Chapter 103 Smart Choice, Smart Plan

Chapter 103 Smart Choice, Smart Plan
Erick

In front of me, Scott didn't look like a proper grand Alpha who was completely untouchable anymore. He looked like a wounded monster, ready to tear anyone to pieces just to let out his pure frustration.

"Tell me, Erick! Who?!" Scott roared, his voice proper shaking with a mix of massive shock and pure rage after I dropped the initial info.

The echo of that growl didn't just come from his throat, but from the wolf inside him. This was brilliant. He'd completely taken the first bait I'd thrown out.

I could see Scott’s eyes flashing proper golden. His jaw clenched tight, and his fists were so squeezed that his knuckles turned white.

"Steady on, Alpha. If you lose your head right now, the traitor wins," I said, putting on a fake grimace.

I purposely kept my voice dead low and rational, a neat little tactic to mess with his judgment regarding the wolves around him. "We can't go rushing in without a plan."

"How the hell am I supposed to be calm?!" Scott lunged forward, grabbing the collar of my tactical gear proper rough. "Lulu’s out there suffering! And you’re telling me the bastard who ruined her is someone breathing the same air in my own territory? Give me a name, Erick! Give me the bloody details right now!"

His grip was deadly strong, but I kept my eyes locked onto his. As a secret spy who was actually loyal to Alpha Caspian, I had to play this role to absolute perfection.

Scott thought I was his most trusted elite hunter, when in reality, every single step I took in this pack was based on Caspian's orders to dig up every bit of valuable info straight from Luna Lulu’s enemies.

"The traitor isn't working alone, Alpha," I whispered. "According to my investigation, the bastard playing puppet master is right there in the ranks of the Elders, backed by the Sorcerer."

Scott flinched. His grip slowly loosened, and he stumbled back, looking proper gutted.

The reality that the snake in the grass was one of the very people meant to lead Emerald Earth absolutely shattered his pride.

He massaged his throbbing temples, and then his gaze randomly fell onto a brass cup sitting on his desk.

I remembered it clearly; just a few minutes before I hopped in through the window, Elder Ruth had strode out of this room after leaving behind a concoction she claimed was a stamina tonic to sort out the Alpha's energy.

Scott reached for the cup reflexively, intending to down it to steady his frayed nerves.

But my hunter instincts proper screamed at me.

Right before that thick, dark gunk touched Scott’s lips, I moved like bloody lightning and smacked his wrist hard.

The cup flew out of his hand, smashing onto the marble floor into tiny bits. The thick liquid inside splattered everywhere, oozing between the cold tiles.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Erick?!" Scott roared, his eyes flashing with pure rage at what he saw as massive disrespect.

I didn't give a toss about his shouting. The moment that thick liquid hit the open air, a bizarre scent wafted up.

It was proper strange—faint, sickeningly sweet, yet packed with such a sharp magical sting that it made my wolf's hairs stand on end.

I ignored Scott completely and knelt on the floor right by the puddle to check it out.

"Erick! I'm asking you for the traitor's name, and you're messing about with a bloody spilled drink—"

"Shut it for a second, Alpha!" I cut him off sharply.

I got my face close to the floor, sniffing the vapor rising from the thick muck. As an elite hunter who’d been around the shadiest dark territories, my nose never lied.

I was dead certain this wasn't an energy-boosting stamina tonic. From the scent alone, it was identical to the love potions brewed by the Sorcerer. Its effect slowly but surely eroded the target's free will, warping their true emotions through chemistry and magic. No matter how strong a mate bond was, it could still be completely ruined under that kind of intense magical pressure.

I stood up slowly, looking at Scott with a completely different gaze. "How often have you been drinking this stuff?"

Scott froze, his rage momentarily put on hold by my dead serious face. "What are you on about? Elder Ruth always brings it whenever I start feeling knackered or whenever my head gets proper messy."

Scott suddenly stopped mid-sentence, blinking repeatedly as if he was trying to dig up something trapped deep inside his own memory.

"When exactly, Alpha? Tell me," I pressed again.

"Every single time I started second-guessing my choices," Scott whispered, his voice suddenly going dead flat, losing all its fiery grit. "Every time I randomly missed Lulu, or whenever things felt numb and I wanted to get away from Leia. Elder Ruth would always pop in with this brew. And after having it, my head would sort itself out instantly."

Hearing that, every single piece of the puzzle clicked together perfectly in my mind.

"The absolute bastard," I spat, just to make sure Scott was entirely convinced. "This isn't a stamina tonic, Alpha Scott. It's a mind-manipulation potion. Someone's been drenching you in dark magic to control your feelings and your logic for bloody years."

I could see the massive, dramatic shift in his eyes.

Scott’s face went dead pale before turning a terrifying, furious crimson a split second later. His whole frame shook violently from the raw fury bursting out of his chest.

"Ruth..." Scott’s voice didn't even sound human anymore.

I could feel the raw power of the Alpha wolf surging inside him. Mind you, Luna Lulu was already the Luna of Alpha Caspian now, and as a hunter from Sapphire Water, I didn't feel a shred of sympathy for the bloke.

Scott started connecting all the dots that had been a total mess before. Seeing Scott completely broken, a brilliant, wicked plan began to form in my mind.

As Caspian’s spy, this situation was an absolute godsend. My job was to weaken Emerald Earth from the inside to keep Lulu and her baby safe. If I could get the Alpha and his highest Elder to tear each other apart, Alpha Caspian would easily be able to help Luna Lulu get her proper revenge.

"If you go charging at her now without any proof, the council of Elders will back her up and you'll just end up completely humiliated," I said, intentionally playing with his logic so he'd hold back and fall right into my scheme. "We need solid proof to take her down completely. As your trusted wolf, I reckon we should throw out a bit of bait for her."

Scott clenched his fists so hard his nails sliced right into his palms. But what bit of grit and logic he had left knew I was spot on.

With a massive struggle, he managed to shove his Alpha aura back down into his chest, even though his eyes were still burning red with pure hatred.

"I'll make her pay for every single drop of this suffering, Erick," Scott whispered, his voice sounding dead cold, like ice from bloody hell. He bent down, pulled out a silk handkerchief, and soaked up the leftover muck that hadn't sunk into the floor yet to keep as evidence. "I swear, she'll pay for everything she's done to me... and to Lulu."

I stood there with my arms crossed, hiding a cold smirk behind a completely blank face.

"Smart choice, Alpha."