Chapter 2: Moonspice Tea

Carolyn Pov

The redhead lady walked towards me with an intense gazel like a predator locked on a prey.

I held my breath and straightened up, thinking quickly of who she might be, and why she was here–I had not seen her around, not really.

When she stopped with only inches apart, I realized that I was just a few inches taller. The energy in the kitchen crackled with hostility.

Wary and cautious, I slowly took a step back, trying to gauge her reaction. But just as I did, the tense, unwelcome scowl on her face cracked and she smiled– just barely. Then she broke out into a hearty laugh with her hands on her waist and her head thrown back.

That loosened me up, and I smiled back at her.

"My goddess, did I scare you?" The lady asked, her expression more welcoming than before.

"Uhm... You came out of there barging like we were going to fight. Of course, that was scary." I replied, slowly picking out my words.

Her curious, gray eyes narrowed as she looked me up and I involuntarily mirrored her action. She wore a tight white shirt which was unbuttoned at the top, leaving a  large window for her breast. From where I stood, I looked down at mine, the difference in size was obvious and I feared hers might pop right out in the next second.

She wore tight fitting blue jeans, and in her right hand, she seemed to fiddle with something in it. What that was, I could not tell but what I did understand was that this lady was no longer a threat.

At least, she seemed way too friendly to be one.

"I'm Clara." She slipped her right hand into the back of her jeans and then extended it to me. "Clara Valtor. Peter Stormbringer and I go way back."  

It was a friendly gesture, one that I was obligated to return so I smiled back at her and took her hand.

"I'm Carolyn Skye, I am-"

"Oh, I know who you are." Clara Valtor cut in with a giggle. "Everyone does. You are Carolyn Skye and mate to Peter.."

"Okayyyyy..." I drew out the word as I opened the fridge again, once more to assess the ingredients that I needed to make the moonspice tea.

It was all there, and I took them out:

The moon orchard, the black tea and some sweetener in a blue fancy box.

As I took count of my inventory on the table top, it dawned on me that I was to continue the conversation. So awkwardly, I turned to her and sighed. "I want to make some tea."

"Oh, Good." Clara shrugged.

Then it all fell silent again. It was awkward and I felt as though I was being watched, as if to fault me. I was nervous and I thought of starting a conversation again to ease the awkwardness.

But how?

Get her talking, you dimwit, engage the conversation.

Once I set the black kettle to boil on the glass top gas cooker, I turned around to see her curious eyes taking me in. I drew in a sharp breath just then as I made to speak.

"Sooo, you said you and Peter go way back. How way back? I mean..." I shrugged. "How far back?"

"Oh, Peter and I were lovers."

Wow!

The ex situation. Great job Carolyn, you just had to ask.

For a second or two, I was dumbfounded. I did not know how to proceed. It was one thing to be mated, and it was another thing to have had a relationship in hopes that you ended as mates. The second scenario never panned out well for whomever believed it to the end.

Nervously, I chewed on my lips, eyes narrowed. I wished for something, anything– a distraction to break in and steal her attention from me.

And just then, the moon goddess heard, as the kettle howled out behind me. I raised a finger in the air to signal for her patience as I spun around, heading quickly to the plate rack at the sink shelf. Once I got there, I picked out a tea mug, saucer and a knife.

Then to the table top beside the fridge, where I gathered my ingredients and moved to the sink. I washed the fruit under the running faucet right before I skimmed thin slices of its exterior into the mug. And as I worked, I was grateful she did not continue the topic.

Then suddenly, I felt her behind me.

I yelped and the knife and orchard fell to the ground. Clara laughed when I turned to face her.

"You need to stop being jumpy around me." She shrugged as I bent to pick up the fallen items. "I don't have any ill feeling towards you. I only came closer because I have never seen moonspice tea being made up close."

"You d-don't?" I stammered.

Clara shook her head with a sincerity that touched me. "I don't. The goddess gives. The goddess takes. I was only curious about the..."

Relieved, I washed the fruit and knife under running water. "About the moonspice tea?"

"Yes!"

"It's not complex." I said, slicing the last bulb of the orchard into the mug, it was as small as a pearl and was extremely rare. "You just have to find the right fruit, one that is on the verge of ripening but not so much. Then you make magic with it."

"Wow!" Clara cooed out, as I got the kettle.

By the time I mixed the tea and poured in the hot water, a bittersweet scent filled the kitchen. It was like the inviting aroma of honey with a seemingly aftertaste of something tangy, like a lemon.

"This is the scent of moonspice tea." Clara nodded with a warm smile on her face. "You are really the perfect match for Peter."

Shyly, I nodded at her. "Don't flatter me."  

"No, really." Clara insisted. "You are beautiful, and you do know your way in the kitchen. And I am more than certain that your womb would provide for him the strongest cubs this pack has ever seen."

"Thank you." I replied with an ear to ear smile.  

"I wish you and Peter best of luck on your path together." She said and once I dropped the kettle, it just felt right to hug her.

"Thank you." I whispered into her ear right before we disengaged. "Now, I have to get this to Alpha Alexander."

"Oh sure sure. " Clara beamed. "Goodluck. And I think you would find  him in his study."

I mouthed my thanks to her. I was relieved that things did not spiral down with her. The fact she was cool with all of this had softened me up to her. And as I navigated my way through the corridors of the huge pack house, with the tray in hand, I was at peace with everything.

My life was moving fine. Peter and I had consummated the mate bond. Clara did not seem like she was going to be a trouble. All that remained was for the Alpha's ritual acceptance of me and his blessing.

At the thought of this, I became worried immediately.

What if he doesn't like it or is allergic to...

Oh my goddess!

The frantic thumping of my chest increased until I could barely breathe, with the study in front of me. I took a second to shut my eyes and stabilize my breath, up until I heard his voice from behind the shut door.

"The door is open. Come in, Carolyn."

Oh my goddess. He knows.

How did he know? I did not inform him that I was coming now, he must have sensed me.

If he's this powerful, how can you hope to get his blessing with just tea, Carolyn?

I panicked as I opened the door with shaky hands. Immediately I got in, the smell of musty books and old bookcases hit me. But beyond all that was Alpha Alexander, in a red striped shirt, going through some files.

He had a streak of gray at the edges of his hair and brown eyes that locked on compassionately at me and seemed to calm me down. And as he stood, his presence overshadowed the entire room, a testament to the significance of his person as Alpha.

I walked over and knelt, as I stretched the tray. "Tea, Alpha?"

"Yes, Carolyn." He echoed out. "Not just tea... Moonspice tea. Rare. Endowed with the blessings of the Twin Lunar Goddess."

Is he going to like it? That thought haunted me, until from bowed head and kneeling frame, I heard him slurp.

And when I looked up, his face beamed with radiant satisfaction as I felt the weight of my worry shiver and vanish.

"Excellent." Alpha Alexander beamed.

Chapter 3: Prime Suspect

Carolyn Pov

Alpha Alexander Stormbringer was tall and imposing.

Kneeling before him, It was easy to see where Peter got his charm from. The height, the broad shoulders, the neatly chiseled jawline-the man I had come to love was a carbon copy of Alexander, the Alpha of Silvermoon Pack. And as I knelt before him, with a chest brimming full with nervousness and tightly clenched jaws, I waited for what he had to say.

Excellent was not going to cut it, in my books.

"Hmm..." Alexander held the cup to his cheek with the right hand while his face appeared full of thoughtfulness. "This is perfect, Carolyn."

His compliment warmed me down to the depths of my heart, as I smiled and bowed again. "Thank you." I whispered, pleased with the fact that he was loving it.

Alexander came around the table, slightly opposite to where I knelt. With one leg, he pushed back the black guest chair to the side before perching on the edge of the table, while one leg dangled.

"I asked Elizabeth, some time ago, to make me Moonspice tea. And she made a disaster." He leaned forward with a toothy grin. "And you know, her excuse was that 'it was an art lost to the ages'. And you know you women; you have to love them with their imperfections."

He leaned back in and took another slurp of the moonspice tea. "But you didn't hear this from me. If you mouth out and she hears, I will deny you."

We both shared a laugh at this.

I knew Elizabeth Stormbringer, his wife and Luna. She was cold, calculating and definitely not my favorite of the Stormbringer family. I would do anything but have a confrontation with her.

"Of course, not."  I beamed, trying to keep the conversation alive. "Your words, to my last days, are safe."

I tried to do a curtsey but only ended up losing balance. It left me with no choice but to wriggle my hands in a bid to regain composure.

His eyes lit up in amusement at this, as he held the mug with both hands right. Right before he leaned forward with a slight head bow.  "Why, thank you, my fair Carolyn."

He took another slurp of the tea, in silence. I tried to rack my head  for what to say but nothing quite struck. This was the Alpha, and I had not really been alone with him before. So it was hard to navigate this.

Eventually, his eyes connected with mine, and in them, I could pick out the concerning look.

"Oh," Alexander sighed, finally dropping the tea on the table, with a forced laugh. "I had forgotten. This is the part where I say blessings and all that, right?"

I nodded with a smile and he took a deep breath.

"Come, your hands on mine." He demanded, and I scooted closer to obey.

The moment I did that, I felt the warmness of his hand and the rush of power, as if coursing from him to me. I gasped, momentarily stunned by this, only to look up and see his pupils turn red. And immediately the weight of his presence grew thick around him.

It was compelling, authoritative, forcing me to slouch in obedience. Yet at the same time, it was warm, calm and protective.  A gesture that felt more like his approval of me with his son, Peter.

His hand squeezed over my hands. "Carolyne Skye, as you have honored me this day, so shall the moon honor you."

Power ebbed over the convergence of our hands. It was like an electric current that jolted me just slightly. But before I could settle on the feeling, he squeezed my hands again, continuing his blessing.

"As you have taken the time to provide this tea, the pack shall favor you. May the twin Lunar Goddesses find you remarkable among your peers. You will be a woman admired by all."

"Yes!" I whispered in excitement at this.

But just then, I felt a slight tremor from his hand. It was unlike the electrifying sensation I had been feeling for every sentence he said.

This felt different.

"And your mate will have eyes for you a-a..." Alpha Alexander suddenly wheezed, his left hand cupping his mouth as he turned to the side.

Concerned, I looked at him. "Are you... do you need water?"

But he frowned, shaking his head at him while the firm grip on my hands resonated his desire at the moment. He wanted me to remain still.

"Your mate will have eyes for you alone. Your womb shall be blessed and out of it, shall men and women of great stature be born. You will..."

Alexander stopped and turned to the side, again. His red eyes were squeezed up in pain, and before I knew it, he was coughing-rough strained coughing that clawed its way from his chest up.

"Alpha Alexander." I gasped out, shooting up from my knees, trying to tend to him.

Only to be shook off the moment my hands touched his shoulders. Followed by a dismissive shake of his head, with those pained but determined eyes. "I m-must com... huff! Huff!! Complete the bless.."

His voice died out as to my shock and horror, white foam spewed out from his lips. The red pupils in his eyes rolled all the way up as his body tilted backwards before slumping down to the ground.

I screamed.

I was scared, terrified and my heart pumped like it was going to explode. My head spun, as anxiety and fear came crashing through my senses. Confused and yet worried, I opened the door and yelled out.

"Somebody helpppp... It's Alpha Alexander. Helpppp!" I yelled and then breathlessly ran back to his frothing frame.

I heard the rushing sounds of boots echoing closer. When the first person entered, and saw me, the first thing they asked was-"What happened?"

But I broke down in tears, as I wiggled my hands in helplessness. "I-I don't know. I swear, I don't know. He just fainted."

The next moments were a blur. The siren, the yelling of Luna Elizabeth in my face as Peter held her back, the paramedics taking the still body of Alpha Alexander to the ambulance, the journey to the hospital-all of it happened but I was barely there.

I was lost in my head, as I bit my fingers amidst teary eyes. When the pack's doctor came out of the emergency response ward they'd set up for Alpha Alexander, I jolted up from the waiting bench.  I was not the only one, Luna Elizabeth in a flowing black gown and the red scarf around her neck alongside Peter in his gray shirt and black trousers. We were the only ones allowed this close as we were family.

The doctor shook his head just as Luna Elizabeth rushed to him, clutching his white collar followed closely by Peter. "Oh no, no, don't you dare shake your head at me. How is my husband? Tell me!"

"He's..." The doctor looked past her with a silent plea directed to Peter.

"Talk!" Luna Elizabeth yelled in his face.

"I'm sorry. We lost him." He shook his head mournfully.

At that moment, I felt my world shatter. I staggered, as a sharp pain jolted right through my chest, as fresh hot tears rushed out from my eyes. As I sobbed, I held my hands in front of me, remembering how he held them before all this.

"No..." I cried.

"From the quick analysis we did, we're suspecting the usage of Nightshade, a potent blend of wolfsbane and atropa belladonna, which makes the wolfsbane nearly indiscernible." The doctor declared. "That means, he must have ingested it. What was the last thing he had?"

"Er... Dinner." Peter mumbled, splaying his hands aside. "Dinner that we all had."

The doctor's face darkened. "Was there anything else he had that was different from you all?"

At this, Luna Elizabeth turned to me, her face squeezed in a raging scowl, lips pulled back in a snarl. "You. Carolyn." She pointed accusingly at me, advancing with rage in her eyes. "What did you give him?"

Instinctively, I took a step back, my heart pounding as I muttered. "Moonspice tea."

"What did you give him?" She roared louder, lunging towards me with a ferocity that made me stumble back away as she charged me.

Only for Peter to grab her, halting her advance and holding her back as she fought to break free. "The only thing my mate had that was different from the rest of us was your moonspice tea!"

"What?" Peter croaked, his face draining of color as his eyes met mine. "No, no, mother. that can't be..."

I saw the flicker of confusion in his eyes and the disbelief, as he looked at me, as if waiting for me to clear the air. But when I opened my lips to speak, Luna Elizabeth's scream tore through the room.

"She killed him. She killed Alexander." She roared.

"You murderer!"

Chapter 4: A Vision

Carolyn

I was short of words, all stuck in my throat and nothing could come out, my gaze frantically moved from the angry Luna Elizabeth to my mate, Peter.

It all happened so fast, his eyes searched me as though he couldn't believe I would have done such a thing and he was right, I didn't do this.

His mother however had made her claim, believing that I was capable of killing the father of my mate, whom I was to get married to.

The luna rounded up the guards that were present and ordered that they should lock me up immediately.

"Ple...please, I'm begging you, I swear, I didn't do this," I yelled out as the guards grabbed my arm harshly and began to pull me away, "Please, let me go. Peter! Peter!" Screaming at the top of my lungs just to get his attention but I was dragged further away and they had walked back into the ward where the now dead Alpha laid.

The next thing I knew, I was pushed inside a cell and the metal bars were jammed shut, the clicking sounds of the lock echoed in the empty dungeons.

My voice was barely audible as I was unable to let out a sentence without shaking, "I-I am telling... the truth. I had no part in this... you have to believe me please," the tears brimmed at the corner of my eyes as I gazed at the guard who dumped the keys in his pocket and glared at me.

His gaze was harsh, joined with the dim lights that lit the halls opposite the cells, "I pray your execution is long and painful," the guard sniffed and spat right before the bottom of the metal bars and proceeded to walk away.

I shook my head vigorously, "No please you don't understand, I didn't do it, you have to believe me, I didn't kill him," the pitch of my voice increased as I watched the guards back as he slowly disappeared into the darkness leaving me all alone.

That didn't stop me as I yelled at the top of my lungs, trying to prove my innocence and calling out to anyone if they could hear me, at the same time begging to see Peter just one last time, I knew he would believe me. He was the only one that would even listen to me.

When my voice slowly disappeared from all the shouting that I'd done, I finally broke down, my hands pressed against the metal bars as they slid downwards until my knees touched the hard cold ground, sending a chill up my spine.

What in the world just happened?

My mind was in a mess and all the events that had happened up till that moment were blurry. One minute I am celebrating my consummation with my mate and the next minute I'm thrown in a cell and awaiting execution?

I couldn't have killed him, there was no way I could have killed him.

I chanted in my head, not for a second did I believe that he died in my hands, there had to be a foul play in this, but who would even want to do such a thing.

Who the hell would want to kill the alpha knowing just how much we needed him, there was a war brewing and the alpha is the pillar that we all held onto, if he wasn't there then we might as well surrender to the enemy.

Someone was definitely trying to frame me, but who could it be? I may have a few enemies in the pack, a few of them that didn't like the fact that a nobody like me would rule them as their Luna.

While I tried to figure out this,  the doors to the dungeons were pulled open and the sounds of the hinges brought my attention to them as I shot to my feet, the guard walked into the room and I began to plead for him to let me see Peter but he walked past me and down the cell.

A few minutes later he passed by and exited the dungeons without a single glance in my direction.

A deep sigh escaped my lips and I sank to my knees, the tears couldn't be held back any longer as they dripped down like a waterfall. In one night, my life had been turned upside down.

I didn't know how long I had been imprisoned for but it had been quite some time, not a single soul had come down to visit, not even Peter. I had tried to keep myself awake but the exhaustion had finally caught up to me. My eyes slowly dropped down and I cried myself to sleep.

When I woke back up, the ground was no longer cold, there were no bars that kept me in place, rather, I was standing in front of a large crowd in the middle of the night. A large bonfire was in the middle as the crowd chanted.

"Move," a gruff masculine voice ordered with irritation before pushing me forward.

My legs moved of their own accord and that was when I saw it, almost a dozen wolves, their fangs bare and their eyes reflected the flames of the bonfire.

I shook my head as a tear drop slipped from my eyes, my gaze flickered to the man that stood at the platform.

Peter's gaze locked with mine and I held it in place for barely a few seconds before he turned away from me. Those few seconds there was sadness and distrust in his eyes, different from the loving gaze he always showered down on me.

This might as well be the most painful, I had imagined that he would be the only one to believe me. The guard behind me unbounded my hands.

Peter's reverberated in the clearing with just one word, "Kill."

Fear stilled my heart as I turned tail and fled as I knew what was coming, but I couldn't outrun the wolves as I was too weak, fumbling and stumbling over logs and bushes and it didn't take time before the ferocious wolves caught up to me.

The large wolf pushed me down and I screamed at the top of my lungs, thrashing violently. In a blink of an eye,  it let its large head snap at my throat with a mean growl.....

My screams could be heard from miles away as I launched forward, clutching my throat vehemently for any signs of injury, my breathing ragged and my heart was going double the beats per second.

It was only a dream, it was only a dream

I told myself but my heart wasn't fooled. It felt more than just a dream, it felt real, every second of it...

My death.