Chapter 31 Played for Filth
❀ Maeve ❀
While the men exchanged strategy and differing ideas on curbing the vampire threat, I sat in my own world, frozen.
Had I allowed myself to be brainwashed and seduced by a vampire who claimed me for the sole purpose of turning me to his side?
To be his accomplice. Against my own kind.
He hadn’t even sought my permission before savaging my neck in a claiming bite.
I stopped myself before my hand rose to touch the mark hidden under my hair.
IronWolf had no connection to Maverick Graves, and I’d offered to commit treason to help the vampire cause.
I shifted in my seat. If this ever got out, I’d be executed.
Bastian’s husky voice brought me back to the present. “My intelligent mate has a lead.”
All eyes turned on me.
I stared at Bastian, my eyes wide.
“During her time in BlackBridge, she established communications with a vampire. By pretending to desire the fall of IronWolf due to her former status as a rogue, she has the vampire’s trust—and ear.”
I blanched.
“She’ll lure the vampire. Then we strike.”
Bastian was using me to get to Nikolai.
He’d put my crime out here, daring me to refute it. Daring me to go along with it.
I had the table’s rapt attention.
Alpha Mordane stared hard.
“Y-yes, I confided everything to Prince Bastian, and he came up with the idea.”
“Yes, mate,” he grinned, eyes glinting. “You’ll deliver the leech into my waiting hands.”
He chugged more mead, his eyes on me the whole time. My stomach tightened.
“Remember, ask questions first, shred last,” Alpha Mordane asserted, voice firm.
Heat bloomed in my chest as I tightly intertwined my fingers for control.
And so what if Nikolai had lied to me? Of course he didn’t trust me—I was on the side of the enemy. Who could blame him, when the wolves were so two-faced?
Alpha Mordane had captured and tortured Queen Lyssa. It was said the war had been his fault. Wolves had hunted vampires over territory wars in BlackBridge from time immemorial.
The vampires had retaliated, only to lose their queen. And now a madman had her preserved blood, using it to create ferals.
Of course the vampires sought to destroy Graves and IronWolf.
What was worse, the vampires were wasting time with vengeance on Alpha Mordane, thinking he was in league with Graves, when they should be focused on finding Graves himself.
In fact, Graves might just be an independent instigator and both factions were trying to take advantage of his actions.
My mind fired at the realization.
Must gain more information.
Addressing Alpha Mordane directly, I spoke up. “Alpha, if I may…”
The men quieted to look at me once again.
Alpha Mordane shifted his pupils without turning his head. Commander Leif seemed to be seeing me properly for the first time and didn’t like what he saw.
Ashar and the others looked shocked that I’d directly addressed the Alpha.
“The Princess Consort shows interest in the politics of the court,” Alpha Mordane mused. “Indulge us—what plagues you?”
I squared my shoulders.
“Since the vampiric throne is in jeopardy due to the stolen essence of their late queen, what stops you from invading their lands? To finish what you started once and for all?”
The chatter in the main hall reduced, and I knew the others were eavesdropping.
“Whatever do you mean, child?” A wry smile played on the Alpha’s face. “We’ve never been interested in their lands or politics. Not even now that their regent balances their realm in unsteady hands.”
I found that hard to believe, even as something in his voice rang true.
But he was interested in something. I could see it in his already blanking eyes.
“Forgive my mate’s ignorance, Alpha. She was raised outside the pack, where rumors run rampant,” Bastian gritted beside me.
Keeping my gaze forward, I refused to look at him.
“Be sure to bring her up to speed. She boasts a sharp mind,” Alpha said.
Soon, he seemed to look past me, not at me.
Where did his mind always go off to?
My eyes dropped to the thick chain holding a large amulet on his chest.
The red gem swirled like a live thing, pulsing when the Alpha was vacant, and dulling when he was lucid.
My skin pricked as my mind fought to make a connection with everything else going on, but I managed to drag my gaze away.
The rest of breakfast passed in a blur. I studiously ignored Bastian’s unwavering attention on me while Commander Leif and the four soldiers on the dais discussed more politics.
Despite my earlier ravenous hunger, I couldn’t eat more than a few wings of chicken.
Could I trust Nikolai’s word? What if he truly was using me, and the tale about Drusilla was false—a way to keep me away from his precious life in Veilmoor?
And Bastian definitely knew something. He couldn’t know about the claiming mark… or could he?
I imagined I wouldn’t still be alive, pondering the chances of him knowing, if he already did.
Why then would he still keep me close—and alive?
Against better judgment, I snuck a glance in his direction, only to meet his glowering blue gaze.
I hurriedly averted my eyes.
Okay, I’ve had enough—
In a soft voice, I cut into the conversation.
“My sincerest thanks for the meal, Alpha, and for accepting me into the pack. Would you please permit me leave to attend training?”
With a disinterested glance, Alpha Mordane waved me away.
I gave a polite bow to him and the rest of the table, then rose.
I couldn’t leave the dais fast enough.
Outside the hall, I leaned against a wall, my chest heaving desperate breaths.
My heart raced.
Caught between the devil and a hard place.
Could I betray one mate for the other?
I still had my mother to search for, and no one to trust. If I told Bastian about her, he might use her against me to get to Nikolai.
And if I helped Nikolai, what would I get out of it aside from a damp, candle-lit cave and great sex?
My fists clenched.
Why should I play their games? I had so much to sacrifice and everything to lose.
No.
Unbeknownst to my mates, the rules of the game had just changed.
I’d play them for filth.
And neither would see it coming.