Chapter 58

[Third-Person’s POV]

Alexander felt truly torn. Two days had gone by since the unexpected attack and he didn’t feel any closer to achieving any real answers or progress.

The man was rightfully frustrated. He didn’t want to leave Evelyn—not for a single moment while she was still barreling through the nasty side effects of the poison. However, he was way behind on his work.

Normally, Evelyn would be tending to her plants in the greenhouse and he would be stocked away in his office. But given that circumstances were different, everything was scrambled around. Thankfully, Oliver was the one who gave Alexander the idea to move some of his work into the bedroom where he could, at least, try to multitask.

The staff set up a small round table for him to work on. It was positioned in such a way that allowed him to glance over at Evelyn at any given time. In what little spare time he had, Alexander took to the library to find anything he could on Belladonna.

It could have been used for medical practices but it wasn’t common enough to be considered entirely safe. Its properties were far too unpredictable. But everything Evelyn was experiencing fell under the possible list of side effects Alexander found.

They were bad. Some even held the chance of leaving behind long-lasting effects.

It was with a heavy heart that he remained calm and level-headed.

Although her trembling slightly decreased, he noticed that Evelyn’s muscles were still occasionally spasming and constricting beyond her control.

During the nights, he would sleep beside her and hold her close. Alexander tried to ignore the fact that he finally had Evelyn back by his side; unfortunately, it was not in the manner he would have preferred.

Hell, he wasn’t even certain that she knew what was happening around her most of the time. Since her first bout of consciousness in the bathtub, Evelyn hadn’t managed to come back around.

Maybe it’s for the best.

If it was easier for her to battle this out in her sleep, then so be it.

Of course, it wasn’t enough to make the Alpha stop his worrying.

Even though his regular work routine had become a bit of a useless mess, Alexander knew there were a number of things that needed to be addressed.

“Any news on the tea mixture?” he asked.

Oliver stood close by his side, not wanting to disturb Evelyn’s rest. He gave a curt nod and spoke low.

“We’ve managed to separate most of the mixture out in which certain things can be identified off-hand. But without Evelyn’s expertise, most of us don’t fully know what we’re looking at,” the Beta explained.

Alexander let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was understandable. Not everyone had the extensive knowledge of agriculture and herbology that Eveyln possessed.

After this whole nightmarish experience, Alexander was really thinking that most of his pack should be required to take a few courses on plants to prevent any further accidents like this in the future.

But it wasn’t an accident, was it?

No. From what he recalled from the brief conversation he had with Evelyn, there was a slight chance that this wasn’t an accident but rather a nefarious plot planned out by someone else.

Fiona...

He somewhat understood why Evelyn was so hesitant to mention her name. It was clear that the two of them never got on well with each other which made Fiona a viable suspect. But they both knew that there wasn’t any viable evidence to prosecute her.

But she made a good point. Fion was the only person who was within her legal rights, as a registered medical physician, to possess Belladonna.

Belladonna wasn’t even one of the plants that were harvested on the property. Which meant, it had to have been brought in from the outside.

“Oliver, did any of the dried herbs that were sorted through look like this?” he asked while pointing to an illustration in one of his books.

He gave the picture a long, tentative look before slowly nodding his head. “Yes, in fact. It was one of the herbs we couldn’t fully identify.”

Oliver glanced to the top of the page and went stiff. “Belladonna?”

Alexander gave him a grim look. “I think Evelyn figured it out as the poison was taking its effect.”

The Beta gave a look of astonishment all the while appearing impressed.

“You have some kind of idea who’s behind this, don’t you?” he asked.

“Possibly, but it’s not going to be easy to prove,” Alexander responded. “Tell me, how has Fiona been adjusting to being back here?”

“From what I’ve been hearing from other people, things seem to be going alright. She seems a bit tense, though. Maybe it’s because she knows that she’s already been suspended once and is just being cautious. Why bring her up?”

“Evelyn said that she spotted Fiona walking away from the tent where the tea mixture is kept before shipment.”

This time, Oliver drew his brows together. “That is strange. Her station isn’t anywhere near that area.”

“Precisely,” he noted. “Why was she over there in the first place?”

Alexander had to take what Evelyn said into consideration. However, the Alpha still held on to his doubts. Fiona had been working as his pack’s doctor for years. She’d been immaculate at her job.

Yet, it went without saying that she and Evelyn never got along to begin with. But would Fiona really go as far as to poison her?

There’s only one way to find out.

“Oliver, I want you to get a hold of the list of the patients who were expected to meet with Fiona the day the tea mixture was tampered with.”

“Yes, sir.”

There was a lot they were missing from this case. By reaching out to a few others, perhaps it would provide them with the information they needed.

...

Oliver was good on his word. He managed to track down all of those who saw Fiona that day and patiently waited to be spoken to by Alexander within the private walls of his office. Meanwhile, he made sure Nina was looking after Evelyn during that time.

He had gone through over five of his pack members, and none of them seemed to provide any valuable information. That was until he reached the last patient on Oliver’s list.

“Thank you for coming in, Timothy.”

Timothy was slightly more frail than the rest of the guards that were under Alexander’s command. The poor guy suffered from a weak immune system since he was a child, so it was a common occurrence for him to visit Fiona for monthly check-ups.

“It’s no problem, sir. What can I help you with?”

“I have it here that you visited Fiona for your scheduled check-up two days ago.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Can you tell me if there was anything strange or off about Fiona’s behavior during that time?”

Timothy gave a puzzled look before his brows began to lift. “Actually, now that you mention it...Yes.”

“Tell me everything.”

Timothy went on to explain how Fiona tried making small talk about the fact that not many of her normal patients were looking too bad given the time of year. He’d gone on to say that it was all thanks to the tea that Evelyn had developed to help those who suffer from weaker immune systems.

“Fiona did not look pleased by this,” Timothy noted. “In fact, I’d say she was downright livid over the whole after.”

“I see,” Alexander commented while jotting down a few notes. “Anything else.”

“She wanted to know where the tea mixture was kept.”

Alexander was certain he felt his actual heart drop into his stomach. He stopped writing and stared back at Timothy with a solid glare. “You’re certain? I mean, she actually asked to know where the tea was being stored?”

Timothy nodded his head and Alexander sat back in his seat with a disturbed feeling reaching through his chest.