The Alpha's Cursed Healer

THE GAMBLE

KAEL SHADOWBORN

My wolf is losing its absolute mind as my warriors drag the rogue girl away. For six months my wolf has been silent. I could feel him dying a little more every day and there was nothing I could do about it. But now he's raging like he hasn't since before my father died and it's giving me a headache because he won't shut up.

"MATE! OURS!! GO GET HER!!!”

That doesn't make any sense. Celeste is my mate. She has my mark on her neck. She's been by my side for six months.

But my wolf never reacted to Celeste like this. Not even once. And I told myself it was because he was dying but now he's suddenly alive and screaming about some rogue stranger and I don't understand what's happening.

"Kael?" Celeste touches my arm. "Are you alright? You look pale."

"I'm fine."

I'm not fine. Nothing about this is fine. "Let's get back to Shadowmoon. I need the pack doctor to check me for lingering poison."

She helps me walk. God, she’s perfect. She’s always worrying about me. Always asking me with that soft voice if I need to rest.

But there's something in her scent that's bothering me. I don’t know what it is, but it’s just really unsettling.

"Celeste," I say as we walk, "what do you remember about the mating ceremony night? Before I marked you?"

"We danced, my love.” She answered, looking into oblivion with a smile on her face like she’s replaying that night in her head. “You were so happy about becoming Alpha. Then we went upstairs to celebrate privately."

"And I marked you upstairs?"

"Of course." She smiles. "Don't you remember?"

"No," I say and watching her reaction. "I don't remember any of that night. Nothing."

She goes very still for a second before laughing again. "You were celebrating, baby. You'd been drinking. It's normal to not remember every detail."

I smile back to her. But deep down, I know it's not normal. Marking your mate should be seared into your consciousness. It should be the most vivid memory you have.

So why is that entire night just blank?

****

Back at Shadowmoon I send Celeste away and call for Dr. Morrison immediately.

"I need you to check me for any lingering effects from the poison," I tell him. "Run every test you can think of."

He spends an hour examining me, taking blood samples, using his healer senses to scan my system. When he's done his face is grim.

"Well?" I demand.

"There are traces of two different substances in your system, Alpha. The silver poison is recent, from today's attack. But there's something else. Something older."

My blood runs cold. "What is it?"

"Forget-Me-Night." He looks at me with concern. "It's a rare magical compound that erases memories. Whoever drugged you with this wanted you to forget something specific. Based on the degradation rate, I'd say it was administered approximately six months ago."

Six months ago. That’s the night of the mating ceremony. So, someone drugged me to erase my memories of that night and I have no idea who or why.

"Is there any way to get the memories back?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Forget-Me-Night is permanent. Whatever you lost is gone forever."

I dismiss him and sit there trying to piece together what this means.

If my memories were tampered with, how do I know Celeste is really my mate? She has my mark but I don't remember giving it to her. What if I marked someone else that night and Celeste somehow faked her mark?

My wolf roars in agreement and suddenly I'm getting images from him. A girl stumbling into my room, and the mate bond coming alive.

But I can’t trust these images. They’re too fragmented.

"Marcus!" I call out and my Beta appears in the doorway seconds later.

"Alpha?"

"I need you to investigate the mating ceremony from six months ago. Find out everything you can about that night. Who was there. What happened. I want security footage, witness statements, everything."

Marcus's eyes narrow. "What's going on?"

"Someone drugged me that night to erase my memories. I need to know why."

"Fuck." Marcus runs a hand through his hair. "I'll start immediately."

"And Marcus? This stays between us for now. Don't tell anyone what we're looking for."

He nods and disappears.

I sit there for a while longer before my wolf pushes at me so hard I nearly lose control.

"Fine," I mutter. "I'll go check on her."

My wolf practically purrs with satisfaction.

***

The cells are in the basement and the girl, Aria, is sitting in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees looking small and exhausted.

When I walk in she looks up and the mate bond pulls so hard I have to grip the bars to stay standing.

"MATE," my wolf screams. "OURS. LET HER OUT NOW."

I force myself to think logically instead of just tearing the cell door open like my wolf wants.

"The doctor confirmed I was poisoned," I say. "The same poison that was found in your pocket."

Her violet eyes meet mine and they're steady despite the obvious fear. "I didn't poison you. Someone planted that vial on me."

"Convenient. So you're claiming you just happened to find me dying in the woods?"

"Not by chance. I felt you dying. My abilities let me sense when someone nearby is in pain. I followed the sensation and found you."

"What kind of abilities?"

Another pause. I can see in her eyes that she’s deciding whether to reveal more of herself or not. "I'm an empath healer. I can absorb injuries and pain into my own body and process them. That's how I saved you. I took the poison and the damage into myself."

If she's telling the truth that would explain why she looked like she was in agony when she touched me, and why my wolf feels so bonded to her. She literally took my death into herself to save me.

But it doesn't explain the poison in her pocket.

I take a step back, thinking about what to do. It’s all blue and black in my head, nothing’s clear. My eyes are still trained on her.

I clear my throat some seconds later and speak in my Alpha tone. “You know what? Let’s test how true your claims are!”

“What”

"Marcus," I call without taking my eyes off her.

He appears almost immediately. "Alpha?"

"You injured your shoulder in training yesterday. Come here."

Marcus walks over looking confused and I turn to the girl. "If you're really an empath healer, prove it. Heal my Beta. If you can absorb the injury like you claim, I'll consider that you might be worth keeping alive."

She looks at Marcus then back at me. "If I do this I'll be weak afterward. How do I know you won't execute me while I can't defend myself?"

"You don't. But it's the only way you get a slight chance at living."

She studies my face for a long moment then nods. "Fine. Bring him closer."

I give one of the guards a sign, and he unlocks the cell and Marcus steps inside looking skeptical. Aria stands up on shaky legs and places her hands on his injured shoulder.

Silver light flows between them and Marcus gasps.

"Holy s**t," he breathes. "The pain is gone. Like… completely gone."

But the girl staggers and nearly falls and I move before I can think, catching her. The second our skin touches the mate bond flares again and my wolf roars with triumph.

"MATE. TOLD YOU. OURS."

The girl’s breathing hard and I can see she's in pain now. She sinks to the floor and I go down with her because my wolf won't let me leave her. Stupid wolf.

I help her back to the bench and that's when I notice something. She doesn’t have a scent.

"Are you hiding your scent?" I ask.

Her eyes widen slightly. "The tattoo. It hides more than just the mark."

"What mark?"

She pulls her collar down and shows me the black thorned tattoo covering her throat. It's exactly where a mate mark would be placed.

What the…

"Who marked you?" I ask and my voice comes out rougher than I mean it to.

"I don't know." She looks at me with those violet eyes and I can see she's telling the truth. "I was drugged at a mating ceremony some months ago. Someone marked me while I was unconscious. When I woke up he was gone. I've been dying from the incomplete bond ever since."

Wait… six months ago? The ceremony was at Shadowmoon. And I was there. And my memories of that night are also completely erased.

Oh f**k.

"Kael?" Marcus is looking at me with concern. "You alright?"

Before I can answer, alarms start blaring through Shadowmoon.

Marcus gets a text and his face goes grim. "That’s border patrol, the high Alpha’s enforcers are at the border."

"What?" I stand up, my voice hardening. "What do they want?"

"They're demanding we hand over a rogue empath healer wanted for questioning in connection to a murder."

My blood runs cold. "What murder?"

"A Beta’s daughter named Lily Ashford. She disappeared the night of a mating ceremony six months ago. The rogue was last seen at Shadowmoon territory."

I look at Aria and she's gone deathly pale.

"That's impossible," she whispers. "I didn't kill anyone. I was the victim that night…"

"The witness is Celeste Rivers," Marcus continues. "She's given a sworn statement that she saw Aria Winters arguing with Lily Ashford hours before Lily disappeared. Claims Aria was jealous of Lily and killed her to take her place."

What the f**k?

"How long do I have?" I ask Marcus.

"They're demanding an answer in thirty seconds or they're forcing entry."

Fuck. I have two options. I either hand Aria over and let her be someone else's problem, handle it. Or refuse and claim her as a member of Shadowmoon under my protection, which starts a war and risks my entire pack.

My wolf is screaming. "PROTECT MATE! DON'T LET THEM TAKE HER!!"

But I'm Alpha. My responsibility is to my pack first. Making an enemy of the high Alpha could get my people killed.

What the f**k do I do?