Chapter 154 - 0154
Lorelei POV
"I’m so damn tired of that bitch..." Chelsea’s sneering voice rasped through the speakers. "She’s been nothing but a fucking problem since she got here. God, I hate her so much!"
My entire body went rigid. Beside me, Raven’s fingers tightened protectively around my hand.
"Don’t tell me you’re the bitch she’s talking about?" Raven whispered, her brows knitting together in irritation.
I could only give a small shrug. Deep down, I already knew Chelsea was talking about me.
"Relax," Hawke’s voice cut through the recording, smooth and laced with condescension. "That temper of yours is what got you demoted in the first place. You think I don’t want to get rid of her too? Simply having her by the Alpha King’s side is already too much of a threat to our operation. We just have to play this smart."
Wait... Chelsea was involved in this too?
"I know, I know," Chelsea huffed impatiently. "I just can’t stand her. Every time I see her acting all high and mighty, I want to stab her in the face over and over again."
"Believe me, you’re not the only one," Hawke replied with a low sigh. "It’s a shame she’s never alone. I would have gotten rid of her a long time ago if I’d had the chance."
Chelsea let out a dark, sinister giggle.
"Who says we need to get close to her to get rid of her?"
The moment those words left her mouth, the air inside the office seemed to turn suffocatingly thin. My grip on Raven’s hand tightened so hard my knuckles turned white.
Across the room, Kaelen and Darius exchanged a sharp, deadly look. Neither of them spoke, but the tension radiating from them was almost tangible as they continued listening.
"Hm... I know that tone," Hawke murmured. "What are you planning?"
"Well..." Chelsea purred. "I’ve been talking to one of my contacts, and I managed to get my hands on a very special kind of poison. One that leaves absolutely no trace behind."
The color drained from my face so quickly it felt as though every drop of blood had been pulled from my body, and a violent shiver raced down my spine.
"A poison that leaves no trace?" Hawke sounded genuinely intrigued. "I’ve never heard of anything like that."
"Of course you haven’t," Chelsea said smugly, unable to hide the arrogance in her voice. "It’s an exceptionally rare, custom-made toxin. It completely shuts down the victim’s internal organs within hours, making it look like they died from a sudden, fatal fever. By the time any healer examines the body, the poison has already vanished from the bloodstream without leaving a single trace behind. All we have to do is find a way to slip it into her daily meals. Then, if the Alpha loses his mind and starts looking for someone to blame, all the suspicion will fall on that useless servant friend of hers, Skye."
"That is brilliant," Hawke chuckled darkly. "If you already have it with you, we can put the plan into motion tomorrow morning."
My breathing turned shallow and uneven as sheer terror gripped me.
Chelsea wasn’t just trying to get rid of me anymore.
She had been planning to murder me all along.
Just as panic threatened to consume me, and Raven’s aura beside me swelled with murderous fury, Kaelen’s deep voice suddenly cut through the recording.
"What day was this recorded?" he demanded.
The technician immediately glanced at the timestamp displayed on his laptop.
"Yesterday evening, Alpha."
The moment those words left the technician’s mouth, Kaelen’s expression changed into something I had never seen before.
Raw fury and pure panic.
The terrifying combination twisted across his face, making him look more frightening than ever.
Then he slowly turned toward me.
The icy authority in his amber eyes was still there, but underneath it was something far more unsettling.
Fear.
"El... Lorelei..." His voice faltered ever so slightly before he forced the words out. "Did you eat anything today? Anything at all?"
He tried to sound calm, but the faint crack in his voice betrayed him completely.
It was already late afternoon. By now, I should have already eaten both breakfast and lunch. Anyone in his position would panic after hearing what we had just listened to.
Looking back, I realized I was terrified too.
I shook my head quickly, my voice barely louder than a whisper.
"No... I didn’t have the appetite for breakfast."
Okay...
Except for that milk.
It had tasted... off.
My heart lurched.
Was that poisoned too?
On the other hand, a massive, shuddering breath escaped Kaelen’s chest as he assumed I was safe. His shoulders visibly sagged with relief as he closed his eyes for a brief moment.
But before I could make sense of his reaction, another horrifying realization slammed into me.
My eyes flew wide open, and every ounce of blood drained from my face so fast that my skin turned deathly pale.
"But..." I gasped, the realization crashing into me like a physical blow as my horrified eyes snapped to Kaelen’s. "Skye!"
She had eaten my breakfast.
Skye had eaten every last bite from my tray that morning.
My knees nearly gave out beneath me, but Raven caught my arm before I could collapse completely.
"She ate it," I choked out, my entire body trembling as tears instantly filled my eyes. I desperately tried to convince myself I was overreacting. That I was just being paranoid. That Skye was perfectly fine. That nothing had happened to her.
"I... I need to go check on her!"
I pulled myself free from Raven’s grip, spun around, and rushed toward the office door. I yanked it open so forcefully that it slammed against the wall.
But the moment I burst into the hallway, I nearly crashed straight into Maya.
Isaac and another heavyset guard had both of her arms pinned behind her back while she fought desperately against them.
"I need to see the Alpha!" Maya screamed, her face flushed with panic. "Please! Let me go! It’s an emergency!"
But neither guard loosened their grip.
I opened my mouth to ask where Skye was since the two of them shared a room, but the moment Maya’s frantic eyes landed on me, something inside her snapped.
Without warning, she sank her teeth into the forearm of the guard restraining her.
He let out a pained grunt, instinctively loosening his hold for just a second, and that was all she needed.
Maya violently tore herself free and sprinted straight toward me, only for her steps to falter for the briefest moment when she noticed Raven stepping out of Kaelen’s office behind me.
Confusion flashed across her face, but only for a moment before she quickly shook it off.
The next second, she was standing in front of me, grabbing both of my hands in a desperate, white-knuckled grip.
Her fingers were ice-cold, and they trembled so violently that I could barely feel her touch.
"It’s Skye," Maya sobbed, her bloodshot eyes overflowing with terror. "She’s sick... She’s throwing up blood!"