Chapter 78

Sabrina POV

I traveled back to the Silverfang pack immediately, moving with ease through rogue-occupied spaces. They all knew me - and they all knew not to get in my way.

As I boarded the small plane waiting for me in a small, rarely-used airstrip I solidified my next few steps.

I needed to move up my plan to marry Nathan. The big, splashy wedding I’d been dreaming of wasn’t going to work. It would take too long, and I needed to become the Luna of Silverfang pack as soon as possible.

So I could get Nathan out of the picture quickly.

Part of me had worried about people seeing Nathan in the state the tea left him in, but now I was grateful so many of them had.

Remembering the concerned looks his staff exchanged at our most recent meeting, I decided it shouldn’t be difficult to feed the growing rumors that the Alpha was ill.

Very ill.

Possibly even dying.

I laughed to myself as the plane took off.

Dying was exactly what I had in mind for Nathan.

Once we were married, all I had to do was give him a dose of the herbs I still had in my pocket, the ones I’d been intending to use on my father.

He’d die in his sleep, and I would be the tragic widow carrying on so bravely in his absence.

I couldn’t wait.

Happy with the newest version of my plan, and feeling proud of myself for adapting it so quickly, I drove to Nathan’s house as soon as we landed.

I needed to give Nathan another dose of the tea, and finalize the preparations for the cooperation ceremony. Not to mention make arrangements for an ambush to kill my father before he could get there and stop the ceremony.

So many things to do, and so little time!

Humming, I walked into the house calling out for the butler.

And was greeted with silence.

“Hello??” I called out. “Someone answer me! Why is no one here to greet me when I arrive?”

Again, no response.

And then I realized the house wasn’t just quiet. It felt silent, completely still.

It felt empty.

My eyes widened, and I rushed through the house, running upstairs to the bedroom, hoping to find Nathan sleeping.

But he wasn’t there.

Hurrying, I went back downstairs, looking in the living room, the kitchen, his office.

He wasn’t there.

He wasn’t anywhere.

Nathan was gone.

And so was everyone else.

What was going on here??

I left the house and hurried to the pack headquarters, reminding myself not to run like a madwoman through the halls. Instead I forced myself to walk as calmly and confidently as I could up to Nathan’s office.

An office I found empty.

I shut the door and sagged against it in relief. I’d been worried the man had somehow recovered enough of his wits to realize what had been going on and come in here to try to stop me.

As if he could.

No one could stop me now.

Once I calmed down and caught my breath, I realized my fear at being stopped had been way too big.

Even if Nathan had somehow miraculously stopped being affected by the herbs I’d been giving him, even if he’d issued orders counteracting the ones I had given, most of the Silverfang pack would still believe I was speaking for him.

I could still give orders in his name.

And I could still move forward with the cooperation ceremony.

With their trust in me as his representative, I could announce at tomorrow’s ceremony that Nathan - poor man, so very ill - had officially made me Luna and commander of the Silverfang pack.

After that all I’d have to do was discretely remove anyone who challenged that proclamation or questioned my authority.

Silverfang pack would be mine with barely an ounce of bloodshed.

Well, I thought, sitting down at the desk and picking up the phone, maybe a little bloodshed…

I dialed Alpha Soren’s number, then swiveled the chair around to enjoy the view out of the Alpha’s office.

What would very soon be my office.

Despite my frustration over not knowing where Nathan was - or his Beta, for that matter - it wasn’t hard to put a smile into my voice when Alpha Soren answered his phone.

“Hello, Soren,” I said. “How would you like to help me with a little problem I have?”

“Princess Sabrina. You want yet another favor from me? At this rate you won’t have much to offer me in return.”

His smug tone was irritating me, but instead of snapping at him I laughed. “Oh I think you’ll enjoy this little task. After all, getting my father out of the picture can only make things go more smoothly for you as well.”

“Oh? Well, now you have my interest. Tell me more about how I may be of service, your highness.”

And so I told him a carefully edited version of the story:

“I’ve arranged for a cooperation ceremony, so I can use it as a platform to announce that Nathan has made me Luna and placed me in control of the pack.”

He made a small sound of surprise. “Has he now? That’s very convenient.”

I examined my nails. “Hm, it is, isn’t it? How lucky for me he’s seen how valuable I am here. How much better the pack will be with me in command.”

“And just how much convincing did that take, darling? Is the man even still alive?”

“For now,” I said, wondering if that was the case.

Could the tea have actually been making Nathan ill?

What if he’d experienced an emergency, and had been rushed to the clinic for care?

Without his precious little Omega healer there to save him, he might actually already be dead.

What a delightful idea, I thought, picturing it in my head.

“Don’t worry about Nathan,” I said. “What I need your help with is my father. He’s found out about the ceremony and wants to put a stop to it.”

“Why?”

“Because Silverfang hasn’t sent any aid to the Royal pack, of course,” I lied smoothly.

There was no need for Soren to know about my father’s suspicions regarding my heritage. Or his plan to reveal Claire as his true daughter.

“He’s quite angry about that, and intends to crash the ceremony, officially rescinding his support of Nathan as a candidate for Alpha Presidency.”

“He’s leaving his pack now, when it’s under attack from all sides? He must be mad afterall.”

I smiled. I’d worked hard to spread the rumors of my father’s insanity, and it was gratifying to see people actually believing them.

“Yes, yes he is. But this gives us the perfect opportunity to get rid of him. It’s the perfect time to set up an ambush.”

After a moment of complete silence - a moment that stretched out just long enough that I began to worry Soren might actually say no - a delighted laugh rang in my ear.

“I like the way you think, Princess. I’ll take care of it.

“You won’t have to worry about the Royal Alpha for much longer.”

I hung up the phone once I gave him the details of how to enter Silverfang pack undetected.

Then I sat back in the chair with a smile.

My plans were going to work.

Everything was coming together.

And no one was going to stop me.