Shattered Bonds: A Second Chance Mate - Chapter 56: Chapter 56

Francesco’s headaches started two days ago.
At first, I thought they were just from stress or exhaustion. After everything he’s been through, who wouldn’t feel overwhelmed? But when he told me the pain was sharp—pounding like drums echoing in a stone chamber—and that strange images came with it each time, I knew something was wrong.
“I see flashes,” he said yesterday, rubbing his temples with trembling fingers. “Places I’ve never been. People I don’t know. Voices… whispering things I can’t quite understand, but somehow they feel familiar. Like I’m remembering something that was never mine.”
His eyes were distant, haunted. Even Mika, who had remained quiet during our interaction, stirred uncomfortably inside me.
The healers gave him a potion. One that had never been used before—an experimental brew designed to stabilize his energy after receiving blood. My blood.
No one knew how his body would react. Francesco was, after all, not an ordinary Alpha. He was the Lycan Alpha. Even the healer admitted they were treading uncharted waters. “This potion is dangerous,” she had warned. “It may help, but it may also awaken things that should remain dormant.”
Despite her concerns, he took it. For me.
But deep down, something gnawed at my insides. A quiet, clawing dread that wouldn’t leave me. Something was wrong.
And I was starting to feel it too.
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. Francesco had too much on his shoulders. The last thing I wanted was to be another burden. But with each passing day, I could feel my energy slipping away—like grains of sand falling through my fingers. I was weaker than usual. Dizzy, lightheaded, and cold no matter how many layers I wore.
I brushed it off as fatigue from school or stress.
Until Mika finally spoke.
‘Your body still has toxin, Ellaine.’
I nearly dropped the brush I was using to paint. My hand trembled as I leaned back from the easel. “What do you mean?” I asked my wolf aloud, my voice barely a whisper.
‘You got hit by the syringe, remember? Right before Francesco. I can feel it… It’s still inside you.’
My heart stopped.
The syringe.
Luca had shot me first—before he turned his weapon on Francesco. In the chaos, I’d forgotten. All I could think about then was saving my mate. My blood was the only thing that could stabilize him… and I gave it to him without hesitation.
My blood.
Contaminated.
Tainted.
“Shit,” I whispered, stumbling backward and falling to my knees on the wooden floor of my dorm room.
Had I unknowingly transferred the poison to him?
‘Maybe that was his intention all along,’ Mika reasoned calmly. ‘He knew you’d offer your blood to save Francesco. He knew you wouldn’t think twice.’
Panic surged through me like a wave crashing on jagged rocks.
I bolted to my feet, grabbed my satchel, and sprinted back to the library without stopping. The shelves blurred past me as I reached the far end, the section with the oldest tomes—many of them dusty and forgotten.
There had to be something here. Anything.
Something that could help me understand what was happening to us.
“Come on,” I muttered, fingers running over cracked leather spines. “Give me something… Please.”
My hand trembled as I reached for another book, knocking a smaller one off the shelf. It hit the floor with a loud braakk.
I turned my head sharply and rushed over.
It was an old, faded green book with gold-embossed letters barely legible.
Healthy with Potion and How to Use Herbs.
With shaking hands, I flipped through it, scanning for anything useful. My breath caught when I found a section titled:
How to Detect Poison in Your Bloodstream Using Natural Ingredients.
Ginger.
It said a ginger-based test could reveal hidden toxins if your blood reacted to the infusion. I didn’t hesitate. I gathered the ingredients from the school’s alchemy room, locked myself in my studio, and began testing my own blood—again and again—until the exhaustion nearly dropped me.
I skipped lunch. I ignored calls. I didn’t care.
This had to be done fast.
By the time someone knocked on my door, I was barely conscious. I tried to sit up, but everything spun. My vision swam.
It was Beta Alfonso.
He burst into the room and froze when he saw the vials of blood, herbs, and open books scattered everywhere.
“What the hell—Ellaine?! Are you okay?”
I swayed where I sat, sweat glistening on my forehead. “I—I’m fine,” I lied.
“You’ve drawn too much blood. You—what’s going on?”
I handed him the book with trembling hands and whispered, “Forgotten Poison…”
His face went pale.
“What?”
“I was hit with the syringe before Francesco. I forgot about it. There was no time. I gave him my blood. It must have carried the toxin.” I paused to catch my breath, my voice barely audible. “That’s why he’s seeing things… why his head is pounding.”
Alfonso looked horrified. “You mean… that poison—it’s in him now?”
I nodded slowly. “I tested it. It reacts to ginger. The poison… it’s ancient. Almost no records. But this book—it described the symptoms perfectly. Francesco’s losing parts of himself.”
His eyes darkened. “Losing…?”
“His memories,” I whispered. “He’ll forget. Me. Anastasia. Everything that makes him him. And Luca… Luca wants that. He wants the old Francesco back. The one he could manipulate. The one who walked through blood without blinking.”
Alfonso sat down hard beside me, trying to process the weight of it.
“How long do we have?”
“The book said… five days before the full effect kicks in. This is day four.”
His expression turned grim. “Then we only have one day to make the antidote.”
I pushed the open pages toward him. “The recipe’s here. But we need help. I can’t do this alone.”
Without another word, Alfonso stood and activated the mind-link. Within minutes, the trusted few arrived—Marlow, Harry, Dario, Joshua, Audrey, and Monica. Each one of them looked at me with concern etched across their faces.
“We need to move fast,” Alfonso told them.
“The antidote,” I said hoarsely, “needs four ingredients—each rare, each specific.”
I pointed to the list:
Moonroot flower, which only blooms under the full moon.
Phoenix bark, found deep in the mountain forests.
Ashes of firethorn, burned under the light of sunrise.
Ginger Blood of the one who loves him the most.
Everyone paused at the last one.
“I’ll give mine,” I said before anyone could argue.
Audrey stepped forward. “You’re already weak, Ellaine. Are you sure?”
I met her eyes. “There’s no one else.”
We split the tasks. Marlow and Joshua left for the forest. Harry and Dario began preparing the firethorn. Audrey and Monica helped me stay conscious, feeding me broth while we worked on grinding the dried herbs.
Night bled into morning.
By the time the ingredients were gathered, the sun was just beginning to rise. We only had hours before it would be too late.
As the antidote brewed in the cauldron, I stood before it with the ceremonial blade. Alfonso held my hand tightly. “You don’t have to do this, Ellaine.”
I give him a firm smile “I do,” I told him. “He’s my mate.”
With a deep breath, I sliced the blade across my palm, letting the blood drip into the simmering brew. The potion hissed and glowed, shifting from emerald green to soft silver.
The final sign it was ready.
Audrey placed a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll bring it to him. Rest now.”
“No,” I said, grabbing the vial with trembling fingers. “I’ll do it.”