Chapter 110

What exactly do you mean by poison?
Corvine stood there staring at Seraphine as if he could not quite believe the woman standing in front of him was the same one who had walked out of the house a little over a day ago, because even though the difference in her appearance might have seemed small to anyone else who had not spent as much time watching her as he had, there was something about her presence that felt unfamiliar, almost as if some invisible layer of tension had melted away and left behind a calmer, softer version of her that made him feel strangely unsettled.

More than twenty four hours had passed since she left, and during that entire stretch of time he had barely slept, his mind running through one unpleasant possibility after another while he waited for her return, and now that she was finally standing in front of him, safe and unharmed, he found himself struggling with the strange feeling that he was talking to someone who looked like Seraphine yet somehow carried a different energy altogether.

“I was worried,” he said, keeping his tone polite even though the uneasiness inside his chest had not faded in the slightest, his eyes studying every small detail of her face as if he was trying to figure out what exactly had changed about her. “You were supposed to be back by dawn, but right now it’s already late at night, which means you’re at least sixteen hours behind the time you said you’d return, so it seems reasonable that I would worry about you after waiting that long.”

Seraphine straightened up and walked toward Corvine with a calm expression on her face, already aware that his concern came from a place of genuine care even if the way he expressed it sometimes sounded more like interrogation than worry.

“It isn’t Leon’s fault,” she explained gently while stopping in front of him, her voice steady even though she knew this conversation could easily grow tense if it went in the wrong direction. “The venue for the meeting was changed at the last minute, so we had to fly all the way to Bohemian Grove in California before the event could even begin.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Corvine’s expression softened as remorse flickered through his eyes, and his gaze moved from Seraphine to Leon as if he suddenly realized he had been directing suspicion at the wrong person.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly while looking at Leon. “I misunderstood the situation.”

Leon responded with the same polite composure he usually carried, offering a small nod that showed he had not taken offense.

“It’s alright,” Leon replied calmly, his tone carrying a quiet sincerity that made it clear he meant what he said. “The two of us care about her, and when people care about the same person, misunderstandings can happen sometimes, which doesn’t really change the fact that the concern itself comes from a good place.”

Corvine accepted that explanation with a faint nod before his attention returned to Seraphine once more, and the thoughtful look in his eyes deepened as he continued studying her face.

“But you look different,” he said slowly, almost as if he was thinking out loud rather than making a direct observation.

Leon reacted immediately, stepping into the conversation with a teasing tone that lightened the atmosphere.

“Exactly,” he said with a small grin that carried a playful spark in his eyes. “I’m starting to think the phrase ’beauty rest’ was invented after someone saw her.”

Corvine lifted one eyebrow at that remark while glancing at Seraphine again, and a quiet realization formed in the back of his mind as he considered the possibility that the long flight might have finally given her the kind of rest she never allowed herself to take when she was either here or back at the pack, which meant he would have to find a way to make sure she rested more often if that kind of rest could make her look this refreshed.

“I should probably head out now,” Leon said after a moment, stepping toward the car.

He leaned down and placed a light kiss on the top of Seraphine’s head before walking toward the driver’s side door, and the simple gesture made Corvine’s gaze darken instantly because the closeness implied by that casual contact stirred a sharp discomfort inside him that he did not bother trying to hide.

Had the two of them grown this close while they were away together?

Leon reached the driver’s door and pulled it open while still trying to ignore the dull ache lingering in his body from the earlier hit Corvine had landed on him, and just as he was about to step inside the car, a sudden scream burst from behind him.

Seraphine doubled over slightly while clutching her lower abdomen, her fingers pressing tightly against the fabric of her clothes as pain tore through her body with such intensity that it felt as if something inside her had twisted violently.

“Sera, are you alright?”

Both men reacted at the exact same moment, rushing to her side so quickly that neither of them even realized they had moved until they were already there, each grabbing one of her arms as if the simple act of holding her upright might somehow ease whatever pain had struck her.

Seraphine’s face had turned pale in a matter of seconds, the color draining from her skin as waves of agony rolled through her body, and the sensation felt disturbingly familiar because it reminded her of the worst pain she had ever experienced in her life.

Childbirth had once pushed her to the very edge of what she believed the human body could endure, and the sharp, crushing pain spreading through her abdomen right now felt alarmingly similar to that memory.

“Sera, we should take you to the hospital immediately,” Leon said in a firm voice that carried the authority of profession in an emergency, already moving as if he intended to lift her into his arms and carry her straight to the car.

Before he could follow through with that action, Corvine reached out and stopped him.

Something deep inside Corvine told him that whatever was happening might not require a hospital visit, although the uneasy feeling twisting in his chest made him desperate to understand the cause.

“What did she eat at that party?” Corvine asked quickly, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Leon.

Leon frowned slightly as he tried to recall the details from the evening. “Could it be connected to the poison?” he asked uncertainly.

The moment that word reached Corvine’s ears, the strength seemed to drain from his legs, and he felt a wave of cold shock rush through his body.

“Poison?” he repeated, his voice tightening as fear wrapped around his thoughts. “What exactly do you mean by poison?”