Chapter 57: Chapter 57 Truth Dressed In Madness
Phoebe’s POV
"I heard her screaming from outside, but since I lacked permission to enter the room, I didn’t check." The warrior dropped his head, exposing his neck in complete submission.
I couldn’t process what I was hearing. How could he speak such lies without even a flicker of hesitation? The bastard was lying straight to the king’s face, not even a twitch betraying his deception. How could he do that?
I stared at the warrior, stunned. "He’s lying! He’s lying! Reginald was here!" The words tore from my throat, rage consuming me. My blood felt like fire, my chest tight as I struggled to breathe, trying desperately to make Perry understand, but my words tumbled out in a jumbled mess. The king’s sharp gaze cut through me like ice.
"He lied! Please! He lied!" I kept repeating myself, but even to my own ears, I sounded unhinged, especially with the warrior standing there silent, letting me unravel.
The warrior looked at me with pity, and that look made my fury explode.
Something snapped inside me. I grabbed a jagged piece from the vase I’d shattered earlier and lunged at him. I wouldn’t let him mock me. I was telling the truth—why wouldn’t they believe me?
But my attack only made everything worse, made my words sound even more insane.
"Stop this madness!" Perry roared, catching me before I could reach the warrior, who looked startled but didn’t bother defending himself. He knew he could handle me easily.
A shifter could sense another’s strength—obviously, I fell into the weaker category.
"I’m going to kill him! I’m going to kill him!" I couldn’t control my emotions, couldn’t breathe properly. The words just spilled out.
My mind felt clouded, like I was trapped on a mountain shrouded in fog.
"Get out," Perry commanded the warrior, who bowed and walked away.
He moved deliberately slow, as if taunting me—though maybe that was just my paranoid mind playing tricks.
"I’m going to kill him! He lied to you! I didn’t lie to you! Reginald was here!" I didn’t care that my palm was bleeding as the king ripped the glass shard from my grip and hurled it away. I couldn’t feel any pain.
Then Reginald’s words came flooding back. There were Movement soldiers everywhere, surrounding this place. The king had no idea enemies encircled him.
To be honest, I was his enemy too, actively poisoning him whenever I got the chance.
I wanted to tell him, but I stopped myself.
Why would I warn him? He’d never believe me anyway, and what would I gain by revealing that?
It wasn’t because I supported the Movement—it was because I despised this mate of mine. I wanted him gone.
If everything went according to plan and he died, I planned to vanish. I wouldn’t let Kevin capture me. I wouldn’t let anyone cage me again. I’d rather die first.
Suddenly, I stopped screaming at the king. I stared at him, but my gaze felt hollow, like I was looking right through him, while Perry held me at arm’s length.
"You don’t believe me, do you?" My voice came out eerily calm, like I was discussing the weather, but my expression twisted with pain as reality crashed over me. "You think I’m crazy, that I’m the liar, right?"
Perry said nothing. He just stared at me, and for a heartbeat, I felt the desperate urge to make him believe me. I wanted someone—anyone—to believe me. I wanted to be truly heard.
But when I found no trace of trust in his eyes, I gave up.
"Fine. Don’t believe me." I turned to clean up the mess, but Perry stopped me, guiding me to the sofa.
"Sit down." He left and returned with a first aid kit, setting it on the table before sitting beside me. He took my bleeding hand.
Perry didn’t take me to Helen. He’d seen the wound wasn’t deep, so he’d handle it himself. Besides, I’d been to Helen more than he preferred.
He knew how to stop bleeding and wrap wounds—he’d done it to himself before.
I stayed silent, letting him work because there was no point in fighting when he was so determined.
I was exhausted. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to close my eyes and never wake up again.
I wanted this nightmare to end. If I could, I’d disappear completely. It would be peaceful to vanish from this world.
"Why don’t you believe me?"
I hadn’t meant to ask, but the suffocating silence forced the words out.
I stared into Perry’s electric blue eyes, unable to read his thoughts. He was impossible to decipher.
I wished I could mindlink. I wished I could shift into my beast.
"I never said I didn’t."
"But you never said you believed me either."
I cursed myself for continuing this pointless conversation. I wouldn’t get anywhere with this. Perry finished the bandage and stood up.
He left the room, and soon an omega entered to clean the mess while I sat in the same position, staring at my bandaged hand.
——
Perry’s POV
"What? Why would you want to do that?" Flynn looked at the king with confusion. He set down the document in his hand and gave Timothy a look that said: what’s wrong with him?
The gamma shrugged, equally puzzled.
"Ask everyone. I want to know where Reginald was during the new warriors’ acceptance ceremony. But don’t alert him."
"This is insane. We don’t have time for this."
Perry then turned his attention to Timothy. "Go check on Phoebe. I want you to tell me exactly what happened."
"What? No. The last time I tried talking to her, you nearly killed me," Timothy quickly rejected the idea.
