5- DELTA

CHAPTER ONE

-WILHELMINA-

I woke up slowly, my senses struggling to adjust. The sound of a soft beeping intruded upon my consciousness, the rhythmic pulses both foreign and comforting. A faint antiseptic smell prickled at the back of my nostrils, a testament to the sterile environment I found myself in. My body felt heavy, weighed down with a fatigue that seemed bone-deep.

My eyes fluttered open, assaulted by the pale fluorescent lighting, its harsh glare softened by wispy white curtains drawn around my bed. The room was unfamiliar but impeccably clean, the walls painted a soothing shade of seafoam green. Potted plants dotted every corner, their vibrant green leaves reaching out towards the sunlight streaming in from the window.

I was in a hospital bed, my body covered with a soft, white quilt that felt as feathery light as a cloud. A soft humming echoed through the room, emanating from what appeared to be a sophisticated machinery nearby, laced with wires and tubes hooked up to my arm, its digital screen blinking with various numbers and symbols.

The door creaked open and in walked a woman in a crisp white coat. She had sharp, intelligent eyes that darted from my face to the machinery beside me and back again.

"Ah, you're awake," she pointed out the obvious, her lips curling into a small smile. She moved toward me with a grace and precision that spoke of years of repeated motions, and began checking various monitors and scribbling notes on a clipboard.

I tried to sit up, but she gently placed a cool hand on my shoulder, easing me back down. "Don't strain yourself," she instructed kindly.

"I... where am I?" I managed to croak out, my throat feeling raw and dry.

"You're in the hospital," she replied, adjusting the IV line attached to my arm. "We've been monitoring you closely ever since your brother brought you in. You were pretty out of it."

Quickly, my mind flashed back to the forest, Boris with the Alpha's Crown and the Wolf's Bane, Weldon's worried face. I winced, trying to sit up again, but the nurse gently pushed me down.

"Easy now," she soothed, her hand resting comfortingly on my forearm. "You had a close encounter with Wolf's Bane, and it took quite a toll on your body. You are lucky that a small dose entered your system."

My heart pounded. "Boris..." I stammered, the words tumbling from my lips before I could stop them.

The woman looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "The Alpha?" she echoed gently. "He explained to everyone what happened. You accidentally landed on a Wolf's Bane thorn bush."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That was not the true story. Boris had deliberately poisoned me with a vial of Wolf's Bane. I bit my lip to suppress a protest. Lies. Boris was spinning lies to cover his deceit. The nurse misinterpreted my silence as shock and patted my arm reassuringly.

"There, there," she cooed, her fingers brushing against my forearm in an attempt to soothe me. My heart pounded violently against my ribcage, but I forced myself to remain still.

"Where's my brother?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The nurse fixed her gaze on me, a slow, contemplative look. "I will call and let your family know that you woke. You should rest until they get here."

As she left my room, I was left to my thoughts. My mind was a whirlwind of confusion and fear. Boris' betrayal echoed painfully deep inside me. I was aware of his arrogance and rudeness, but I never imagined he would stoop so low as to cheat in order to become the Alpha. And Weldon... what happened to him after he carried me away from Boris and out of the Dark Woods?

A flurry of questions swarmed my mind, each one stinging sharper than the last. I tried to sit up once more, pushing through the heavy blanket of weariness that had settled over me. My body protested, every muscle screaming in rebellion, but my determination held firm.

Just as I managed to prop myself against the stack of pillows, the door creaked open once more. A tall, familiar figure stepped inside. Weldon. His broad shoulders slumped ever so slightly and his normally stoic eyes seemed dimmed with worry.

"Weldon..." My voice was a hoarse whisper.

He turned at the sound of it, his eyes lighting up and a small sigh of relief escaping his lips. "Thank the Moon Goddess, you're awake," he said, crossing towards me in long strides until he was by my side. His hand, rough and warm, reached out to gently touch my cheek. The familiar contact grounded me, the slight tremor in his fingers telling me just how worried he had been.

"How are you doing?" he murmured, brushing a stray curl off my forehead. His hand was warm and strong, a reassuring presence that was both familiar and comforting.

"I..." I swallowed, feeling the dryness in my throat intensify. "What happened?"

Weldon cast a quick glance towards the door before turning back to me. His eyes bore into mine, unblinking and serious as he spoke in a hushed tone, "Boris…he claimed the Alpha's Crown, and I rushed you back to the pack grounds where you were treated for Wolf's Bane poisoning."

"Boris is the Alpha?" I croaked out.

"Yes," Weldon confirmed with a grimace. "He is."

"He cheated" I protested weakly, my heart thundering against my ribs.

"I know," Weldon said. His gaze met mine again. "Boris has never been able to defeat you before, even back when we were in school together. So it's surprising that he suddenly has the ability to defeat you now. It doesn't add up in my mind. And I know Boris very well; cheating is not something he would hesitate to do."

The revelation seemed to settle into the air like a heavy fog, threatening to suffocate us both. His hand was still on my cheek, his thumb gently brushing away a stray tear that I hadn't realized slipped from my eyes. I held his gaze, seeing mirrored in it the same pain and disappointment that was lodged deeply within me.

"What do we do now?" I barely managed to croak out, my throat so dry it felt as if it were lined with sandpaper.

Weldon removed his hand slowly, "For now…you need to recover, heal. Wolf's Bane isn’t something one can brush off easily. Once you are healed, we will uncover where Boris managed to get his hands onto that Wolf's Bane."

"How will we do that?"

"We have our ways," Weldon said, his voice steady, his confidence a balm to my troubled spirit. "Especially, now that we hold two of the top positions in the pack."

I arched my brows in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Weldon’s lips curled into a soft, comforting half-smile. "Despite the Elders' objections, you were appointed as Delta and I was chosen as Beta. It's all thanks to your father and the former Alpha Gravemaw. They fought tirelessly to keep you in the top position."

"Delta," I murmured. "They gave me the position of Delta..."

A wave of relief washed over me, pulling along the last bits of tension from my shoulders. I leaned back into the pillows propping me up, allowing myself to take a moment to breathe. Despite my loss, despite Boris's deceit, there was still hope for justice.

Weldon nodded, his face softening ever so slightly, "Yes, but you should have received Beta instead of me because you discovered the Alpha's Crown before I did."

"Delta, Beta... it matters not," I said finally, opening my eyes to meet his concerned gaze. "What matters now is that Boris' treachery doesn't go unpunished. That we find out where he got the Wolf's Bane and ensure nothing like this ever happens again."

"Agreed," Weldon said, his gaze meeting mine with an intensity that made my breath hitch. "We'll start investigating as soon as your strength returns. Until then, you need to rest and recover."

"I don't want to be cooped up in here," I protested, my voice weak.

"I know," he said softly, brushing a stray curl back from my forehead. "But this is necessary. You need to regain your strength."

"But..." I began to argue, but he silenced me with a piercing look.

"No arguments, Mina," he said sternly. "This is not up for debate."

I fell silent, knowing it was useless to argue. Weldon was stubborn, especially when it came to the wellbeing of his younger siblings. He cared too much to let us risk our health.

"Alright, Weldon," I replied in a hiccupping whisper, my reluctance evident in the droop of my shoulders. "I'll rest... I'll recover."