Nothing happened.
The potion slid down Raine throat slowly. It was bitter and thick, a result of the crushed petals she had mixed into it. She lowered the cup afterward and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. She acted as if she had merely finished drinking ordinary tea.
The silence inside the room stretched. Every pair of eyes was on her.
Raine waited. Nothing happened.
She could feel Alpha Janson’s rage burning as he stood near his son’s bed; his hands clenched so tightly the tendons along his arms stood out. "You’ve made your point," he said at last, his voice low; it sounded cold and dangerous.
Raine tilted her head. Nothing had happened. She didn’t even cough, let alone make her point about how dangerous or how life-threatening it could be. The potion sat quietly in her stomach, doing nothing.
For a brief moment, doubt crossed Raine’s mind. Had she miscalculated? But she didn’t think so. She was certain.
The petals that she crushed and added to the drink should have reacted with the herbs inside the potion. They should have. Yet the room remained painfully calm.
The new healer looked increasingly uncomfortable. He glanced between Raine and the Alpha, clearly wishing he were somewhere else entirely.
Saying Alpha Janson was livid would be an understatement. He gestured toward the two warriors at the door, taking one slow step toward Raine. "You’ve wasted enough of my patience."
Yet, Raine met his gaze without flinching. "If you had listened earlier—"
"I listened." His voice rose suddenly. "I listened to your accusations. I listened to your defiance. I even watched you drink the potion yourself." He gestured sharply toward the empty cup still in Raine’s hand. "And yet, here you stand."
Raine did not answer.
The Alpha’s eyes darkened. "You lied."
Raine’s fingers tightened slightly around the cup. "I didn’t."
"Then explain why you’re still standing." Before Raine could respond, Janson roared without hesitation. "Take her!" His words fell into the room like a blade striking stone. The two warriors immediately stepped forward. "Take her outside." His voice was cold. "She will be executed immediately."
The words echoed in the room. Even the new healer looked startled by the speed of the command.
However, Raine didn’t flinch. She had expected such an outcome. In truth, she had anticipated it the moment she drank the potion. Even if the poison eventually proved her right, it might be too late for her.
Raine felt a strange sense of calm wash over her. So, this was how it would all end. Then, so be it. She thought she was going to die anyway, so why not die as she tried proving them wrong, just to spite them? No one ever believed her.
Dying just to spite Alpha Janson might not be the worst ending.
The warriors reached her in two long strides. One of them grabbed her wrist and the second warrior seized her other arm. "Come."
She let them pull her away from the table. Her legs moved automatically as they dragged her toward the door. She didn’t resist.
Then, something twisted sharply inside her chest.
Raine froze.
The sensation was small at first, almost like a knot tightening deep within her ribs. She breathed heavily.
"What’s wrong?" the warrior beside her asked.
Raine shook her head slightly. But the knot tightened again. This time it spread.
A burning sensation began crawling slowly through her body, moving from her stomach outward like fire licking through dry branches. Raine’s fingers trembled. So, there it was.
Her vision blurred for a moment. She forced herself to keep walking. Suddenly, fire inside her chest erupted. Pain exploded through her body. Raine gasped and her knees buckled.
The warriors barely had time to react before her entire body collapsed.
Raine hit the ground hard. A violent tremor ran through her limbs; she started convulsing.
"What—?" The warrior holding her wrist staggered back in shock.
Raine’s body convulsed violently on the floor. The pain was unbearable. It clawed through her insides as if something sharp were tearing through every vein until she could no longer breathe without gasping. A strangled sound escaped her throat.
Everyone in the room was stunned, and they watched her whimper in agony. For a moment, no one moved. They were too shocked to react in time.
Wave after wave of agony tore through Raine’s body, twisting her helplessly against the stone floor. Her fingers clawed at the ground. A broken whimper escaped her lips.
The warriors stared in stunned silence. "Alpha..." one of them whispered.
The new healer pushed the stunned warriors, who were still frozen in place, aside. "Move!" He checked Raine’s condition.
It was working as Raine had predicted.
Raine’s convulsions grew stronger. Her breathing came in ragged gasps as the burning spread through every part of her body—the room filled with the sound of her pain.
She was barely conscious. She heard the distant sound of someone shouting her name, along with another voice issuing orders. But the sounds grew distant as darkness crept into her vision.
The last thing she felt was the bitter taste of the potion lingering in her throat. Then everything disappeared.
For a moment, the room was silent. No one moved. The warriors stared down at Raine’s now motionless body in stunned disbelief.
The new healer slowly lifted the empty cup from the floor where it had fallen during the struggle. His hands shook as he examined the faint traces of crushed petals still clinging to the inside. When he looked up again, his face had gone pale. "Alpha," he said quietly.
Alpha Janson turned his gaze to him.
Only then did the truth begin to settle.
Raine had not lied. And they had nearly killed the only healer who understood what was happening to Landon.