Chapter 82

Third Person POV

Alaric stood staring at the wide open space of one of the palace’s gathering halls, this one set to be for the Alpha’s the following night.

Staff had been setting up over the last few days, clearing out the room and making way for all the buffet tables, dance floor and bars. Hanging on all the walls were garlands of colors representing each pack, transforming the space into a colorful work of art.

Mia had wormed her way into the setup again, even though Alaric had banned her from taking part in any of the preparations — she couldn’t be trusted after what happened at Blackmoon. What if she was relaying information to the rogues, setting things up specifically to fail?

She meets Alaric’s heavy gaze of scrutiny, a delicate smile spreading across her lips. A smile that, once upon a time, Alaric had fallen weak to.

His wolf growled, still always irritated at any sign of attraction towards Mia, for good reason. She was bad news.

“Alaric,” she purred, and instantly, he knew where her head was at. She was going to try and convince him about marriage all over again.

“Don’t bother, Mia,” Alaric said, already bored with her antics. “It’s not going to happen.”

“How do you even know what I was going to say?” she pouted, sticking her bottom lip out further than she needed to.

“Because I know you, and I know your intentions,” Alaric muttered, rolling his eyes. “And it won’t work on me.”

“It used to,” she sang softly, taking a step closer to him.

“Key words there are used to.” Alaric tried to turn away from her, but she grabbed his upper arm, specifically where his muscles were the most taught.

“Alaric.” The tone of her voice made him stop and turn around to face her. “Don’t you remember how good we were together when we were younger?”

“That was a long time ago. Neither of us grew up to be the same.” Alaric tried to push back the memories that flooded his mind, all the fun times they had, how he’d been so positive that she was made for him.

How wrong he’d been.

“We laughed all the time. Shared so many secrets.” Mia kept listing off things, aiming for the weakest points of his heart, doing her best to send him tumbling down memory lane again.

Yes, they’d have a beautiful friendship, something they’d both thought would blossom into a lot more, until fate tore them apart.

Just as they should have been.

Alaric couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t been pushed out of his place, if Mia might have grown up to be different. With him there, in the palace, their friendship never interrupted, could she have stayed the girl he’d loved so much?

It doesn’t matter, his wolf inputted, and it was hard for Alaric not to roll his eyes, even though — surprise — his wolf was right.

“Why are you here? I banned you from these events.” Alaric’s eyes narrowed, suspicion coursing through him.

“I’m not plotting anything,” Mia said matter-of-factly, knowing what he was implying. “I just wanted to help.”

“Sorry to say that I no longer believe that. You, Mia, are always looking out for yourself first and foremost, and those intentions of yours are never pure.” Alaric couldn’t stop the sneer that fought its way onto his face.

Her voice was softer than he expected when she spoke, genuine concern filling it. “Actually, I had an idea about…getting your place back.”

Alaric’s brows raised, and his immediate thought was that she was setting him up somehow. “Uh-huh.”

“Remember all the abandoned tunnels running below the city?” His attention was successfully caught, because of course he did — the two of them had played in those tunnels all throughout their childhood, using them to secretly traverse across the city.

“Yes,” he said gently, his anger towards her temporarily softened.

“What if we use those to do it?” she suggested, her perfectly manicured eyebrows raising.

“We?” Alaric almost snorted, finding it hilarious that Mia thought she’d be involved in his uncle’s takedown in any way. “I thought you loyally served the palace.”

“I told you, I serve myself.” Mia shrugged, steadily holding his gaze. “Maybe people here think I serve them, but…”

“Right,” Alaric nodded, still skeptical of her real intentions. “And what about helping me serves you, hm?”

“Getting rid of your nasty uncle is reason enough.” Mia’s voice didn’t have the usual malice to it, and it startled him. It sounded like she genuinely cared.

“I want to believe you…” Alaric hesitated, the child in him screaming to trust her, that she’d never intentionally hurt him.

“I understand,” she nodded, her voice a little sad. “Just think about the tunnels, okay?”

“They’re a good way for getting in and out.” Alaric thought back to their days in those dark tunnels, how easy it was to get lost down there in their damp murkiness.

“A real good way to make someone disappear,” she added, her voice so low even he could hardly hear it.

She was very right. The tunnels spread out beneath the city like an ancient maze of catacombs, built a long time ago during the first war against the rogues, when attacks were much more frequent and people needed to escape quickly into a place it would be hard to follow them through.

Rumors floated around over the decades of people who went missing down in the tunnels, their bodies long ago having rotted somewhere in there. Others said some people even lived down there now, tired of the world above.

Both were exceptionally eerie thoughts. But Mia was right — the tunnels could do a lot of good, depending on how he approached the…elimination.

“It’s a good suggestion. Thank you.” Alaric gave her a single nod, not missing the way her eyes lit up at the slightest bit of praise.

It’s like she sought it out, in constant need of affirmation, and he found that sad. To live a life of constant seeking, desperate for the smallest of compliments.

Don’t act like you don’t do that too, his wolf grumbled, not quite understanding the difference between the two.

It’s human to want affirmation and affection. Yet she craves it in a way that makes it sad, Alaric answered.

“I’ll go; I know you asked me to stay away.” Her words weren’t bitter or snide — they were honest. She’d directly defied his order to stay away, and at least she owned up to that.

“Thank you, Mia,” he murmured, annoyed at the way her name slipped so easily from his lips.

Sienna has a nicer ring to it, his wolf chuckled, the most biased on the comparison.

That it does, Alaric agreed, surprising his wolf. For once, he didn’t bite back.

Mia disappeared from the hall, and Alaric took a moment to look around again, imagining all the Alpha’s in there tomorrow — aside from Julian.

Sienna would be there, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d read his letter. Part of him didn’t think she had, because she hated him, right?

I don’t think she’s capable of hating you, his wolf said for him, a heaving sigh rattling Alaric’s bones.

They’d soon find out the truth about that.