Chapter 37

Nova’s POV

The room felt very quiet I always hated silence.

It kept on pressing on my ears and I felt like my chest hurt. I wanted to hear Mommy’s voice, her voice always made me feel safe, but all I could hear was the beeping of the machine which was beside her bed. It felt like the room was reminding me that she hadn't woken up.

I gently curled up beside her and pressed my cheek softly on her arm. Her skin was warm, but it wasn’t Mommy warm. She laid still. She didn't hold my hand. She didn’t open her eyes and smile like she always did when I ran to her.

I whispered softly with my shaky voice.

“Mommy…”. I held her fingers tighter, but they just lay there. “Please wake up for me…”

My eyes stung and my throat burned. I tried to blink away the tears but they slipped out anyway and wet her arm.

Leo was sitting on the opposite side of me, his back was straight like he was trying his best to not break down. He looked more mature with his serious expression. His hand was holding Mommy’s too, like if he let go, she might disappear.

“She will wake up soon, right?” I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.

Leo turned to look at me. His lips pressed in a firm line before he nodded with determination “She is very strong, She will never give up.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to so badly. I gently pressed my ear against her chest to hear her heartbeat, her heartbeat sounded slow. Very slow.

“This is not right.” I whispered.

Leo came towards me and gently pulled me into his arms and caressed my back. His voice was shaky yet rough. “Don’t say that. Don’t… don’t think like that. She can hear you, you will make her very sad.”

I sniffled against his shirt, my tears soaking into the fabric. “What if she won't wake up?”

He went completely quiet. His arms tightened around me like he was scared too, but he didn’t want me to know.

For a long time we just stayed like that, listening to the steady but weak beep of the machine. My heart ached with every sound. I knew I had to be strong but I felt very helpless and small.

Leo finally said softly “We just need to have patience. No matter how long it takes.”

So we waited. I held Mommy’s hand with both of mine, and Leo sat close beside me. Every time I felt sleepy, I pinched myself to stay awake. I was scared that if I closed my eyes for even a second, she might be gone when I woke up.

And I couldn’t lose her. I wouldn’t.

Gideon’s POV

The word wolfsbane lingered in my mind for a long while.

It stuck into my mind like a smoke, cruel and bitter as if it was mocking me. That maid, my only lead, was found dead in prison. Poisoned in my own prison, under my own command.

My fists tightened and knuckles strained white. The rage was boiling in my chest, I was hot and dangerous as I slammed my fist on the table almost breaking, but I took a deep breath to calm down, burying it under the mask of calm Alpha.

There was no room for weakness. Not now.

My beta stood stiffly before me, I saw a drop of sweat at his temple. He delivered the report carefully, choosing the words like he was walking on broken glass.

“She was found lifeless in her cell early this morning, “ Beta said. “Her veins were blackened due to poisoning. No sign of a struggle. The guards said they didn't see anything suspicious at all."

“Nothing suspicious,” I repeated with a low and calm voice. The calm of a predator before the strike.

Beta swallowed hard and slowly continued to speak. “They believe she may have—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” I snapped, the steel in my tone cutting through the air. “You want me to believe that she somehow managed to bring the poison in the cell? In my house?”

Silence.

I turned around and paced around in my office. My boots made a sharp sound as I walked around. I felt fury in my mind, my wolf was restless and savage.

“She was killed,” I said sharply, my voice let out a growl. “Someone silenced her before she was going to talk. Someone who believes they can outmaneuver me.”

Marcus shifted uneasily. “What are your orders, Alpha?”

“Investigate this as quietly as you could.” I said. My gaze was sharp towards my beta, it was sharp enough to draw blood. “No panic, No whispers. If my pack hears that I was not able to guard a prisoner. The news will fly like a rot. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“And beta–” I stepped closer lowering my voice to a deadly whisper “If I learn that any guard failed me through negligence… their punishment will make the maid’s fate seem merciful.”

Beta bowed his head low. “I understand.”

After Beta left, I stood alone staring at the papers scattered on the table and ground. My jaw clenched. He had been so close. The maid was timid and weak. She would have broken eventually. And now…

Now the thread is gone. No. Not gone. Cut.

I dragged my hand across my hair, my thoughts were now sharp and focused. The maid was not clever enough to plan something like this. She was just a pawn. Someone had threatened her into obedience, controlling her every move. And that someone had access to his packhouse.

The realization sent a cold chill down my spine. A snake was wandering around my walls, living off on my trust.

I moved swiftly, leaving my office and making my way to the servant quarters. Every step was heavy with restrained anger. The servants who passed by me quickly bowed, their heads low due to fear.

They knew better than to meet my gaze when my wolf stirred beneath my skin.

He began questioning them one by one. My voice never rose in anger, but I made sure every servant I questioned would answer the question.

“When did you last see the maid?”

“Who spoke to her in the days before her arrest?” “Who had access to the kitchens?”

Most claimed ignorance. But I was not the man everyone can lie easily to, I saw the body language of every servant.

A cook told me that the maid kept glancing towards the second floor as if she was looking out for someone. A gardener recalled seeing her talking with a cloaked figure one night. Another servant admitted she had once overheard the maid muttering that she “had no choice.”

Slowly I was able to solve the puzzle.

The maid was not the real enemy. She was just a shield for the real mastermind. Someone with power and influence. Someone cunning. Someone close.

When I finally returned to my room, the evening sky faded into blackness. I stood by the window, looking at the endless forest outside the packhouse. My reflection in the glass was grim, my eyes glowing faintly with the silver of my wolf.

I thought of Raven laying pale and still in the hospital bed. I thought of the children together with her, their wide eyes filled with tears asking the questions I was not able to answer.

The anger inside me became tighter and sharper.

They tried to harm my person. They dared to poison her under my roof, and silence the only witness before my eyes.

My hands curled into fists.

“I will make sure they regret it.” I whispered with determination into the night. My voice was cold, a promise carved into my mind. “I will search my whole house and tear down the house brick by brick till I find the person who is hiding in the shadows. And when I do… there will be no mercy.”

The silence felt like an answer from the night, but I didn’t feel the peace at all. My mind was like a storm, which was ready to consume everything to find the real traitor