Chapter 78 Three High-Value Targets
Aurora's POV
One week after Ryan and I both enrolled at Silverstone University, the most prestigious institution in Silverstone Pack. I wore a custom white dress, the limited-edition handbag Matilda had gifted me swinging from my arm as I made my way across the main courtyard.
Silk's notification chimed in my mind with perfect timing. "Target Jasper Smith's favorability increased by 1 point. Current rating: 57 points, approaching passing threshold."
I allowed myself a small smile as I adjusted the strap of my bag, knowing that Jasper—student council president, heir to one of the most influential families in the Council—had just watched me walk past his usual morning spot near the fountain. His family controlled massive resources and their luck pool was substantial enough to sustain my needs for months if I played this correctly.
I had already identified three high-value targets within the university. I'd used luck drained from Nolan to activate an "enhanced first impression" buff that made each of them notice me with unusual interest during our initial encounters.
Silk interrupted my planning with a tone that carried genuine concern. "This week's luck consumption has exceeded the standard limit by 120%. Nolan Sterling's luck pool has reached critical depletion threshold."
I felt a flash of irritation. Nolan's usefulness had officially run its course after Edwin had demoted him to some meaningless position in pack administration, which meant his already-depleted luck reserves were now barely worth the effort of maintaining our connection, and I needed to shift my focus to more productive sources before the whole operation stalled out.
I must return to the pack house this weekend to replenish. Keep Jasper's interest warm but don't let him get too close yet. I need him wanting more, not satisfied.
Ryan was waiting at the campus gates when my afternoon classes ended, leaning against his car with that perpetual shadow of discontent that had become his default expression ever since whatever had happened between us.
As I slid into the passenger seat I was already running through my mental spreadsheet of who still had enough fortune left to drain without causing immediate suspicion.
The drive back gave me time to review my assets and liabilities with the cold precision that had kept me ahead of every obstacle so far. Nolan was finished—stripped down to bare minimum luck and shunted aside by Edwin, which meant any further extraction would yield diminishing returns that weren't worth the risk of exposure.
Ryan's favorability had dropped to 61 points after months of careful cultivation, and while that was still technically usable, the amount of luck I could safely siphon from him had decreased proportionally, making him a secondary source at best.
James had been written off completely after his luck pool proved too unstable to drain consistently, leaving him as nothing more than occasional cover for my real activities.
Matilda represented a more complex problem. Last time I'd pulled a significant amount from her, she'd ended up bedridden for two weeks. Another incident so soon would definitely trigger Elara and Sebastian's suspicion. I needed Matilda's goodwill intact. She was my primary shield against family scrutiny.
That left Moira as my best option for immediate replenishment. Moira had been a second-tier actress before she'd met Edwin through some music collaboration project, and she'd married into the Alpha family with the kind of calculated social climbing that I actually respected on a professional level.
Her position had never been entirely secure because she wasn't Edwin's fated mate and pack politics could be ruthlessly judgmental about such arrangements, so she'd spent years carefully building relationships with every family member who might support her status, and when she'd noticed how much Matilda favored me, Moira had immediately recognized an opportunity to secure an influential ally.
The turning point had come when I was fifteen and Moira had been competing with another Alpha's wife for an antique jewelry set at a charity auction, and I'd used a carefully timed luck drain on her rival to ensure Moira won the bidding war at a fraction of the expected price.
She'd been so grateful and amazed by the "coincidence" that I'd started manufacturing similar incidents regularly—exclusive shopping opportunities that appeared out of nowhere, auction competitors who suddenly withdrew their bids, limited edition items that became available exactly when she wanted them—and Moira had eventually convinced herself that I possessed some kind of natural lucky aura that blessed anyone in my vicinity.
She'd become dependent on that belief, on the idea that having me around improved her fortune and social standing, and that dependence was exactly the kind of psychological leverage I needed to drain her luck pool without her ever suspecting the real reason behind her occasional mysterious fatigue.
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Moira's POV
I woke at six in the morning on Saturday, and I went straight to the kitchen to personally supervise the preparation of Aurora and Ryan's favorite dishes because today had to go perfectly if I wanted Aurora's help with my problem.
"Mama!" Sophie appeared in the kitchen doorway with her lower lip trembling in that way that usually preceded tears or tantrums. "You promised we'd go to the amusement park today! You said we'd ride the new roller coaster and get cotton candy and—"
"Sweetheart, I know," I interrupted gently, crouching down to her level and smoothing her sleep-tangled hair with maternal affection that was only partially calculated. "But Grandma wants to see Aurora and Ryan today, and you know how important family time is, right? I promise we'll go next weekend instead, just you and me, and we'll stay twice as long."
Sophie's face crumpled with disappointment that made guilt twist in my chest, but I couldn't afford to let her derail my carefully constructed plans for today, not when I needed Aurora's influence so desperately for what I was about to propose.
"Sophie, darling, I need you to do something for me," I said, standing and taking her hand to lead her toward the study wing. "Take this fruit platter to your Uncle Sebastian and tell him good morning. Can you do that for Mama?"
Her eyes widened with fear that she didn't bother hiding. "But Uncle Sebastian is scary! He never smiles and he always looks angry and I don't want to—"
"He's not scary, sweetheart, he's just serious because he has important responsibilities," I said with more patience, because I needed her to make a good impression on Sebastian. "Just be polite and sweet like I taught you, and he'll appreciate the gesture. Go on now."
I watched her reluctantly take the crystal plate and trudge toward the study.
The sound of a car in the driveway sent me hurrying to the front entrance, and I positioned myself on the portico with a welcoming smile as Ryan's vehicle pulled to a stop and Aurora emerged looking radiant in her expensive dress, her laugh carrying clearly as she said something to Ryan that I couldn't quite hear from this distance.
Ryan's response was barely visible—just a slight nod and an expression that remained flat and distant in that way he'd developed over the past year—and I thought again how remarkable it was that Aurora maintained such patience with her moody brother when most people found him too uncomfortable to engage with for long.
"What are you two chatting about so happily?" I called out as I descended the steps, genuinely curious about what could make Aurora so animated.
Ryan's face went rigid the moment I spoke, and I saw him glance at Aurora with something that looked almost like trapped desperation before he clamped his mouth shut and stared at the ground. Aurora smoothly deflected my attention by linking her arm through mine and launching into an entertaining story about a professor's mishap during lecture, and we walked into the house together while Ryan remained frozen on the driveway for several seconds before finally following us inside with his shoulders hunched.
In the sitting room, I poured tea and let Aurora finish her university anecdotes before I introduced my real agenda, keeping my tone casual as I mentioned the variety show invitation. "I received an invitation from a program called 'Where Are They Now: Starlight Memories'—one of those nostalgia shows that interviews actresses who've retired from the screen. They want to do a feature on my acting career before I married into the family."
I didn't really want to accept this kind of publicity, but I desperately needed a legitimate excuse to travel to the filming location next week, because Sebastian would be in Crescent Bay at the same time for pack business meetings, and this might be my only chance to engineer a private conversation with him away from the pack house and Edwin's watchful presence.