My Alpha Mate Defended His Witch Ex, So I Let His Cure Kill Me

Chapter 3

In the end, Kane never made it to Pine Ridge with me.

Just as our car reached the gates, news arrived of a red fever outbreak in the eastern hunting grounds.

He fastened my cloak and kissed my brow apologetically. "Lives are at stake. I'll join you as soon as I've dealt with it."

I nodded and urged him to go.

Over the past 6 years, Kane had often broken promises because of emergencies. I had never blamed him for it.

I simply never imagined that everyone else's life could come before mine, while Vera's could come before everyone else's.

When I arrived in Pine Ridge, I found Kane at the temporary clinic.

Three young werewolves lay in the ward, their skin tinged blue from a new wolfbane poison.

One of them was still a minor. His mother knelt outside the door, sobbing as she begged the guards to punish the person responsible.

Using his authority as Alpha, Kane promised to cover every medical expense as he prepared the antidote.

He saved the victims while shielding the real culprit from punishment.

Vera sat on the windowsill, swinging her legs without a hint of fear.

When Kane saw me, unease flickered across his face. "Vera was only testing a new formula. She didn't expect them to react so badly. I have to save them first, then convince the guards not to take this to the Council."

"What about the red fever in the east?" I asked.

He avoided my eyes. "The assistant physician is there."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a message came from the east. An elderly werewolf had died from the fever.

Kane stared at his communicator in silence for a few seconds.

Then Vera cried out that she was hurt, and he immediately turned to examine the tiny cut on her finger.

So even lives had a pecking order.

I asked Mia to copy the three victims' medical records and said nothing more.

That afternoon, I passed a baby boutique and heard Vera ask in a coy voice, "Do you want a boy or a girl? What if you still refuse to give me a proper place after the baby is born?"

Kane hurriedly covered her mouth. "Keep your voice down. Evelyn doesn't know yet."

I froze outside the door.

Vera had once dosed herself with a heat-inducing poison.

Kane tried two antidotes, but neither worked. So he chose a third cure—he slept with her.

Now she was pregnant.

Looking back, Vera had probably planned the whole thing. But none of that mattered anymore. I had already decided to leave Kane.

So why did it still hurt so much?

I braced myself against the icy wall to keep from collapsing.

I thought I had stopped caring, but 6 years of love and a life built together could not be erased overnight.

My heart still broke.

That night, Kane came home as if nothing had happened. When he saw how pale I was, he took the bowl from Mia himself. "This is the last dose. Once you finish it, you'll be better in no time."

I did not refuse. I let him feed it to me one spoonful at a time.

As the bowl emptied, the system issued another notification.

[System: All 12 doses have been taken. The poison has entered the heart. Conditions for returning home are now locked in. Host will die in 9 days.]

Early the next morning, I heard Vera throwing a tantrum in the hallway. "You expect me to wait another 9 days? I can't hide this belly much longer!"

Kane lowered his voice. "Once Evelyn's condition stabilizes, I promise I'll give you what you deserve."

I opened the door and walked up to them. "You don't have to wait 9 days."

Kane spun around, his face turning deathly pale.

I looked him straight in the eye and spoke slowly and clearly. "Tell me now. Do you choose her, or me?"