A Matter Of Trust

Safira, who was hiding, immediately got up from where she was and looked out of the open window. She watched as Damien caught sight of her before he fell to the ground. His hands curled into the grass and dirt. A phantom pain surged through Safira too, as though she was feeling his pain.

Without a second thought, she leaped out of the window and got to his side at once. Seth was shocked in place, surprised to see her.

"You… Have you been eavesdropping on us this entire time?!" He growled in anger.

He grabbed Safira roughly by the collar, when she didn't reply to him. Not caring for her injuries, she fought back at him to get out of his grasp.

"You can interrogate me all you want later, but we need to get Damien inside. Now," she said without skipping a beat.

She didn't wait for Seth to come to his senses. She placed Damien's arm around her shoulder and lifted him off the ground.

"Can you still walk?" She whispered to him, her voice filled with worry that was barely hidden.

Damien couldn't even respond. He simply nodded in reply. Damien was a lot heavier than Safira but she held it together. Seth came to help a few moments later and together, they successfully got Damien to the bedroom.

He rested in bed, shirt already soaked in sweat. He was in pain, and she noticed the dark-colored veins that were cascading all over his body.

"Is this the first time this has happened?" Safira asked as she turned to Seth.

"That's not something you need to…"

"Do you want him to live or not?!" Safira yelled at the Beta impatiently.

From the looks of it, Damien was being poisoned. An Alpha whose fated mate had died would be weakened too. It was likely that both conditions together were causing things to be a lot worse.

"There's no time to keep secrets, Seth. Just give it to me straight," she snapped at him.

She could see from his flickering eyes that he didn't appreciate the ways he spoke to him. After all, she was just a wolf. A cursed rogue. But there was no time for bickering. Damien reached out and instinctively grabbed onto Safira's wrist.

She turned back to him, feeling a pang of pain in her heart to see him in such agony. She couldn't let the man who saved her life suffer. She was going to do everything to save her.

"It's not the first time. It's been going on for a while. Since… since…" Seth was hesitant to say it.

"Since Marcella died," Damien finished his sentence for him.

"Seth, go get the healers. Tell them it's a slow-acting poison that's been in his body for some time now. They will need to do a poison purge if he's going to get better."

"Poison?! What-"

"There's no time! Just go!" Safira urged.

Seth was hesitant at first. But looking back at Damien was still writhing in agony, he knew he didn't have much of a choice. He used the pack mind-link to call for the healers. He wasn't about to leave Damien alone with Safira, not when she's been acting suspiciously.

"I've called for them. They should be here soon," he said.

Safira nodded as she turned to Damien. He was still holding on tight to her arm. She could see the sweat trickling down his forehead as the black colored veins spread all across his body.

She could tell that they extended from his heart to all corners of his body. She reached into a pocket and brought out her dagger.

"What in the Goddess' name do you think you're doing?!" Seth yelled at her in disbelief as he swiped the dagger out of her hand in anger.

"I-" Before this even had a chance to defend herself, Seth had her pinned to a wall in a chokehold.

Her body slammed hard against the wall, causing her to wince in pain. She could feel the soreness in her wounds and the stitches shifting.

"I should've killed you!" He growled in anger.

"I… I'm not trying to kill him you… you idiot!" Safira defended herself as she desperately hit Seth's arm in an attempt to get her to let go.

"Seth… let her go," Damien forced the words from his lips through the haze of pain.

It was the worst bout of pain he had ever felt. The healers had been trying to figure out a cure and the cause but to no avail. Now, it seemed like Safira might have the answer but Seth was being overly protective.

He didn't know why Safira took out her dagger, but he knew for certain it was not to harm him. After all, why would she be so foolish as to attack him while Seth was still here.

But he couldn't get Seth's attention. The Beta was so focused he couldn't hear Damien. Gritting his teeth, Damien knew what he had to do.

He used his Alpha authority as he spoke, "Beta Seth, release Safira at once!"

This time, Seth heard him. He immediately released Safira from the chokehold and backed away. He got down to his knees and lowered his head. Safira could feel the pressure of Damien's authority but unlike Seth, she was not affected by it.

She collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. She knew time was of the essence and there was no time to waste. She crawled over to grab the dagger again. She lifted herself off the ground, grabbing onto Damien's arm as she did.

"You're not going to kill me, are you… sunshine?" Damien mused.

Even when in pain, he was trying to look cool in front of her.

"This is not the time for jokes and you know it," she said as she lifted the sleeve on his left arm.

The veins were spreading and almost reached his fingertips. Looking for a good entry point, Safira pursed her lips and went for it. She pierced the tip of the dagger into Damien's skin.

Black viscous blood seeped from the fresh wound. Almost instantly, the black veins were beginning to retreat.

"Bring me a towel and a basin of water," Safira instructed Seth.

This time he did not protest and simply did as she asked. As the black-colored blood continued to flow, Damien looked to be a little more at ease. The pain was subsiding. By the time Seth returned with the items she had asked for, the healers arrived too.

Safira stepped aside immediately, giving them space to tend to Damien. All of them were sick with worry written on their faces, worried for the health of their Alpha. Safira watched in silence as the healers continued with the poison purge she had started, until all the dark-colored veins had disappeared.

A pot of medicine was brewed for Damien to take.

"It's gotten worse," Damien said solemnly as he sat up in bed, feeling a little better than before.

The three healers got down on their knees, hanging their heads low.

"What are you doing? Get up," Damien ordered.

"Alpha, please punish us for our inability to find a cure. We've tried everything, but nothing seemed to work," one of the healers spoke on everyone else's behalf.

"We thought this was wolfsbane poisoning but it would seem our diagnosis was incorrect," another added.

"It's silver leaf," Safira's voice cut through the air.