Page 12 of A Luna's Revenge (Stone Mountain Shifters)
Jenson - Present Day
I'm a complete mess, even more than I was before. Charlie has vanished in her SUV with her clothes, and I can't sense anything through any mate bond. All that is left is a black void. My wolf is also still missing, I am lost without true north.
I’ve deployed my best trackers, but they can't track her scent beyond the garage where she entered her SUV. I’ve notified all Alpha's and the Alpha Commander of my missing Luna and asked for discretion. I contacted my private investigator. Hopefully, she’ll be found soon.
In the meantime, I am done with Tracy Vincent. Everything points to her being behind an attempted mate tampering, which ironically, I played into her hands by allowing Charlie to go without knowing the full extent of the crime. I should have told Charlie when I got back from the Alpha conference. I was just so embarrassed and had no wolf to guide me. I’ve learned a lesson: to be honest and not hold anything back from my mate again if I ever get her back.
Dr. Bridgit called me to the clinic to get my test results. As I enter, Dr. Bridgit and Dr. Shannon are mulling over a holographic file above Dr. Shannon’s desk.
A pang of regret shoots through my chest, and I rub it. Charlie developed the systems that support our medical offices. She is responsible for inventing the technology behind the hologram system here and throughout the territory.
Looking up, Dr. Bridgit addresses me. "Ah, Alpha, good, you are here. Let's go to my office to discuss our findings." I nod, and Dr. Bridgit leads the way, with Dr. Shannon and me trailing behind.
Dr. Bridgit sits at her workstation and opens a holographic file above her desk. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it; we have problems." She eyes me as Dr. Shannon and I take the two armchairs before her desk.
"Let's start with the tea. It has traces of weak black magic. Whoever prepared it doesn't know what they are doing. If Ms. Vincent is practicing herself, there may be a grimoire in her room. It would help if you had her room searched. Here's a list of the ingredients we determined the tea contains. Most are inert." She points to a list on the hover screen. "Unfortunately, it does contain wolfsbane."
She points to another screen. "This is your blood toxicology report. You can see the high levels of wolfsbane indicated. The results are all over the place.
“There don't appear to be any other poisons. But for the levels of wolfsbane in your blood being so high, she was probably heavily dosing your food and drinks at the conference and slipped you a significant amount to render you and your wolf unconscious. This explains your missing wolf."
I am not surprised; it’s exactly what we suspected. I scrub my face. "How long will it take to work out of my system?"
"I don't know." Dr. Bridgit admits. "I’ve never seen such high levels in a wolf walking around. You should be more debilitated. It speaks to your strength. We can treat it relatively easily. But we need to watch for damage to your system—to your wolf."
"There is another issue we need to address." Dr. Bridgit continues. "If you and Luna Charlie didn't use condoms, such high concentrations would have made it into her system through bodily fluids."
"What?" I exclaim.
"Probably not enough to be dangerous, but she isn't as strong as you. It would be imperative to treat her as soon as possible."
"I have an army searching for her." I croak.
"Additionally," She flips through screens and stops on another page. "This is your lab semen analysis. I realize that doesn't make a lot of sense, motility, morphology, and sperm count, but in simple terms, you are 95.9% infertile. Based on these conclusions alone, it’s not likely that the pup Ms. Vincent is carrying belongs to you."
I sigh with relief, dropping my head to my hands. Scrubbing my face, I look at Dr. Bridgit. "Without my wolf, how can we know for sure?"
"I thought about that beforehand, Alpha. Using Ms. Vincent's blood that we took when we examined her and a sample of yours, it’s not your pup."
Relief washes over me in waves. "You could have led with that."
"One more thing, Alpha," Dr Bridgit warns. "You need to stop taking the sedative I gave you. With the wolfsbane in your system, the sedative is likely contributing to your wolf’s suppression.
To revive your wolf, we need to run some medications through your system via an IV. So, please step into this procedure room we have set up. It should only take a couple of hours."
"Okay." I follow Dr. Bridgit to her procedure room. "I just need to issue a few orders. Can I have a few minutes alone?"
"Sure, Alpha. I'll be back in 15-20 to begin the treatment."
Alone, I issue orders through the mind link to my beta. "Beta, I have received all my test results and am about to undergo some treatments."
Beta Ben acknowledges methrough the link. "What are the results?"
"I’ve been poisoned with high doses of wolfsbane. And the pup is not mine. Therefore, I’ve a few things I need you to accomplish. First, notify all Alphas on the lookout for Luna Charlie that she has been poisoned with wolfsbane and requires immediate medical attention. This information is sensitive, so ask for continued discretion.
"Next, I need you to inform Enforcer Orson that it’s as we feared. He should proceed with the arrest of Ms. Vincent, as we previously discussed. Once she is secured in one of our most humane cells—due to her condition—her room is to be searched for evidence. You may find a grimoire; handle it carefully and keep it for evidence.
“I don't care who does this next part, whether you or Enforcer Orson, but inform Alpha Commander so arrangements for Ms. Vincent can be made to take her to headquarters for prosecution. We had asked Alpha Rich to take custody of her, but I don't want her getting off easy again.
"Lastly, I want Elder Frank removed from my advisory board immediately. That is all."
"Will do, Alpha." Beta Ben replies.
"If I need anything further, I will let you know." And with that, I cut the connection and prepare for my treatment.
Charlie
Still lying here weak in my hospital bed, the door opens, and a female in scrubs and a white coat enters, pushing a holographic medical chart stand.
"Hey, I am Amaris, one of the healers here." She sticks out her hand to shake mine. "Dr. Frances asked me to check on you today."
"Amaris?" I ask, enclosing her hand in mine. "What are you doing here? I thought you lived in the Still Waters Pack with your mate. We brought you to that mate meet let's discuss the results. Your blood toxicology report shows some traces of wolfsbane. Do you know how that got there?"
"No." I am shocked to learn that.
"Yes. It’s just a small amount," Amaris reiterates. "I will just increase your fluid consumption and IV fluids; it should not cause you or the pup any problems."
"Pup?" Once again, I am shocked.
Amaris meets my eyes. "You didn't know you were expecting?"
"No," I choke out, tears stinging my eyes. I don't know if I'm happy because I finally conceived or sad because I finally conceived, but my life has disintegrated. "How far along am I?"
"Oh, honey." Amaris enfolds me in an embrace. "It looks like you are about five weeks. I'll order an ultrasound." She taps something on the hologram screen. "How are you feeling?"
"I am so tired and weak."
"Those symptoms are probably due to a combination of the breaking of the mate bond, your pregnancy, and the wolfsbane poisoning," she divulges. "I'm not surprised you're in the hospital." She begins typing again and continues.
"I am prescribing prenatal vitamins, and with the additional fluids, the wolfsbane should be out of your system in 24 hours. Those two things will help with the symptoms." Amaris examined my IV bag. "Lastly, I have a supplement I developed for rejected mates. I know you did the rejecting, but it eases mate separation. It’s safe for the pup. I took it myself during pregnancy."
"Thanks, Amaris," I sigh, exhausted. "I appreciate your expertise."
"You're welcome, Charlie. I will be out of town for a few weeks, but I will leave extensive notes for Dr. Frances so she can follow up on the wolfsbane poisoning. Do you know how you came to have wolfsbane poisoning?"
"I’ve no clue."
"Just rest, Charlie. You should be right as rain soon." She smiled at me, patted my hand, and walked out the door, leaving me with many questions and no answers.