Sophia POV
I hear the servants talking in the hallway outside my room.
"Elena was called to the chambers again," one of them whispers. "Third time this week. Victoria must be planning something big."
My entire body goes ice cold.
I press my ear against the door and listen harder but they've already moved on. I don't need them to say more. I know exactly what it means when Victoria calls Elena to her chambers multiple times. I've lived through this before. I know how the poisoning starts.
It starts with conditioning.
Victoria has Elena now. Victoria is preparing her. Victoria is going to use Elena's family debt and desperation to turn her into the person who delivers the poison at my coronation.
And it's happening three weeks earlier than I expected.
My hands are shaking. I sit on the edge of my bed and try to breathe like I haven't just realized my entire timeline is compressed. Like I'm not suddenly running out of time to gather proof. Like everything isn't accelerating toward a catastrophe I'm not ready for yet.
I need more time.
But time isn't going to give me what I need.
That's not even the worst part.
Over the last three days, Callum has been cold. Distant. He's stopped finding excuses to be near me. He's stopped watching me in rooms. He's stopped answering my messages. When I saw him at the pack gathering yesterday, he looked through me like I didn't exist.
Victoria got to him.
I knew she would eventually but I didn't expect it to happen this fast. I didn't expect her to plant doubt so effectively that he'd completely shut me out. But I can see it now. I can see the way he's questioning everything. The way he's looking at me with suspicion instead of obsession.
Victoria told him I'm using him. And the worst part is that she's not completely wrong.
But I need him. I need him to stay close to the family. I need him to see that Victoria is the real enemy when everything falls apart. I need him to believe me when the truth comes out.
I can't do this without him.
That realization terrifies me more than the poison ever did.
By the time night falls, I've made a decision that could destroy everything. I'm going to Callum's estate alone. I'm going to confront him. I'm going to risk everything on telling him enough of the truth that he believes me again.
It's dangerous. It's reckless. But I'm out of options.
The night air is cold as I walk toward his property. My hands are cold. My heart is racing. I'm about to step into a lion's den and hope the lion doesn't eat me.
I find him in the training room.
He's alone and he's destroying a punching bag with the kind of violence that suggests he's fighting demons. His knuckles are bleeding. His breathing is heavy and furious. He's so consumed with whatever's raging inside him that he doesn't notice me standing in the doorway.
I step into his path.
His fist comes around and I don't move. If he wants to hit me, I'll let him. At least it would mean he's feeling something instead of this cold distance.
He stops inches from my face.
"You believe Victoria's lies about me," I say simply.
Callum goes very still.
He lowers his fist slowly. His eyes search mine like he's trying to find the truth written somewhere in my face. His breathing is ragged. His entire body is vibrating with tension.
"She told you I'm manipulating you," I continue before he can speak. "She told you I'm using you. She planted doubt and you let it grow because it's easier than admitting that you feel something for James's mate."
His jaw clenches. "Stop."
"No," I say and I step closer. "You need to hear this. You need to understand that Victoria is the one manipulating you. Not me. Her. She's turning you into a weapon against me and you're letting it happen because you're scared."
"I said stop," Callum says but his voice is broken.
"I'm scared too," I whisper. "I'm terrified. But I can't let fear stop me. Not now. Not when everything is falling apart."
Callum reaches out and grabs my arm. Not rough. Just holding me in place like if he lets go, I'll disappear.
"Tell me the truth," he says quietly. "Whatever is happening. Whatever you're really planning. Tell me right now."
This is the moment. This is where I either give him enough truth to save us or I lose him completely.
"Victoria and your father are planning to kill me," I say and I watch his face break. "Elena is being prepared to deliver the poison. The coronation ceremony is going to be my execution. And you're supposed to help them do it."
Callum's face goes white. "That's not..."
"Yes it is," I interrupt. "I know it is. And I need you to help me stop it. I need you to be close to Victoria and your father so I can prove what they're planning. I need you to believe me even though I came here to use you and yes, maybe I still am. But I can't do this alone."
Callum stares at me like I've just told him the world is ending. Like I've just shattered every belief he has about his family.
"How do you know this?" he asks finally.
And that's the question that everything hinges on. That's the question that will either save me or destroy me.
"I just know," I say because I can't tell him the truth about the time loop. "I have proof. I have evidence. But I need your help to gather more before they make their move."
Callum releases my arm and walks away from me. He puts his hands on his head like he's trying to hold his mind together. Like everything he thought was real just crumbled into dust.
When he turns back to face me, his eyes are darker than I've ever seen them.
"What are you really, Sophia Monroe?" he asks quietly.
And the way he says it, like he's asking what I am instead of who I am, tells me he knows I'm something other than human. Something beyond normal.
I don't have an answer that will satisfy him.
I just have the truth.
And I have no idea if it will be enough to save us both.