Chapter 92 Chapter 0092
•NADIA•
"You've done it, Nadia," Ronan whispered in the morning against my ear after we were done fucking. "The pack is now yours, and I have a plan in motion to make sure that Mason dies in the dungeons."
"I have waited for that for so long," I groaned as I sat up and put on my gown. "Mason being alive will spread rumors that I overthrew him. Many of our allies will abandon Silvercrest. We won't have enough food supplies and weapons."
"I told you that I would back you up in whatever you need," Ronan answered as he got off the bed. "My pack is blessed with fertile land. Our harvests are enough to feed three or more packs."
"Yes, your harvests may be enough for us as well, but we have always wanted to be self-reliant. That's how things were a few years ago. Other packs depended on us for their food supplies."
"If you want better machinery for planting and plowing the land, then you will have that," he replied, taking my hands into his. "But once we bring our packs together, there would be no need for you to worry about being self-reliant."
I thought about what he said for a moment. We had discussed this so many times before I became Alpha and I had never really given it much thought.
It was a sweet concept to bring our packs together, but now that I was already where I had always wanted to be, I couldn't see the bigger picture clearly.
Ronan was a good man in many ways, but running the pack alongside him would feel the same as it did when I was Luna beside Mason. Second in everything. Consulted but not commanding.
I didn't want that again.
I wanted to be in control of my own pack and make it work on my own terms. I had not spent years dismantling Mason's authority only to hand half of it to another man.
I opened my mouth to tell Ronan that I needed more time to think about the merging when a knock came at the bedroom door.
"Come in," I said.
The door opened, and Gia stepped inside. "Alpha, the Gamma is downstairs. He is asking to speak with you. He says it is urgent."
I looked at Ronan. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Tell him I will be down shortly," I replied.
Gia nodded and pulled the door closed behind her.
I dressed up and pinned my hair back and checked my reflection once before leaving the room.
The Gamma was standing in the living room when I arrived.
His name was Edric and he had served Silvercrest for fourteen years. He had always been more loyal to the institution of the pack than to any individual leading it, which made him both useful and occasionally inconvenient.
Today appeared to be the inconvenient kind.
He turned when I entered and dipped his head slightly. "Alpha."
"Edric," I replied, sitting in the chair across from where he stood and crossing one leg over the other. "What brings you here this early?"
He held his hands behind his back. "I will be direct if you will allow it."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Mason Thorne is in the dungeon cells," he said. "He is the rightful Alpha of Silvercrest, declared by blood and by the pack bond at the time of his ascension. What happened in the courtyard last night was not a legitimate transfer of power under the pack law. So, I am asking you to release him."
I looked at him and chuckled.
"Edric," I said. "How long have your children been attending the medic's school?"
He blinked. "Seven years."
"Free of charge," I added. "Because of the provision made for ranked members' families under pack welfare arrangements." I tilted my head. "And your family's housing. That also falls under ranked member benefits, doesn't it?"
His jaw tightened. "It does."
"Those provisions exist at the discretion of the Alpha," I continued. "Which means they exist at my discretion. If you continue to question my position, Edric, your children will be withdrawn from the medic's school by the end of the week. Your housing allocation will be reviewed. And your title, along with every benefit attached to it, will be reconsidered at the next council meeting."
He didn't answer.
"Mason Thorne is a former Alpha who refused to cooperate with a legitimate council decision," I continued. "He is being held for his own safety and for the stability of this pack during a transition period." I stood up. "That is the official position of this office and it will remain so. Do we understand each other?"
Edric looked at me for a long moment. Then he dipped his head again. Shorter than before.
"We understand each other," he answered.
"Good," I replied. "Give my regards to your family."
He turned and walked out without another word.
I listened to his footsteps cross the entrance hall and the front door close behind him.
Then I went to see Mason.
The dungeon cells were beneath the eastern wing of the pack house.
Ronan came with me, carrying a bottle of water in one hand with the casual ease of someone doing something entirely ordinary.
I didn't ask about the water.
Mason was sitting against the far wall of the cell when the guard opened it. His wrists were bound and there was dried blood at his temple from where he had connected with the stone during last night's struggle.
He said nothing when he lifted his eyes and saw me.
I stepped inside and the guard remained at the door.
"You should have declared me as your Alpha," I said. "In the courtyard last night. It would have been so much better for everyone."
"Better for you," he scoffed.
"For you as well," I said. "You would be in your bed right now instead of on that floor."
He looked at me as his jaw tightened. His mouth was dry after being denied water and food the entire night and morning.
Ronan stepped forward and crouched in front of Mason, extending the water bottle.
"Here, I brought you a bottle of water." Ronan offered him the bottle. "It's going to be a long day."
Mason looked at the bottle, then at Ronan, and then at me. But he said nothing.
Ronan set the bottle on the ground in front of him and straightened up.
"Think about what I said," I told Mason. "Declaring me costs you less than you think. Fighting me will cost you considerably more."
He still didn't answer.
I turned and walked out, and Ronan followed me. The guard locked the door behind us.
We walked back down the corridor in silence until we reached the stairwell. Then Ronan slowed down and turned to me, lowering his voice.
"He will be dead in a few hours," he muttered. "The job is done."
I smirked. "Thank you."
By morning, the last obstacle between me and everything I had built would be gone.
And Silvercrest would finally, completely, irrevocably be mine.