Mated To My Bullies

Chapter 16: "The Rival's Game"

Seraphina's POV

The sight of blood on my pristine white tablecloth should have disgusted me. Instead, I felt a surge of satisfaction so pure it was almost intoxicating. Maya's collapse at the pack dinner had been even better than I'd hoped for – a perfect display of her weakness in front of every important wolf in the Blackwood territory.

I dabbed at the blood spots with my napkin, making sure everyone could see my composure in the face of such unseemly behavior. "Oh my," I said, my voice carrying just the right note of concerned surprise. "Perhaps someone should help the poor dear to her room."

The pack members around the table murmured among themselves as two guards carried Maya's unconscious form away. I caught fragments of their conversations – words like "unfit," "unstable," and "dangerous." Perfect. The seeds I'd been planting were already taking root.

"I do apologize for the disruption," I continued, rising gracefully from my chair. "Perhaps we should conclude dinner for this evening. I'm sure you all understand the... delicate situation we're dealing with."

Alpha Marcus Thornfield, one of Stephen's key allies, shook his graying head. "No need to apologize, Miss Nightshade. It's clear you're not the one causing problems here."

"You're too kind," I replied with a modest smile. "I just hope we can find a solution that's best for everyone involved."

As the guests began to disperse, I made sure to speak with each of them individually, expressing my concerns about Maya's influence on the Blackwood brothers. I was careful, of course, never saying anything too direct, never making accusations I couldn't deny later. Just gentle suggestions, worried observations, the kind of comments that would stick in their minds and grow.

"She does seem rather... intense," I murmured to Luna Catherine Ashwood, one of the most influential female alphas in the region. "I can't help but worry about the effect she's having on the boys. They've been so different since she arrived."

"Different how?" Catherine asked, her sharp eyes studying my face.

I sighed delicately. "Reckless. Impulsive. Making decisions that go against everything they were taught. Stephen was nearly killed because of her, you know. His wolf may never fully recover."

Catherine frowned. "I hadn't heard the details."

"Of course not. The boys are too loyal to speak against her, even when she's clearly harming them." I touched Catherine's arm gently. "Between you and me, I'm starting to wonder if there might be more to her influence than simple mate bonds. The timing of everything, the way she appeared right after that business with Marcus Wells..."

I let the implication hang in the air, watching as understanding dawned in Catherine's eyes. The werewolf community was deeply suspicious of anything that smacked of dark magic or artificial enhancement. Once that seed was planted, it would spread on its own.

"You think she's using something unnatural?" Catherine whispered.

"I wouldn't want to make accusations," I said carefully. "But the way the brothers act around her, the strange compulsion they seem to feel... it doesn't feel like a natural mate bond to me. It feels like something else entirely."

Over the next few days, I put my plan into motion with surgical precision. I was Alpha-born, trained from childhood in the subtle arts of pack politics and social manipulation. Maya might have raw power and artificial enhancements, but I had something far more dangerous – intelligence, patience, and an understanding of how to use people's fears and prejudices against them.

I started with the pack's female betas. Women were often more susceptible to certain types of social pressure, more willing to believe stories about other women who threatened their sense of order and propriety. I visited them individually, always under the guise of getting to know my new pack family.

"I'm so glad to finally be here," I told Rebecca Martinez, the pack's head of domestic affairs. "Though I must admit, the situation with Maya has me quite concerned."

Rebecca, a middle-aged woman with traditional views about pack hierarchy, leaned forward eagerly. "Oh, you can speak freely with me, dear. We've all been wondering what the boys were thinking."

"It's not their fault, of course," I said, stirring sugar into my tea with deliberate slowness. "They're good men, but men can be... vulnerable to certain influences. Especially when those influences are enhanced by unnatural means."

"Unnatural means?" Rebecca's eyes widened.

"Well, you heard about what happened with Marcus Wells, didn't you? The experiments he was conducting? The chemical enhancements?" I shook my head sadly. "I've heard from reliable sources in the Northern Pack that those treatments can affect more than just physical abilities. They can alter pheromone production, increase psychic influence, even create artificial bonds that feel real but are actually just chemical addiction."

Rebecca's face went white. "You mean she's been drugging them?"

"I wouldn't use such a harsh word," I replied, though my tone suggested I absolutely would. "But think about it, four alpha males, all supposedly mated to the same woman? When has that ever happened naturally? And the way they've been acting, so unlike themselves, making such dangerous decisions..."

By the end of the week, the rumor was everywhere. Maya Rodriguez, the mysterious girl who'd bewitched the Blackwood heirs, was using dark magic and chemical manipulation to control them. She was a home-wrecker, a manipulator,

a dangerous influence that threatened the very foundations of pack society.