnight brought a nightmare. Kyle suddenly started convulsing, but this wasn't the trembling from fever. These were violent spasms.

He opened his mouth wide, trying to breathe, but his throat made a sound like a broken bellows. Then he vomited up a mouthful of black-purple blood.

Mixed with the metallic tang was a strange scent of bitter almonds. My blood ran cold.

The fever medicine wouldn't go down. I hoisted Kyle onto my back and ran barefoot toward the healing center in the middle of pack territory.

The elder on duty took one look at Kyle's deathly pale face and his expression changed. He pried open Kyle's eyelids, glanced inside, and immediately shouted, "It's Wolfsbane! Get the Alpha! Only Alpha blood can neutralize the poison!"

Wolfsbane. A deadly poison to werewolves, especially pups. Even a trace amount could be fatal.

I collapsed to the floor, clutching Kyle's ice-cold little hand. Julian arrived ten minutes later.

He'd just gone to bed. One button on his shirt was fastened wrong, and his face was full of irritation.

The elder handed him a small knife. Julian didn't hesitate. He sliced open his palm and let the bright red blood drip into Kyle's mouth.

The powerful force of Alpha blood worked quickly. Kyle's breathing steadied. His face was still pale, but the deathly blue-purple tinge gradually faded.

Julian casually wrapped gauze around his palm and stared coldly at me. "What kind of mother are you? How could you let Kyle get his hands on Wolfsbane?"

"He didn't eat anything today!" I scrambled up from the floor, my nails digging into my palms.

My voice was hoarse. "Nothing except the cake you two brought!"

A startled gasp came from the doorway. Linda stood there wrapped in a coat, her face full of shock.

"Ella, what are you saying?" She covered her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Wolfsbane? I've never even heard of it. We bought that cake from a legitimate bakery. I ate a slice myself. How could it be poisoned?"

"It was you!" I lunged at her, but Julian shoved me aside.

I slammed hard into the medicine cabinet. Glass bottles shattered everywhere.

"Enough!" Julian shielded Linda. "Linda's human. She doesn't know how to identify herbs, let alone extract high-purity Wolfsbane. Ella, you'd poison your own pup just to frame her?"

"I poisoned Kyle? What kind of mother would poison her own pup?" I stared at him in disbelief. "Julian, has this woman blinded you? She's human, but that doesn't mean someone isn't helping her!"

The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the quiet healing center. My face whipped to the side, and I tasted iron in my mouth.

"Shut up." Julian lowered his hand. "If I hear you slander Linda one more time, I won't just exile you to the edge of pack territory."

Linda pressed herself into his arms. Her lips curved into the briefest smile before she quickly transformed back into a frightened rabbit.

"Don't hit her, Julian. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding. But how am I supposed to show my face in the pack now?"

Just then, Kyle stirred on the bed. He'd barely regained consciousness and was still desperately weak. He forced his eyes open, and his little hand trembled as it reached toward Julian.

"Dad... Daddy..." Kyle's voice sounded like it had been scraped raw, thin but full of longing.

He remembered the warmth from before he passed out. He knew Julian had given him his blood. His father had saved him.

The little pup fumbled under his pillow for a long moment before pulling out the charred, half-burned remains of the flower crown. It was the treasure he'd been clutching the whole time. He hadn't let go even when he was unconscious.

"Daddy... I fixed it..." Kyle forced out a pleading smile and held up the clump of dried grass toward the tall man.

"I'm not hurting anymore. Don't be mad, Daddy. It's for you..."

Julian's gaze landed on the blackened thing. A flash of impatience crossed his eyes.

He didn't even reach for it. Instead, as if he'd seen something filthy, he instinctively stepped back.

"Get that away from me!" Julian knocked the crown out of Kyle's hand.

"This is a healing center! You're making a mess everywhere. You have no manners!"

Kyle's little hand froze in midair. The faint light in his eyes shattered bit by bit.

"Don't pay attention to them." Julian wrapped his arm around Linda and turned to leave. "Let's go."

I watched their retreating backs, then turned to look at Kyle, who sat there in a daze. That slap had completely destroyed my last illusion about Julian.

That shout of "Get that away from me!" had shattered the image of a father in Kyle's heart. Julian wasn't the charming, strong werewolf I'd once been infatuated with anymore.

Maybe he'd always been like this. I just hadn't wanted to believe it. The Alpha I'd loved for so many years had never loved me back.

Whatever love I'd had left for Julian turned to ash in that moment.