Chapter 311: You're Poison To Me

Chapter 311: You're Poison To Me
Two hours later, I returned from Ravencroft Manor with the vial of Lunaris Essence.

Dr. Helena met me at the nurses' station. I pressed the vial into her hands. "Given his current hostility toward me, I think it's better that you treat him directly..."

She nodded, understanding. "It would be better if I administered it. He's more likely to accept treatment from medical staff than from you."

Twenty minutes later, we gathered around Tristan's bed as Dr. Helena held a small cup of the diluted essence. The liquid caught the overhead lights, swirling with an almost ethereal glow.

"This should help restore your wolf connection," she explained professionally. "You may feel some disorientation as your inner wolf reawakens."

Tristan accepted the cup without question, draining it in one swallow. The effect was almost immediate—color returned to his pale cheeks, and his breathing deepened.

Then his expression changed.

"What—" He pressed a hand to his chest, eyes widening. "Something's... calling to me."

His gaze snapped to mine with laser intensity. Golden light flickered in his pupils as his wolf stirred to life.

"Mate." The word escaped his lips like a prayer and a curse combined. "My wolf keeps saying 'mate' when it looks at you."

Hope fluttered in my chest. "Tristan, your wolf remembers—"

"No!" He jerked away from me so violently he nearly fell off the bed. "This is impossible! I don't know you! I don't remember you!"

His eyes began shifting between gray and red as his wolf fought for control. "But why does my chest feel like it's being ripped apart when I look at you?"

Fenris stepped forward eagerly. "That's the mate bond, son! Even though your conscious mind forgot, your wolf could never—"

"Stop!" Tristan's voice carried Alpha command, making everyone in the room freeze. "If she's supposedly my mate, why does being near her hurt so much? Why does every instinct tell me to run from her?"

His eyes locked on mine, now fully golden with wolf fury. "What did you do to me? What kind of mate causes this much pain?"

"I never—"

"You destroyed something inside me!" His voice rose to a roar. "I can feel it! There's this gaping wound where memories should be, and it's shaped like you!"

He struggled to his feet, backing against the far wall like a cornered animal. "My wolf may be stupid enough to call you mate, but my mind knows better! You're poison! You're the reason I'm broken!"

"Tristan, please—" I reached toward him.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" The shout shook the windows. "I want you gone! I want you out of my sight!"

Dr. Helena stepped between us. "Alpha, you need to calm down. The medication can cause emotional instability—"

"The only thing causing instability is HER!" He pointed at me with trembling fury. "My body knows what my mind forgot—she's dangerous!"

Tears streamed down my face as I backed toward the door. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry—"

"GET OUT!" His Alpha roar hit me like a physical force. "I never want to see you again!"

I stumbled into the hallway, my chest heaving with suppressed sobs. The door slammed behind me, followed by the sound of something heavy being thrown against it.

Isolde appeared beside me immediately, pulling me into her arms. "Oh, sweetheart, this isn't your fault."

But her words couldn't penetrate the devastation in my chest. Tristan had just rejected me with such violence that my wolf was whimpering in agony.

Fenris emerged from the room moments later, his face pale with shock. "His wolf is fighting his conscious mind. The internal conflict is tearing him apart."

"Will he recover?" Kieran asked quietly. He'd kept the children at the far end of the hallway, but their tear-stained faces told me they'd heard everything.

Dr. Helena joined us, looking grim. "The Lunaris Essence restored his wolf, but it also intensified the emotional trauma. His wolf recognizes the mate bond, but his damaged psyche interprets that recognition as a threat."

"What does that mean?" I managed through my tears.

"It means he'll be in constant pain as long as the two parts of himself are in conflict." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Your presence triggers both attraction and revulsion simultaneously. It's psychological torture."

The implication hit me like a sledgehammer. "You're saying I'm hurting him just by existing?"

"His current condition, yes."

I sank into a chair, the fight draining out of me.

Orion approached hesitantly, his small hand finding mine. "Mommy, why did Daddy yell at you like that?"

I pulled both children into my lap, holding them as we all cried together. "Daddy's mind is very confused right now. He doesn't understand what he's feeling."

"But he seemed so angry," Lyra whispered. "Like he hated us."

"He doesn't hate you." I kissed the top of her head. "He's just scared and hurt and confused. Sometimes when people are in pain, they lash out at the people who love them most."

But even as I said the words, I wondered if I was lying.

"What are we going to do now?" Orion asked.

I looked at my children's tear-stained faces, then at Tristan's parents who stood watching with their own hearts breaking.

"Now we give Daddy space to heal," I said softly. "And we hope that someday, he'll remember how much we all love each other."


Tristan's POV

The silence in the room felt suffocating after everyone left. I lay on my back, staring at the sterile white ceiling, but my mind was anything but calm. My hands clenched into fists against the hospital sheets.

Mate! Mate! Find mate!

The voice in my head wouldn't stop. My wolf was clawing at my consciousness with desperate hunger. Every cell in my body screamed for that woman, the one with green eyes and chestnus hair who claimed to be my ex-wife.

"Shut up," I growled through gritted teeth. Sweat beaded on my forehead. "She's not our mate. If she was, why does looking at her feel like being stabbed in the chest?"

But my wolf didn't listen. It howled inside my skull, a sound of pure anguish that made my vision blur with pain.

Bring her back.

"NO!" I slammed my fist against the bed rail. The metal rang with the impact, sending shockwaves up my arm. "If she was really mine, why would my body reject her? "

The headache that followed was excruciating.

Another memory tried to surface—just fragments. A woman's voice, soft and pleading. The taste of tears. Then nothing but searing pain where the image should have been.

"Damn it!" I pounded the bed rail again, harder this time. "What did that woman do to me?"

A soft knock interrupted my internal war. The door opened to reveal Varian, his expression creased with worry.

"Alpha?" He stepped inside cautiously. "I heard... sounds from your room. Are you alright?"

I fixed him with a stare that made him take an involuntary step back. "Do I look alright to you?"

"Your wolf has definitely returned. But you seem to be in considerable distress."

I sat up slowly. "Varian, I'm going to ask you a direct question, and I want a direct answer."

He straightened,. "Of course."

"That woman—Lysandra." Her name tasted bitter on my tongue. "Tell me who she really is. Did she hurt me? Is that why I can't remember her?"

The hesitation in Varian's eyes was answer enough, but he spoke anyway. "From a certain perspective... yes. But you also hurt her, Alpha."

Something cold and satisfied settled in my chest. "I knew it." My hands relaxed slightly against the sheets. "My instincts don't lie. She's the one who broke me."

"Alpha—"

"Thank you for confirming what my gut already told me." I leaned back against the pillows, feeling vindicated. "Whatever she did was bad enough that my mind chose to forget her completely. That tells me everything I need to know."