The Triplet Alphas' Regret

I waved my hand nonchalantly. "Not that they’ve not already tried to execute me," I joked instinctively. "What’s another criminal charge when I’ve already got a list?"

There was only silence in response. Healer Samuel didn’t even crack the faintest hint of a smile at my words. When met with Samuel’s deadpan expression, I awkwardly cleared my throat.

"I found it. It’s not mine. I didn’t even know what it was until Cassian ate it and suffered the side effects." Then, I added under my breath, "It was his fault for ingesting unknown substances without double-checking what they were."

"And where could you have possibly found such a substance?" Samuel asked. He didn’t sound accusing, merely curious.

I pursed my lips. That gave me the last bit of courage to tell him the truth. In the end, I sighed in resignation and confessed.

"I found it in Willow’s room. I was looking for clues regarding her sudden poor health, and I smelled it," I said, recalling the ill sensation that overcame me when I took a whiff of its scent. "It was mixed with some dried lavender and chamomile that she used to make tea last time. Apparently, no one cleared it out yet. My guess is that the lavender overpowered the smell of the wolfsbane, so much so that they didn’t even think twice about it."

"I see..." Samuel’s eyes clouded briefly, and he let out a little sigh. "That explained a lot. I had always found it strange that a girl as strong as Willow could weaken so suddenly without rhyme or reason."

"You didn’t believe that I was the one responsible?" I asked, curious.

There was no way he would not have heard the rumours circulating around the pack that blamed me for causing Willow’s situation. That was what everyone talked about, to a point where even the other healers found all sorts of excuses not to heal me whenever I needed it― and I needed it more often than not due to my lack of a wolf.

I was injured easily while doing heavy labor, and without a wolf, I healed slowly whenever I sustained even the smallest of cuts and bruises. Powerful wolves like the Alphas could heal such small wounds within seconds. On the other hand, it would take me days, and it might even leave me scars.

On my darkest days, even I believed that my mere presence was poisonous to Willow’s very being, because there was simply no other explanation to be had. Until my older sister vanished, leaving a pool of blood on her bed, I could not prove to myself that I was truly innocent.

I was always surprised that Samuel didn’t seem to care, unlike his other colleagues. I thought that he simply didn’t bother with such affairs. I didn’t think too deeply into it to wonder whether or not he actually believed in them.

Healer Samuel rolled his eyes at me. "Don’t be ridiculous. Blaming you was simply an irrational decision brought about by feelings of inadequacy and a need to create an answer when one wasn’t found."

I blinked, surprised by the surety of his response. Samuel continued to speak, his speech coming out faster with every word. I had a feeling that he had been ruminating on this issue for a long time.

"It was simply scientifically impossible for you to ’curse’ your older sister simply with your presence. You are a werewolf, not any kind of fae. Not to mention, both of you are fully blood-related without any doubt; you two look more alike than Beta Cedar does to either of you or your parents. If werewolves could harm blood relatives with mere presence, werewolf packs would have ceased to exist centuries ago," Samuel declared.

His words were so matter-of-fact that I immediately felt foolish for harboring such immature, nonsensical thoughts. But that left me with another pressing question.

"If you had thought that I had nothing to do with it, why didn’t you and the other healers continue investigating?" I asked. "That could have gone a long way in clearing my name!"

I tried not to sound too accusatory, but hints of my resentment still slipped through the cracks. I didn’t want to sound like I blamed him for everything that went wrong in my life, but if Samuel was so sure I was innocent, why didn’t he investigate further? There was more than enough time to comb through Willow’s room from top to bottom to rule out the cause of Willow’s illness.

As though he was caught with his cookie in the jar, Samuel frowned. He looked down and exhaled heavily. I could see his eyes broiling with thought. Finally, after a while of silence, he finally raised his gaze and looked me in the eye.

"I wanted to continue my investigations, but I was ordered to stop," Samuel said frankly, which made me blink in surprise. Out of all the explanations he could have given, I certainly wasn’t expecting that. "Back then, my mentor was also helping me figure out the cause of Willow’s condition. As I said, it’s not scientific for you to have ’cursed’ her."

He paused, as if deliberating his next words.

"But?" I prompted, moving a little closer to him. This was the first time I had heard of such a thing― there was actually someone who tried to prove my innocence.

"But," Samuel said, "before we could narrow down possible causes, we were ordered by the Beta to stop."

"What? Why?" I asked, leaning forward to catch every word that came out of his mouth. "This makes no sense!"

"That was what I thought, too, but orders were orders. The rationale back then was that Willow was weakening too fast, and they didn’t want to tax her body any longer with unnecessary tests. I tried to argue otherwise― if we actually find the cause, we would be able to reverse the cause of the illness and treat her."

Samuel scoffed, rolling his eyes. "But my idea was shot down. They did not believe in us. They did not believe we could cure Willow."

His nostrils flared in displeasure, and his hands clenched into fists at the reminder.

"Considering the Beta was Miss Willow’s brother and immediate next of kin, there’s really not much I can say," Samuel said with a shrug. "The only one who could contest him would be either your parents, who are gone, or Willow’s mate, whom she doesn’t have. And since Cedar is the Beta, and not some random warrior in the pack, we cannot continue our research. That was the end of it."

I sucked in a breath. I bet the dismissal must have rankled him. Samuel was a prideful man, but for a good reason― he was frighteningly good at his job.

Maybe that was why they had to stop him. Because he, out of all people, could actually get to the bottom of this matter and treat Willow’s poisoning. My mouth ran dry at the realization.

"So who knows about this order?" I asked. "Did the Alphas know about this―"

"That I do not know," Samuel said with a snort. "My orders back then came from the Beta. We assumed that the Alphas must have agreed, because they certainly weren’t in a hurry to find out what was wrong with her. My mentor tried to argue, and she was forced into retirement."

I sucked in a cold breath, trying to calm myself down. Willow might have more people out for her blood than I realized. My hands grew cold and clammy at the realization, and I had to wipe them on my shorts.

"If what you are saying is true... then..."

"Then your sister is in danger," Samuel finished simply. "Truthfully, it was already a miracle for her to return alive. Long-term wolfsbane poisoning is lethal for most werewolves. Her wolf is either extremely strong, or someone has been routinely slipping her just enough antidote to keep her alive while on the cusp of death."

"What are the chances of a full recovery?" I asked anxiously. "Will Willow wake? She was poisoned for a longer time, but she was also on the run― she didn’t have wolfsbane then!"

I was desperate. Willow had to regain her strength to protect herself, and she was the only one who could pinpoint the culprits responsible. The Alphas would certainly listen to her and actually investigate!

"...I am doing my best, but recovery will be slow, if it happens at all," Samuel said frankly. Hearing his words was as good as dousing myself with ice-cold water. "Willow does not have her fated mate with her to help her recover from this ordeal, unlike Alpha Cassian."

I paused. So we were back to this topic.

I sighed. "So you’re not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope," Samuel said. His tone, for once, almost seemed casual. Amusement glinted in his eyes as he began to pack up his things. "No matter whether you like him or not, Alpha Cassian is the Alpha of this pack. He and his brothers work hard to maintain order. I have to give credit when it’s due, even if I don’t like the person."

My lips twitched, stifling a smile. So Samuel was finally admitting that he didn’t like Cassian. I wasn’t surprised. His relationship with Soren seemed all right, as far as I observed, but he didn’t seem particularly fond of Rowan or Cassian in the rare times I had seen them interact.

"And if I don’t?" I asked, testing the waters.

"Let’s put it this way," Samuel said, walking to the door. "If you play your part and heal Alpha Cassian, I shall help you dig a little further into your sister’s condition."