Chapter 93

Sabrina POV

I ran up the steps of my mother’s estate as the pouring rain drenched me.

By the time I got inside I felt like the rain was steaming off of me.

My rage was burning that hot and bright.

How dare Claire have me exiled!!

Her stupid little “terms of surrender.”

As if she had any say over where I did or didn’t go.

As if she thought she had won and it was all over.

She needed to think again.

After Soren and I were escorted by Royal enforcers to the territory boundary we immediately got into a car his people had waiting to take us here, to my mother’s house.

I needed to see her, needed her comfort and advice.

Mom always knew what to do.

Shaking the rain off of me, I headed into the house while Soren followed a maid upstairs to a room where he could change.

I was too mad to care about the puddles and drips I left on the floor.

“Mother!” I cried as soon as I found her in the parlor. “Everything is ruined!”

An angry sob burst out of me as I rushed into the room, and into her arms.

After a moment of shock from having me storm into her house so unexpectedly, she wrapped me in her arms and rocked me.

“That hateful Omega has destroyed all our plans! And now she wants me to leave the Royal pack and never come back.”

“Darling, what do you mean? What on earth happened??”

Taking a deep breath, I took the towel a servant handed me, while Mom pulled a soft thick blanket around my shoulders. Drying my face, I sat next to her on the sofa and told her everything.

About the tea keeping Nathan under my control, and the cooperation ceremony where I was going to take control of Silverfang as its “official” leader.

And then I told her about discovering the Royal Alpha suspected I wasn’t his daughter, and the ambush I laid to keep those stupid DNA test results from coming to light.

By the time I got to the end my temper had cranked back up, and I was pacing the floor.

“And then Claire burst into the room, interrupting the entire ceremony. Just when I had everyone in the room right where I wanted them!”

“Darling, I’m so sorry. That sounds awful. She is a horrible creature, isn’t she? Always seems to be exactly where she doesn’t belong.”

I nodded. “Yes! And what’s worse, practically everyone loves her and believes every stupid thing she says.

“Now they all know I’m not a real princess, and that I was behind the rogue attacks on the kingdom.”

Mom ordered a servant to bring us hot tea.

“I know you feel like everything is ruined, but I assure you it isn’t,” she told me. “We’ll simply come up with a new plan, together. And then we can make both Claire and Nathan pay for what they’ve done to you.”

The servant brought the tea, and Mom handed me a steaming mug as she urged me to sit back down.

“There, there, my darling. You’ve had a rough few days, haven’t you! Foiled in your takeover of the Silverfang pack, and now you’re to be exiled from the Royal pack.”

She shook her head and made a “tsk” sound.

“And all because that stupid girl just had to turn out to be the real princess. We should have killed her when we had the chance, all those years ago.”

I looked up from my tea in surprise. “What do you mean?? Who is ‘we’?”

A small smile appeared on her face, but just as she was about to answer Soren walked into the room.

And my mother blinked in surprise.

He smiled slowly as he walked toward her.

“Hello, Aunt Martha.”

My mind stumbled to a complete stop.

“Aunt” Martha?!

I stared at the two of them as Mom rose and hugged Soren, greeting him like the long lost relative he apparently was.

And I was stunned.

After hugging him, then handing him his own mug of tea, Mom sat down next to me and explained.

“It’s true, darling. The Alpha here,” she smiled warmly at him, “is my brother’s son. I am originally from the Bloodclaw pack.”

“And why haven’t you told me this before?? That makes Soren my cousin!”

Which would have been good to know. And, I realized, might possibly complicate my plans to kill him if I needed to get him out of the way.

But only maybe.

“I’m sorry, Sabrina, but the secrecy was absolutely necessary. Especially since I was part of the plot to get rid of the actual princess, and replace her with you.

“We were forbidden from ever speaking on it. But now that particular cat is out of the bag, isn’t it?”

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at Soren.

“And you didn’t think this was information I should have been given either?”

He simply smiled at me and shrugged. “It didn’t seem important. Cousin.”

I gritted my teeth and sneered.

But despite being stunned by this unexpected revelation, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a good thing.

Having a family connection to the Bloodclaw pack means I had somewhere safe to go after all. Before I thought I was just a guest of Soren’s, someone who could be kicked out at his whim.

Instead it turned out I was a member of the Alpha family. My mother was the sister of the old Alpha.

That meant I had some power in the pack. And a secure place to live.

And that was a relief.

In the back of my mind had been the fear of being packless, having to live like some rogue on the run without any safe shelter or territory of my own.

“So we’re going back to Bloodclaw territory?” I asked. “We can stay there?”

“Yes,” Soren answered. “Of course. As members of the Alpha family, you’ll always be welcomed in my home.”

Despite the half smile he still wore, I sensed that Soren wasn’t exactly happy to have me know that I didn’t actually have to rely on his support to stay in his pack.

Good.

I liked annoying Soren.

He was far too confident and cocky for his own good.

I turned to my mother. “Mom, will you come with us? Now that everyone knows I’m not the true princess, I’m afraid it won’t be long before people start asking questions of how I came to live in the palace.

“And those questions could lead them right to you.”

Mom patted my hand. “A very good point, darling. I’ll be happy to come back to Bloodclaw territory with the two of you. But first…

“First I think we should make Claire and Nathan pay for ruining all of our carefully laid plans.”

“Oh yes. Let’s make them pay. I want them to hurt.”

But how?

And then I realized, with a laugh, that hurting both of them at once would be ridiculously easy.

All we had to do was threaten the one thing they both cared about most:

Andy.