Twenty Two

Twenty Two

Daniel’s POV

The old cabin in a desolate area of our land had become our regular meeting spot, far enough from the pack house that no one would cast suspicious eyes on us but near enough that it could still be passed off as normal border patrols. I got there first, of course, and scoped out the area for signs that we might have been tailed while I waited on Shirley.

Twenty minutes later she returned, gliding through the trees with a degree of stealth that was impressive for someone recovering from childbirth. The sweet little Luna mask was nowhere to be found – there stood the cunning woman that I’d learned to both respect and fear.

"Any word from your contacts?" she said flat-out, seating herself on the hard wooden bench I'd placed before the door.

I opened up a leather portfolio of reports from the network we’d been constructing so carefully. “Another three have also indicated their interest in our proposal. Alpha Garrett from the Northern Slopes is especially itching—seems he’s been waiting to give Godric a run for his money over territory for years.”

Shirley’s smile had nothing nice in it. "Perfect. What about the Eastern Alliance?"

"More cautious, but not opposed. They also are waiting to see how our first steps go before committing resources.” Over the slapdash table between us, I opened a territorial map. "If we can show Godric's ass is hanging out in the breeze, that he's got an infatuation with your… step mother here, they'll jump into the loop.”

The word “stepmother” felt odd in my mouth. Technically true, since Shirley was having sex with Ryan and Freya was pregnant with his child, but it didn’t really convey the bitter cross currents of hatred and rivalry between them.

“She is a risk to my office, not just the position,” Shirley said, tapping patterns on the map with one manicured finger. “She is the epitome of everything that is wrong with today’s power structure. A former handmaiden who believes she’s better than she is, a woman who eliminates one alpha only to pounce on another.”

I nodded, but to myself I thought the dialogue that was supposed to have occurred on other subjects was as much about personal rejection as political philosophy. Godric's mate had chosen her enemy's ex before she'd picked her own child'”emdash;a snub no one would be likely to forget.

“The issue is timing,” I said, returning the discussion to real-world considerations. “We need to make our move before they settle too much, but not so quickly that we look like we are moving out of pure emotion.”

"Let me worry about the timing," Shirley said mysteriously. I have an idea that will be good for more than one thing at a time. But first, we need to make sure Ryan is in the right… mindset.”

This was the part of our alliance that I hated most. Playing with pack politics was one thing – I could justify that as looking out for SilverFang. What I was, however, willing to do was use my own Alpha’s twisted psychology against me in ways I had never before considered.

“He’s been decent since he dropped the challenge,” I said grudgingly. I know, these days I like you two and it's enough for me! The guilt remains, but he’s handling it.”

“Stable isn’t what we want,” Shirley said, something close to contempt in his voice. “Stable isn’t going to get him into the kind of trouble the game requires for him to take back what he is owed. We'll need him desperate, angry, sure that Freya's in danger and only he can save her.”

She held out a sealed envelope from her cloak. This has to do with some... supernatural means here and there that some Alphas are using to keep their mates in line. Techniques which would account for Freya’s sudden change of character and only too apparent satisfaction with her present lot.

I stared at the envelope as though it was laced with poison. Are you saying Godric's using magic to make her feel, guilty enough to be manipulated by a vampire?

I’m saying Ryan might think that,” Shirley replied with fake innocence. “Particularly if he’s shown the right evidence at the right time, by someone who is completely trusted by him.”

The implication was that she wanted me to lie to Ryan, to feed him a line about supernatural compulsion, and get him to buy that Freya's seeming happiness had been forced. It was the cruelest form of manipulation, as it preyed on his sense of guilt and remaining love to push him towards actions that would likely lead to his death.

“This is not about politics,” I murmured. “This is vengeance, personally motivated vengeance that may destroy everything we’ve built here.”

Shirley's expression hardened. “Everything I have spent my life building came crashing down when my father chose that woman over his own blood. Now, I'm just adjusting to new realities and new opportunities.”

She bent towards her, violet eyes – exactly like her father's – flashing cold fire. "I want to tell you what really is happening here, Daniel. The only Alpha to have the second most powerful pack is Godric Nathaniel 's. He wields power over half the continent: trade deals, boundary lines, political alliances. Not that kind of power shouldn’t be in the hands of someone who lets mating bonds dictate and romantic obsessions rule."

“And so, you think you could handle it better?” I inquired, though I already knew the response.

“I think a coalition of allied packs could wield it better,” she corrected. “Power sharing, democratic decision making, leadership by merit rather than accident of birth or supernatural enmeshment.”

It was a sexy notion — a new power structure that might restore order and equity to the jungle of pack politics. “But I couldn’t forget the private motivations behind her so-called idealism.”

"What about Ryan?" I asked. "What about the SilverFang Pack? What about us in this new order you’re charting?”

"Ryan will be heading the coalition if he makes it through his transition period," Shirley deadpanned. "SilverFang will represent one of the founding fathers/founders of this new alliance, and he will have a major 'say' in how future developments come to pass. Just ignore that rather odd little man and you will be well-rewarded for your loyalty and help."

"And if Ryan doesn't survive?"

Her smile was cutting like ice in winter. "Then it will go to Miu with me being her regent until she grows up. Either way, SilverFang will be safe and prosper."

I fixed my gaze on her, finally understanding the size of her dreams. This was more than just about taking down Freya or even bringing Godric to his knees. This was shaping an entire political world of our own, with Shirley at the pivot of whatever came out of Bedlam.

"You've had this in mind for more than just the last few months," I noticed aloud.

“I’ve been plotting this the whole time I was old enough to know what power actually meant,” she confessed. "My father taught me that might was all, and the weak deserved whatever they got. He just never thought I’d apply those lessons to our own relationship.”

And I should have been appalled that she had admitted to lying to me for so long. I was, instead, struck by the sheer ballsiness of her vision. She’d been playing a game the rest of us had never even noticed was in existence.

"What do you need from me?" I inquired, conceding that this was no longer just about pack politics and had actually spiraled into something far greater and more dangerous.

“Keep forging your network of alliances,” she ordered, rolling up the map. "Concentrate on Alphas who resent Godric's civilizing influence or have turf battles with them that could be leveraged to favor the brood. Offer them a voice in the new order, but we must not share our complete vision."

She gave me the sealed letter. “And start getting Ryan mentally ready for what’s going to happen. Sow seeds of doubt about what's really happening with Freya; question whether she's being supernaturally coerced, worry that the child she's carrying may be born and grow up influenced by their enemy.”

I accepted the envelope, it felt heavy in my hand, as though a physical weight hung within. “When are we going into the severe phase?”

“Soon,” she said, getting up to go. “I’m waiting for that genuine provocation, something to justify aggressive action and win support from our allies. But when we do, we will need to act quickly and purposefully.”

As she disappeared into the forest, I walked back to the cabin and looked at it again: what had I gotten myself into? A part of me still felt like we were doing something to save SilverFang and Ryan's life. But a larger part understood that we had crossed lines that would not be easy to uncross.

The conspiracy had blossomed into something new entirely, precipitated by factors that were more than mere loyalty or pack politics. Shirley’s prospect of a new world order was seductive, but it would be erected on the bones of everything we’d known before.

Shoving the envelope into my jacket, I started with a brisk pace towards packlands, wondering whether I was doing this to lead to something better or if I was facilitating the complete obliteration of everyone that I'd pledged to protect.

Either way, there was no turning back now.