The Syndicate’s Bride

31

Tia

It Kavand heavily on the seventh day of my house arrest.

True to his word, father kept me locked in my room, allowing the maids to attend only to my basic needs. I had no contact with anyone outside its walls, and most of my time was spent staring out the window, thinking, planning, and pondering on my next move.

So far, I had come up with nothing.

The rebellion had been the perfect plan: start chaos within the park and force its members to take sides. Yes, it was dangerous, but it was perfect. It wasn’t just a means for division, it was also a means to draw out other werewolves who silently abhorred my father’s rule and swell the numbers for the rebellion.

But, of course, father was always a step ahead.

I couldn’t sleep the night he found me out. I tossed and turned, wondering what he might do to the other werewolves who joined my plans. I stKavand my ears at night, and secretly watched the maids movement during the day, just to know as much as I could.

There was no point asking the maids as father forbade them from speaking about pack matters with me. So I was left to piece the pieces on my own.

On the third day of my arrest, I finally heard it. The brutal murder of the group, the s*******r. It was a bloodbath. Some groaned in pain, others whimpered till they fell silent, and a few were courageous enough to fight back, their will to return to their families stronger than their fate to meet death.

But, they all died. And it was my fault.

Without lifting a finger, I killed them all.

Sleepless nights were inevitable.

So, I thought to myself, you have to do things differently this time.

The first thing I focused on was my own personal strength. I was strong, one of the strongest in my generation, which was one of the reasons father pushed my engagement with Ryan. But that strength was nothing compared to an Alpha’s. Which was why going up against father was simply suicidal. To take him down, I needed something more than brute force.

Which left me with one last option.

The moonstone.

The moonstone is a special relic charged with mystic properties connected to the moon and to werewolves. The tales behind its creation claimed that centuries ago, the moon goddess was part goddess and part wolf, a special being who watched over her people fiercely and with dedication.

When her time came to die, she couldn’t bring herself to leave her people weak and vulnerable. So she cut a piece of the moon and poured her werewolf powers into it, leaving it with her people as an extraordinary source of power they could draw from.

Father had it for ages now, and I always wondered why something precious was kept under his watch. But, over the years, I began to realise he didn’t care for the relic. He relied solely on his alpha strength and, in his words, ‘couldn’t see why I’d let a stone decide the full extent of my power.’ Which was why, even when I stole it a few days back, he hadn’t suspected a thing.

I picked the relic from my side drawer, humming softly as the stone pulsed in my palm like a heartbeat. It felt alive, causing vibrations through my veins and surrounding me with a swell of power that seemed to increase when the moon was full. I could feel it giving me life, breathing strength and courage into my bones.

Maybe that was what I needed after all, strength from the moon goddess to defeat a controlling alpha. Maybe this time, I’d succeed.

A knock on my door immediately made me tense and quickly hide the stone under my sheet just as a maid walked in, head bowed as she spoke.

“Alpha Rossi demands your presence in his study.”

I raised a curious brow. He kept me locked up for days and now he wanted to see me? Something definitely wasn’t right. Still, I nodded. “I’ll be there.”

With a final bow, she left the room, closing the door behind her with a click.

Uncovering the moonstone from under my bedsheets, I picked and placed the relic into its box and hid it under my bed before standing to my feet and walking to the door.

I wasn’t sure what the man was up to, but I could feel it in my bones that it was nothing good.

When I got to father’s office, he sat facing the view of the city out his window, smoking his cigar and tapping his foot lightly against the tiled floor.

At my arrival, he grunted, pointing to the empty seat in the room without looking back as he ordered. “Sit child.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Father never asked me to seat in his office. I was either always standing as close to the door as possible or wailing on the floor from his discipline. But never seated. Not even once.

“Father–”

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” he quietly warned.

Sensing the brewing danger, I moved cautiously to his desk, making sure to subtly pull the chair an inch away from the table before taking a seat.

“You called, Father.”

He was silent for a few anxious seconds before exhaling smoke and speaking.

“The Winchesters are divided.”

He started and I froze.

“Someone leaked out secret family information and that has built a level of distrust between the family.” He wheeled his chair around to face me. His lips curled up in mischief and I immediately sensed a brewing plan I wouldn’t like. “I’ve been looking for ways to bring the Winchesters down, but who knew the offer will fall right into my lap.”

I frowned. What exactly is he planning? “I’m sorry, I don’t understand, father.”

He clicked his tongue as he reached for the ash tray, stubbing out his cigar. “Get to Ryan,” he looked up at me, his gaze sharp and piercing. “Turn him against his family and give us the opportunity to seize their family’s power.”

I blinked. “That’s basically impossible, father. You know the Winchesters. They are cunning, smart, if they are divided, this is when they’ll be on guard the most.”

There was a reason the Winchesters were the highest among the three most influential families; they were smart, calculative and hardly fell for external interference. Turning them against each other was something I could never succeed in.

“Are you resisting an order from your Alpha?” I mentally sighed. Always playing the alpha card when it best suited him.

A sigh fell from my lips. “That’s not what this is about, father. I’m merely telling the truth of thin-”

“You will infiltrate,” he snapped. “Break their guard and get Ryan to trust you. And when the perfect opportunity presents itself, you will seize their power.”

Is he not hearing a word I said? “It’s impossible father,” I repeated. “I could lose my head.”

“Where was that reasoning when you planned to rebel against me?!” He shouted, slamming his palm on his desk hard enough to make a dent. I shivered. “You could have lost your head, like the other fools that planned with you, but I spared you, ”he sneered. “Don’t make me regret it.”

I looked down at my fingers, biting my tongue to keep me from a rebuttal. Maybe he should have killed me. Anything was better than being used as a pawn in his hunt for power and greed. Anything was better than being born to his daughter.

“This is your last chance to prove your loyalty to this family, child,” he continued, rising to his feet. “If you fail, or give me a reason to doubt your loyalty one more time, I will permanently eliminate you,” he snarled. “Do you understand?”

Eliminate me? I mentally chuckled. He’d only be doing what he had been wishing to do since I was born. My failure would only be an excuse for his actions and I’d take all the responsibilities, even in my death.

This bastard.

I bit my lips until I tasted blood, forcing myself not to explode. A time would come when I would, when I had the perfect plan to defeat him. For now, compliance was the best survival.

“Loud and clear, father.”

Satisfied, he exhaled, returned to his seat and wheeled around to continue his watch of the city’s view.

“Now, get out.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice.

I got to my room with a million questions running through my mind. I had no desire to be used as a pawn, but I also had no desire to die before I could attain my freedom. So, I was stuck with doing his bidding until otherwise.

If I wanted to get to the Winchesters, how was I to go about it? The Winchesters were not to be messed with and to even get close to Ryan would be a hassle. I ran a hand through my head in frustration. The only plausible way to reach the Winchesters was through either a spy or a mutual connection between the Rossi’s and the Winchesters, but given the enmity between the two families, no such person existed.

You need to take your freedom by force.

My eyes widened at the familiar voice echoing in my head. Of course, I thought. He was the only connection I could easily access to Ryan without getting caught and killed.

But could I really do this to him? Use the only person that had shown me genuine kindness? I chewed my lips at the internal struggle. Maybe I was thinking too much of it. Owen would eventually turn out to be like every other person and his few minutes of kindness at the bar would mean nothing in the nearest future. I was sure of it. And if that was the case, why shouldn’t I use him to survive? To buy the time I needed?

The only problem, however, was I had no means to contact him since we never exchanged contacts. I cursed under my breath, why was I always close yet so far?

Just then, a maid knocked at the door entering whe I ushered her in. She bowed in greeting as she placed some of my belongings father had seized during my arrest on mu dressing table. But among all of them, what caught my eyes was an unopened mail sitting under the pile.

And idea immediately popped in my mind.

“If I wrote a letter, will you be able to deliver it to the person just by the person’s name?” I asked the maid who was immediately alarmed by the sound of my voice.

“Oh... um that won’t normally be possible, ma’am,” she stuttered. “But there’s someone who’s handles nearly impossible deliveries.”

Perfect

“Bring them to my Chambers in the next ten minutes,” I ordered, already fishing out for a pen and paper. “I have a letter that needs sending.”