Chapter 10
Chapter 10
The Poison Bloom
POV: Claire
The moon hung full and fat above us, throwing cold light over the graveyard like it was trying to bless the dead with peace we couldn't find for the living.
The scent of wet earth and scorched ash clung to the air, thick with grief. I stood a few feet from the fresh mound of dirt where Alec had just been buried, his name carved sloppily into a wooden plank that would be replaced with stone later—if the pack decided he was worth remembering.
No one stood near me.
They clustered in groups, candles glowing in trembling hands. Quiet murmurs passed between them like secrets soaked in poison.
I felt them watching me. Whispering and blaming.
“She was the last one near the water tanks.”
“I heard she touched that pup with her powers right before he got sick.”
“She shouldn’t be here.”
“She’s not one of us.”
The words didn’t cut deep anymore. They scraped. Over and over. Until all I could feel was raw and numb.
I curled my fingers tighter around the candle. It flickered, catching the wind like it didn’t want to stay lit in my hands.
Maybe it sensed something I didn’t.
A few feet away, the Alpha stood tall beside Neo and the elders. Blake’s expression was carved from stone, his gaze fixed on the grave like he was trying to find answers beneath the soil.
His presence didn’t comfort me tonight. It only reminded me how far I stood from everyone else.
How alone I really was.
A sob broke out behind me. High-pitched. Sharp.
I turned slowly and saw Mirabel drop to her knees, her shoulders shaking violently. Two pack members rushed to her, but she pushed them off.
Her grief was messy. Loud.
Real.
But something about it… didn’t feel right.
I took a step forward. Then another.
Whispers hissed again.
“Why is she going near Mirabel?”
“She needs to be removed.”
I didn’t care.
Earlier that day, the council met in the Alpha’s chambers. I wasn’t invited, but the walls in this place were thinner than they realized. I heard enough.
“She’s the outsider. The Luna without a mark. How can we trust her?”
“Two deaths. One source. The timing is not a coincidence.”
“She healed one. Or tried to. Maybe her gift made it worse.”
“I say we vote. Exile.”
Exile.
They wanted me gone.
Blake didn’t answer them then. Just ordered a lockdown on the infirmary and told Neo to check the water tanks. But his silence echoed louder than any defense.
When I left the hallway, my hands were shaking again. They hadn’t stopped since.
As I stood, my breath caught and I dropped to one knee beside Mirabel.
“Hey,” I whispered. “Let me help.”
Her face snapped toward mine. Eyes wild. Wet with tears.
“I don’t need your help,” she spat. “Don’t touch me.”
I pulled back. “I’m sorry. I just thought—”
“You thought you could make this look better?” Her voice dropped into a hiss, just for me. “You think showing kindness here will make them forget what you are?”
I flinched.
“What do you think I am, Mirabel?” I asked, my voice barely audible over the low chants of the Moon Vigil. “Some kind of poison?”
She stared at me like I wasn’t a wolf like every other person.
And maybe I wasn’t. Not to them.
“I didn't have anything to do with Alec’s death,” I whispered. “I’ve tried—”
“I don’t care what you tried,” she cut in. “They already think it’s you. They’re just waiting for proof.”
I swallowed hard.
“And what do you think?” I asked.
She laughed. But it was a cold, broken sound. “I think if they see me talking to you, I’ll be next.”
Her words slapped harder than they should have. “So you’re leaving me alone too.”
She wiped her face with the back of her hand. Her voice cracked. “I have to survive, Claire.”
I stood slowly. My knees ached from kneeling in the mud, but the pain helped anchor me.
“We’re supposed to be pack,” I said, softer now. “Isn’t that what all of this is for? Brotherhood? Family?”
“Not for you.” She looked up at me, eyes red-rimmed and hard. “You were placed here. Tied to a title you haven’t earned. You think healing a few bruises makes you one of us?”
I blinked against the burn behind my eyes.
No. I didn’t.
I turned to leave, but paused as I caught Blake’s shadow through the smoke and candlelight.
He moved through the mourners like phantom. Controlled. Dangerous. And somehow, still—comforting.
He stopped beside me without saying a word.
I didn’t face him. I couldn’t.
His hand brushed my arm, barely a touch. But it sent a jolt through me all the same.
“Don’t break,” he murmured. His voice was low. Gentle in a way it had never been before.
I turned to him then. “They want me gone.”
“I know.”
“You think they’re right?”
His eyes locked on mine. “No.”
I wanted to believe him. God, I needed to believe him.
But before I could say anything else, Mirabel’s sobs rose again, louder this time. Everyone turned to look.
She was on her knees still, arms wrapped around herself.
I glanced at Blake, then back at her.
“I should—” I started.
“No,” he said. “Not tonight.”
But I didn’t listen.
I moved toward her again. The crowd parted slowly as I passed through.
I crouched beside her one more time, placing a hand gently on her back. “Mirabel. I’m sorry.”
I didn't know know her relationship with Alec but from the way she was crying, they seemed pretty close.
She stiffened under my touch. Then she slowly turned, brushing away a fresh tear.
“Stop it already, Claire,” she said under her breath. “Don’t make it any harder.”
“I’m not trying to—”
“I can’t be seen with you right now. Do you understand?”
I froze. “Why?”
“Because you’re a suspect,” she whispered fiercely. “And if the pack sees us together—my blood ties won’t protect me.”
Then, before I could stop her, she stood up, back straight, face composed again. She turned and walked away.
Leaving me kneeling in the dirt, candle flickering, heart unraveling.
And every eye in the pack on me.
Blake was right.