After Six Years Of Lies, Both My Wolf And I Awakened

I am Lillian Lawson. The night before my succession ceremony, I caught Erick Lawson, my mate, in bed with Misha Acosta, the priestess of Silverbeam Pack.

It was also that night that I learned the prenatal tonic I had drunk six years ago was, in fact, a Stillbirth Draught that killed my baby.

Erick had handed it to me himself.

My real child had long since died in my womb.

After I delivered the dead baby while unconscious, Erick and Misha took the baby's body away, shoved their bastard, Noah Lawson, into my arms, and murdered my father together.

So I had spent six years raising my enemies' child.

And now, they were trying to usurp my position as leader!

At the succession ceremony, Misha held Noah in front of the entire pack, sobbing that she was his real mother.

Erick stood before everyone and accused me of having no wolf, being unable to bear children, and abusing Noah for years.

Everyone demanded I give up my position.

But I simply looked at Erick, whose face showed a look of smug satisfaction, and curled my lips. "Erick, do you think you're unstoppable now?"

...

"I handed her that Stillbirth Draught with my own hands all those years ago." When I heard Erick's voice drift out from the hidden chamber, my raised hand froze in midair.

Through a stone door that was ajar, candlelight cast two tangled shadows on the wall.

I stood in the shadows, biting down hard on my lower lip, watching Erick and Misha doing that thing in there.

Tomorrow was my succession ceremony, yet Erick still hadn't come home.

I assumed he was persuading the elders who opposed me becoming pack leader again. So I had made his favorite soup and brought it to the Priests' Temple myself.

But I never could have imagined hearing those words here.

"Easy for you to say." Misha lowered her voice, dripping with resentment. "All these years, you've been playing her loving mate every single day. The whole pack says you threw away your dignity as an Alpha for Lillian. And the most ridiculous part is that Noah is my son, yet he has to call that useless werewolf his mother!"

"Just endure it for one more night," Erick said in a gentle voice that betrayed his desire, but his words made me tremble. "After tomorrow's ceremony, he won't have to call Lillian his mother anymore."

Misha was still unhappy. "If you couldn't bear to leave Lillian, then why did you kill her baby?"

"Couldn't bear to leave her?" Erick sounded like he had heard something absurd. "I stayed by her side just to become the leader of Silverbeam Pack. Once she got pregnant, the previous leader, her father, wanted to hand the entire pack over to her. If she had given birth to a child who would be the rightful heir, I wouldn't have a chance! I slipped the Stillbirth Draught you brewed into the soup she ate every day. Wasn't it all for this very day?"

When I heard that, my mind went completely blank.

Scenes of the day I gave birth kept flashing back into my mind.

I could still remember the searing pain in my belly, the blood soaking through the animal hides in great dark patches, and the healer urging me over and over to push.

And Erick was kneeling by the bed, gripping my hand so tight, telling me again and again that the baby would be fine, that I would be fine too.

Then I blacked out.

When I awoke, Erick, teary-eyed, placed a wrinkled infant in my arms. I named him Noah.

But now I knew that Noah was never my child at all.

Misha's laughter came out from the hidden chamber. "What a shame that Lillian still doesn't know that the child she's raised for six years is of my bloodline."

"Of course Lillian doesn't know," Erick said, his voice dripping with contempt. "She doesn't even have a wolf. She can't tell bloodlines by scent. If she were a normal werewolf, she would have known something was off the very first day they held Noah. Only a worthless piece of trash like her would treasure another woman's son like he was her own."

My whole body shook. Tears welled up in my eyes.

When I was young, my wolf had vanished without warning.

And no one knew why.

My father had taken me to every pack healer in the world, and all of them had told him that I was born incomplete.

Without a wolf, I could not shift into wolf form, nor could I feel the tie between those who shared the same bloodline.

Over the years, the elders had used it against me again and again, saying that a female werewolf who couldn't shift like me had no right to become leader.

It was Erick who had stood in front of me, using his authority as an Alpha to silence every doubt.

He had told me that as long as he was there, no one could hurt me.

But now, he was having sex with another female werewolf and had called me a worthless piece of trash.

"Are you sure nothing will go wrong tomorrow?" Misha asked.

"Everything is in place." Erick's voice was calm and cold. "Once the ceremony starts, you bring out the Kinstone in front of everyone to prove that Noah is not Lillian's child. She can't shift, she can't produce a real heir, and the pack will naturally doubt whether she is qualified to be the pack leader. Those old fools have always cared about bloodline. Once they find out even her child is a fake, they'll never support her again."

Misha laughed, the laughter growing brighter with delight. "And then you can take over from Lillian?"

"Silverbeam Pack needs a strong leader, not a useless waste." Erick paused and continued. "After I become leader tomorrow, I'll cripple her and then put her in the dungeon."

The moment he finished speaking, I couldn't help but shudder.

Then he added, "The holy land of the Silverbeam Pack can only be opened by the blood of a leader from each generation. She may not have a wolf, but she still carries the previous leader's blood in her veins. Keeping her alive will come in handy."

Misha pressed further. "And after the holy land is open?"

After a brief silence, I heard Erick say with a contemptuous voice. "No one would care about a worthless cripple who fails to be the pack leader even if she dies, right?"

They stopped talking and began to moan.

I forced myself to turn around and walked out, one step at a time.

My knees were so weak I could barely hold myself up. The corridor seemed to sway before my eyes.

When I reached the stone stairs, my foot missed a step, and I nearly tumbled down. I grabbed the pillar beside me just in time.

My nails cracked and bled from my grip being too hard.

Back in my quarters, I shut the door and hurried into the washroom.

My stomach was churning violently.

I gripped the stone basin and dry-heaved for a long time, but nothing came up.

Soon, familiar footsteps sounded outside the door.

I wiped the water from my face, quickly cleaned the blood off my hands, and pretended nothing had happened.

"Lillian?" Erick walked in with a smile.

He wore that same gentle smile he always did, but the moment I saw him, nausea rose in my throat on instinct.

He spoke again. "You look so pale. What's wrong?"

I lifted my eyes and looked at this man who had grown up beside me, had formed a mate bond with me, and had killed my child with his own hands.

I could see just the right amount of concern he showed in his eyes.

My hands started trembling uncontrollably. I nearly vomited right then and there, but I forced myself to say, "Nothing. I'm just nervous about tomorrow's ceremony."

Erick was visibly relieved.

He pulled me into his arms and patted my back gently. "Don't worry. No matter what happens tomorrow, I'll be right by your side."

I leaned against his chest and closed my eyes, but all I could smell was Misha's scent.

The scent was faint, but it sent my stomach churning all over again.

I shoved Erick away and spun around, gripping the edge of the stone table and beginning to dry heave.

"Lillian?" He rushed over, putting his hand on my back, his voice strained with worry. "Is it because of your old injury again? I'll have Misha come take a look at you."

At the mention of Misha, my stomach churned even harder.

"No need." I wiped my mouth and sidestepped his hand. "The celebration is tomorrow. I don't want to alarm anyone."

Erick still looked worried, but in the end he said nothing more. "Don't overthink it. Get some sleep. There are still a few things left for me to handle at Priests' Temple. I'll come back to keep you company later."

I watched the soft smile tugging at his lips and instinctively clenched my fists.

"All right." I forced down the revulsion and stepped forward to kiss his cheek. "Come back soon. I'll miss you."

The moment Erick left, I shut the door and scrubbed at every spot of my body he had touched.

I didn't stop until my skin was raw and red.

Just then, the faintest sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

Noah stood in the doorway, clutching his pillow, his head with messy hair peeking out.

"Mother." He called out softly, his eyes red-rimmed.

I looked at him and felt my heart lurch.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" I bit back the bitter feelings that rose within me and held out my hand to him.

Noah ran straight over and burrowed into my embrace.

"Mother, after the celebration tomorrow, will I not be allowed to call you Mother anymore?"

My body froze. "Who told you that?"

Noah pressed his lips together and whispered, "Ms. Acosta."

He looked at me uneasily and went on. "She said that after the celebration, I'll have a new mother. She also said you don't need me anymore and that you're going to send me to Priests' Temple."

I hadn't expected Misha to have already said all of this to Noah. She couldn't even wait one last night.

I held Noah tighter, pressing his face against my shoulder. "No. No matter what happens tomorrow, I will never give you up."

Noah sniffled and finally went quiet.

I carried him back to bed. As I was about to tuck him in, his sleeve slid up, revealing a few bruises on his arm.

Noah yanked his arm back at once, frantically tugging his sleeve down.

"Noah, tell me. Who did this?" I took his wrist gently, softening my voice.

Noah's tears fell at once. "It was Ms. Acosta. She made me memorize some things. I kept getting them wrong, and she pinched me."

My fingers hovered over the bruises. I didn't touch them.

I asked, "What did she make you memorize?"

Noah glanced nervously at the door, making sure no one was outside, and then leaned close to my ear. "She wants me to tell the elders tomorrow that you hit me all the time and force bitter medicine down my throat. Father told me to listen to her, too."

After that last sentence, he buried his face against my chest. "But you've never hit me. I don't want to lie."

I hadn't realized just how vicious Erick and Misha could be.

Not only did they plan to expose tomorrow that I wasn't Noah's biological mother, but they also wanted Noah to publicly accuse me of abusing him.

They wanted to paint me as a madwoman with no wolf, unable to bear children, who abused a child.

"Noah, don't tell anyone about tonight." I took a deep breath and wiped his tears away. "Tomorrow, no matter what Misha tells you to say, just agree with her. Don't fight back, and don't let her know you told me about that."

Noah shook his head at once. "I can't slander you, Mother."

I cupped his face in my hands and made him look at me. "You're doing that to protect yourself."

Noah nodded, not quite understanding why but choosing to trust me.

I lay down beside him and waited until his breathing evened out before slipping quietly out of the room.

Before my father passed away, he had been secretly investigating a group of rogue werewolves of unknown origin.

Erick and Misha had joined Silverbeam Pack during that very period.

Later, my father died on a hunt. None of the guards who accompanied him survived. Everyone said he had encountered a stampede of wild animals.

Now it seemed to me that the hunt might not have been an accident at all.

I changed into a short tunic that allowed free movement, strapped a dagger to the side of my leg, slipped past the guards outside the door, and climbed out through the back window.

After my father's death, the place where he had lived was sealed shut. In all these years, I had never once stepped inside.

It was the dead of night. I made my way along the trail behind the mountain and pushed open the dust-caked wooden door.

Everything inside was exactly as it had been when my father was alive.

I didn't linger. I walked straight to his bedchamber.

My father had a habit of hiding important things in a secret compartment behind the bed.

I fumbled around for what felt like forever before I finally heard a click.

The compartment sprang open, but all that remained inside was a pile of ash, which meant someone had been here before me and burned everything.

I reached in and sifted through the ash, finding a few scraps of hide that hadn't been completely consumed.

I could faintly make out from the remaining letters on them that they were hunting records, but the rest was beyond recognition.

The record from the day my father died should have been kept here.

Whoever destroyed it clearly didn't want me to know what had happened that day.

Beneath the ash, a bloodstained wolf fang lay.

Before I could examine it more closely, a row of torches flared to life outside the courtyard.

Heavy footsteps closed in fast.

I shoved the fang into my sleeve. I had barely shut the compartment when the door was pushed open from outside.

Erick stood in the doorway, a dozen fully armed guards behind him.

"Lillian," he said, his gaze sweeping past me and landing on the disturbed compartment. "What are you doing in your father's house at this hour?"

I looked up at Erick. My voice was perfectly calm, betraying nothing. "I couldn't sleep with tomorrow's succession ceremony on my mind, so I came to pay my respects to my father."

Erick's gaze swept over the secret compartment I had opened, then fell on my ash-stained hands. "Lillian, you have a ceremony to preside over tomorrow. Don't let your thoughts spiral."

His words were ambiguous, but I knew he was suspicious of me.

I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face against his chest. I whispered, "I just miss Father. After tomorrow, I'll be the true leader of the Silverbeam Pack. But he's dead. He can't even offer me a single blessing."

I could feel Erick's body gradually relax. He raised his hand and stroked my hair, his voice gentle. "If our great former leader were still alive, he would be so proud of you."

Hearing him refer to my father that way made my stomach churn.

"Still, you shouldn't sneak out of your home tonight. It was too dangerous. The borders have been in chaos lately, and rogue werewolves have been spotted in the Black Woods again. I need to make sure you're safe before the ceremony tomorrow."

He reached out and tried to take the leader badge hanging around my neck.

I immediately grabbed his hand to stop him. "What are you doing?"

Erick looked down at me. His expression hadn't changed at all, but a look of worry was evidently in his eyes. "I'll keep it for you."

"Without the badge, I can't command the guards," I said.

"Everything for tomorrow's ceremony is already prepared. All you need to do tonight is go back and rest." As he spoke, he used a little more force to pry my fingers off the badge one by one. "Lillian, be good."

He took my badge.

"Fine." I didn't argue further. I simply turned and walked toward the door.

As I passed Erick, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.

The tip of the wolf fang pierced through the fabric and sank into my skin. The pain made my fingers go numb, but I didn't dare let anything show on my face.

"Lillian." Erick stared into my eyes. "You seem a little... different tonight."

My heart skipped a beat, but I raised my other hand and touched the side of his face where I had kissed earlier. "I'll be the leader tomorrow. Of course I'm nervous. Erick, you said that no matter what happened, you would be there for me. You won't go back on your word, will you?"

Erick clearly hadn't expected me to say that. He froze for a moment, then leaned in and kissed me affectionately. "Never."

...

Before dawn broke, the horn of the ceremony sounded ahead of schedule.

I hadn't even finished getting dressed when screams erupted from outside. "Something's happened to Mr. Noah Lawson!"

I rushed to the altar and found Noah collapsed at the base of the stone steps.

Misha knelt beside him, cradling him in her arms.

Beside her lay a shattered bowl.

I recognized it at once. It was used to hold the tonic Noah took every day to fortify his body.

"Noah!"

I rushed forward, but two priests stopped me.

"Move!" I shoved them aside, but Misha yanked Noah behind her.

"Don't touch him!" She glared at me, her eyes red and swollen. "Lillian, how much longer are you going to keep hurting him?"

The pack members around us froze, staring over with shock and suspicion.

I forced down the unease rising in my chest. "What are you talking about?"

Misha picked up a shard of the bowl, still stained with the medicine. "There's a chronic toxin in Noah's body. Based on the dosage, he's been poisoned for at least six months. In this entire pack, you're the only one who made him drink that tonic every single day!"

The crowd immediately broke into loud, stunned discussion.

"Mr. Noah Lawson was poisoned?"

"Isn't Lillian his mother? Why would she hurt him?"

"Could it be that she knew all along Noah wasn't her biological son?"

I ignored what they said and knelt down to check on Noah.

He struggled to open his eyes, and the moment he saw me, tears spilled out of his eyes. "Mother..."

Before he could finish, Misha clamped her hand over his mouth. "Don't be afraid, Noah. No one will ever force you to drink poison again."

Noah kept shaking his head, reaching out his hands desperately toward me.

"Your word alone doesn't prove the tonic was poisonous." I stood up and looked toward the healers from the apothecary. "Have someone else re-examine the medicine and check Noah's body."

The healers exchanged uneasy glances, and not a single one dared step forward to do what I had just told them to.

Misha sneered. "Did you think I wouldn't come prepared with evidence?"

The apothecary manager stepped out from behind Misha and dropped to her knees with a thud, holding up a record book with both hands. "Ma'am, for the past six months, your attendant has come to the apothecary every seven days to get some Bloodvine Powder. Bloodvine Powder on its own can strengthen the bones and muscles, but when brewed together with Shadoweeds, it produces a chronic toxin. The tonic Mr. Noah Lawson took daily contained both of these materials."

I snatched the record book from her.

Every entry for the Bloodvine Powder bore my seal, even with my signature right beside it.

But I had never sent anyone to collect Bloodvine Powder.

"These are forged!" I closed the book and looked up at Erick.

He stood at the very front of the crowd, the leader badge he had taken from me last night hanging around his neck.

"Erick." I stared straight at him. "You know I wasn't the one who collected that medicine."

Before Erick could speak, Misha raised Noah's arm, showing everyone the large patches of bruises on his skin.

"Then what about these?" She cried out in tears, turning to the pack members. "Noah told me himself last night. Lillian beat him regularly and forced him to drink the poisonous medicine. Because she has no wolf, she was afraid Noah would look down on her when he grew up, so she tried to destroy his wolf with poison!"