Tessa sneaked back into her tent with Elias's help, but her thoughts never remained the same after that revelation.
She noticed that spot always felt scratchy whenever she bathed, she did not realize it was the poison acting up.
So what he did then was suck out some poison? Foolishly, she moaned, not knowing Elias was treating and trying to save her. Thinking about it made her disgusted with herself. 'You should be worried about the poison, dumbass.' Inwardly, she scolded herself when she remembered her predicament.
Instead of worrying about her life, she was worried about moaning. But it was a humiliating act, why did she just have to moan?
"My lady, is something wrong?" Her handmaiden noticed her sullen expression and asked, coming to stand beside her.
"I have tarnished my image, I am a fool." The handmaiden was shocked to hear her response, thinking something bad had happened.
"How, my lady?" The handmaiden inquired.
"So there is this story? A man tried to save a girl by sucking out the poison in her blood but she moaned thinking he was being intimate with her. Don't you think a girl like that should go and commit suicide?" Sitting her handmaiden down, she told her about what happened by lying that it was a story, and asked.
"Why should she? It is the man who is at fault for not clarifying the situation, the girl wouldn't have assumed if he did." Knowing who the girl and the man were, the handmaiden played along and answered, shifting the blame on Elias.
"Exactly! The girl is the victim, I knew I…I meant I knew she should have not committed suicide." Quickly correcting her words using the third POV, she said and smiled awkwardly at her handmaiden.
"Yes, my lady." The handmaiden agreed, assuring her.
"I would like to sleep now," clearing her throat, she announced and threw herself to the bed.
Smiling inwardly, her handmaiden went to cover her properly with the duvet and left the room.
Meanwhile, in another tent…
"What are you going to do?" A worried Veronica asked, her hands fidgeting from the bad news just relayed to her. It hadn't even been a week since their marriage, how could such a misfortune take place?
She did worry about the bite but since there was no problem after a few days, she quickly assumed the bite wasn't deep. If only she had paid more attention to Tessa, they would have found a way to remove the poison before it went deep into her blood.
"I wish he knew what to do," folding his hands, Elliot responded with his hands resting on his jaw. He could already see such coming but he didn't expect it so soon.
If Tessa should die, Elias might never recover from the trauma and might commit suicide. They might not be in love with each other but they were still mates, connected by emotions and blood, and the fact that he already lost his first wife would trigger him more.
"Elliot, do you remember that prisoner's case? You found a way to cure her wound right?" Reminding him of a past incident, Veronica divulged and walked closer to him, her eyes, full of hope.
"This situation is different. That prisoner was poisoned by a young werewolf. Your consort, in this case, has been poisoned by a purebred werewolf. It is more like venom than poison," Elliot said, shaking his head at his mother's ignorance. Was it not obvious why Elias couldn't remove all the poison?
"But we can try the same method, it might work." Veronica, not wanting to give up, said, staring at Elliot with hopeful eyes, which only made him more uneasy.
She was trying to use the look that always swayed him, but his hands were tied. How could he risk something he had never done before?
"She could die if things go wrong, it's a 1% chance," he responded, causing Veronica to stumble backward, rubbing her forehead.
"Summon the black witch," commanded Elias, who had been silent since he shared the news.
"No, we are not summoning someone we can't trust. It never ends well with witches," Veronica disagreed, raising her hand against the order.
"What if that's the only way to save her?" Andrew interjected.
"There is always another way. We would do what I suggested, Elliot." Turning down Andrew's idea, she faced Paul with finality.
"I will get the tools ready," Elliot replied without further argument and left Elias's tent.
Veronica signaled Andrew to follow Elliot, and he grumpily complied. It wasn't as if he wouldn't find out what they discussed, so why the secrecy?
"Have you tried sucking it out?" Now alone with Elias, she asked.
"Yes, I managed to remove some, but the rest is deeply rooted. I will put her life in danger if I continue sucking on her neck," he responded.
"Why are you just telling us now?" She forced herself not to raise her voice.
"Do you think I would stay silent while my mate is dying? I only discovered this on our honeymoon night, and I have been looking for a solution since then," he explained, though it didn't reassure Veronica.
"That is no excuse. You had two days to tell us but waited until today?" She scolded, glaring at him. Did he even hear himself? He had been searching for a solution for two days and didn't involve anyone else.
"What was I supposed to do?" He asked, frustrated.
"Maybe you will know what to do if she was already dead!!" Veronica snapped angrily before walking out of his tent.
That was always his excuse, and it had cost his first wife her life. He never relied on others and always believed he could handle things alone. He might be powerful, like a god, but even gods needed help sometimes.
She just couldn't understand him. The more she tried, the worse he got. How hard could it be to ask for help? People don't lose anything by asking for help.