Chapter 78
Iris
My heart took a skip when Gradel stalked into his room, his body glimmering with beads of sweat. He might have gone for a run or something, but what amazed me was how he pretended to be oblivious to my existence because of a mere accusation.
Did our relationship hold no weight to him?
The tension in the air was thick and depressing but there was only one way to clear it and that was by facing the issue.
While he took off his shirt, I walked toward him, rubbing my palms nervously. I never had to feel this way around him, but it was obvious that someone was impersonating me to cause trouble.
"Good morning, Grade," I tried to sound enthusiastic but his impassive facade made it more difficult for me to articulate my speech.
He spared me a backward glance and then eyed me meticulously. "Morning," He threw a curt reply.
I swallowed and clutched onto the skirt of my dress. "Can we talk? You've been acting all cold since yesterday and I just want to clear the air,"
He heaved a sigh and sank onto an empty chair by the window.
"What do you want us to talk about?"
I was thrown aback by his curtness and my chest tinged with pain at how he treated me. It was appalling that he could quickly throw me under the bus for something he wasn't sure of.
"Dalian's death and your father's too." I reached for his strangely cold hands. "I didn't poison them, I promise you. It's surprising that you doubt my innocence and have concluded so quickly that I could do something so heinous."
"I haven't concluded on anything, Iris, it's just that all the evidence is pointing at you. Why does it have to be so? Why did Dalian have to die just after consuming the sweets you gave to him?"
The chair on which I'd sat had suddenly become too hot for me so I sprang to my feet and paced around restlessly.
"And what if he ate something else that caused a reaction in his stomach?" I cried, hoping he would see the possibility.
He shook his head and rubbed his chin. "That's not the case," He disagreed.
"What do you mean?"
He sighed and got up as well. "I asked Silas to investigate the case and he confirmed this morning that the sweet was indeed poisoned. According to him, the leaves which contain the poison have gone extinct and the remaining poison is in the possession of whoever wants to sabotage my ascension to the throne. And that poison, Iris, was also found in my father's mouth the same day he died and that day, you were the only one who visited him."
I ran my fingers through my hair, nearly pulling the locks off the root. My emotions ran wild and I was at a loss of how to express myself.
Crying could help assuage the heaviness in my chest, but accusations and distrust wouldn't go away. They'd keep glaring at me until I did something about it.
"So you really believe that I did it? Do you think that I have a motive for killing innocent people? If I was capable of that, we would have never been mates, Gradel! I'm not a murderer and I'm going to prove my innocence to all of you, I promise!" I spat and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me.
Elda was already standing by the door the moment I got out, trailing behind me as I marched toward the gate.
And then a thought struck my mind. I didn't get the sweets by myself, and neither did I make them. Elda did.
I whirled around so swiftly that we almost bumped into each other. "Take me to the stall you got those sweets from," I commanded with a tone of finality.
His eyes held reluctance at first, but seeing that I wasn't going to be swayed by any excuse, he led me on. After some minutes we got to the market, the silence unnerving.
My eyes scanned around the stalls and I found out that most of them were empty. That was quite unusual and then I remembered that the pack was supposed to be in mourning.
"She isn't here," He said what was already obvious.
I pinched my forehead with a tired sigh. The plan was to interrogate the trader, but it seemed that the whole universe was working against me today.
Why did the whole thing smell fishy?
"You're going to keep your eyes on her, Elda. We need to find that woman so that I can ask her some questions," I stated.
He bowed, "Yes, ma'am."
"I think you need to calm down," He whispered as I paced around in a state of frenzy.
Thankfully, not many people were around so I wouldn't be bring unwanted attention to myself. "How do you expect me to calm down, huh? Everyone thinks I'm a murderer, even my mate and you want me to stay still? How will you feel if the person you love doesn't believe you even after explaining that you had no hand in what happened? Will you be at peace?"
He bit his lip in understanding.
"But, you're making a scene and soon you'll get people's attention." He lowered his head and leaned closer to my ear. "And I think we should return to the pack house because word is already spreading that you're Dalian's murderer and you know impulsive and sentimental people can be when it comes to this kind of issues." He warned.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere. My hands are clean so I'll face whoever tries to accuse me," I yelled at the top of my voice.
In a few seconds, I realized that Elda was right about me going home. Women and little children approached with stones in their hands, their faces unsmiling and their lips curved in angry snarls.
A knot tightened in my stomach when I darted my gaze around and discovered that we were surrounded and outnumbered. Running away wasn't a solution because they'd turn to their wolf forms and catch up with me.
And that would be worse because they were less reasonable in the animal forms. I looked to my side-Elda, where the hell was he?
Though my insides were melting like butter on a heated pan, I maintained a straight face and kept my chin raised.
"Good morning, everyone," I greeted confidently.
No response.
"It's weird to see you all gathered here this morning. Are we having an occasion or something?" I chuckled to lighten the tension even though I was on death row.
"The only occasion we are going to have is your sentence and burial," A woman responded. "We thought that we had a Luna who would look after her people, but what we didn't know is that she doesn't care about us. She hates us and now she's trying to kill everyone that falls prey to her fake acts of kindness and love. We are here to take revenge on the Alpha's death and our precious Dalian and I hope that the Moon goddess forgives us and gives you the worst punishment in the afterlife."
Without giving me any time to respond, they began to throw their stones at me, the impact heavy and painful. I collapsed on the ground with the big stones flung at every part of my body.
One of them landed on my forehead and I swear I heard a crack and blood flowed from it. The pain increased with each passing second as they continued to hit me fiercely.
I felt my life slipping through my fingers as tears rolled down my cheeks in torrents. My body had gotten weaker and just like before, the only thing I craved was death and I saw it in its trepidating form.
My eyelids became heavy, clamoring to meet each other and I allowed it, having no will to stay alive anymore.
It was better this way. At least my hands were clean and also, I was grateful to experience love in its purest form. Feeling fulfilled, my eyes clamped shut and I was met with immediate darkness.