Need To Keep Facade

Pearl’s P.O.V.

“I am immune to most of the poisons, but this was something else.” I told Hugh after going through the investigation report on the poisoning incident.

I was still weak but strong enough to walk on my own. I was now sitting in the balcony of Killian’s room with Hugh who brought the investigation report for my review.

“Do you know anything about this poison?” he asked me in a calm and serious tone.

“Yes, I know.” I admitted without any hesitation, making him raised his brows in surprise.

“I told you, guys, that I also blend perfumes and as a perfumiest, I need to go through various herbs, chemicals, and other substances essential to make a good perfume. In order to distinguish between a good herb and a poisonous herb, all the perfumiest study them, and hence.”

I paused in the middle sentence and took a deep breath, preserving my energy for further conversations.

“So, what Helene and Samantha told us about that poison….. do you think is true?” Hugh asked me in the same serious tone, and I nodded in agreement.

“They are right. Whoever has tried to harm me this time, he or she must have known about my immunity towards the poison, and that’s why, they used this.” I told him in a serious tone.

“You were the werewolf princess, Pearl. It’s not hard to get information about you.” Hugh replied to me in the same tone, but I shook my head negatively.

“No, Hugh…. This is something only a few close people know.” I told him, and his eyes narrowed.

“Not even my parents know about this.” I told him further in the serious tone, and all the lines on his forehead straightened immediately.

“If this is the case, then, it will be easy to find this person. Give me the list, and I will try my best to find this person.” He asked me and I nodded in response.

“Try to find out if any werewolf has approached any witch or any other perfumiest in the past 10 days. This poison has a short lifespan.” I told him, and he immediately nodded while standing up.

“Give me a day, and I will give you the report by tomorrow morning.” He replied to me in a serious tone, and then walked out of the balcony.

I took a deep breath and looked at the horizon while thinking about all the people who knew about my immunity to poisons.

To be honest, I also had my doubts about the person who tried to kill me, but I can’t be sure about them. Apart from Emma, seven more people, including my brother knew about this.

But Ryder won’t do this. He was heartbroken when he learned about the swapping. I still remembered our conversation that night.

Flashback:-

“I know this is not fair to you, Pearl, but you have to understand the turmoil that we are facing right now.” Ryder’s grip on my hands tightened. His eyes were glued on our joint hands and I could feel how sad and tense he was.

“I understand, brother. This is …. Not only hard for you guys, but for me too. You … you know very well that I don’t care about the title or… or the wealth….. but I lost my family…. I… I became an orphan just like that.”

I gulped hard the invisible lump that had formed in my throat and whimpered lightly.

He immediately pulled me into his embrace, and I wrapped my hands around his torso tightly.

“I don’t want you to hate me, brother. All my life… I had you a.. as a protective shield around me… I.. I don’t want to lose this shield, brother… please don’t tell me tha… that I am not your sister anymore.” I wailed in a pleading tone, holding him tightly.

For the people around us, I was a princess, but in the privacy of our home, I was his little sister, a figure of daughter in his life.

“I don’t hate you, Pearl. Always remember this. You may not be blood related to me, but you are the one whom I watched grow into a fine lady in front of my eyes. You will always be my little princess, my little sister, my Pearl.” He assured me in a choked tone, and I cried more.

“But we need to be more careful from now on.” His next statement took me off guard, and I stopped crying immediately. He tightened his grip on my torso and I felt his heartbeat quickened.

“Emma is my biological sister, and I don’t deny that connection with her, but this sudden revelation took us off guard. She is with us for more than 3 years, but she revealed it now. Why?”

His question made my breath hitched. I slowly lifted my head up and he looked down. “You understand what I am trying to say, right?” he asked in a low tone, and I nodded in a daze.

“From now on… I won’t support you in public or in front of Emma, Pearl. Someone is deliberately targeting you, and my support to you can put your life in more danger. You have to stay careful, and I will try to find out who is behind the scene. Until we find that person, we need to keep this façade, okay?” he asked and I once again nodded in a daze.

Flashback ended:-

I sighed and closed my eyes. Ryder was right. This sudden revelation about the swapping of pups right before my mating ceremony does not seem as simple as it looks on the surface. It seemed that my so-called friend was not a simple soul as she showed on the surface.

His suspicion about the whole situation turned right. I was now glad that he faked his hatred and loathing towards me during Emma's mating ceremony. I couldn't deny that it hurt like hell, but now I understood his motive better. Everything that he said and did during that time was to make everyone believe that I don't have the support of their family now.

Still I missed my brother very much.

I slowly opened my eyes and took my phone from the coffee table. I dialled my PA, Evelyn’s number. Evelyn was a gamma lycan from a lycan pack. She was the youngest daughter of her parents and that’s why she pursued a different career instead of joining the pack as a warrior.

“How are you now?” she asked me in a worried tone, and I raised my brows in confusion.

“I am fine, Evelyn. What’s wrong?” I asked her in a confused tone.