Chapter 22 POISONED
Adam's POV
I blinked awake on a healer’s bed.
Kael hovered over me like a ghost that refused to leave. His hand cupped my cheek, fingers trembling. Trembling. I’d never seen the Alpha look that shaken before. It scared me more than the poison did.
“Adam… Adam, open your eyes. Please.” His voice cracked on that last word.
“I—I'm up,” I muttered, even though my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls dipped in acid.
A woman in pale robes stepped closer, holding a small vial with dark liquid. She looked at Kael first, not me, as if only he mattered.
“There are foreign toxins in his system,” she said carefully. “Someone poisoned him.”
The room went silent, and I froze for a moment.
Because the second she said it, I saw the scene replay:
The spoon slipping from my fingers.
The taste.
The blurring of the room.
Poisoned.
Kael’s eyes flashed bright gold as he glared at the healer.
“Who did this?” His voice was quiet. Much too quiet. “Tell me who touched his food.”
“I’d assume no one besides the server,” she answered. “But for his health, I’ll need to run more tests—”
Kael’s hand fisted. “Find a means to take out the poison. Make sure he's alright.”
The healer bowed and left quickly, like she didn’t want to breathe the same air as his anger.
I slowly pushed myself up. My throat felt like it had been sandpapered, my limbs heavy but working. “Kael,” I whispered. “Don’t… don’t be mad at them.”
He spun toward me. “Mad? Adam, someone tried to kill you.”
His voice cracked again.
And that hurt worse than the poison.
“They didn’t try,” I lied softly. “It could’ve been something else. My father… the injections… they’re still in my system. It could be reacting.”
I saw his face crumble in real time.
“Adam…” He sat on the edge of the bed, taking my hand carefully, as if I was breakable glass. “You don’t have to protect the people who hurt you.”
“I’m not.”
I was.
But if I told him someone in his pack poisoned me? He’d have a problem with his own people. I'm the outsider here.
He lifted my palm to his lips and kissed my knuckles. The touch was warm and soft and… too much.
“No more hiding pain from me,” he whispered against my skin.
I said nothing. Because if I opened my mouth, everything would come spilling out.
\---
Hours later, after Kael had forcibly ordered two elite warriors to guard my door, after three more healers examined me, after Kael made sure I drank water every fifteen minutes, the pack house finally went quiet.
Kael didn’t leave my side until I basically begged him to go handle his business.
“I’ll be back soon,” he’d said, brushing his thumb across my cheek; that's his new habit. Like touching me soothed him as much as it confused me.
Now the hallway outside my room was dark and silent.
Or so I thought… before I heard whispers from two voices.
“…idiotic that the Alpha still doesn’t see it.”
“The human is a threat. A weakness.”
“Next time,” one hissed, “we need a stronger dose.”
I went numb.
Then cold.
Then hot.
A stronger dose.
Next time.
I backed away from the door, breathing too fast.
Did they know I was listening?
Were they saying it loud on purpose?
Are they trying to warn me?
My stomach clenched, and for a second, I genuinely thought I might throw up. My hands shook uncontrollably. I pressed them to the pillow to hide the trembling.
I wasn’t safe here.
Kael thought I was.
Kael thought he could protect me.
But I’d been right all along—
I didn’t belong in this world.
I curled into myself under the covers, trying to steady my breath. My throat tightened. I didn’t cry. I didn’t know how anymore.
The voices eventually faded.
But the threat didn’t; It sat on my chest, heavy and choking.
I had to leave.
Soon.
Before “next time” came.
I stared at the ceiling, thinking of a plan, any plan, when the door was suddenly flung open.
I jerked upright.
Kael stormed inside, eyes glowing, breath sharp, aura so heavy the air felt like it thickened around him.
“Adam…” His voice was low, tense, and carrying a kind of dread I’d never heard from him before. He shut the door behind him with a quiet click. “I found something.” He stepped closer; slowly, too slowly. “And you’re not going to like it.”
My heart stopped.
“What… what is it?”
He held something behind his back.