“Easiest solution,” Elle says, “would be to lure as many of them as possible somewhere where we can easily neutralize them. Maybe we could feed them false information that we’re gathering for a leadership meeting.”
“We don’t know the extent of their weapons,” Koen points out. “Last time we underestimated them, and you know what happened.”
We meaning his parents.
What happened meaning mine.
“And would Irene be that easy to fool?” Colin asks.
Slowly, Koen shakes his head. “She’s deluded but not stupid. She believed that Serena would side with her over the Northwest, and that was shortsighted of her. She won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Could we use Jess to plant false information?”
Pavel shakes his head. “She’s not being cooperative.”
“We could still use her as bait.”
“Irene doesn’t give a single fuck about her,” Amanda says.
“She cares about me, though.” It’s the first time I speak in the meeting. Everyone turns to me, and it’s like a floodlight right in my face. “I’m her niece. Constantine’s daughter.” It’s not news to anyone, but some seconds lower their eyes, like the reminder is hard to swallow. I don’t blame them one bit. “I’d be bait worth her while. I could set up a meeting with her, tell her that I changed my mind about the Favored.”
“She won’t buy it,” Amanda says. “You clearly made your choice.”
“She might even know that we’re using you to lure her there, and turn it against us,” Mai adds.
And they’re right. However. “What if they were to use me as bait?” The question gets me lots of confused stares. A couple of skeptical
I think the halfling is slow glances are exchanged. “Irene wants Koen gone,” I explain. “She knows that Koen will come for me if I’m taken, because he already has. She knows that he’ll bring several of his seconds with him, too. It’s the ideal scenario for her.”
Silence. Amanda squints. “I’m not sure I follow?”
“If Irene had me at her disposal right now, she would use me to lure the Northwest leadership to a place where she could easily dispose of you. So let her do that. Let her think that she’s ambushing us, while we are ambushing her. Like you said, her manpower is limited. She’s going to have to use all her resources on the ambush- “
“And have none left to pay attention to us.” Saul nods slowly. “This isn’t a bad idea.”
“It isn’t,” Elle concedes. “Except for the small detail that Serena is not with Irene.”
“That might be easy to fix,” Amanda says, sounding on board. “Nele told us where the hideouts are. We could parade Serena near one, someone would snatch her to please Mother Irene, and then- “
“Enough.”
The entire room falls quiet. Every second’s gaze slips down to their toes, like they’re children being collectively reprimanded for not flushing the toilet.
I guess this is the effect it has- the Alpha’s voice. Except, Amanda’s eyes bounce back up. It doesn’t surprise me- I’ve always felt that there was something sturdier about her relationship with Koen, something that comes from her being his closest friend. Maybe that’s why she’s the one with the guts to push against him. “Koen, this is not some dumb final girl running upstairs plan. Serena knows that Irene is unlikely to harm her. She’s too important to the cult.”
“Can you guarantee it?”
Amanda looks away, but mutters, “I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee that Irene’s weapons secretly aren’t embalmed gerbils. But I can make an educated guess.”
“No, you can’t. Not in my pack.” Koen’s voice is harsh, and a hollow, terrible silence follows, in which everyone, including Amanda, performs one of those weird eye genuflections.
I rise to my feet, cross the room, and walk up to him. “It wasn’t Amanda’s idea. It was mine. So if you have something against- “
“You fucking know I do, killer.”
We’re the only two in the kitchen area, which gives an illusion of privacy. But that’s just it- an illusion. Everyone can listen in. Everyone is. “Do you have a better plan?”
He glares. My heart flutters with fondness, and a bit of sorrow for what I’m about to do to him.
“Clearly, you don’t. This is the best way to keep the pack safe.”
“I’m not letting you- “
“That’s the thing, Koen. You don’t have to let me. I can do whatever I want. I could walk across the Human border right now, and you couldn’t stop me.”
His jaw tenses. “I am the Alpha of this pack.”
“You are. And everyone else in this room is going to follow your orders. But I won’t.”
Suddenly, he seems larger. Angrier. He towers over me in a new, unfamiliar way, and hisses through clenched teeth, “You are under my command. If I say that I want you here, you’ll fucking stay here. Your plan would put you in danger and out of my protection, and that’s unacceptable.”
“Koen.” I smile.
He leans forward. I should be scared. I’m just not.
“I love you,” I say simply.
His eyes close. “You are mine. My mate. My- “
“More importantly, you love me. And that’s why you have no authority over me.” I reach up to caress his face with the back of my hand. Let my arm fall limp at my side, suddenly cold.
When I turn around, I meet Amanda’s eyes, and we nod at each other.
THE PLAN FALLS INTO PLACE LIKE A WELL-CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE.
The following day, Amanda and I are escorted to the territory of the easternmost huddle. Anneke, its leader, meets us under the tall trees on the riverside and welcomes me with a curious tilt of her head. “I hope you know what you got yourself into,” she tells me. When Koen and Saul get out of the front seats, she bows her head. “Alpha. I’ll take her from here.”
“Yeah. Give us a minute.”
Anneke and Amanda take a step back, and Saul feels my upper arm for the GPS tracker embedded in my flesh. “Still doesn’t hurt?”
I shake my head.
“Good. It’s a little bit reddened, but that’s for the best, since it’ll make it easier to notice for Irene. If it hurts- “
“Shut it, Saul,” Koen grumbles. “She’s an adult Were and doesn’t need you fussing over her.”
Saul’s eyebrow perks up. “Excuse me,
Alpha. I must have misheard when you threatened to chain her to the radiator to prevent her from stubbing her toe.”
“She is my mate,” Koen snarls. “I get to treat her like she’s made of mother- of- pearl.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply