Then the phone rang. It was Elijah - and he’d better be calling with good news. I tasked him with finding out when the pack would release her information so that the next portion of the plan could be put into place. So far, they seemed to be dithering about, which didn’t surprise me. They were a pathetic bunch of losers who could only dream of achieving the things that I could do.
I picked it up, my fingers tight with irritation. “Elijah,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, though a part of me was already impatient with his lack of progress.
“Change of plans.” He said, and from the hushed tone of his voice, I knew he found something big.
“What is it?” I asked, already trying to calculate my next more.
“I have to talk quickly. You won’t believe this, but I’m pretty sure Celeste is the pack’s scent match.” I paused, then fought myself from throwing the phone.
“They are scent matched?” I hissed. The missing pieces snapped together in my mind. How could this be? My plans, my control, unraveling by a single slip.
“All of them?” I barked, my voice sharp, trembling with anger. “That omega… that stupid, worthless omega has been hiding this?!”
Elijah spoke in a hushed tone. “Yes. It explains why the pack won’t turn on her. It also explains where the other two are. I had a contact check, and their car is at the guest house of one of the packs she used to date.”
My hand shook, a rare betrayal of emotion. “This changes everything,” I growled. “We can’t wait. Not a moment longer.”
I began pacing, the room tight with my rage. My thoughts raced. If Pack Lockwood was her scent match… if they were protecting her… then I had to get rid of all of them, and quickly. There was only one path forward. Only one way to ensure she didn’t slip from my reach, and that my plans stayed intact.
“Plan B,” I said aloud, almost tasting the words. “We initiate Plan B immediately. Send the team. We have a small window where they are together, in a place with no witnesses. The pack must be eliminated. Make it look like a murder-suicide. No mistakes.”
Elijah’s voice was calm on the line, but I could hear his hesitancy. “I'm at the pack's house, Dante is in the next room. Can he be spared?” He asked, and I ground my teeth. Even after everything, this stupid beta still had loyalty to his friend. Didn’t he realize that alpha would throw him away in a heartbeat? He wasn’t even part of their pack.
“No, Elijah. The files will be released online today. Pack Lockwood will look like they are behind it, and kill her in a fit of rage. She’ll defend herself, and somehow none of them will be left. Yes, extreme, but our hands are tied now.” I said. “Get him to the house before the black market pack arrives. I’ll give you thirty minutes to drop him there. He can’t be trusted. He’ll pick her over you.” there was a pause before Elijah answered. If he faltered, I’d have to have him taken out too.
“Understood.” He said, with resignation.
I ended the call, taking a moment to let the fire of fury and calculation settle into a deadly calm before contacting the mercenary pack that I’d hired to take out the Lockwood boys. They’d need a slight change of plans, but with the amount I was paying, I was sure they would figure it out. All of them - Pack Lockwood and Celeste - needed to go.
Once I’d updated the black market pack, I felt the calm settle over me again. Celeste had lied. She’d somehow scent matched with this idiotic pack, and kept it a secret for months. No wonder they’d stalled once they found the documents. They were probably trying to find a way to work it out. But no one knew they were fated. So, it would still be very obvious to the public why they would want to hurt her once the documents were released.
Everything I had worked for, the control, the consolidation of power, was within reach again. It would be messy, and slightly suspicious, but with the release of the files there would be motive. And I trusted the pack I hired would be able to do what was needed to make it look real.
Unfortunately for Celeste, her lies had caused her demise. I shook my head, almost smiling at the irony. The whole time, that pack who hated her ended up being her match. It explained everything. But it also doomed them - a true Romeos and Juliet love story, complete with an unhappy end.
And this time, no one would stand in my way.
Chapter 35
Dante
I recognized it the moment that Elijah had betrayed me, when he admitted that he was working with Gideon. I also knew that if he was dumb enough to fall for whatever Gideon had told him, then he would also be stupid enough to believe that I would work with Gideon too. I almost had him where I wanted him - until my momentary lapse. Until Elijah figured out that I’d nearly said the word “mate.”
I didn’t think he’d make the connection so quickly, to be honest. He knew how much of my life I’d dedicated to ruining Celeste, hunting her down like prey. He knew how much I hated having her in the house with me, albeit for different reasons. But as soon as I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes, I was caught. And Elijah acted normal, stepping out to make a quick call.
I heard him talking on the phone, his voice so low and muffled that I couldn't make out a word. But I knew there was only one person it could be. And though I’d promised him I would work with Gideon and follow Elijah’s plan to glory, deep down, I could never be corrupt to that level. It would make me just as bad as the very people I wanted to destroy, the people at Harringday who stopped at nothing for profit and power.
Now, Elijah had me in his car, on our way to see Gideon and talk about the ‘future plans for Manticore and Harringday.’
During the drive, I thought about my life, and every action that led me to this exact moment. How I’d spent years toiling to have as much power as I could to create something with my pack that would be like Harringday, but better. We wouldn’t do the horrific things they did, and yet we believed we could still succeed. We lived by that rule - until, of course, we broke it.
We started saying things to the press, little digs here and there. We started using Celeste’s reputation against her, relying on media tricks and stereotypes to drag her down. Then, we became even worse. We decided to interfere at the Darlington Ball, involving a kidnapping plot with a black ops pack. Now, we’d used blackmail. Espionage. It was to the point where slowly, we’d become the very thing we despised.
And where did it get us? Dragged down into hell with Gideon and his ilk. Elijah had already been ruined, his mind muddled by the mirage of power and money. I’d almost denied the very bond that should be unbreakable. I’d betrayed my mate.
And Celeste - smart, driven, and courageous, she’d done everything the right way. She’s been fighting the good fight, not even realizing the demons around her that have been blocking her every step. And yet, despite all this, she succeeded. She was making progress, turning things around, even if it was so slow that it took years. She’d been fighting against corruption this whole time, and Harringday’s success was because ofheractions, not Gideon’s machinations.
I’d seen the contracts he drew up, the deals he made under Celeste’s forged name. They didn’t benefit the company, not in any great way. They benefitedhim, and the family trust he wanted to control. In reality, what Gideon was doing was hurting the company. And deep down, I think that must have been what ate him from the inside. An ethical person who really did do a better job at growing the company than he ever could.
