Chapter 85: Chapter 85 A Weak Confirmation Yes
Perry’s POV
"DO YOU EXPECT ME TO TRUST YOU?!"
Timothy struggled to find his words, clearly wrestling with something he wasn’t sure about. He didn’t want to phrase things wrong.
"Say it. What is it?" I narrowed my eyes dangerously. Timothy was acting strange, and that made me think the worst.
"Phoebe seems to know about the poison, and she covered it up for her." Timothy raised both hands, silently begging me to hold back and not explode, but I stared him down. "I could be wrong, but Phoebe tried to stop the warrior when they found the poison in her bedroom. She tried to grab it from him."
I pressed my lips together. This could mean so many things, and drawing conclusions now wouldn’t be smart. Still, it didn’t paint a pretty picture.
"Where are they?" My voice dropped several degrees. Timothy must have felt the murderous intent radiating from me.
"I’ll call them here. I had them stay in the omega’s quarters. Phoebe didn’t want to leave Mason."
Timothy rushed out of the room—he couldn’t handle my rage.
I knew this would be a difficult conversation, but hell... I was scared out of my mind.
Soon after, Phoebe, Mason, Timothy and several warriors entered the room. Phoebe wouldn’t meet my eyes, which made me feel lost. Not a good sign.
"Perry," she called my name, but still wouldn’t look at me. She approached tentatively, as if expecting me to reject her, but when I didn’t, she walked more steadily toward me.
I didn’t miss how her body trembled.
Meanwhile, the warriors forced Mason to kneel before me and clamped silver bracelets on her wrists. The omega kept her head down, looking resigned, like she’d given up on life since she knew what was coming.
She was right. There was no going back from this. I wouldn’t let someone who killed Helen walk free in my presence.
Helen was one of the handful of people I cherished most, and she died because she discovered something. These people were cowards.
I wouldn’t be lenient with them—not even for my mate’s sake.
"Do you know about the poison?" I asked without beating around the bush. My sharp eyes fixed on my mate, but there was pleading there too. I wished she would lie. I wished she didn’t know anything about it. Maybe it was just coincidence.
But the silence that followed was deafening. She pressed her lips together, still wouldn’t look me in the eyes, and now her words disappeared too. She didn’t even have the courage to step closer, within my reach.
"Do you know about this?" I asked again, my voice turning into a vicious hiss.
If this were anyone else—if it wasn’t my mate, if it wasn’t Phoebe—I’d be more than happy to rip them apart. But this was my mate. The woman I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with.
The next question came as a growl.
"Did you poison me?"
Timothy clenched his fists. He probably wished it wouldn’t come to this. He should have asked Phoebe first before bringing her here, should have discussed this with her.
He was cursing himself for his mistake.
But why would Phoebe harm me? Wasn’t she starting to warm up to me? Why would she do that?
Timothy could understand if it was in the past, when I was being a jerk to her, but who could vouch for that?
The royal gamma didn’t think things would escalate this quickly and take this sudden turn.
"Answer me." I closed the distance between us, gripping Phoebe’s chin with my fingers and lifting her head so our eyes could meet. "Answer me. Did you do it?"
Phoebe swallowed hard, then nodded with a weak confirmation. "Yes."
I breathed raggedly as I glared at her.
"Were you under pressure? Did she threaten you to do it?" I pointed at Mason.
Did Mason threaten her?
"No," Phoebe answered truthfully. Mason hadn’t threatened her when she asked her to poison me. She’d told her a story, and she’d agreed because she hated me at that time and was desperate with her life.
But she’d changed her mind...
"But..."
"Think again about your answer. Did she threaten you?"
My voice dropped several degrees colder as I fixed my eyes on Phoebe. I must have looked ready to kill someone—the murderous intent radiating from me made all the warriors in the room feel physical pain.
"She did threaten you." I emphasized every word.
Phoebe wasn’t stupid—she knew what I was trying to imply. But if she agreed, she’d be lying to me, and either way Mason would die. She would die. Phoebe wouldn’t be able to save her no matter how much she begged.
But she needed to stop worrying about other people’s lives, because right now, it was her own life in danger.
I gave her a way out, an escape route, as I pressed her to agree with my statement.
"No, she didn’t threaten me," Phoebe replied. She didn’t want to lie. "But I changed my mind... I don’t want to kill you."
"And do you expect me to trust you?"
