I Healed My Mate Only for Him to Betray Me

My hands wouldn't stop shaking as I held the vial up to the moonlight filtering through the laboratory's single grimy window. Ten years. Ten years of research, of failed experiments, of stolen moments in this hidden room beneath the pack house that no one knew existed. The Wolfsbane antidote glowed with an ethereal silver-blue luminescence, beautiful and terrible all at once.

I was Aria Shaw, the Silverclaw Pack's forgotten Healer, and tonight I would give Hayes Spencer back everything he'd lost.

The extraction process had taken thirty-six hours straight. My wolf whimpered inside me, exhausted from channeling the precise amount of energy needed to stabilize the volatile compound. Every muscle in my body screamed for rest, but I couldn't stop now. Not when I was this close.

I climbed the hidden stairs, my legs trembling with each step. The antidote felt heavy in my pocket, heavier than its physical weight. It carried the burden of a decade's worth of hope.

Hayes's room was dark except for the night light I'd installed years ago. He lay sprawled across the bed, one arm thrown over his eyes in that familiar gesture of frustration. Even in sleep, he couldn't escape the prison of his blindness.

Buster lifted his graying head from his spot by the door, tail thumping weakly in greeting. I pressed a finger to my lips, and the old wolf-dog settled back down with a soft whine.

"It's okay, boy," I whispered. "Everything's about to change."

I approached Hayes's bedside, my heart hammering so hard I was sure it would wake him. Carefully, I uncorked the vial. The scent of moonflower and distilled wolfsbane filled the air, sharp and sweet.

"Hayes," I murmured, touching his shoulder gently. "I need you to drink this."

His clouded eyes opened, unfocused as always. "Aria? What time is it?"

"Time for a miracle." My voice cracked on the last word. "Trust me. Please."

He must have heard something in my tone because he didn't argue. He never argued with me about medical things. I was the only constant in his world of darkness, after all.

I helped him sit up and guided the vial to his lips. He drank it in one swallow, then immediately convulsed.

"Hayes!" I grabbed his shoulders as his body went rigid. His back arched off the bed, muscles straining. A guttural scream tore from his throat.

This was normal. I'd tested the antidote on smaller subjects. The awakening process was violent, painful, as the dormant wolf fought its way back to consciousness. But knowing it was normal didn't make it easier to watch.

I placed my hands on his chest, letting my healing energy flow into him. It was the last of my reserves, everything I had left after the sleepless nights of preparation. My vision blurred. My own wolf whimpered, retreating deep inside as I poured our combined strength into Hayes's awakening.

"Come on," I whispered, tears streaming down my scarred cheeks. "Come back to me. Come back."

His