Chapter 2 Whispers of Poison
Chapter Two – Whispers of Poison
Aria gasped, air flooding her lungs.
The scent of herbs and smoke filled her senses. She blinked, vision swimming, to see silken sheets beneath her, strange runes carved into the ceiling above.
Two figures rushed to her side, a woman with tear-streaked cheeks and a man with eyes sharp as command.
“My daughter,” the woman whispered, clutching her trembling hand.
Aria’s pulse thundered.
The book.
The Alpha’s daughter.
Her curse had become her cage.
And this time, there would be no hiding, no dimming herself for love.
Because she would not be weak.
Not here.
Not ever again.
---
Morning came heavy, as though the night had never truly left.
Aria stirred beneath silk sheets, her body weak, her limbs trembling even from the effort of drawing breath. Her chest ached with every inhale, her head throbbed with a quiet pulse, and her tongue felt bitter, as though metal lingered on it.
Her eyelids fluttered open. The chamber was still half-dark, sunlight barely breaching the thick velvet curtains. At her bedside sat Luna, her face drawn with worry, hands folded tight as though prayer alone could keep her daughter breathing.
“My darling,” the woman whispered, rushing forward as soon as she saw her eyes open. She smoothed Aria’s hair back with trembling fingers. “You frightened me. You slept so deeply I feared the worst.”
Aria blinked slowly, swallowing past the dryness in her throat. “I… slept?”
The Alpha entered then, his presence filling the room like a storm contained. He carried a tray himself, though servants trailed nervously behind him. On the tray was broth, steaming and fragrant. His massive hands looked almost comical cradling something so delicate.
“You need strength,” he said, his voice gruff but cracking at the edges. “Eat, little one. Please.”
Aria’s heart twisted. Their love was real, undeniable, searing. She could feel it in every word, every glance. But trust? Trust was a harder battle.
She forced a smile, weak and trembling, and took the bowl from him. The steam curled into her nose, comforting at first. But when the liquid touched her tongue, her sharp mind noticed. A bitterness at the edge, faint but wrong.
She lowered the bowl carefully, her lashes veiling her eyes. “It’s good,” she murmured, though the lie stuck like a thorn in her throat.
---
That day passed in the shadows.
Servants whispered at the door, their voices just out of reach. Whenever she entered the hall, conversations stopped. Footsteps echoed in places too near her chamber at night.
And her body, her body betrayed her. Each meal left her weaker. Her hands trembled as she reached for the goblet of water. Dizziness rolled over her after only a few sips of tea. The bitter taste lingered.
It was not natural.
Aria’s wolf, fragile though it was, stirred restlessly inside her. Not sickness. Not an accident. Something coils in our veins. Something given, not born.
Her heart pounded. She remembered the book. The Alpha’s daughter had been pitied until her last breath. They had called it an illness no healer could cure. But Aria, she had lived enough, seen enough betrayal to know the shape of poison when it slithered close.
Someone wanted her dead.
And worse, someone wanted her parents broken.
---
Luna sat with her that evening, brushing her hair with a tenderness that made Aria’s throat ache. “Rest, darling. Don’t push yourself.”
“Mother,” Aria whispered, testing the word on her tongue, watching how the woman’s eyes shone upon hearing it. “If… if I were gone… what would happen to you?”
Luna's hands stilled, the brush trembling. Her lips quivered, and tears welled bright. “Don’t speak of such things. You are our light. If you left us, I…” Her voice broke. “I could not bear it.”
Aria turned her gaze away, hiding the storm in her eyes. And that is why they want me gone. Because my death would shatter you.
---
That night, when silence wrapped the halls, Aria slipped from her bed. Her steps were shaky, her hands cold, but her mind was sharper than it had ever been. She crossed the room, fingers trembling as she lifted the lid of the silver goblet left at her bedside.
She brought it close, sniffing. Beneath the faint sweetness of herbs, there it was. Acrid. Bitter. A taste of her body now recognized.
Poison.
Her chest tightened. Her wolf whimpered in warning, but her mind, ruthless and brilliant, steadied. They believe me blind. Fragile. Dying.
Let them.
She would not be their easy prey.
---
The door creaked.
Aria froze, heart hammering. Slowly, she set the goblet back down and slid beneath the covers, feigning the fragile sleep of the dying.
A shadow slipped into the room. A servant, carrying another tray. Her movements were too careful, her steps too silent. She set the tray on the table and leaned over the goblet, replacing it with another, her fingers lingering a heartbeat too long.
Aria’s wolf stirred, hackles rising. Danger.
Her lashes fluttered half-shut. Her mind sharpened like a blade. She caught the servant’s face in the lamplight: downcast eyes, lips pressed too tightly together, hands trembling only when she thought herself unseen.
And then the woman turned, glancing once at the bed where Aria lay.
Her lips curled into the faintest, coldest smile.
Aria’s blood chilled.
She remained still until the servant slipped away, the door closing softly behind her. Only then did she let her trembling hands clutch the sheets, her heart thundering so hard she thought it might burst.
The novel had called it a mysterious illness.
But Aria now knew the truth.
She was being poisoned.
And someone within these walls wanted her to die before her destiny could awaken.
