Chapter 79: Full effects.
July 14 2026, 12:14am.
"The quad Alphas of the Stormborn pack need your attention immediately. Something has come up with their wife!" Elara hissed at the clueless maidservant who immediately set down the wine tray in her hands and rubbed her damp fingers over her apron.
Her eyes glided across Elara’s expensive dress, then up to her smooth face to take in the worried look in her eyes. She bowed, realizing that this woman was someone of higher status, and muttered;
"Ma’am, I am still preparing their order. I will attend to them immediately after I am done."
Elara immediately shook her head, her face twisting into one of horror. Discreetly, she squeezed hard at the small transparent bottle clutched between her fingers. The light blue liquid inside of it swished violently as she moved.
She had no idea what it was. All she knew was that Seraphina had specifically asked her to add it into the Alphas’ drink and this was her only chance.
She could not lose it.
Her free hand shot up to her neck in feigned exasperation, and with the most innocent expression to ever exist, she cried; "Something happened with their wife, who is also my sister. Would you like it if they found out that I asked for your help and you refused?"
The woman shook her head. "No!"
"Then rush over to our table and help Nyx’ara with what she needs!"
The command in her tone, coupled with the way she’d informally called the Alphas’ wife by her name made her story seem more plausible. The woman quickly set down her apron, nodded once, and then rushed out of the busy dimly lit kitchen like the devil was hot on her tail.
Elara seized that opportunity to glance around and upon realizing that the other maidservants were busy scampering about, yelling out orders to each other, and that no one was paying her any ounce of attention, she slipped the portion from under her handkerchief, poured little drops of it one after the other into the five wine glasses in front of her and stepped back to pick up a macaron from a nearby tray.
She poured it into five wine glasses. Not four.
All of it.
And that had not been the instruction. Nyx’ara was not to consume it.
Stuffing her mouth with the macaron, she rushed out of the kitchen and bumped into Flynn on her way out.
Flynn let his eyes drag across her body, his eyes thinning with suspicion. However, when he saw the macaron in her hands— the one she tried to hide— he figured that she had simply slipped out to fill her mouth, so he looped his arms around hers and let her back into the hall while her smile only grew as she watched the confused maidservant and Nyx’ara speaking in hushed voices.
Nyx’ara wondered why the woman standing before her seemed so sure that she had experienced a wardrobe malfunction. She tried very hard to correct her as well as calm her nerves, but each time she did that, the woman would cast a fearful glance at the Alphas and then remind her that she could be of any help.
"I know... I know, and I-I understand. I-if I need your help with anything, I’ll definitely tell you. I j-just do not. Right now."
"Are you sure?" The woman asked again, her eyes fearful, and when Nyx’ara nodded her head, she sighed, pressing her hand to her chest.
"Thank you then, madam. I’ll be back with your drinks and refreshments in a couple of minutes."
"Okay."
The woman then scampered off without sparing a second glance back at that scary table that had got her heart racing like she had just run a marathon. She rushed into the kitchen, set up the drinks and the snacks, and then wheeled out the cart containing their food all under five minutes.
However, she never for once thought about that strange woman who had lied to her earlier. She never thought about anything but her desperate need to end the night and return to her children at her worn-down ramshackle house.
As she wheeled the cart out into the hall, she didn’t notice the woman standing in the shadows, watching her with a smug smile on her face nor did she notice the other one— the other one who was engaged in a conversation with her fiancé— but her eyes never left her even once.
She served the Alphas and their wife their drinks and their refreshments, and by the time she was done, she wheeled the cart away, sighing because she was done with that table...
...but unknowingly to her, this was just the beginning.
—
A few minutes into eating, Nyx’ara began to notice something extremely strange about her body. She was getting hotter with each passing second and her skin was breaking out into a cold sweat despite the blasting air conditioning. Her face was burning so hot, her cheeks stung, and her body felt as though it had been doused in liquid fire.
In a panic, she turned to Kieran to ask for help, but one look at his face told her everything that she ought to know:
He was also experiencing whatever it was that she was experiencing. In fact, it felt like a shared burden amongst the members of their table.
They were all sweating profusely, clutching at their cutlery as if for dear life. Nyx’ara grabbed onto her fork until her knuckles turned white and she arched backwards when the ache in her body intensified, settling at her core.
All her life, she has never for once experienced what it felt like to be in heat. She has never for once felt a desire so potent, it simmered through her swollen veins. So it felt strange that for the first time in her life, she could feel her glands swelling and she could feel her nipples hardening, straining against her dress as her fingers dug into the edge of the table.
Draven was the first to notice how flushed she looked. He took one glance at her then at the wine in front of her. His nostrils flared with rage and something else... something deeper. Darker.
He hissed: "Do you feel good?"
Maybe it was the drug working, but as soon as Nyx’ara heard his voice, which washed over her like a caress, a quiet moan slipped out of her lips. She slapped her hand over her lips and lifted her glazed eyes to meet his.
She murmured: "I don’t feel good."
Azriel wasted no time in chirping in, but his voice was so gruff, it sounded like his vocal cords were being scraped over sandpaper. He hissed: "I do not feel good either."
Everyone else at the table cast a knowing look at each other, then as if understanding that this was a unified problem, they all rose to their feet at the same time.
Nyx’ara staggered slightly as soon as she stood but before she could fall, Draven looped his arm around hers then Rhys looped his from the other side, keeping her stable.
Kieran picked up her phone while Azriel picked up her purse, and together, they walked out of the hall, ignoring the curious eyes that followed them as they went.
Sparks flew between their bodies, but at the time, no one cared about the fucking sparks. No one cared that their wolves were howling and thrashing like they were on the verge of running mad. All they cared about was leaving this accursed party in one piece.
They got into their waiting limousine about a few minutes later, but as soon as they stumbled into the chairs and slammed the door shut behind them, their restraints broke and the full effects of the drug sprang free.
Rhys was the first to make a dive for Nyx’ara, and as soon as his fingers curled around the nape of her neck, his lips closed down on hers.
But she didn’t fight back. She didn’t resist. She threw her head back and parted her lips just as his warm tongue slipped possessively into her mouth.