Rejected: Her Revenge Plan

Chapter 5:The Pen

Elara POV

I arrived at the Luvi Diner ten minutes early, my nerves humming beneath my skin.

The parking lot was nearly empty except for Xavier's black SUV and a rusty pickup truck that probably belonged to the lone waitress inside. I sat in my car for a moment, gathering my courage, wondering if I was making the biggest mistake of my life.

Too late to back out now.

Xavier was already in his corner booth when I entered. He didn't look up from his phone until I slid into the seat across from him, then those silver eyes locked onto mine with unnerving intensity.

"You're early," he said. "Good. This shows your commitment."

"Or desperation," I answered.

"Sometimes they're the same thing." He set his phone face down on the table. "I watched the video you sent. It was fascinating."

"Julian was drugged. That proves Celeste manipulated him."

"It proves someone wanted Julian manipulated," Xavier corrected. "Celeste is just the delivery system. The real question is who's behind her."

"The woman in the video… "

"Dr. Margaret Daniels. She’s a supernatural biochemist. She works for the highest bidder, specializes in compounds that affect shifter physiology." He pulled out his phone and showed me a profile photo. Same woman from Julian's security footage. "She's been linked to at least a dozen pack destabilization efforts over the last five years."

"How do you know all this?"

"I make it my business to know who my enemies are. And who my enemies' weapons are." He pocketed his phone. "Daniels is dangerous, but she's not the mastermind. Someone hired her. Someone with deep pockets and a specific agenda."

"Gregory Thorne?"

Xavier's expression changed, something like approval flickering in his eyes then he nodded his head. "You've been doing your homework."

"My father's meeting with him is tomorrow. Two PM at the Sterling Hotel."

"I know."

Of course he did. Xavier seemed to know everything.

"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Do we follow my father? Try to listen in?"

"We?" Xavier raised an eyebrow. "There is no 'we' in this particular operation. You're going to that meeting."

My stomach dropped. "What? I can't just walk into my father's private lunch…"

"Yes, you can. You're his daughter. You're heartbroken over your recent rejection. You need your father's guidance and support." His voice was matter-of-fact, like he was describing the weather. "You show up at the hotel, visibly upset. Your father can't turn you away, not in public. You join them for lunch."

"And then what? They're not going to discuss secret conspiracies with me sitting there."

"They might if they think you're too distraught to pay attention. Play the devastated ex-mate, cry a little. Let them underestimate you." He leaned forward. "People always talk more freely around those they consider broken."

The strategy was cold. Calculating but it was also funny. Exactly what I had expect from someone with Xavier's reputation.

It was also probably going to work.

"What am I listening for specifically?"

"Anything about territory agreements. Land rights, Political alliances with humans, and especially anything about the Silverpine pack or Celeste Vaughn." He slid a small device across the table. It looked like a regular pen. "This is a recording device. Keep it in your pocket. It'll pick up everything within fifteen feet."

I took the pen, feeling its weight in my palm. "This is really happening. I'm actually going to spy on my own father."

"Having second thoughts?"

"Yes. Multiple." I met his eyes. "But I'm still going to do it."

"Good." Xavier signaled the waitress for coffee. "Now tell me about Julian's sudden change of heart. The timing is suspicious."

"He found the security footage this morning then realized he'd been drugged. He wants to reverse the rejection."

"And you said?"

"That I need time to think."

"Smart. Keep him uncertain. Desperate people make mistakes." The waitress appeared with coffee, and Xavier waited until she left before continuing. "But be careful, Elara. Julian might have been manipulated, but that doesn't mean he's innocent. He still chose to spend time alone with Celeste. He still let himself be put in that position."

"I know."

"Do you?" Xavier's gaze was penetrating. "Because from where I'm sitting, you look like someone who wants to forgive him. Who wants to believe this isn't his fault?"

"What I want doesn't matter. What matters is finding out who's behind this and why."

"Now you're thinking like an alpha."

The comment caught me off guard. "I'm not an alpha. I'm barely anything right now. Just a rejected mate trying to figure out what the hell happened to her life."

"You're more than that." Xavier's voice softened slightly, though his expression remained unreadable. "You're someone who got knocked down and chose to fight back instead of staying down. That takes strength most people don't have."

The unexpected compliment made my heart flutter. I wasn't used to anyone seeing me as strong. I had always been the sweet one, the gentle one. The one who needed protection.

"Why are you really helping me?" I asked. "And don't give me that line about common enemies. There's something else."

Xavier was quiet for a long moment, his fingers drumming against his coffee cup. "Five years ago, someone used similar tactics on my father. Drugged him, manipulated him, turned him against our pack. Against me."

"You killed him."

"I had to. He was going to s*******r half of Shadowmere based on paranoid delusions planted in his head." His jaw clenched. "I spent two years trying to find who was responsible. Dead ends everywhere. Then I started hearing reports about other packs. Other alphas were being manipulated. The same pattern is emerging again."

"And you think the same people who targeted your father are behind what happened to Julian."

"I know they are. Same methods. Same signature compounds in the drugs. Same broker facilitating everything." His silver eyes blazed with cold fury. "Whoever's orchestrating this has been systematically destabilizing packs across the region for years. Building toward something bigger."

"Like what?"

"That's what I need your help finding out." He drained his coffee. "Tomorrow, you get me the information from that meeting. Then we start connecting the dots. We figure out the endgame before it's too late."

"And if we fail?"

"Then more packs fall and more people get hurt. And eventually, they come for Shadowmere." His expression hardened. "Which is why we're not going to fail."

The conviction in his voice should have been reassuring. Instead, it reminded me how much was riding on this. How far I was in over my head.

"I should go," I said, standing. "To prepare for tomorrow."

"Elara." Xavier's voice stopped me. "What happened to you wasn't fair. But how you respond to it, defines who you are. Remember that tomorrow when you're sitting across from your father, lying to his face."

I nodded and left without another word.

The drive home was a blur. My mind kept circling back to Xavier's words, to the weight of the recording pen in my pocket, to the choice I'd made.

Tomorrow I will betray my father's trust. Spy on him. Record his private conversations.

Tomorrow I will cross a line I could never uncross.

My phone buzzed as I pulled into my apartment parking lot. Julian: "Thinking about you. Hope you're okay."

I deleted it without responding.

Another text, this one from my mother: "Your father mentioned you might stop by his lunch tomorrow. I think that's wonderful, sweetheart. He could use the company."

Guilt twisted in my stomach. My mother thought I was reaching out for support. My father probably thought the same thing.

Neither of them knew I was playing a role in a dangerous game that could destroy everything.

I walked into my apartment and immediately poured myself a glass of wine. Then another. By the third glass, the guilt had dulled to a manageable ache.

I pulled out my laptop and researched Dr. Margaret Daniels. Xavier had been right, her name appeared in connection with several pack incidents over the years. She was always in the background and always untouchable.

But everyone had weaknesses. Everyone makes mistakes.

I just had to find hers.

My phone rang. From an unknown number. I almost didn't answer, but something made me pick up.

"Hello?"

"Elara Monroe." A woman's voice, smooth and cultured. "We haven't met, but I've been watching you with great interest."

My blood ran cold. "Who is this?"

"Someone who knows what you're planning tomorrow. Someone who knows about your arrangement with Xavier Lockwood." A pause. "Someone who could make all your problems disappear with a single phone call."

"What do you want?"

"To offer you a choice. Walk away from Xavier. Reconcile with Julian. Accept your place in Moonville pack as a dutiful daughter and future Luna." The voice turned sharp. "Or continue down this path and watch everything you love burn."

The line went dead.

I sat frozen, the wine glass trembling in my hand. They knew. Whoever was behind this, they knew about Xavier, about tomorrow, about everything.

Which meant I was in far more danger than I had realized.