Chapter 91 UNBELIEF

Chapter 91 UNBELIEF
Kali's POV 

I couldn't believe it. No, I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that in the blink of an eye my very attempt to make things right had somehow backfired against me. It wasn't just that, I just had to be bestowed the worst punishment on earth too. 

“Then find who did,” Diego's words echoed painfully in my head. “Before I decide it was you. You have until dawn.”

Dawn. I had less than a day to prove that I had nothing to do with the dead man, and worse part? I didn't have the faintest clue where I was supposed to start from. 

Oh goddess. 

A deep exhale slid past my lips as I walked down the hallway. Heaven knows I didn't have a single destination in mind, and honestly, I really didn't mind. My room didn't feel comfortable any more as it used to, and even if I did manage to drag my feet all the way there, I doubted I would be able to get some sleep, or focus at all. 

The night air nipped at my skin, and I hated how its icy sting brought me back to reality. My chest rose and fell far too quickly for my liking, but I knew there was close to nothing I could do about it.  The stone steps bit into my boots as I descended them, each one ringing with the echo of Diego’s words. 

Murderer. Saboteur. Deceiver. He hadn’t said them outright, but they were there, thick in his tone, and heavy in his eyes. If there was anything he didn't say tonight, I liked to think it was safe to say that his eyes conveyed the messages very accurately. 

I knew for a fact that Diego didn't really trust me, and I wouldn't say I blamed him. He found me and saved me, and in an attempt to thank him, what did I do? I asked him to make me his fucking breeder. 

While all of that was true, I couldn't shake off the small pang of pain that was slowly building in my chest. After my first day here, a small part of me really thought he was impressed with how I'd handled the case with the little omega. I thought I had a chance, but right now, even a sorcerer could predict that I had failed already. Woefully too. 

I clenched my fists. I couldn’t let his doubt consume me, not here, not in front of them all. The hallways were as good as empty, but when the night wind swept over my face, the sting in my throat told me I was breaking faster than I wanted to admit.

I needed to find a solution this. Fast. 

“Storming out like that doesn’t help your case, you know.” Someone's voice was all it took to pull me out of my thoughts. The voice stopped me in my tracks. It was harp, smooth, and laced with an unhealthy amount of evil satisfaction, a combination I knew belonged to only one person.  “Research says it might make it worse even.” 

Raelyn.

She stood leaning against the stone wall at the edge of the hall, her arms folded neatly across her chest. Her hair glinted like fire under the moonlight, and I hated how her smirk was sharp enough to cut me open.

“Not in the mood,” I muttered, stepping past her. That wasn't my best comeback, but right now I would rather chug down a bottle of something poisonous than willingly indulge her. “Go find someone else to pick on.”

“Did I hear that right?” I couldn't see her now, but I just knew she was grinning maliciously as the words slid past her lips. “Our fiery little stranger doesn't have it in her anymore.” 

The perfect response hung on the tip of my tongue, but for reasons I couldn't fathom, I just couldn't bring myself to push the words past my lips. It was either I really didn't have time for her bullshit, of Diego's ultimatum was weighing down on me more than I originally thought. My bets were on the latter though. 

“You don't get it, do you?.” She pushed off the wall and fell in step beside me. “Because I’ve been waiting for this moment longer than you realize.”

“Meaning?” I stiffened. “What's that supposed to mean, Raelyn?” 

“Oh, don’t act surprised. You think you fooled everyone with that quiet act of yours?” Raelyn gave a low laugh. It had a sickeningly sweet undertone to it, and it grated at my nerves. “Always on the edge of things, watching, measuring, never belonging. My gut told me you were trouble from the start.” 

“You tried to be what you're not, and he'll you fooled everyone with your goody two shoes act.” She tilted her head, her eyes glittering with something malicious. “And now, finally, I know I was right.”

“You're wrong.” Heat crept up my neck, but I forced steel into my voice. “You don’t get to decide what I am, Raelyn.”

“No?” Her brows arched in nothing but pure mischief. “Because from where I’m standing, you’re looking a lot like the guilty one.” 

“The man who died was supposed to be your leverage, wasn’t he?” He grin took a sinister turn as she pointed a finger to my face. “Funny how he ends up dead the moment Diego names him as your responsibility. That's not much of a coincidence if you ask me.”

“Careful with your accusations.” I whipped around to face her, eyes flashing. “You don’t get to put words in Diego’s mouth. He’ll be the one to decide what happens to me, not you.”

“Isn't that pathetic that you actually believe that?” Raelyn’s smirk deepened, but there was venom in her tone now. She held my gaze for a little longer, and when she realized I still hadn't caught on to whatever trash she was spewing, she added again. “Oh, you really don’t know, do you?”

“What?” My stomach dropped. My guts screamed at me to not push ahead with the rest of the questions, but I ignored all of the red warnings signs blaring at the back of my mind. “Know what?”

“Diego already gave the order.” She stepped closer, her breath brushing my ear as she. “If you can’t prove your innocence, he’ll have you prosecuted before the entire pack.”

The words hit harder than any blade, and I stumbled slightly. I was quick to catch myself, but it didn't take too long before I froze, my throat dry, while Raelyn leaned back, delight glimmering in ression.

“And that's not the best part. Wanna hear it?” I knew it was a rhetorical question, and she proved her point the moment she answered her own question. “I get to lead the trial.”

“No.” My breath hitched in my throat, and my vision blurred a bit. “No, no, no. You can't be serious.” 

“I told you I’d be proven right eventually.” She patted my arm once, mockingly gentle. “Guess I should thank you for making it so easy.”

And with that, she turned and walked away, her laughter curling in the night like smoke, leaving me rooted to my spot, hollow and my mind swirling with a million and one thoughts all at once. 

What had I done to deserve all of this?