It took me two hours to walk back from the pack’s meeting hall. The crisp night air carried the faint scent of pine and damp earth, a reminder of the forest that bordered our territory. As I neared my house, I noticed a figure lurking near the entrance, his posture tense and furtive. One glance was all it took to recognize him—Benicio Rice, the Delta who had once been tangled in Kolton Ferguson’s web of deceit.
What was he doing here, skulking around my home like a rogue? What could he possibly want?
Memories of my past life surged forward, unbidden. I’d often seen Benicio sneaking around at night with Marceline Hart, the Omega who had wrapped Kolton around her finger. At one point, I’d even suspected that the pup Marceline carried was Benicio’s. I’d tried to warn Kolton, but he’d dismissed my concerns with a cold laugh, brushing me aside as though I were nothing more than a nuisance.
Later, after Marceline had lost the pup and bled out, Benicio had come to me, his eyes blazing with fury. He’d sworn a blood debt against me, accusing me of orchestrating her death. Not long after, Kolton and Benicio had framed me, staging a scene that made it look as though I’d been caught in a compromising position. They’d plotted together to avenge Marceline’s death, and I’d been their pawn.
It was almost laughable, the way they’d both been so blind to Marceline’s manipulations. Did they even realize they’d been played? Did they know how deeply she’d entangled them in her schemes?
A cold smile tugged at my lips. If Kolton and Benicio ever discovered the truth—that they’d both been mere pawns in Marceline’s game—I’d give anything to see the look on their faces.
As I approached, Benicio straightened, plastering a sycophantic grin across his face. “Alaina,” he called, his voice overly cheerful. “What brings you out so late?”
I raised an eyebrow, my expression icy. “What do you think? I’ve just come from the meeting hall. I’ve rejected the mate bond with Kolton.”
His eyes flicked to the papers in my hand, and his grin widened. “You actually did it?”
“Of course I did,” I said, my voice sharp. “Kolton’s too busy playing nursemaid to Marceline’s unborn pup to care about me. He thinks I don’t see what he’s doing, but I know exactly what’s going on.”
Benicio’s grin faltered, replaced by a look of confusion. “What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean?” I laughed, the sound brittle and humorless. “Kolton and that Omega, Marceline, are carrying on like fools. But Marceline isn’t just fooling around with Kolton—she’s got her claws in half the males in the pack. The warriors, the hunters, even the laborers—she’s juggling them all.”
I counted them off on my fingers, watching as Benicio’s expression darkened. “That woman’s got more nerve than sense. She’s got at least seven or eight males wrapped around her finger, and who knows whose pup she’s carrying.”
The look on Benicio’s face was almost comical. He’d always thought he was Marceline’s one and only, that the pup she carried was his. But Benicio was a Delta, with little to his name and even less ambition. When Marceline had gotten pregnant, he hadn’t been able to support her. So, they’d hatched a plan to have Kolton raise the pup, believing him too blind to see the truth.
Now, realizing that Marceline had been playing him just as she’d played Kolton, Benicio must have been reeling.
In my past life, Benicio and Kolton had blamed me for Marceline’s death and plotted against me. But in this life, I’d let these wretched souls tear each other apart. I’d watch as their schemes unraveled and their lives crumbled around them.
“You should be careful, Benicio,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “Marceline’s not the woman you think she is. And Kolton—well, he’s not the Alpha he pretends to be.”
With that, I turned and walked into my house, leaving Benicio standing in the shadows, his expression a mix of anger and confusion. Let them destroy each other. I had a new life to build—one where I was no longer their pawn.
