Chapter 108: Chapter 108 A Poisoned Kiss
Perry’s POV
"How is she?" I waited for Marcela to finish examining Phoebe. I couldn’t bring myself to leave, so I leaned against the wall and shut my eyes. Sleep had been a stranger for the past month.
"She’s resting now. I had to add a sedative to her medicine." Marcela’s voice carried exhaustion. "She wouldn’t settle down, and the more agitated she became, the more her body tensed. It wasn’t helping her condition."
"Why is her healing so damn slow? It’s worse than a human’s." I opened my eyes and fixed Marcela with a stare that made the healer flinch and look away.
"I just discovered something," Marcela whispered, her voice barely steady despite her obvious fear.
"Talk."
"There’s poison in her system. A small amount, but it’s there. That’s why she’s healing so poorly. The poison..." Marcela swallowed hard. "It’s the same one she gave you, my king."
I could feel her terror as she delivered the news, knowing how raw this subject was for me.
"The same poison?" My eyes narrowed to slits. "Someone’s been poisoning her too?" Rage erupted through me, and I felt the suffocating energy roll off my body.
Marcela trembled even though she wasn’t a shifter and couldn’t feel the pack bond. The fear was universal.
"No, I don’t believe so," she rushed to explain. "I think she came into contact with it accidentally. Like... she touched the poison and then touched food with the same hand. The amount is tiny—I couldn’t detect it until now. This poison works slowly."
She dared to meet my eyes. "My king, should I examine you? You consumed a significant amount of that slow-acting poison."
"No need." I knew my body better than anyone. Slow-acting poisons were useless against me. My father had tried poisoning me multiple times, and I’d survived every attempt. My tolerance was built through necessity.
Now I understood why they’d increased the dosage in their latest attempt—which sealed their fate when Helen caught Mason’s scent.
"Helen detected the poison on Mason by smell. What does it smell like?" If a healer could identify it by scent, so could other shifters. But they lacked the knowledge to recognize what they were smelling.
"The smell is..." Marcela searched for the right comparison. "Mint. The base ingredient is mint, so when they concentrated the dosage, the scent became stronger."
"Mint?" The pieces clicked into place, and fury exploded through me. "Fuck!"
Marcela stumbled backward three steps, putting distance between us on pure instinct. She was terrified but didn’t dare flee without permission, afraid of provoking me further.
The healer looked ready to cry, confused about what she’d said to trigger my wrath.
I fought to contain my rage but couldn’t stop the curses flowing under my breath.
I knew exactly how Phoebe had poisoned me now.
There were times I’d tasted mint on her lips when I kissed her, but I’d dismissed it. Now I understood. It was the poison. She’d put it in her own mouth to transfer it to me. Of course she wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d escape unharmed.
No. She’d intended to die too.
This wasn’t Phoebe’s first suicide attempt. She’d tried before but hadn’t succeeded.
"Stupid!" I snarled. If she wanted to kill me, she should’ve made sure I died first! Why did she want to die with me? "Damn it! Stupid!"
How could Phoebe be so reckless, using a method that would hurt her too? She should’ve known better about her body. She was already weak without her wolf spirit, and poisoning herself only made everything worse.
No.
I had made her condition worse. She’d stopped giving me the poison, which meant she’d also stopped poisoning herself.
"Fuck you, Phoebe!"
Yes, she’d been poisoning herself. She never intended to survive my death. Stupid.
"My king..." Marcela tried to speak but fell silent when I didn’t stop cursing. I cursed Phoebe, myself, and everything between us.
I slammed my fist into the pillar, leaving a massive dent before shifting into my beast and storming out.
——
Marcela’s legs gave out the moment the king disappeared. She gasped for air, certain she’d been about to die.
——
Phoebe’s POV
I woke to find Perry perched on the edge of my bed, those stunning blue eyes fixed on me—eyes I’d grown to despise.
"Why did you do it?" His voice cracked with pain. "Why did you poison yourself?"
I turned away and closed my eyes, but his hand found my hair, fingers threading through the strands.
I hated this. I didn’t want him touching me.
