Chapter 10

Becky's P.O.V


“Karl!” I called out loudly without thinking. I quickly let go of the bunch of petals I had been picking up and started running as fast as I could towards him.

“What’s going on?” I asked with a breathless voice as I suddenly came to a halt next to him.

His skin appeared very pale and the usual sense of confidence and strength that he always seemed to have was no longer there. Instead he now had an aura of vulnerability around him that left me feeling confused and unsure of what to think.

“I can’t do it…” he said with a struggle his eyes growing wide with fear as he leaned against the tree for support trying to hold himself up. “Becky something is definitely not right… I really can’t breathe.”

A wave of panic rushed over me making my heart race and my mind swirl with confusion. I had no idea what was going on or why it was happening and this uncertainty overwhelmed me.

In that moment my instincts took over urging me to call for help. I shouted loudly “Please someone help me! I need assistance!” My throat felt parched and scratchy and fear gripped me tightly as I cried out for anyone who might hear my desperate plea.

In just a few moments the pack guards came hurrying toward us. At first they looked relaxed and indifferent but their faces changed quickly to show concern and alarm as they realized what was going on.

The first guard to reach us was a strong and robust wolf named Derek. He seemed very serious and urgent as he approached us. “What happened here?” he demanded loudly kneeling down next to Karl to check on him.

”Poisoned... I believe!” Karl said breathing heavily and struggling to get the words out. ”It really hurts. Please just take me inside.”

“Let’s go ahead and move him” Derek said with clear determination in his voice. With the assistance of another guard they carefully lifted Karl whose body was completely limp and unresponsive.

Slowly and cautiously they carried him toward the house. I trailed closely behind them my heart pounding in my chest. I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to him. Who would be cruel enough to do something like this to him?

Inside the house they hurriedly made their way to a bedroom which was the private quarters of the Alpha. They carefully placed him down on the bed making sure to handle him gently. His pale face looked very striking against the soft dark color of the bedding.

I found myself standing by the door unable to move or take any action feeling completely unsure of what I should do next. Meanwhile the guards started yelling loudly for healers and their urgent voices bounced off the walls filling the room with a sense of chaos.

“Please go find the healer named Sage! It’s urgent!” Derek commanded his face becoming more and more serious as he spoke.

I asked ”What is happening right now?” Even though I was feeling scared I wasn't sure if I would like the answer to my question.

“Just wait a moment” Derek responded in a curt and unapproachable manner clearly refusing to share with me the details about the chaotic situation that was happening around us.

A short while later the healer named Sage walked into the room. She moved confidently showing that she had a lot of experience from her many years of work in healing.

Carefully she knelt down next to Karl her eyes focused and observant as she took a good look at what was going on. ”Can you please tell me what happened?” she asked.

Derek explained ”It’s poison. He is telling me that he is having a very hard time breathing.”

Sage did not take long to start her work. She quietly whispered some magical words to herself while she carefully looked at Karl. I could see that Karl was having a really hard time.

He was trying to breathe but his breaths were short and heavy making it clear that he was in trouble.

I felt a tight knot of fear in my stomach as I watched the healers doing their best to help him. I was so anxious hoping for even the tiniest sign that he would be alright.

Time seemed to drag on with minutes feeling as long as hours until finally Sage lifted her gaze. Her expression was serious and worried.

“It appears that he has been poisoned” she said. “I will need additional time to figure out where the poison came from but unfortunately the situation does not seem very promising.”

“What did you say?” I asked the word bursting out of my mouth before I could even think. I felt a wave of disbelief wash over me. “Poisoned? Who on earth would do something so terrible?”

”That's precisely the information we need to discover!” A new voice suddenly interrupted the intense atmosphere around us.

My heart felt heavy and sank deep into my chest as I recognized who it was. I had heard those accusations from him many times before and they never failed to make me feel uneasy.

Brian was standing in the doorway and his face showed that he was very angry. He looked at me and Karl with a lot of disgust. Then he shouted “Becky what did you do to him?”

“Are you talking about me?” I said in disbelief moving a little closer. “Are you really serious? Why the hell would I want to poison Karl?”

”You've been making another attempt to get his attention haven't you?” Brian teased folding his arms in a way that suggested he thought he was in control of the situation. ”You've always had feelings for him even though he turned you down before.”

“I never—”

”Stop telling lies! You have wanted him to come back ever since the moment he left” Brian went on not allowing me to say anything in response.

He pointed his finger at me in a very accusatory way and I could feel my anger rising up inside me. ”And now he is lying there poisoned! You really can't expect any of us to believe that this is just a random coincidence.”

”Feel free to believe whatever you want” I replied sharply with a hint of bitterness in my voice. ”Sure I may have been a girl without any wolves back then but I have changed since that time. I have grown and matured! I am not the same person that all of you treated so poorly and like I didn’t matter.”

”Perhaps you have matured and changed as a person but I still do not have any trust in you” he said firmly taking a step closer to emphasize his point.

”You have always been a source of trouble and annoyance for him and now you really believe that you can simply come back into our lives as if nothing has happened? Let me make it clear you will never be accepted as part of this group.”

The atmosphere around us became heavy with tension and I could feel my fists tightening and clenching at my sides. ”Do you really believe that I wanted any of this to happen?” I exclaimed my voice rising in the heat of the moment.

”Karl rejected me. He has his own pack a life and a Beta by his side. I did not poison him at all!” By this point I was shouting unable to hold back the intense anger and frustration that was bubbling up inside of me.

”You really know nothing about who I am or what I’ve been through.”

Brian responded sharply his voice filled with coldness “Oh I have a lot of understanding about this situation. You have always held a strong dislike for me and now you are behaving like this? I find it hard to believe that it’s just a coincidence. We were finally making some progress in our relationship and just when things were starting to get better you had to come in and mess everything up.”

“What do you mean by ruining something? You really don’t understand what you’re saying!”

My cheeks turned red with anger and old painful memories of our past came rushing back to me. “If there is someone who is truly ruining things it’s definitely you!”

Out of nowhere Brian charged towards me his fist flying through the air aimed directly at my face. I didn't even think about it I just reacted automatically and reached out to grab his hand before it could hit me.

Our eyes met in a fierce stare and I held onto his wrist tightly not letting go. With a calm and steady voice I said “Do you really believe I am still that weak little girl you used to bully? Well I am not that person anymore.”

After I spoke I released his hand and took a step back creating some distance between us.

“I’ll demonstrate for you what it really means to be weak” Brian said through clenched teeth his anger clearly visible on his face. He lunged at me once more trying to hit me again but this time I was prepared for his attack.

Quickly I moved to the side turning my body just right so I could throw a powerful punch directly at his jaw. The strength of my own frustration fueled the punch and it knocked him down hard to the ground.

“Get up” I said keeping my voice calm and steady as I observed him trying to regain his balance and stand up again. “You really need to try harder than what you just did.”

Brian was lying on the ground and he looked at me with his eyes wide open showing that he was both shocked and very angry.

He shouted out loudly “Guards!” as he spat out some blood onto the floor. “You need to go and get her right now. She has to learn a lesson about what she has done.”

The guards looked at each other with nervous expressions clearly feeling torn between their different loyalties. One of the guards Derek called out “Brian hold on a moment—” but he hesitated in his speech.

However Brian was so angry that he ignored Derek’s request and let his strong feelings take over disregarding any logical thinking or sense of caution.

“Go after her! She is incredibly dangerous!” he shouted his voice filled with anger and malice.

As the guards began to move closer to me I suddenly felt a strong sense of defiance rising up inside me. Even though they might look at me as if I were an unwanted child—someone who didn’t fit in or belong in their world—I was determined not to back down. I was not going to give in to their intimidation. Not at this moment.

“Stay away from me!” I shouted loudly taking a step closer and raising my fists in a strong position. “I want you to know that I am not scared of you or anyone else who is here right now. If anyone even tries to lay a finger on me I promise that you will truly regret it. Do you really think you can just push me around like you did in the past when I was younger? Well let me tell you I am not that same girl anymore!”