Chapter 4 The Theft

The ceremony was tomorrow.

I sat alone in the infirmary, grinding valerian root into powder, the rhythmic scrape of mortar against pestle steadying my nerves. My lavender scent felt heavier today, as if the air itself were taunting me. Every breath I took seemed to scream *mate*, *mate*, *mate* to anyone who passed. Even the elders had stopped by again, their stares weighted with expectation.

The door creaked open.

"Brought you something."

Lila stood in the doorway, holding two steaming mugs. Her smile was too wide, her voice too light. She hadn't spoken to me since our fight three days ago.

I stiffened. "What is it?"

"Peppermint tea. To calm your nerves." She set a mug beside me, the steam curling into the air. "You've been jumpy as a rabbit."

I eyed the mug. The scent of mint was sharp, almost overpowering. "I'm fine."

"Drink it." She nudged the mug closer, her tone teasing but edged. "Or are you scared I poisoned you?"

A joke. A *Lila* joke. But her knuckles whitened around her own mug.

I sighed, lifting the tea. Maybe this was her way of apologizing. The first sip burned my tongue, bitter beneath the mint.

"Tastes... strong," I coughed.

She shrugged. "Added honey, but you know I'm rubbish at brewing."

We sat in silence, the tension thick. Her knee bounced restlessly.

"Look," she said suddenly, "about what I said... I didn't mean it. You'd make a good Luna. Really."

I stared at her. The words sounded practiced. "Lila-"

"Just drink the tea, okay?"

I took another sip to appease her, the bitterness coating my throat.

"Remember when we stole Elder Taryn's moonstone?" she said abruptly, grinning. "She chased us for a week."

A laugh escaped me, strained but real. "You blamed it on a raccoon."

"And you cried when she made us replant her entire herb garden."

"My hands were blistered for days."

We fell quiet again. My head began to swim, the room tilting slightly.

"Lila?" My voice slurred. "What did you-"

The mortar slipped from my hands, clattering to the floor. Cold spread through my veins, numbing my fingertips. I gripped the table, but my legs buckled.

"Shh." Lila caught me, lowering me to the floor. Her face blurred above me. "It'll pass."

"What... did you do?" The words dragged like stones.

She brushed hair from my face, her touch icy. "What I had to."

Panic surged, but my limbs wouldn't obey. I tried to scream, but only a whimper came out.

"Don't fight it." She stood, rummaging through my herb shelves. "This potion-it's not poison. Just a... mask."

A mask. My scent.

*No.*

I writhed, but the cold tightened its grip, squeezing my lungs. Lila hummed as she worked, crushing dried petals into a vial. Lavender petals. *My* petals.

"You're lucky," she said, her voice distant. "The Alpha's mate bond? It's a cage. You'd hate it."

Tears burned my cheeks. Betrayal choked me sharper than the potion.

She knelt, holding a small glass bottle filled with shimmering liquid-my scent, distilled into essence. "With this, the pack will believe *I'm* his mate. The Goddess's choice."

*Liar. Thief.*

"Don't look at me like that." Her smile faltered. "You didn't even want him!"

I clawed at her arm, but my fingers glanced off weakly.

She jerked away, snarling. "You had *everything*! A destined mate, the pack's love-even the elders favored you! What did I have? *Nothing*."

Her words struck like fangs. This wasn't the Lila I knew. This was a stranger, sharp and desperate.

The numbness reached my chest, slowing my heartbeat. Darkness crept into the edges of my vision.

"Sleep," she whispered. "When you wake, it'll all be over."

The last thing I saw was her crimson ribbon, bright as blood, as she slipped out the door.

***

I woke to moonlight.

The infirmary was dark, the air stale. My body ached, every muscle stiff. I dragged myself upright, head pounding.

*My scent.*

I pressed a hand to my neck, where my pulse should have thrummed with lavender warmth. Nothing. Just... emptiness.

Panic seized me. I stumbled to the shelves, snatching a vial of crushed rosemary-pungent, sharp. I inhaled deeply.

No reaction.

My knees gave out. The rosemary's scent was faint, watery, as if filtered through cloth.

*The potion worked.*

A sob ripped from my throat. Without my scent, I was no one. Not a healer. Not a mate. Not even a wolf.

The door flew open.

"Elara?" Mara's voice. A lantern flared, blinding me. "Moon's grace, what happened?"

I opened my mouth, but no words came. How could I accuse Lila without proof?

"The ceremony starts at dawn." Mara hauled me up, her grip firm. "You need to prepare."

*Prepare.* The word echoed hollowly.

As she led me out, I glanced back at the infirmary. A single lavender petal glinted on the floor, overlooked.

A ghost of what I'd lost.