I Was His Cure, He Left Me for a Liar, Now I am His Undoing

The curse hit Kael before he reached the workbench. Black veins climbed his throat, and he shoved me against the laboratory wall, one hand locked around my jaw. He said nothing. He pressed his mouth to mine and pulled. Warmth left my body in a steady stream. Silver blood answered the mate bond, carrying my life force into him while cold spread through my arms and legs. The bond drew the strength straight into him. Inside me, it tugged from the center of every bone. My knees folded. Kael kept me upright until the black lines under his skin faded. When he released me, I braced both palms against the stone. He rolled his shoulders once and turned toward my workbench. A vial of Moon’s Breath waited there. I had spent the night brewing it so he could sleep after an attack. Kael emptied it in one swallow without asking. He had not asked in five years. He adjusted the lapels of his black tunic. “At tonight’s welcoming feast, I will announce my betrothal to Princess Selene.” He set the empty vial beside my mortar. My blood was still wet on his mouth when he ended five years together. He once promised to acknowledge me when the border wars ended. They had ended two winters ago. The household ledger still listed me under staff. “I see.” Only then did he look at me. His gaze passed over my worn sleeves and the dark circles beneath my eyes. “Your elixirs have served their purpose. From tonight on, the pack will know them as a blessing of the Frost Wolf lineage. A gift from its new Luna.” My fingers tightened on the edge of the bench. Moon’s Breath carried a measured drop of my blood in every vial. He planned to hand Selene the credit with the wedding feast. Kael went on. “Leave the master chambers tonight. You will sleep in the servant’s wing beside the kitchens.” He picked a speck of dried moon-petal from his cuff. “Give Selene your formulas and teach her the work. You now serve as her assistant.” The servant’s wing stood beside the kitchens, where smoke and dishwater seeped under every door. He had already chosen my room. A week ago, I would have argued until my throat bled. Tonight, I lowered my head. “Yes, Alpha.” His jaw tightened. After a moment, he strode out and slammed the door hard enough to rattle the bottles. I began clearing the bench. A vial slipped from my numb hand and broke against the floor. When I reached for it, a shard opened my fingertip. One silver drop fell onto the wilted herbs beside the hearth. The leaves lifted. Green ran through their dry veins, and a crushed stem pushed itself upright. I rubbed one leaf between my fingers. It was warm and supple, with the sharp scent it had carried before it wilted. The herbs were never the source of Moon’s Breath. I was the last of the Silver Priests. My blood restored life, and no formula could replace it. The pack’s finished vials glowed along the shelf. I peeled off my plain labels and pressed the Frost Wolf crest onto each bottle, exactly as Kael had ordered. The new labels covered my dosage marks. Selene could ask what each bottle contained. More likely, she would pretend she knew. One vial remained in my private case. It was strong enough to sustain me for the next month. I uncorked it over the drain. Silver liquid circled the black opening and disappeared. From a hidden pocket in my cloak, I took an encrypted communication stone and pressed my bleeding thumb to its face. A faint silver pulse answered. “High Priestess,” an old voice said inside my mind. “We have been waiting.” “Three days. At the full moon, I am coming home.” “The Royal Guard will meet you at the border.” The light went out. I put the stone away and looked once around the laboratory. In three days, I would sever the bond. Kael could enjoy the bottles stamped with Selene’s crest until then. They were the last ones he would get from me.