Chapter 34

Gideon’s POV

I quickly stormed through the doors of packhouse only to hear Nova’s quiet sobs.

It froze me. I have heard countless battles cries, heard pained screams of warriors, heard sad wolf howls for the fallen once. But the broken sobbing of a little girl feels like a stab of a knife.

My boots made a firm sound as they hit the floor hard as he followed the sound of sobbing, every step was filled with dread.

I gently pushed the door of the infirmary room, my chest felt heavy. I saw Raven laying on the bed, her skin was pale and her lips were a bit blue, her breaths were gentle yet shallow. The scene in front of me made my stomach twist violently, I felt a panic in my heart I never felt before.

I looked beside the bed and saw Nova clinging onto Leo, her face was on his shoulder. Leo was still shaken by what happened but still held her close, whispering soothing words to her. I can tell he also cried due to his wet eyes, but there was determination in his eyes as well.

The doctor straightened as I entered. “She is safe for now,” he said calmly to answer the question in my eyes he knew how tense I was just looking at me. “But she was poisoned by Wolfsbane. It nearly stopped her heart. She will need a lot of rest and close monitoring.”

After a long time, I felt like I was losing control. Wolfsbane. Inside my own pack. Against her.

My gaze turned and looked at Raven gently. She looked very fragile and vulnerable, she looked very different. I wasn’t used to seeing her this way. The Raven I knew was fierce, a fire which no one could extinguish and was unyielding. She carried herself like a warrior and protector even in tough situations. Now seeing her like this unsettled me in ways I was not able to understand.

I gently held the bedframe, but then held onto it so tightly that the wood creaked.

“Who brought the food to you?” I looked at Leo gently yet firmly and asked to know exactly what happened.

Leo looked at me immediately. “A maid brought us food, the one with the dark braid.” He answered with a shaky voice but he looked at me firmly. “She was acting very weird, like she was very tense and was scared about something.”

Nova looked up as she spoke softly “She didn’t even look at Mommy when she fainted and ran away.”

A spark of pride rose in me despite my fury. My children– that's what seeing Nova and Leo together made me feel like, they both are smart and perspective.

“Let’s go and find that maid,” I said firmly with determination.

I entered the kitchen with the children and saw the kitchen staff was already tense and nervous. I realize they all have found out about the incident and the word about it traveled very fast. Everyone was scared in the kitchen.

Leo and Nova pointed towards the maid quickly “It's her!”

The maid with the dark braid was pushed forward by the guards. She trembled so violently her knees almost buckled beneath her.

The maid whispered with a shaking voice while she was on her knees. “Alpha I-”

“You served that food.” My voice was cold and sharp “You nearly ended a life in this house. Tell me who gave you the order.”

The maid opened her mouth to speak but no words came out due to fear, she held onto the hem of her apron, beneath the fear I saw her hesitation as well, the truth was at the tip of her tongue wanting to be released.

I stepped close to her and urged her “Speak now, you will not be harmed if you tell the truth.” The maid opened her mouth to speak but then someone caught her gaze.

I followed her gaze. And then I saw her. Daphne.

She stood just inside the doorway, as though she had wandered there by chance. Her posture was relaxed yet perfect, her arms folded across her chest calmly, she looked concerned. But her eyes were sharp and calculative as she looked at the maid.

The way she looked at the maid somehow felt evil.

I felt it, I felt the tense atmosphere between the maid and Daphne. The maid looked scared under Daphne’s stare, as she panted and looked pale with fear. The courage which she had to speak the truth suddenly left her face.

The silence was stretched and too long.

“Who told you to poison the food?” I repeated the question with a sharp tone.

The maid finally snapped. She dropped to the floor fully, pressing her forehead to the tiles. “It was me!” she sobbed. “No one else! I did it on my own. Please, Alpha, I beg you. Punish me, but leave my family be!”

A gasp of disbelief waved through the kitchen staff. A single maid? She did everything by herself? Poisoning food in the Alpha’s house without being caught? Impossible.

I looked at Leo who was tugging my sleeve desperately knowing he also realized that the maid was lying. “Father she is lying..”

I gently but firmly placed my hand on Leo’s shoulder to silence him. “Enough, son.”

I could not blame anyone without proper evidence and now the maid is the only living evidence I have.

The maid started crying, her apron getting wet with tears. Her entire body shook. “I’m sorry, Alpha. Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me…”

Every word rang false. I knew in my mind. I had interrogated many liars in my life to know she was also lying.

But what unsettled me was that after seeing Daphne the maid became silent.

She hadn’t spoken a word. Hadn’t raised her voice. It was like she didn't need to. That single glance of Daphne made the maid very scared. Her glare was enough for the maid to take the blame.

Daphne just stood there with concern as she looked at me innocently like she was just an onlooker.

My gut churned.

“Take her to the prison” I ordered flatly. “She endangered lives under my roof. There will be no mercy. She’ll rot in the cells.”

The guards bowed and dragged the crying maid away. Her pleas were echoing in the corridor even after she was out of sight.

The kitchen staff went back to their work and everything was silent as I turned around and my eyes met Daphne’s across the room.

She gently tilted her chin, her expression was soft and innocent but I was able to feel that her sadness and surprise about what happened was just a facade.

For a moment, I saw triumph flicker in her eyes.

Later that night, everything was quiet in the packhouse but I was not able to rest. I stood in my office, staring out the wide window at the moonlit grounds, my hands braced against the desk.

The doctor’s words replayed in my head. She is safe for now but needs a lot of rest.

Every time I closed my eyes Raven’s pale face came into my mind. Their thought of losing her, losing that unyielding Warrior was like a deep wound that won't heal.

But layered atop that fear was rage. Someone had the audacity to poison food in my territory. Someone close.

That maid..she almost confessed. I have seen it. I felt it. But Daphne’s gaze silenced her. I clenched my fists until I heard my knuckles crack.

I couldn't question Daphne..not yet without proof. She was clever, dangerous in her subtlety. One wrong move and she would cover her tracks completely.

But my sharp instincts told me but I didn’t want to believe. “Could she really be behind this?,” he muttered under his breath.

I looked through the creek of the door and saw Raven laying on the bed in deep slumber. Nova slept beside her and Leo was watching.

The sight of them huddled together made me feel warm, like a family. A family I want to protect no matter what.

I looked at them with determination as my protective instincts kicked in.

“You’ll live, Raven. And after you wake up..I will have answers with me. Whoever tried to take you from us will pay.”

My eyes glinted in the moonlight, with a sharp and unforgiving look. Truth is no longer far from my reach.