Chapter 9 A Dangerous Game

I watched as the doctor gave her some injections and hooked an IV up to her. My blood was boiling as I tried to figure out how she had wolfsbane in her system.

"Get out," I barked at everyone. Her mother remained, looking sadly at her daughter.

"I said get out."

"She is my daughter-you can't tell me to leave her."

"Until I find out how she ingested wolfsbane, no one goes near her," I warned, and Shirley didn't budge.

"Get out of this room. Now," I repeated more firmly, forcing a sliver of Alpha aura over her. She flinched and turned away, finally backing out of the room.

I sat on the side of Katya's bed.

"I will leave you alone sir" the Doctor said turning towards the door.

"Calm down, Doc. I wasn't talking to you."

He nodded.

"How much is in her system?" I asked.

"We won't know till her blood work comes back," he replied.

Katya lay unconscious, her skin pale and clammy. The monitor beside her beeped steadily, but her breathing was shallow. The wait felt unbearable.

Soon, the doctor returned with the results in hand.

"She has three times the lethal dose in her system," he said gravely.

My chest tightened. "Will she be okay?"

He nodded. "She's stable for now. But the dosage is... alarming."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"No one could consume that much wolfsbane accidentally. It's bitter, toxic. And she'd have to ingest it in concentrated liquid or pill form."

"So what are you saying?"

He paused, reluctant. "Either someone gave it to her intentionally... or she made it herself. But suicide doesn't seem likely."

I clenched my fists. "No, she wouldn't do that." Would she?

Outside, raised voices cut through the moment. I turned toward the door, just as a loud slap echoed down the hall. I rushed out.

Shirley stood with a red mark on her cheek, Derrick breathing hard, face red with rage.

"You got that near our daughter again? I swear I will lose it," Derrick seethed.

Shirley tried to speak, but he cut her off. "I warned you. I told you this wasn't safe."

Mateo arrived just in time to catch me by the arm.

"Ezra," he said firmly, trying to steady me. I was one second away from slamming Derrick into the wall, how dear he hit his mate.

Derrick turned and stormed off. I looked at Shirley.

"What the hell is going on?"

She didn't answer.

I was about to ask again when a soft groan came from inside the room. I pushed past everyone and rushed in.

Katya stirred. The doctor offered her a glass of water, and she drank it slowly. When she saw us, her face flushed with confusion and panic.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't know. I didn't-" Shirley choked, stepping toward her.

Mateo blocked her. "Back off. What did you do to her?"

"Are you okay, love?" I asked, brushing a damp curl from her forehead.

"Love?" she echoed weakly, startled.

"Please, don't hurt my mum. She didn't do anything," Katya said quickly. "I accidentally touched some in science."

Even she didn't seem to believe it.

"No one could ingest that amount from touch," the doctor said gently. "Katya, please. Who gave you the wolfsbane?"

"It was an accident," she repeated.

"Stop lying," I snapped, then softened my tone. "Katya, please. The truth."

I turned to Shirley. "How long have you been giving it to her?"

Shirley's shoulders tensed. She didn't answer right away.

"Tiny amounts. Just a little, here and there. To build immunity," she finally said, eyes shining with guilt. "Over time. I thought if she ever encountered it in a real fight... she might survive. I was careful. Always. But something went wrong this time. Maybe I mixed the wrong dose. Or maybe someone tampered with it. I don't know."

Mateo cursed under his breath.

Katya looked away, her silence more telling than any confession. She had suspected. Maybe even known.

"You gave her poison," I said quietly. "You gave your daughter poison."

"To protect her!" Shirley insisted. "I never meant to hurt her."

Katya sat up slowly, placing a hand on my arm. "She didn't mean to... please don't punish her."

I sighed, torn between fury and heartbreak. My mate had nearly died. But I saw the fear in Katya's eyes-fear of losing more than just her life.

I turned to Mateo. "Stay with her. Keep her calm."

"Yes, Alpha."

As I stepped out to speak to Shirley privately, I knew this wasn't over. Someone had either made a fatal mistake-or wanted Katya dead. And I intended to find out which.