Chapter 6 – Wolfbane Poisoning

• Lila’s POV
• I wasn’t feeling good.
• I don’t know if it was something I ate; perhaps I had too much cake. Or maybe it was too much to drink. I only had a couple of glasses of wine at most.
• But I was suddenly feeling lightheaded. I was also feeling a wave of heat crossing my features. My heartbeat was heavy, and I needed to sit down before I completely passed out.
• “Lila bean, why don’t I take you to your room so you can lie down,” my mother suggested, sitting beside me on the couch. I was faced with a few concerned eyes as I tried to maintain my breathing.
• “I’m okay,” I tell her.
• I would hate to leave my own party early. My parent’s worked so hard to make this evening perfect and I didn’t want to disappoint them.
• “You are burning up, you might have a fever.”
• “I don’t want to be rude,” I say, looking up at her. “Some Alpha’s traveled far to be here.”
• “Your health is my only concern right now.”
• I knew there was no arguing with her; though, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it to bed on my own. I was feeling extremely dizzy. As soon as I stood up, I nearly fell over again. I stared at the wine glass on the table; I only took a few sips of it before I started getting sick.
• I was completely fine earlier; I wondered what was wrong all of a sudden.
• My mother wrapped an arm around me to keep me steady. We walked through the mound of guests who were watching me with the same concerned expressions as my mother. As we walked toward the stairs of the packhouse, my eyes found Enzo’s from across the room.
• He was watching me as well, even though another Alpha was speaking to him. It didn’t seem as if Enzo was paying him any attention. His eyes darkened as he took in my face. I managed to look away as my mother guided me up the stairs.
• As we reached my room, my mother tucked me into bed, adjusting my pillow.
• “I’m going to call a doctor,” she insisted. “You are burning up.”
• I must have fallen asleep at some point because when I woke up, there was a man standing over me. I recognized him as our pack doctor. There was a cool cloth over my head, soothing my burning features.
• I felt a small sting in my arm as I moved, and I realized there was an IV in my arm with some liquid oozing into my body.
• “Oh good, you’re awake,” he said. “You’ve been asleep all night.”
• “All night?” I gasped. “But the party—”
• “I’m afraid the party’s over. But you don’t need to worry, your family took care of everything.”
• I felt a wave of disappointment; I couldn’t believe I missed the rest of my 18(th) birthday. I didn’t even get my wolf yet.
• “What happened to me?” I asked, staring up at the doctor.
• “You’ve been poisoned by wolfbane,” the doctor told me; my heart plummeted into the pit of my stomach.
• I was poisoned? Who would do such a thing?
• “I don’t understand…” I said hoarsely. “I was poisoned?”
• “I’m afraid so,” he said, eyeing me carefully. “Was there anybody unusual at your party? Somebody, you didn’t know?”
• I shook my head, trying to recall the events of last night.
• “No, I knew everybody there. They were all my friends and family…” I said to him.
• Before the doctor could ask any more questions, there was a knock on my door. Brianna poked her head in. I wasn’t expecting to see her here this morning and I was relieved that she was.
• The doctor left us alone to catch up.
• “Were you really poisoned?” She asked, crawling into bed beside me.
• “I guess so,” I tell her. “I just remember taking some sips of wine and then feeling sick. I don’t remember much after that.”
• “Your mom took you to bed and then called the doctor,” Brianna told me. “I thought I saw Scott lurking around with some blonde girl too. I almost approached him and asked him what he was doing with that hussy.”
• “Wait… Scott was here?” I asked, raising my brows.
• The blonde girl must have been Sarah. What were they even doing here?
• I hadn’t told anyone, including Brianna, that Scott and I broke up.
• “Yes; like I said, with a blonde chick,” she said with an eye roll. “I know he’s your boyfriend, but I don’t trust him… I think he’s up to no good honestly.”
• “We actually broke up,” I told her; her eyes widened in shock.
• “You broke up and you didn’t tell me? When did this happen?”
• “Yesterday morning,” I told her, shaking my head at the memory. “I caught him kissing somebody else.”
• “That blonde girl?” She gasped, her eyes wide. I nodded once. “What were they even doing here? Do you think they had something to do with the poison?”
• I didn’t want to tell her that I suspected as much, but the look on my face gave it away.
• “We need to tell somebody! We need to tell your father. That’s not okay, Lila.”
• I knew she was right, but I couldn’t just accuse them based on a hunch. Though, it was weird that they would show up to my birthday party. But on the other hand, I knew Scott’s dad, being an Alpha, was also here.
• My bedroom door opened, and my father came into my room.
• “How are you feeling?” He asked with a concerned tone.
• “A little better,” I said, which was the truth. I wasn’t feeling as sick as I was last night.
• “We are getting your wine glass tested for fingerprints; I’m just waiting for the results. Whoever did this will face the consequences,” he assured me.
• “What about Scott and that blonde girl he was with? They should be suspects number 1 and 2,” Brianna said, folding her arms across my chest.
• My father rose his brows and looked at me carefully.
• “You and Scott broke up?” He asked.
• I nodded once, staring down at my hands.
• “I don’t see why he would try to poison me though. But I don’t think his new girlfriend likes me that much.”
• “What’s not to like?” My father asked. “If anything, she’s probably just jealous of you. Your mother had a share of jealous she-wolves to deal with as well. So, it wouldn’t be surprising. But I will investigate Scott and this girl. What’s her name?”
• “Sarah,” I answer.
• “I’ll look into it,” he assured me. “Meanwhile, you’ll need to rest for a couple of days. It was a high dosage. Thankfully, wolfbane isn’t fatal to you. But it is to your wolf. If you were meant to get your wolf yesterday, that will delay the process.”
• “What?” I asked, my mouth nearly dropping. “You mean I could have gotten my wolf if it wasn’t for this poison?”
• “I’m afraid so,” he answered. “Wolfbane is extremely damaging to your wolf. It typically makes your wolf sick and weak. You haven’t gotten her yet, so she can’t be killed. But it’s going to keep her away until it’s fully gone from your system.”
• My heart felt heavy as he spoke those words.
• My poor wolf…
• I sat up in bed, allowing the cloth that was placed on my head to fall onto my lap.
• “Don’t worry, Lila bean. Wolves are extremely strong. Especially a Volana wolf. She’ll be okay,” he told me, reading my expression. “When I find out who did this, I will make them answer for their crimes.”
• “Okay; thank you, dad,” I said, giving him a smile. Handing him the cloth, I added, “Can you thank the doctor for me? This cold cloth really helped my fever.”
• He let out a low laugh, shaking his head.
• “Oh, it wasn’t the doctor that put the cloth on your head,” my father said as he turned away. “It was Alpha Enzo. He was watching over you last night.”