The Poisoned Bond

Black Water on the Horizon

"We are leaving." He started to pull his clothes out of my dryer and stuffing them back into his duffle bag. "Pack a bag...a big one."

I didn't argue. The urgency in his voice was unsettling, and I knew that when Simon was like this, something was seriously wrong. I sprinted to my room and yanked my suitcase out from under the bed, tossing it onto the mattress. I ripped open my drawers and started to throw clothes into the bag haphazardly, not caring if they were folded or not. My mind raced as I grabbed socks, underwear, and shirts, trying to piece together what could have happened.

I grabbed a trash bag from under the sink in my bathroom and practically threw myself into the hamper, burying my hands in the mound of dirty clothes. The scent of my recent wear was faint, but I did not want to mix it with the clean clothes. I shoved everything into the bag and hoped for the best, pushing out the air to make it as compact as possible.

Then, I took a deep breath and swiped the two photo albums I keep from my childhood and my parents' wedding off my bookshelf. These were my treasures. My thumbs caressed the faux leather covers, worn from years of love.

I grabbed the sundresses from the back of my closet, slipped off their hangers like a waterfall of color and fabric, landing in a heap in the suitcase. The metallic clang of the hangers echoed through the room as I tossed them aside, not bothering to catch them as they hit the floor. The mess didn't matter. Nothing mattered but getting out of here.

My eyes fell on the two pairs of shoes by the closet door: the fuzzy bunny slippers I wore inside the house and the sneakers I wore for everyday use. I snatched them both up. Then, on a whim, I grabbed my favorite hiking boots from under the bed. They were a bit dusty, but they were comfortable, sturdy, and reliable. I would wear the shoes by the front door when we left so that left me with three pairs to cover any possible needs and my slippers for joy and happiness.

Turning to the bathroom, Simon was already standing in the doorway with his arms full of my toiletry bag and my robe. He dropped them in my suitcase, his movements swift and precise. His eyes searched my face, and for a moment, I could see the worry etched into his features. But then, it was gone, replaced by the stoic expression that meant he was in "let's get s**t done" mode before he turned and left the room. I could hear him banging around in the kitchen while I shifted everything around in my bag to make it close so I could zip it shut.

With the suitcase zipped and sitting by the door, I dashed to my desk, grabbing my phone and laptop charger. The laptop itself was already in my backpack. I zipped the bag shut and swung it over my shoulder and headed towards the kitchen. My portable safe was exactly where I had left it, hidden under the sink, a silent sentinel of security. It was small, but it contained what was most precious to me in this moment: my emergency cash, my mother's locket, my passport, and a few flash drives with backups of all my photos and important documents. I yanked it out and tossed it into my backpack.

I ran out to the living room to grab my purse and put my tennis shoes on. When I walked into the kitchen, Simon was standing by the counter, his own duffel bag packed and slung over his shoulder. He had my backpack open and was carefully placing my vitamins and a special tea canister into a side pocket. The tea was a blend that my dad had created with our herbalist when I started getting sick as a child, one that was supposed to keep my strength up. It had a faint smell of mint and something else that I couldn’t quite place.

I noticed a basket sitting on the counter, filled with the honey jars I had filled that morning. I filled a few Ziplocs with the turnovers cooling on the counter and tossed them into the basket while Simon dug my bags of beef jerky out of the pantry and tossed them in as well.

The cooler had been pulled from the closet and was already packed with ice from the freezer. The sound of ice shifting as I packed it with sports drinks from the fridge drowned out Simon running down the hall and hauling my suitcase out the front door.

I grabbed my keys off the hook, swung my backpack over my shoulders, and balanced the basket on my hip to leave. The door swung open, and the warm summer air kissed my cheeks as I followed Simon to my car. He hauled the cooler out in front of me and loaded it into the trunk next to my suitcase.

We were in the car and belted up when I realized he never told me where we were going. I started the car but then I did not know what to do next. "Where am I going?"

"Let's start with South," Simon said. "Give me your cell phone."

It’s in my backpack. And I am fairly sure it’s still off. I said. Simon reached back for my backpack and came back with a turnover in his mouth and my phone in his hand. I laughed before pulling down the long driveway to the main road. I could see him take out my battery through my peripheral vision. Then he put all the pieces in the glove box.

The next hour was silent except for the occasional direction from Simon and the sound of him munching on one of the jars of honeycomb I brought. The sticky sweet scent filled the car.

As we hit the highway, "When do I get to know what is going on, Simon?" I asked.

Simon leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath. "When I got to Uncle James's office Chase was there, yelling at the top of his lungs. He was accusing you of all sorts of things. Of using witchcraft, of keeping him from shifting, of...of being a slut." The words hung in the air, thick with the stench of accusation.

I was speechless. I glanced at Simon to indicate that I wanted him to continue.

"Apparently early this morning Chase and his father demanded to speak to every omega there at the house to confront them about poisoning the son of a visiting alpha."

"Chase."

"Chase." Simon took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Well - he couldn't find her...you know...among the omegas of the pack."

"Her?"

“You, Mags."

"Oh..."

We drove in silence for the next few miles before Simon spoke up again.

"Look...Maggie...Chase spent the night in the hospital."

"What??" The car swerved a bit as I turned to look at him.

Simon put his hand on the wheel to steady us and said "He is going to be fine. someone slipped him some Aconitum, horse tranquilizer, and silver nitrate at the party."

"Wolfs-bane..." I looked down the stretch of highway and felt a little bit of relief. "It wasn't my fault." I whispered.

“Why would it be your fault?”

“When he told me he could not shift yesterday morning I thought maybe I had weakened him without mate bond.

“Oh honey. That is not how the mate bond works. " He reached up and squeezed my arm to comfort me.

"So... then why did we run?" I asked.

"They found a bottle of Apricot wine in the kitchen that had been tampered with." Simon said.

The car was quiet for a long moment. "Apricot wine? My apricot wine?" I asked. I bottle it myself. Elkhorn had a vineyard on the southern border of our territory. It was one of our public businesses to bring revenue into the pack. Dad had transferred a cross section of our fruit trees and vines closer to home so he could experiment with procedures and flavors. It was a hobby we both had shared.

"Yeah...but there were traces of apple seed and orris root as well. " Simon said. "They think it's a love potion."

"Love potion?" I said incredulously. "Those are for humans, not werewolves. Who would be stupid enough to ruin perfectly good wine like that?"

"Apparently someone was," Simon said with a hint of a smile. "And Chase is convinced it's you."

"But why?" I sputtered. "Why would he think that?"

"Because he's an i***t," Simon said, his voice hardening.

"Love potions don’t even work on werewolves" I said. I was still so confused about that.

"Well...not normally. But his system was weakened by the Aconitum and silver nitrate. It brought his strength down just enough to make him susceptible to the potion...and he cannot remember anything from that night. Probably the horse tranq." Simon said.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to wrap my head around what had happened. "I only drank Strawberry wine."

"Let me finish." Simon said. “One of the omegas who does laundry stole a dress and attended the ball in disguise...a red dress." Simon said.

I gasped but did not say anything.

"So, when he woke up yesterday...naked...with a naked girl and he could not remember what had happened or how he went from the party to the boat house - he went to the house to find his father. They went to see the pack doctor and ran some tests. Dr. Feldman said he was certain that someone had given him something potent and dangerous - but until the bloodwork came back, they would not know what course of treatment to take."

"That makes sense. Different tinctures will leave the body at different rates and cause various side effects as they metabolize from the system." I said without taking my eyes off the road.

Simon ignored my interruption and continued. "Well...when they got back to the house, Chase heard one of the she-devils in Natalie's crew berating the laundry staff about losing her dress...and he ran back to the boathouse to investigate. Apparently when he came back from the boat house yesterday, he got violently ill and passed out."

"Oh." It was all I could think of...to say.

"He is awake now...and I knew it was only a matter of time before they all figured out who he was with all night and collectively getting the wrong idea. Someone did try to trap him with a potion during the party - but finding his real mate interrupted the process.”

"The Aconitum will leave his system, and he will remember my name."

Simon tapped the glove box. "That is why your phone is in quarantine. You do not have to talk to any of them until you are ready.”

"And this way I can control the terms of my interrogation – so he cannot reject me again in front of everyone. There is no coming back from that kind of humiliation.”

"Exactly."

The scenery outside the window blurred by as I focused on the road ahead, my mind racing with thoughts of Chase, the ball, and the accusations that now painted a target on my back. With each mile that passed, the knot in my stomach grew tighter. Would they believe Chase's accusations?

"Where are we going, Simon?"

"Grandma Jos?"

"Black Water Pack." I let out a heavy sign. "She knows we are coming?"

Simon pulled his own phone out and started to dial. "She does now."

I rolled my eyes and laughed - but I also pressed my foot on the accelerator a little harder.