Chapter 10 The Poisoned Gift
Chapter 10:
Sera's POV
Dawn broke gray and cold, matching my mood. I'd barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt Dante's hand in mine, that damned bond trying to knit itself back together like scar tissue over a wound.
Strategic alliance. That's all it was. Had to be.
"Mama, you're thinking too loud." Asher sat at the breakfast table, pushing eggs around his plate. "Uncle Marcus says you get a line right here..." he pointed to his forehead, "...when you're worried."
"Uncle Marcus needs to stop analyzing people." I took the seat beside him, stealing a piece of his toast. "Eat your breakfast. We have a long day ahead."
"Are we going to see him again?" Asher's eyes. Those storm-gray eyes that were all Dante, looked up at me with hope I wasn't ready to handle. "My father?"
The word hit like a physical blow. He'd never called Dante that before. Always the Alpha, that man or nothing at all.
"Yes." I kept my voice neutral. "He's going to help train you."
"Uncle Marcus says he's a good fighter. That before everything went bad, he was one of the strongest Alphas."
"Marcus really needs to learn when to shut up."
A knock interrupted. Lyssa entered, her expression tight. "Majesty, we have a situation."
"What kind of situation?"
"Lady Lydia is at our delegation quarters. She's asking to see you. Says it's urgent."
My eyebrows rose. "Dante exiled her last night. What's she still doing here?"
"Unclear. She looks... rough. Like she's been crying for hours."
Good. Let her cry. I had exactly zero sympathy.
"Tell her I'm busy."
"She says she has information about the High Council. Says she'll only share it with you directly."
I considered this. Lydia was a liar, a manipulator, and had tried to kill my son. But she'd also been working with the High Council for five years. If she was ready to talk...
"Fine. Bring her here. But search her first. Thoroughly."
Lyssa nodded and left. I turned to Asher. "Go find Marcus. Stay with him until I come get you."
"But Mama-"
"Now, Asher." I used my Alpha voice. Not often, but when I did, he listened.
He left, dragging his feet. Smart kid, he knew something was happening and wanted to witness it.
Five minutes later, Lyssa returned with Lydia in tow. My stepsister looked wrecked. Makeup smeared, dress wrinkled, eyes red and swollen. The proud Luna reduced to something pitiful.
Part of me felt satisfaction. A larger part felt nothing at all.
"You have five minutes," I said coldly. "Talk."
Lydia sank into a chair uninvited. "I'm sorry."
"Four and a half minutes."
"I mean it, Sera. I'm sorry for everything. The lies, the manipulation, trying to... to hurt Asher." Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I was jealous, stupid, and they used that against me."
"They meaning the High Council."
"Yes." She wiped her face with shaking hands. "They approached me years ago, before you and Dante even met. Said I had potential, that they could make me Luna if I was willing to do what needed to be done."
"And you jumped at the chance."
"I did." No point denying it. "I was always second-best. Second-prettiest, second-strongest, second choice for everything. When they offered me first place...I took it."
"How noble." I let sarcasm drip. "Is this going somewhere, or are you just here for absolution?"
"The vote today, it's rigged." Lydia leaned forward. "The High Council has been bribing and threatening Alphas for weeks. No matter how well you or Dante argue, they have the votes to remove him and destabilize your alliance before it begins."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"They're planning to take Asher during the vote." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "While everyone's focused on the political theater, they have a team ready to breach whatever defenses you've set up. Magical barriers, combat specialists, binding spells, everything needed to grab him and disappear."
My blood turned to ice. "When?"
"During the final vote count. Maximum chaos, minimum response time." She pulled a folded paper from her sleeve. "These are the routes they're planning to use, the safe houses they've arranged, the magical signatures of the binding spells."
I took the paper, scanned it. Detailed, specific, actionable intelligence.
Too convenient.
"Why are you giving me this?" I asked quietly. "What do you gain?"
"I gain nothing." Lydia's laugh was bitter. "I already lost everything. Dante exiled me. The High Council considers me a failure. I have no pack, no mate, no future."
"Again...why help me?"
"Because watching your son yesterday, seeing his power, his innocence, the way he loves you..." Her voice cracked. "I realized what I'd become. The monster I'd turned into for power that was never real."
"So this is guilt." I set the paper down. "You're trying to buy redemption."
"I'm trying to do one decent thing before I disappear forever." She met my eyes. "I know you'll never forgive me. I don't expect you to. But maybe, maybe if I save Asher, it'll balance some small fraction of the harm I've caused."
I studied her. Every instinct screamed trap. Lydia was a liar, had always been a liar. This could be misdirection, meant to draw my defenses in the wrong direction while the real attack came from elsewhere.
But what if it wasn't?
What if, for once in her miserable life, Lydia was telling the truth?
"Lyssa, take her into protective custody," I ordered. "Comfortable room, but guarded. If this information is accurate, she gets safe passage out of Crimson Fang territory. If it's false-"
"If it's false, I deserve whatever you do to me," Lydia finished. "I know."
They left. I stared at the paper, mind racing through scenarios and counter-scenarios.
Another knock. This time, a young servant girl I didn't recognize. She curtsied nervously.
"Begging your pardon, Majesty, but Lady Lydia asked me to deliver this before she left." The girl held out a small wrapped package. "She said it's a peace offering for the young master. That she feels terrible about yesterday's misunderstanding."
Misunderstanding. That's what we were calling attempted murder now.
"I'll take it." I accepted the package, dismissed the girl.
The wrapping was expensive paper tied with silk ribbon, unnecessarily fancy for a child's gift. I unwrapped it carefully.
Inside, a small carved wooden wolf. Beautiful craftsmanship, smooth edges, painted with careful detail. The kind of toy a five-year-old would love.
Something felt wrong.
I lifted it to my nose, sniffed carefully. Beneath the wood and paint, something else. Faint, nearly imperceptible.
Moonsbane.
The toy was saturated with it. Not enough to kill through touch, but if Asher put it in his mouth...which children did with toys, he'd ingest enough toxin to make him violently ill. Possibly die if he had a normal wolf constitution.
Except Asher wasn't normal. His Lunar Lycan blood would absorb the poison, making his power surge unpredictably. He'd become unstable, dangerous. Perfect conditions for the High Council to claim he was a threat that needed to be contained.
"Lyssa!" I called out sharply.
She returned immediately. "Majesty?"
"Get Lydia. Bring her here. Now."
Something in my voice made her move fast. Within minutes, Lydia was dragged back in, confusion and fear warring on her face.
"I don't understand. I gave you the information-"
I held up the wooden wolf. "Explain this."
Her face went white. "I didn't...I never-"
"A servant said you sent it. A peace offering for Asher."
"That's not...I would never-" Lydia was backing away, genuine terror in her eyes. "Sera, please, I didn't send any gift. I don't know what that is-"
"Moonsbane," I said quietly. "Saturated into a child's toy."
"No." Lydia shook her head frantically. "No, I gave you the real information to help, I wouldn't-"
"You tried to poison him yesterday. Why not try again today?"
"Yesterday I was still..." She stopped, swallowed hard. "Yesterday I was still under their influence. The false bond with Dante, the High Council's manipulation, everything was clouding my judgment. But last night, when he broke the bond, it cleared. For the first time in five years, I could think clearly."
"Convenient timing."
"It's the truth!" Desperation made her voice rise. "Sera, I swear on my mother's grave. I did not send that toy. Someone's setting me up."
I studied her face. Fear, yes. Desperation, absolutely. But also...truth? Maybe.
"Describe the servant who supposedly delivered this," I said to Lyssa.
"Young, dark hair, nervous. Wore standard pack house servant livery."
"Find her. Now. Bring her here."
Lyssa left again. Lydia stood frozen, watching me with the expression of someone awaiting execution.
"If you're lying-" I started.
"I'm not." She said it with absolute certainty. "I'm many things, Sera. A liar, a manipulator, a terrible person. But I'm not lying about this."