The Alpha's Second Chance

Chapter 4- Innocent Preparations

Sarah POV

Hidden away in an old, abandoned pack house, nestled deep within the shadows far away from the Silver Ridge, I am hiding away with James. This place is so far below my station and standards, but needs must for now. This place is perfect; it is far away from Silas and his pack that we will not be detected but close enough that we can monitor them.

James and I have the same goal- to bring Alpha Silas Vane to his knees and destroy everything and everyone around him. My hatred of him stems from his parents, but as they are gone my sights of revenge has now shifted to him.

James has never explained what his gripe with Silas is, but I do not care. James has the power that I need to be able to go toe to toe with Silas and destroy him.

I am currently sitting before the only vanity mirror in this god-forsaken place. The face that is staring back at me is one that I have seen my whole life but now it needs to change. Sadness fills me at the thought of losing the one thing that gives me an identity, but it is necessary for the mission and my revenge plan.

I pick up the make-up in front of me and start to experiment with it, trying to lose the dignity and pride my face holds, shaping it into one that holds pain, fear and despair. The perfect face to entice Silas.

"You’re too poised," James says from the doorway. I don’t need to turn around to hear the smirk in his voice. "An Alpha like Silas will never fall for a queen, he desires to someone who needs him. He wants to be needed, to protect. He has a hero complex that borders on a sickness. If you walk into his territory looking like that, he’ll kill you before you reach the gates."

I catch his gaze in the mirror and feel a flicker of annoyance. He’s right, of course, which only makes it more irritating as I have spent hours on this look, and it still is not right. I huff in anger. It is not just the makeup I need to alter, but my posture and voice as well.

I take a slow, deep breath, imagining the weight of my ambition leaving my body and filling instead with the despair and heartbreak that I have been carrying with me since childhood.

I let my shoulders slump, pulling them slightly forward as if I’ve spent weeks running from something. I tilt my head just so, letting a strand of hair fall over my face, and watch as the life drains from my eyes.

When I look again, the predator that I have spent many years building is gone. In her place is a girl—small, broken, and desperate to be saved.

"Is this better?" I whisper. My voice is thin, a fragile thread that sounds like it might snap at any moment.

James walks over. He lifts my chin with the cold tip of his finger. "Almost. But a wolf trusts his nose above his eyes. If you don't smell like his soul mate, then he’ll treat you like a rogue."

He picks up the vial of Siren’s Tether that he has just finished preparing for me. It’s beautiful, in a sickening way—swirling gold liquid that looks like captured sunlight. James has spent years perfecting this. Once it’s active, it will latch onto Silas’s protective instincts and twist them into an obsession. He won't just want to protect me; he will believe the universe demands it.

"When we find him in the pass," James says, his voice dropping to a low octave, "Take this and your scent will change into one similar enough to his true mates, it will only last for three months before you need to take it again.”

Three months? More than enough time for me to bring that scumbag to his knees! I think callously to myself.

I pace the room, my mind already miles away in the Silver Ridge territory. "He’s stronger than the others, James. I’ve seen the way his pack operates. They aren't just wolves; they’re a well-honed machine. If we don't take him down from the inside, they’ll crush our coalition before we even finish the recruitment."

"Which is why the timing is vital," James says, unrolling a map of the territory he somehow managed to obtain. The only way to get this map was from within the pack house of Silas itself, it even holds Silas’ seal. He points to a jagged line in the mountains. "In exactly thirty days, the first great blizzard will hit. Silas is a martyr at heart; he always patrols the high peaks himself during the storms to ensure his pack are safe. We’ll be waiting in the hidden areas."

"And the scouts?" I ask, my fingers tracing the walls of the pack house I intend to rule.

"I’ve prepared a cloaking mist. He’ll be separated from his men for less than ten minutes. Just long enough for you to stumble out of the whiteout, escaping from the glamour-rogues I’ve created. You’ll collapse at his feet. Covered in scratches, smelling of fear and fated love."

I smile, and for the first time today, it’s a genuine one. The thought of that hulking, powerful Alpha kneeling in the snow to gather me into his arms—completely unaware that he’s bringing his own executioner into his bed—is delicious.

"He’ll give me his keys, his secrets, and eventually, his life," I muse. "I want to see the moment his pride breaks. I want to see the Great Alpha realize he’s been sleeping with the blade that’s going to throat him."

James looks at me, his expression uncharacteristically grave. "Do not get overconfident, Sarah. Silas is a primal beast. If he suspects for even a single second that the bond is false, he will tear you apart. There is no room for error. We need to ensure no other females are near him. If he finds his actual mate before you arrive, the Siren’s Tether will fail. Two souls cannot occupy the same fated scent or bond."

I let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "The chances of him finding his true mate in the next month are astronomical. The man is a hermit. He spends his days barking orders at his Beta and his nights staring at maps. He isn't looking for a mate; he’s looking for ghosts."

"Still," James mutters, rubbing his temples. "I’ve felt a shift in the winds lately. It’s as if the timeline itself is... shivering."

"You and your superstitions," I say, turning back to the mirror to perfect my wounded expression. I practice a tear—just one, rolling down my left cheek. It looks perfect. "By the time the moon is full, Silas will belong to me. And through him, the world will belong to us."

James spends the next few hours helping me to prepare. He uses a spell to raise angry, red welts on my skin—false marks of a struggle. He shreds my clothes until they are barely hanging on, making sure I look like a woman who has lost everything.

As he applies the final layer of the shimmering oil to my pulse points, I feel the dark magic hum against my skin. It feels like power.

"A month," I whisper, looking at the map of the Blackwood Pack. "I can wait a month to become a Goddess."