Caspian’s POV
I ran as fast as I could toward Adonis’s chambers, my boots slamming against the cold floor.
Moments earlier, I had been prepping another tracking spell for Thalia when my door was suddenly burst open by over five guards.
For a terrifying second, I thought my time was up, and Eris had finally convinced Adonis to execute me.
But when the lead guard announced that the Alpha had suffered another breakdown, I bolted out of my room immediately.
I had honestly done everything I could to bring him back to perfect health, but his body kept fighting against it.
I really thought I had perfected the cure with that turlic powder, but his system had clearly adapted to it.
I barged into the room to find Eris shaking his limp body violently.
“Step back,” I snapped, pointing a finger at her.
“You need to give him as much space as possible.”
I got closer to him and saw that all the color had completely drained from his skin.
“Get me any sharp object, now!” I ordered the maids, who looked ready to faint.
A few seconds later, a messy pile of knives, scissors, and forks landed on the desk.
I quickly grabbed a pair of scissors and poured alcohol on it before lunging it into his chest.
Adonis gasped loudly, coughing out large amounts of coagulated blood.
“He’s being poisoned from within,” I said, watching as the veins on his body started morphing into dark, cursed symbols.
“His body is desperately trying to heal his internal wounds, but Thalia’s wolf won’t allow it.
It’s trying to kill him so it can break free.” I looked up and saw Eris completely frozen on the spot.
I drove the scissors deeper into his chest, and he gasped again, but this time his eyes flew open.
He frantically looked around the room before he started thrashing.
“Everyone out!
Get the fuck out now!” he roared, clutching his chest.
The maids and guards scrambled toward the door without hesitation.
I turned to follow, not wanting to deal with his violent outbursts, when he grabbed my arm and held me back.
“Except you,” he panted.
He looked up to glare at Eris, who moved back in shock.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she frowned, crossing her arms.
“Eris, I strongly advise you to step outside,” I tried to tell her, but she completely ignored me.
“I’m his mate for fuck’s sake; what sense would it make if I was seen outside with the rest of the maids?”
Without warning, Adonis lashed out at her.
I SAID GET OUT NOW!” He literally ripped the scissors from his chest and threw it at her.
She managed to dodge it just in time.
I signaled her to get out before things got even uglier.
She growled quietly before storming out of the room and slamming the door behind her.
The moment she was out of the room, Adonis squeezed my arm so tight his claws started digging into my flesh.
“Help me, please.
I don’t want to die… I don’t want to lose my throne.
Help me…”
I pulled my arm out of his grip and cast a binding spell on him to hold his hands and legs in place so he wouldn’t strangle himself to death.
Moving over to his table where I’d left my potions and spellbook, I started working on a remedy for his current situation.
He kept wailing and screaming behind me, but I completely ignored him.
Since he was being tormented by Thalia’s wolf, I needed to figure out how to put it to sleep.
I’d been giving him potions to strengthen his organs, but it looked like her wolf actually thrived on his health.
That left me with the option to put the wolf to sleep so his body could finally heal.
Once I successfully mixed all the herbs, I tried to hold him down to pour it into his mouth, but he kept thrashing around violently.
“I can hear her thoughts!
I can feel her emotions… her pain!” he kept screaming.
“Make it stop!
Make it go away!”
”You need to stay still so I can give you this potion!
Hold still!” I yelled, officially losing my patience.
I grabbed his chin, trying to force his mouth open, but he jerked his head away with a sudden burst of strength.
My hand slipped, and a bit of the potion spilled over his jaw and onto the sheets.
“Fuck…” I swore under my breath.
There was no time to mix another batch.
All efforts to calm him down failed, so I did the only thing my brain could think of.
I poured the bitter liquid into my own mouth and grabbed his face with both hands, digging my fingers into his jawline until he gasped.
Before he could realize what I was doing, I leaned down and pressed my lips to his.
Adonis froze.
I forced his mouth open and poured the liquid into his mouth.
The kiss wasn’t deep or wet; it was just an innocent peck on the lips that involved me sticking my tongue into his mouth to ensure the whole liquid went down his throat.
We stayed like that for a few seconds even after I was sure he had swallowed every single drop of the potion.
I hadn’t expected him to kiss me back, so when he suddenly shoved his hands against my chest and pushed me backward, I wasn’t surprised.
He stared at me wide-eyed as if he had just seen a ghost.
“What the fuck did you just do?” he whispered.
I couldn’t explain why my heart was hammering against my chest so much.
I did what I had to do to save his life, so why did it feel like I had just committed an abomination?
“I just saved your life,” I shot back, doing my absolute best to hide the shock in my voice.
“You should be grateful instead of looking at me like I poisoned you.”
”Saved my life?!” he scoffed, his face twisting in disgust.
“You just shoved your tongue down my throat—”
”And you’re breathing, aren’t you?
You’re welcome.”
He went quiet, pressing a trembling hand over his chest.
I could see the potion had already started working.
The holes the scissors had made on his chest began to close.
His skin began to come back to its normal tone, and his eyes that were bloodshot red began to go back to their usual dark green.
“What exactly did you just give me?” he muttered, slowly swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
“A temporary cure…” I murmured, looking away the second he was fully on his feet.
He flexed his arms, rearranging his bones.
“And what part of that cure required you to do…
whatever the hell that was?”
”It was the only way to ensure you actually swallowed it,” I said, my voice tight.
“If I hadn’t done it, you would have—”
The door burst open, and Eris rushed back inside, her eyes darting between the two of us.
“What happened?
Did you fix him?” she demanded, rushing toward the bed.
I took a step back, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
“You should leave,” Adonis ordered, his eyes never leaving mine.
Without waiting for another order, I gathered my spellbook and vials from the table and headed for the exit.
I tried with everything in me to walk out without looking back, but I failed.
Just as my hand touched the door handle, I glanced over my shoulder.
Our eyes locked for one final second before I stepped into the hall and let the door slam shut between us.