Chapter 43: Chapter 43 A Slow Acting Poison
Phoebe’s POV
When I stepped into the dining hall, my eyes immediately found my father. The shock hit me first, then terror flooded through me before transforming into pure fury.
My body shook, but not from fear—from rage. Though I remembered how Perry had once made me tremble for entirely different reasons.
"Phoebe..." Cameron rose from his seat, speaking my name with false warmth, as though he truly missed his daughter. "I am glad to see you again."
He strode toward me with determined steps while I stumbled backward, every instinct screaming at me to flee.
But he moved faster, and in an instant, his arms trapped me in an embrace, holding me tight as he pressed his face against my shoulder.
"I really missed you." Those words were meant for Perry to hear, but then came the whispered threat that chilled my blood. "Behave."
I despised how his commands still controlled me. My muscles locked up, leaving me powerless to push him away.
This wasn’t the Obsidian Claw pack—I could refuse him here. I should tell Perry everything. With Cameron right here, Perry would sense if I lied. I could finally clear my name.
’No one will believe you.’
The words my father, Reginald, Kevin, and countless others had drilled into me echoed in my mind whenever I tried to speak.
Like a curse binding my tongue, stealing my voice when I needed it most.
Sensing I wouldn’t cause a scene, Cameron released me. My body had turned to stone, and I became even more silent than usual.
Perry noticed everything. Lunch proceeded, but I barely spoke, keeping my gaze fixed on my plate while eating whatever my father placed there.
"Here, you like this. This is your favorite." Cameron set a piece of meat on my plate.
"How do you know that’s her favorite?" Perry asked, seeming entertained by Cameron’s attempts at conversation.
They sat beside each other while Perry occupied the head of the table.
"She is my daughter, of course, I know." Had anyone but the king asked, Cameron would have sneered.
What Cameron didn’t realize—but Perry knew—was that I’d lost my sense of taste five years ago.
That meat might have been my favorite once, but after five years of Cameron being oblivious to my condition, his knowledge seemed questionable.
Perry kept this information to himself, and eventually he excused himself, giving us the private time he’d promised Cameron.
Once alone without even guards present, Cameron set down his utensils. The gentle facade from earlier vanished as he turned to face me.
"I need you to do something," Cameron said.
"I don’t want." I didn’t need to hear his request—I wouldn’t do anything for him, not even pick up trash.
Cameron sighed heavily. "You are going to die if you stay here." He turned to study me. "This is for your own benefit too."
"No."
"Phoebe, stop being difficult. I can see how miserable you are." Cameron reached for my hands, but I jerked away immediately, revolted by his touch. "I did what is best for you. I want you to be safe."
I glared at him. He was the only person who made me unsafe—what was he trying to accomplish now?
"Phoebe. There will be an extreme change. I don’t want you to get hurt, that’s why you need to do what I told you to do."
The same words he always used. I needed to obey him without question.
No. My father had never asked me anything, not since he met that woman and her children.
He’d jump to conclusions, and those conclusions were never kind to me.
Cameron seized my hand and pressed a small bottle into my palm, forcing my fingers to close around it.
The glass was cold, and dread settled in my stomach.
"Give this to the king, one drop every day."
My eyes widened in horror, and Cameron’s expression hardened, becoming cruel.
"This is a slow acting poison. It will not kill him right away. He will be ill, but it will take a long time before he finally can’t do anything. Meanwhile, we are preparing to dethrone him. You will be part of it, thus when all of this is over, they will not blame you."
Cameron shook his head. "They will thank you because this is a crucial role. They will forget all of your offenses, and see you in different light. Isn’t this what you want?"
No. This absolutely wasn’t what I wanted.
"You don’t need to worry, we have a lot of people around the palace that will help you." Cameron’s tone softened as he reached to stroke my hair, but I slapped his hand away. "The Mad King needs to be taken down, before he jeopardized our kingdom."
"I don’t want to be part of this," I forced out through clenched teeth. Speaking felt like breaking chains, fighting against the fear and oppression that crushed me whenever I faced my father. "Don’t involve me in this."
I tried to return the bottle, but Cameron trapped my fingers around it, refusing to let go. The gentleness disappeared from his voice.
"Don’t ruin this, Phoebe. I can see that he doesn’t even treat you well. Do this and you will find your place with our people. That’s what you always wanted, right? To be acknowledged by other people. This will be your repentance for all you have done to the pack."
"I had never done anything wrong to the pack."
"You seduced your stepbrother. You seduced the alpha even though he rejected you. You tried to run away like your mother. How many times you will break my heart?"
I wanted to scream at him, but tremors wracked my body as traumatic memories flooded back.
"Reginald tried to rape me, and Kevin raped me for a year straight, I ran away because you treated me like shit. How much do you hate me to let me go through all of those horrendous things?"
