CHAPTER 29: POISON

Elias was a child who rarely wandered far without someone noticing, which was why the alarm that swept through Ravenmoon hit like a crashing tidal wave. It started with a horrified scream from one of the patrolling warriors, then the sound of frantic footsteps, then Rowan’s voice booming across the mind-link for all units to mobilize.

Lucien was the first to reach the forest. The scent of poison was unmistakable, sharp and metallic in the air, clinging to the fallen leaves. His vision tunneled. His heart wasn’t beating. It was slamming, each strike like a roar.

"Elias?" Lucien’s voice dropped to a growl. "Elias!"

No answer.

Branches snapped behind him. Servants? Warriors? He didn’t care. He pushed deeper into the trees, lungs heaving as he stretched his senses.

Then he froze.

A tiny body lay crumpled beside the roots of an old oak tree, unmoving.

Elias.

Lucien’s breath shattered.

The boy’s skin was pale as moonlight, a sickly sheen glossing his lips. His small hands trembled, fingers twitching weakly. A purplish stain spread across the leaves near him, poison residue.

"NO!"

Lucien fell to his knees, gathering Elias into his arms. The child’s head lolled against his chest.

"Papa..." Elias whispered, barely audible.

Lucien’s world cracked open. "I’m here. I’m here, my son."

Rowan burst through the trees with warriors behind him and stopped dead at the sight.

"Gods..." Rowan paled. "Lucien, his pulse is faint. That poison is..."

"Where’s the healer?" Lucien barked, voice cracking.

"They’re coming..."

"Not fast enough."

Lucien lifted Elias carefully, but the boy whimpered at the movement, then went limp. Panic sliced Lucien’s control to pieces. He had fought battles, survived wars, killed without blinking, but nothing had ever struck terror in him like the sight of his son fighting for breath.

Then, a different scent hit him.

Magic.

Familiar.

Dangerous.

Lucien turned sharply.

Devon stood at the edge of the clearing, panting, having sprinted his entire way there. His eyes widened at the sight of Elias, and in an instant, all color drained from his face.

"Elias..." Devon whispered, voice shaking. "What... what happened?"

"Poison," Rowan said, tight-voiced. "And we don’t know the source."

Devon staggered forward, horror twisting his expression. His knees buckled beside Lucien as he reached trembling hands toward the boy, then stopped, remembering he had no right. Remembering he was nothing more than a contract-bound spouse kept at a distance.

But Elias...

Elias was the child he had saved. The child who clung to him. The child who loved him more fiercely than anyone else.

Devon’s chest cracked open.

"Let me help," Devon whispered.

Lucien stiffened. His jaw clenched. "Devon. We don’t know what we’re dealing with."

Devon swallowed hard.

"I... I can sense the poison." His fingers hovered over Elias. "I think I’ve seen this before in the rogue territories. It’s called Grimroot. It paralyzes the lungs. It’s fatal to pups."

Lucien’s whole body went cold. "How do you cure it?"

Devon hesitated.

"Devon," Lucien snapped. "HOW?"

"It’s not a cure. More like a gamble." Devon’s voice grew small. "My... magic can slow it down. But doing so will burn my life essence."

Lucien’s breath stopped.

Rowan whispered, "Devon, that’s suicide."

Devon looked down at Elias. The little boy’s chest barely rose, each breath more shallow than the last.

"Please..." Devon whispered, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "I can’t, I can’t let him die."

Lucien’s throat tightened.

The world roared around them, wind, forest, panic, warriors, but none of it mattered. Only the limp weight of his son, and Devon kneeling before him, trembling but determined.

Lucien knew Devon kept secrets. Knew he hid power. Knew he carried wounds no one ever tended. Knew he trained alone in the dark until he bled. Knew he was afraid of being useless. Knew he believed he was unworthy of the title Luna.

But this...

This willingness to die for a child not his own.

It cut Lucien open.

"Devon," Lucien whispered, voice cracking for the first time in years, "if you do this, you might not survive."

Devon didn’t answer. Instead, he placed his fingertips against Elias’s wrist. Magic flickered, blue and gold threads dancing across his skin.

Lucien grabbed Devon’s wrist. "Look at me."

Devon looked up, startled.

Lucien’s eyes were not cold now. They were not distant. They were raw, sharp, filled with something heavier than fear.

"If you die," Lucien said, voice rough, "I won’t forgive you."

Devon’s breath stuttered. But he smiled faintly, tiredly. "I already died once, Alpha. This time... at least I get to choose why."

And before Lucien could stop him, before Rowan could intervene, Devon pressed his palm over Elias’s heart.

Magic exploded.

The ground shook.

Leaves lifted into a spiral around them as runes burst from Devon’s skin, spilling from his veins like glowing ink. The air crackled with raw energy, scorching the earth where he knelt. Devon’s face contorted as pain tore through him, blood dripping from his nose, then from the corners of his eyes.

"Devon!" Lucien roared.

But Devon didn’t stop. His voice broke as he chanted words no one had taught him.

Ancient.

Forbidden.

Powerful.

Elias’s body jerked once. Then again. Then his breathing hitched. The purple stain on his lips lightened. But Devon screamed, a sound ripped from his soul as the backlash hit him.

His entire body trembled violently. Runes crawling over his skin shattered like glass. The light dimmed. Devon’s strength collapsed in a single breath. He fell sideways.

Lucien lunged and caught him before he hit the ground.

Devon’s eyes fluttered open, hazy, unfocused.

"Is he..." Devon whispered weakly.

Lucien glanced at Elias. Color was slowly returning to the child’s cheeks. The poison had reversed just enough to stabilize him. Lucien exhaled, a shuddering, broken sound.

"He’s alive," he whispered.

Devon smiled faintly. Relief washed over his features like a blessing. Then his eyes rolled back. And he went limp in Lucien’s arms.

"DEVON!" Lucien’s voice cracked.

Rowan swore behind him, shouting for medics.

But Lucien didn’t move. He held Devon tightly, pressing the young man’s forehead against his chest, feeling how cold he was, how faint his pulse had become.

Not again. Not like this. He would not lose him. Lucien’s jaw clenched as determination surged through him.

"No more distance," he whispered fiercely against Devon’s temple. "No more walls. You will not die alone. You will not die believing I feel nothing."

He gathered Devon into his arms, rising with a strength borne of fear and fury.

"Clear the path," he roared at the warriors. "Get the healers ready. NOW."

His voice carried through the entire forest. Because for the first time. It wasn’t just an order from an Alpha. It was the desperate cry of a man afraid to lose someone he had been too afraid to love.