Cheryl’s POV
I still can’t believe that son of a bitch actually had the nerve to kick us out of the pack like that. Dad said that it would never come to Brandon doing anything to us. That there was no way that Brandon would be able to figure it out. Dad had never thought that Brandon was fit to be the Alpha of Black Adder. Dad had been planning for years to take over and at first, it looked like it would work. My best friend, Harper Logan, and I had gone around the pack, talking to each other and speaking about how much I wanted to be Luna and help protect the pack. To help take the extra weight off of Brandon, if only he would let me. By letting numerous people “overhear” our conversation we managed to get half the pack to support me being the next Luna. If only Brandon was as easy to lead. We would just start over with the script as we made our rounds around the pack. In various areas like in training, at our meals, and anywhere we could in the packhouse, we were mentioning the problems with Brandon, and how these screw-ups were because he did not care about his pack because he was so focused on trying to find his mate.
We had to put in extra work after we found out that Brandon had actually found his mate. Overhearing a conversation, I heard that he was going to allow her to stay where she was as he got the packhouse ready for her. I had to step up my game, as he had not announced that his mate had been located, and we needed the pack to apply more pressure. Our argument was going to be that I already knew this pack and cared much more about it than a stranger would. He just didn’t announce that she had been found to very many, I feel like he accidentally let it slip to dad that day when dad had confronted him about him threatening me. I knew that Brandon was angry with us lately, but he never said anything about knowing what we had done. I felt so happy when I was invited to the meeting. I really thought that he was going to let me be his Luna. He cares so much for his pack members anyone could tell he did, but people are so quick to judge and believe without always getting the facts straight, and that was what really worked out for us.
I may not have loved Brandon, but I sure as hell wanted to sleep with him. He was delicious and every girl's dream. His dark brown hair was made to run your fingers through, and those soft chocolate-brown eyes made you want to stare into them all day. He had little gold flecks in them, but you had to be really close to be able to see them. At 6’4” he was solid muscle and he trained hard. His chest and six-pack were drool-worthy, but his legs were what always got me. Seeing those corded thighs and calves got me wet every time. Just thinking about his leg strength as I imagined him pounding into me. I wanted him, and I wanted him pretty badly. Bad enough to drive away any she-wolf bold enough to try to get close to him. They were not worthy of him, so Harper and I made sure we cleared away any potential threat to keep me from getting him.
When dad told me about his mate being found I kicked myself for not just following them there to the mall. Brandon seemed pissed at me, so I decided to give him a little space. How in the hell could I have known that he would be finding out who his mate was? I mean Brandon is 24, I really thought that his mate had been killed or something by now, claimed by another wolf. I was really hoping that happened at least. I have been lining him up for the last few years, even before he took over dad had made this plan up. I was sure he was going to be my mate, as I wanted him so much. Harper and I used to stay in the tree line and watch him and Truett train the warriors. They were both flawless, and easy on the eyes, but Brandon was going to be Alpha, and that made him even more handsome in my eyes. Truett would only be a backup if I couldn’t get Brandon into our trap. It was so frustrating, as every time I thought we would get him in it, he managed to get out. I think that dad was wrong in thinking that Brandon wasn’t smart. He had to be to avoid the fallout of everything that we were doing. I just couldn’t let this go. I had heard the rumor, I knew who his mate was supposed to be, and dad had made other plans to try to get him to just choose me. I refuse to give him up when we were this close.
I was absolutely furious when I saw the packets he had put together, we knew we had been found out and were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Dad thought that everything had been done in secret. That it could never be traced back to us. Neither of us knew that when you logged in, it changed the access code to whoever the last person to make adjustments to it was shown. Dad had told me to stay quiet while he handled it, but Brandon was prepared, and he wasn’t going to let it go. I honestly was not aware of the amount of money that he had to spend on correcting the problems. When he tells the pack members about it, they will hate us. Brandon had made big plans for the pack. He wanted us to grow and prosper, he had made promises, and when he didn’t deliver they got pretty angry about it. When he makes the announcement, they are going to be pissed off at me and my dad, so it was best we leave. I just wish I had paid more attention to it now, it is too late, and we are rogues now.
Dad was mad at me for begging Brandon to let me stay, but I knew as soon as I left it was all over with, I will have lost him forever and the thought of that was very upsetting. Dad mindlinked me and told me to just get into the car, that we were done here, but that it wasn’t over just yet. He had a plan, and I listened to him. Dad was good with plans, he probably knew the second we walked into the meeting what was going to happen and started thinking up a way around it. I have faith in him and followed him for about 40 minutes until we came up to a gate. I have never been here before, but we were allowed entry onto their land, and that was a good thing. I didn’t want to be a rogue. It would be better to live in the human world than to be a rogue. We needed to be around others, to socialize with them. We lose our human side and become more and more feral if we don’t have a pack or group of people around us. This gave me a sigh of relief.
I was so angry at Leander, he was a part of this family, and even though he was not a part of what dad, and I did, he should have been forced to come with us too. I guess he wanted that Gamma position more than he wanted his own family, what a freaking traitor. I hope he gets killed in a rogue attack for betraying his own blood. Who else could be more important to him than us? I mean dad and mom took care of him for his whole freakin life and now that he is about to turn 18, he goes and pulls this? I narrow my eyes as I think of a way to pay him back as we drive up to our new packhouse. It is nice, nowhere near as big as our old pack. Black Adder had well over 1,000 members in it. This pack looked to be about half the size of it, but it was still nice. I parked behind dad and got out of my car to see four people coming down the stairs toward us.
“Silas, good to see you again. I am so sorry to hear you ran into difficulties at your pack, but I am glad you thought of us here as an option. I happen to have a Gamma position available right now. I need my pack trained, and up to speed as soon as you can start actually. I see you have your wife, Billie, with you. It is always a pleasure to see her, oh, is this your daughter? It is a pleasure to meet you” the Alpha said to me as he headed to shake hands with dad, mom and then turned to me to speak.
“I am his daughter, Cheryl, it is a pleasure to meet you all. It is very nice to be here. We are excited about being able to join a new pack and proud to be here. You have a lovely packhouse” I gave them a compliment, people love to be complimented, and it is the first step to working our way into potentially taking over here. I have no idea where we are, but the Alpha, although radiating strength and power, looks like he is about equal to my dad. I would bet money on my dad, as he is a force to be reckoned with in a fight.
“The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. This is my mate, and Luna, Cassandra. Our daughter Reagan, and her mate Justin. They will take over after they learn a little more about how to run a pack and have a few pups. You can call me Alpha Graham, and we are excited to have you join our pack. Welcome to the Silver Blade pack. We will get you settled into your rooms, and then have a pack meeting tonight to get you all accepted into the pack” he told me, and I nodded at him. I saw the small frown he had at my response to him, it was gone in an instant as he reacted to my words. I am going to back off now just in case he knew what I was doing. With him and dad being friends I would bet money that he knows the deal and knew what I was doing. Maybe dad is here because he is desperate and needs help, and was not trying to take over. I heard a small scoff from Justin when Alpha Graham had mentioned pups, and from the sound of it, he was not happy about his mate.
I glanced over at her, and Reagan is beautiful, just like her mother. He could do a lot worse on mates, so I don’t know what his problem is. We are usually very attractive as werewolves already, but this Reagan girl was stunning. She looked just like her mother, with her father’s eyes. I mean, I am attractive too, similar build and coloring with my blonde hair from my dad, and blue eyes like my mom, but she has me beat hands down. I decide to make friends with her. From how she is standing there on the steps and not coming down, just observing us. She is sending us all a message. She doesn’t welcome us here and doesn’t want us here. Her dad is doing it, and he does want us to be here. I wonder what he needs dad to do. From the looks of Justin, they are a pretty strong pack. We need to come in strong and make ourselves valuable to the Alpha family. Otherwise, when she and Justin take over, she is going to be booting us out of here, and quick. Then we might end up rogues. I need to make myself an asset as well. I refuse to be kicked out onto the streets.
It suddenly hit me, just where I heard the name of the pack Silver Blade from. Brandon’s mate that is being introduced at the ball was supposed to be from around here, but the gossip didn’t know the back story. I need to find out what is going on with that. I do not want him to just be living a happy and good life with his new mate after he ruthlessly booted us out of his pack. That didn’t seem fair to us at all. Why should she reap the rewards of being his mate when I tried to be Brandon’s? I even rejected my actual mate to see if I could get Brandon as my second chance mate. I did everything to try to get with him and failed. I cannot accept the fact that all my dreams were dashed like a boat onto rocks all because she was his true mate. I wanted him more, from what I had heard she didn’t even know about him just yet. So how would she even miss him if I managed to take him away? She could always find another man, he probably wouldn’t be as excellent as Brandon, but let's face it, he is special, A god among men. Goddess help me, I still wanted him, and would do anything to prevent her from getting him.
I need to befriend Reagan and see if she would be willing to help me out with this. I can’t let over three years of hard work trying to get Brandon as my chosen, go to waste. Not much was known about Alpha Cole’s daughter, other than she was being introduced tomorrow at the ball. No one really knew where she came from, what her name was yet, nothing. It was like some kind of a huge secret or something. I knew that Silver Blade was pretty close to Blood Walker. They may know what the whole story was, as they are neighbors, and maybe Reagan would be willing to help me out in this. I can at least ask, I am hoping that they may even be able to get us in there tomorrow too. That would be a big help, as I only have one more chance at getting him before it is a done deal. I can’t waste any opportunities, we have to act now. Because after they meet, I will lose him completely.
“Alpha Graham, I am sorry to ask, as I know we just got here. But are you going to attend the ball at Blood Walker tomorrow? I have to get in there, it will be my last chance to get Brandon Adams to be mine” I asked with my head bowed to him in respect. I will beg them if I have to, but I need any help that I can get.
“We are going to be going there tomorrow. Why do you need to get in there so badly? If Brandon is your mate, why are you so worried?” Alpha Graham asked me with interest. I could see Cassandra and Reagan step closer to me as they wanted to know as well. I have a 50/50 chance of getting their help, and I was desperate enough to go ahead and answer them truthfully and pray for the best.
“Brandon is not actually my mate, he is the Alpha of the Black Adder pack that we were just banished from. Dad and I were trying to get him to accept me as a chosen mate, but he refused to do it. Then he went out a few weeks ago and found out that Alpha Cole’s daughter is his mate. He is going to claim her tomorrow at the ball, I can’t let that happen. I have wanted him for years, for her to just come in and take him away from me like that. It isn’t fair, and if I don’t do something about it before he claims her, I will lose him” I told them and I can see that they are all stunned. I don’t know if they are upset, or willing to help me, but they all have shocked looks on their faces. Reagan is the first one to come to her senses and smiled at me, a real smile. I can see that she is going to help me out. I don’t know why, but I am glad for any help that I can get.
Reagan walks down the rest of the steps to me and said, “I will help you. I know exactly what we need to do to make your dream come true, and we will help you get it done. Dad, can we get Cheryl and Billie into the event with us, as part of our group? I think he might see Gamma Silas too quickly and know something is going on, but we can hide them until it is time for Cheryl to go to Brandon. I just need 10 minutes for the stuff to kick in, and then he should be putty in Cheryl’s hands. The Goddess has answered my prayers. I swear I won’t allow her to have a good life, if it is the last thing that I do, I won’t.”
I don’t know why she is helping me, and frankly, I really don’t care. I am just glad she is going to. I walked into the packhouse with her, and she takes me to my room. Her plan is brilliant, and I know it will work. I also know to leave her alone, she is vicious and not to be trusted. She then starts telling me an unbelievable story that I am sure is her version of what happened. I nod sympathetically at her as she tells her tragic tale of the girl that is to be Brandon’s mate. Raven is terrible and tried to steal Reagan’s true mate away from her because she found out that Alpha Cole is her father and not Alpha Graham. Apparently, Raven is also vicious and didn’t care about hurting her sister. I feel a little better about it now. I am saving Brandon from his true mate. She is a bad person, and he deserves a good person to run the pack with.
Reagan assures me that the drugs that she has access to, will help Brandon be able to relax and want to be with me. That I need to take him into a small room or closet and allow the drugs to work for me, and I will need a strapless dress so he will be able to mark me as soon as we have sex. She is very specific and positive that it will work. She is going to dose his drink and then give it to him. She has changed the plan to just having me come because with my mom there with us, our chances of being discovered increase. She has plans for me to get things moving tonight. I have to say, this girl, although completely evil, came up with a plan that I know will work. I have faith in it, and I look forward to getting the man of my dreams tomorrow. I am going to mark him back the second he gets through mating me because she said to not let it play out too long, we have a short window here to get it done. She will bring me in when the dose is about to kick in, and we need to get to work quickly. I am willing to do anything to make this work out for me and Brandon. He will be so happy once I show him how I saved him from a life with such a horrible person.
The Start of the Ball