The Discarded Luna

Poisonous Aura

Rhydian's POV

The second her body went limp against the bedframe, something inside my chest dropped like a stone thrown into deep water.

"Seraphine!"

I caught her before her head could landed on the bed, my hands moving faster than my thoughts. Her skin was cold under my palms, colder than it should have been, and for one terrifying second I couldn't tell if she was breathing at all.

My wolf clawed at the inside of my chest, desperate to do something, anything, but I forced myself to stay in control. I laid her gently on the bed, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, and only then did my mind catch up to what had just happened.

I needed the healer. Now.

I reached for my phone as I called the healer to be in my room right now, my voice carrying more command than I intended.

"Get to my room," I ordered. "Now. Tell no one else I seek for you or whatever you find once you're here."

The healer didn't ask questions. He simply answered and I ended the call instantly.

I shut the door and turned back to her, my hands hovering uselessly over her still form. I didn't want the whole pack whispering about this before I even understood what had happened. Word traveled fast in this pack house, and the last thing Seraphine needed right now was more eyes on her, more reasons for people like Killian and Nadia to sharpen their claws.

The wait for the healer felt longer than it actually was. Every second stretched thin, filled with nothing but the sound of her shallow breathing and my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

When the knock finally came, soft and quick, I nearly tore the door off its hinges pulling it open.

The healer, an older wolf named Doran, slipped inside without a word, his expression calm in the practiced way healers trained themselves to be, no matter what waited for them on the other side of any situation. I had already told the healer to be discreet to make sure this stayed quiet, and he had heeded my words,

"What happened?" he asked, setting his bag down beside the bed.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. What had happened? One moment I was warning her, trying to protect her the only way I knew how, and the next moment she was collapsing in front of me.

"She fainted," I said finally. "That's all I know."

Doran's eyes flicked toward me, sharp despite his age. "Was she injured? Did something strike her? Did she complain of pain before this happened?"

"No," I said. "None of that."

"Has she eaten recently? Slept enough since arriving?"

I felt my jaw tighten. "I don't know."

Doran paused his examination for half a second, just long enough to give me a look that said more than words could. I understood the look. I had brought a mate into my pack and couldn't answer basic questions about her wellbeing. It wasn't a good look for an Alpha King, especially not for one so many already doubted.

"I need you to think carefully," Doran said, turning back to Seraphine, gently checking her pulse, her temperature, lifting one eyelid slightly to check her eyes. "Was there anything unusual right before she collapsed? Any strong scent, any stress on her recently?"

My throat went dry.

I didn't answer right away, and that silence alone was enough. I had used my aura on her, not violently, not with any intention to harm, but I had pressed it against her without thinking about how new she still was to everything, how raw she still felt after everything that had happened downstairs with Killian.

"I may have," I admitted quietly, "used a bit too much pressure near her. My aura."

Doran didn't scold me. He didn't need to. His silence was heavier than any lecture could have been.

The door burst open before either of us could say anything else.

My beta, Corven, stormed in, his eyes immediately locking onto Seraphine's still body on the bed.

"What happened?" he demanded, already moving closer. "Why wasn't I told sooner?"

"I don't have an answer yet," I said, my voice tighter than I meant it to sound.

Corven's eyes narrowed at me, clearly unhappy with that response, but he didn't push further. Instead, without a word, he walked to the door, shut it firmly, and turned the lock himself.

"No one comes in until we know what's going on," he said.

I nodded once, grateful he understood without needing an explanation. If Killian caught even a whisper of this, he would twist it into another weapon, proof that my mate's bond was already falling apart, proof that I had chosen wrong, proof that the throne should already be his.

The room fell into a heavy silence as Doran continued his examination, his hands moving with practiced patience over Seraphine's wrist, her forehead, the base of her neck where a mate bond mark would eventually settle once it fully formed.

Corven stood near the door, arms crossed, his eyes darting between me and the bed every few seconds. I could feel the questions building behind his silence, but he held them back, giving Doran the space he needed to work.

I stayed close to the bed, my fingers curled tightly around the edge of the blanket, watching every small movement Doran made like it might explain everything at once.

Minutes passed. They felt endless.

Finally, Doran straightened, letting out a slow breath as he looked between the two of us.

"She's fine," he said.

Relief hit me so suddenly that my knees nearly buckled. "She's fine," I repeated, needing to hear it out loud a second time to believe it.

"Physically, yes," Doran continued. "Her body is stable. Her pulse is steady now. She simply fainted from a combination of stress, exhaustion, and the pressure of your aura hitting her system while she was already emotionally overwhelmed."

I exhaled, dragging a hand down my face. That much I could understand. That much I could fix, or at least try to.

But something in Doran's tone told me he wasn't finished.

"However," he said, his expression shifting into something far more serious, "there's a bigger issue we need to look at."

My stomach tightened immediately. Corven straightened from where he leaned against the door, his full attention now locked onto the healer.

"What kind of issue?" I asked slowly.

Doran opened his mouth to answer.

Before a single word could leave his lips, a sharp knock

echoed against the door behind Corven, cutting straight through the tense silence of the room.