Chapter 89 HIS SMIRK

Chapter 89 HIS SMIRK
Kali's POV 

I didn’t sleep. No, that wasn't even the right phrase for it. I couldn't sleep, and if I was being honest, a tiny part of me didn't even want to. Not when my mind was wide awake with the newest and latest problem I'd just walked into. 

I should have suspected foul play. I honestly shouldn't have kept my mouth shut when Diego said he was going to test me. All my life, I'd always been known for speaking my mind, but when the opportunity provided itself, I completely blacked out. Call me crazy or overly optimistic, but I couldn't help but feel like if I had spoken up, then none of this would be happening. 

A small sigh slid past my lips as I pushed the thoughts aside. In all my life, I wasn't sure I'd ever been this conflicted and bothered. 

Every time I shut my eyes, I saw his smirk. The wiry man’s voice echoed in my head like a splinter I couldn’t dig out. It was safe to say he was giving me a headache and even Diego's painkillers wouldn't be able to save me. 

I’ll tell everyone you killed Princess Katya.

“I want to belong to this pack.”  his voice echoed all the more. “You can send the others away, feed them to the rogues, but I don't care. I want to belong here, and if you don't make that happen, I'll tell everyone that you killed princess Katya.”

I’d left the hut with the weight of those words crushing my chest. I told myself that by the time a couple of hours had gone, I would be free again. But I was wrong, very very wrong. If anything , the guilt in my chest only seemed to spread all the more. And now that it was nighttime, the weight was still there, heavier too. Because I had no idea what to do with it.

Diego would want an answer. He’d expect it the moment I stepped into his sight. I hadn't even bothered going back to give him a report, but how was I supposed to tell him that the man’s price for silence was a place in his pack? That the only thing between me and the edge of a blade was someone neither of us trusted?

I was barely a pack member myself, so how could I vouch for that man? And what about the other rogues? If I singled him out for Diego to favor, what would he think of the other ones? 

I ran a hand through my hair one more time. I'd lost count of the exact moment I started doing that, but believe me when I said that was the only thing I knew to do right now. I hated being in a dilemma, but worse? I hated not knowing how to get out of it. 

Please help me moon goddess. I muttered a prayer to the goddess. If there's anyone who can help then it's you. 

I'd barely registered the thought in my head before an idea came to mind. 

What if I just didn't tell Diego? Yet. I knew it was a stupid plan, but if I gave myself a little more time to breathe and negotiate, then maybe, just maybe I would be able to find a way out of this mess. 

So I didn’t tell him.

When morning came, I asked one of the servants that passed by my door if I could eat my breakfast in here. She'd shot me a weird glance when the request slid past my lips, but I was the only one who understood how desperate I really was. 

“Um,...” The maid drawled. She was a young lady who could easily pass as my younger sister. “I'm not sure I can do that. Every one of the palace’s guests is expected to eat at the table….”

“Please.” I cut her off softly. “please, I would really like to eat here. I think I might have come down with the flu and I wouldn't want to risk infecting the Alpha with it.”

“Oh.” Her eyes shot wide as she took a step back. “I'm sorry about that, and you should have started with that. I'll make sure you get your food in your room instead.” 

I didn't even get the chance to thank her before she scurried away. As she disappeared down one of the corridors, I didn't miss how she wiped at her apron, like she'd spent way too much time in the presence of a disease carrying individual. The urge to laugh raked through me, but I pushed it aside.

My plan to avoid Diego didn't just stop at breakfast. In fact, I wasn't exactly sure when it was going to end, but I just knew I needed to have a plan before I faced Diego again. 

I kept to the quieter edges of the pack, near the far watchtower, even along the supply lanes, and anywhere his men didn’t bother patrolling unless they had orders. I was obviously wandering where I wasn't needed, and despite the many stares and whispers that trailed after me, I didn't care. 

The only thing on my mind right now was to stay away from Diego, and I meant to do that to the best of my abilities. I told myself I just needed more time. If I could talk to the wiry man again, maybe I could twist his demand into something Diego might stomach. Maybe I could make him talk without giving him what he wanted.

By late afternoon, I couldn’t stand not knowing anymore. My stomach was knotted so tightly I could barely breathe, so I made my way back to the small hut at the edge of camp.

A guard was stationed outside this time, and that was the first thing that clicked. 

It wasn’t normal.

The guard didn’t speak when I approached, he just shifted slightly, his eyes flicking toward the door before returning to some fixed point in the distance.

“What’s going on?” My voice came out sharper than I meant. A small part of me expected him not to respond, but surprisingly, he did. 

“Um.” The guard hesitated, only for a heartbeat, before stepping aside. “You can go in. I think you might want to see for yourself. 

His tone was flat, too flat, but before I could force myself to think of the worst, I pushed the door open. The acrid smell hit me first, and I almost recoiled in shock. 

Even in a coma, I would be able to recognize that metallic smell.  Blood. 

The wiry man was slumped against the wall, head tilted at an unnatural angle. His eyes were wide open but glassy and I hated how I quickly scanned his body for any blood wounds. There was no blood, at least not anywhere visible, but the life  in him was gone. Completely gone.

For a moment, I just stood there, my hand still on the doorframe, my brain refusing to put the pieces together.

Someone had been here before me, someone had wanted him silent, and now, I had nothing. No leverage, no truth to bring back to Diego, no information either. Just a dead man’s accusation still ringing in my head.

I turned to the guard, but his expression didn’t change.

“How long?” I asked. “How long has he been like this?” 

“Not long,” he replied, voice still as blank as his face. “We found him like this.”

I didn’t believe him, because if he was telling the truth, then whoever killed the wiry man was still out there. Still watching, and they knew exactly what he’d told me.

I stepped back outside, the door closing behind me with a heavy thud. The camp looked the same, men moving supplies, fires smoking in the distance, but everything felt different.

Diego was going to want answers, but all I had to give him was a corpse.