Chapter 49 An Alliance
Simone Pov
The big sports game was exactly the kind of event I normally loved attending. There was so much energy and excitement in the air. There was the chance to perform in front of hundreds of people. But today I wasn't here for any of that. Today I had a different purpose. A more important mission.
I stood with the rest of the cheer squad on the sidelines. We had just finished performing our routine. The crowd was cheering loudly for us. Our team was winning. Everything seemed perfect. Except I couldn't focus on any of it.
My mind was completely focused on the meeting I was about to have. I was thinking about the person I was about to see. I was thinking about the plan that was finally coming together after months of careful preparation.
"Great job everyone," our captain said enthusiastically. "Take a break now. Get some water. We'll do another routine in the third quarter."
Perfect timing. I grabbed my water bottle and walked toward the locker rooms like I was going to the bathroom. But once I was out of sight from the squad I changed direction completely. I headed toward the parking lot instead. Toward the quiet area where nobody would see us. Where nobody would be able to overhear our conversation.
He was already there when I arrived. He was leaning against a red car that looked incredibly expensive. Too expensive for a college student to own. But then again Jace Ryder had always had money. He had always had everything.
He looked exactly like I remembered from the files my father had shown me. He was tall and athletic and handsome in that obvious way that made girls stupid. He was Silverthorn College's sports captain. He was Maddie's ex boyfriend. He was the perfect weapon.
"Simone Hendrix I presume," Jace said when he saw me approaching. His smile was slow and sharp like a knife. "Right on time."
"Jace Ryder," I said. I extended my hand toward him. We shook hands firmly. His grip was confident. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me."
"Well your message was very intriguing," Jace said. He leaned back casually against his car and crossed his arms. "Something about mutual interests. About someone we both have reason to dislike."
"Maddie Vale," I said. I got straight to the point because there was no reason to dance around it. "Your ex girlfriend. She's here. At Keane College. She's been hiding."
Jace's expression changed immediately. The casual smile disappeared completely. His eyes went hard and cold. "Maddie is here? At your school?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "She transferred here at the beginning of the year. She's been keeping a very low profile. She's been pretending to be wolfless. She's been staying invisible."
"Wolfless," Jace repeated. He laughed but the sound was sharp and bitter. "That's absolutely rich. Maddie isn't wolfless at all. She's a white wolf. The rarest kind that exists. She's just hiding it from everyone."
"I suspected as much," I said. Though hearing it confirmed sent a thrill of excitement through me. This was even better than I had hoped. "Her scent is far too strong for someone without a wolf."
"So what's your interest in her?" Jace asked. "What do you want with my ex girlfriend?"
"She's a problem," I said simply. "She's trying to take something that belongs to me. Someone who belongs to me. And I need her gone permanently."
"Let me guess," Jace said. His smile returned. "Some guy. She's always been good at stealing guys who weren't hers to take."
"Calix Hawthorne," I said. "My fiance. The future Alpha of the Crescent Pack. We've been betrothed since childhood. But Maddie showed up and suddenly he can't stop looking at her. He can't stop saving her. He can't stop caring about her."
"So you want her gone," Jace said. "Permanently I'm assuming."
"That's where you come in," I said. "You know her. You know how she thinks. You know her weaknesses. You can help me get rid of her in a way that doesn't trace back to either of us."
"And what do I get out of this arrangement?" Jace asked. "Why should I help you? What's in it for me exactly?"
"Revenge," I said simply. "She broke up with you. She embarrassed you. She made you look like a fool in front of your whole school. Don't you want to make her pay for that?"
Jace's jaw clenched visibly. A muscle twitched in his cheek. I had hit a nerve. Good. Angry people were easy to manipulate. Easy to use for my purposes.
"She walked in on me with Lila," Jace said. "She caught us in bed together. She ended our relationship on the spot. I haven't seen her since that day."
"So she humiliated you," I said. "She made you feel small. She made you feel replaceable. Don't you want to return the favor?"
"What exactly are you proposing?" Jace asked. He was interested now. I could see it clearly in his eyes. I could hear it in his voice. The hook was set. I just needed to reel him in.
"I need her scared," I said. "I need her isolated. I need her vulnerable. You're from her old school. You're someone she knows. Someone she trusts in a twisted way. You can get close to her in ways I can't."
"Which is?" Jace asked.
"An accident," I said. "Something tragic. Something nobody would question. A wolf who couldn't control her shift. A training incident gone wrong. A fall from a high place. Something clean. Something that can't be traced back to us."
Jace was quiet for a long moment. He was thinking. He was calculating. He was weighing his options. I could see the wheels turning in his head. I could see him considering it seriously.
"How do I know I can trust you?" he finally asked. "How do I know you won't turn on me once Maddie is gone? Use me as a scapegoat?"
"Because we're in this together," I said. "If I go down then you go down. If you get caught then I get caught. We both have too much to lose. That's what makes us perfect partners."
"Partners," Jace said. He tested the word on his tongue. "I like the sound of that."
"So do we have a deal?" I asked. I extended my hand again toward him. "We work together to remove Maddie Vale from both our lives permanently?"
Jace looked at my hand. Then he looked at my face. His smile was slow and sharp. It was full of bad intentions and worse plans. "Yeah. We have a deal."