Chapter 78: Chapter 78 A Death Warrant Signed
Perry’s POV
Sleep was impossible. Rage coursed through my veins like liquid fire, and only one thing kept me from charging out and ordering the complete destruction of the Obsidian Claw pack—my mate.
After hours of tears and gasping breaths, she’d finally collapsed into exhausted sleep. I couldn’t bring myself to leave her alone.
But come morning, I’d make damn sure to sign that bastard alpha’s death warrant. The one who violated my mate and spread his poisonous lies about her.
I’d hunt him down myself.
When dawn broke, shocking news struck first.
"Helen’s been found dead in her chambers," Timothy announced, his face grim. The loss hit him hard—he’d grown close to the healer, and knowing someone had murdered her inside the palace walls meant nowhere was safe.
"Cause of death?"
"Poison."
The royal beta had rushed this news straight to me the moment he’d learned what happened.
Timothy and I strode toward the dining hall where everyone waited.
My schedule was packed for two weeks, but it looked like we’d be cutting this visit short and heading back to the palace.
Helen wasn’t just any healer. She was one of the rare few who believed in me, secretly tending my wounds whenever the previous king had me beaten bloody.
She couldn’t oppose him openly—that would’ve been a death sentence—but she helped however she could.
"We leave this afternoon," I declared. This demanded a thorough investigation. Death by poison was murder, plain and simple.
As a healer, she’d never accidentally consume something toxic. And if she was killed within palace walls, the enemy was dangerously close.
"I’ll cancel the rest of your meetings." Timothy grimaced. That meant a mountain of rescheduling since we’d only arrived two days ago.
But he understood why I wanted to return. He was just as eager to get back and dig into every detail.
I stopped abruptly, spinning to face him. "What is it?" Timothy nearly crashed into me.
"Send someone to bring me Kevin. I want to kill him with my own hands."
"Kevin?" Confusion flickered across his features before understanding dawned. "Alpha Kevin from Obsidian Claw pack? Why?"
The royal beta looked uncertain about my current bloodthirsty mood, clearly believing that murdering Kevin wouldn’t solve anything. "Why do you want to do that?"
His eyes narrowed incredulously. "I’m not letting you go on a killing spree. We have more important things to handle."
I wanted to throttle him, but I got his reaction. "It was all lies. He forced himself on my mate. He spread false rumors about the future queen and lied to the king’s face. Those charges alone constitute treason."
"What?" Timothy blinked rapidly, struggling to process my words. It sounded insane, but he’d harbored suspicions for a while without proof to back them up. "How do you know this?"
"Phoebe told me last night."
"She opened up to you?!" His incredulous tone wasn’t about distrust—he simply couldn’t believe that after all his efforts to get her to confide in him, she’d finally done it with me instead.
Well, we were mates. The comfort level I could offer her far exceeded what Timothy could provide.
"Do as I said," I commanded sternly, cutting off his barrage of questions.
"Fine. I’ll get him." Timothy stalked off while I entered the room where Alpha Phil and the others had been waiting.
They had no idea what storm was brewing, nor did they know about the healer’s death.
I delivered the condensed version of events and warned them to prepare for whatever might come.
Phoebe didn’t appear this morning—she was still sleeping. Last night’s emotional upheaval had completely drained her.
Besides, I wanted to shield her from this unnecessary drama. She’d endured enough, and I hadn’t exactly made her life easier.
——
Sharp knocking jolted Kevin awake. Fury flared at being disturbed so early.
He cursed under his breath as he rolled out of bed, shoving Dani away from his arms. The woman remained unconscious, exhausted from satisfying him all night. Bloodstains dotted the sheets from how brutally he’d used her.
"What the hell?!" Kevin snarled. Corridor light stabbed at his eyes as the sky blazed bright red with approaching sunrise. "This better be life or death, or I’ll kill you myself."
His beta stood there, brow furrowed. Luke thrust a letter forward. "This arrived ten minutes ago. Reginald sent it marked urgent."
"What?" Kevin wasn’t in the mood for early morning crises, but his beta’s expression screamed life-or-death situation.
Apparently, it was the latter.
"What the fuck," Kevin muttered. The letter was brutally direct, explaining exactly what Reginald had done. "He should’ve consulted us first!"
Rage consumed Kevin.
The message revealed that Reginald had murdered the palace healer because she was close to identifying the poison used on Mason.
"He didn’t have time for consultation," Luke offered his assessment. "Reckless, but necessary."
"I know." Kevin squeezed his eyes shut, fighting down his fury, but Luke wasn’t finished.
"I warned you before—don’t rush the plan. You’ll destroy everything. Look what’s happened now." Luke had been nagging Kevin about increasing the king’s poison dosage.
"I don’t need your lectures, Luke." Kevin’s eyes snapped open, glaring at his beta, who immediately lowered his head in submission. "Update me on the palace situation. Keep our people alert and ready for immediate action if needed."
"What’s your next move? Don’t do anything stupid."
"Still working on our next step."
That afternoon, palace warriors stormed the Obsidian Claw pack to arrest him. They dragged Kevin back to the palace.
