CHAPTER NINETEEN
1133 Words
KAIDEN'S POV
There are only two kinds of silence in the Night Pack.
The peaceful kind that blankets the woods at night after patrols… and the choking kind that falls when you realise your lies are catching up to you.
Guess which one I was stuck in?
I leaned against the rough stone wall outside the training yard, arms crossed, sweat drying on my back from the drills.
My fingers tapped nervously against my bicep, and my gaze flicked toward the centre of the field where Sterling was still getting his ass handed to him by Alpha Night.
“Left,” I muttered under my breath.
“Block left, bro—damn.”
Sterling went flying again, crashing to the ground with a loud grunt.
"He's gonna disown him at this rate," mumbled Duncan, one of the junior warriors beside me.
I said nothing.
What was I supposed to say? That our brilliant plan—to ruin Silver and crown Sterling Alpha—was blowing up in our faces?
Sterling wasn't ready.
Hell, he was barely keeping it together.
Every training session turned into an argument. Every command from Alpha Night was met with frustration. And worse?
The pack had started talking.
They missed her.
Silver.
The exiled girl. The future Luna turned political pawn. The one we’d framed and forced out.
Everyone was starting to get suspicious about everything.
And I—
“Kaiden!”
I jerked up straight, heart kicking.
Sterling stormed toward me, shirt soaked in sweat, fists clenched like he was ready to murder someone.
Oh good. He was in a mood again.
His moods were the worst of all, especially when he knew he was on the losing side.
“You saw that, right?” he snapped, face red and eyes wild.
“He humiliated me. Again.”
I hesitated.
“It wasn’t that bad.”
He scoffed.
“Don’t lie. You saw it. Everyone saw it. He doesn’t want me to be Alpha—he just won’t admit it. He still thinks Silver will come riding back like some damn hero.”
“You’re overthinking—”
“I’m not,” he cut in.
“And I swear, Kaiden, if he brings her back—”
“He won’t,” I said quickly.
“Sterling. Look at me.”
He met my eyes, jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might c***k.
“She’s gone, okay? She’s in another pack playing dress-up as some Alpha’s trophy wife. She’s not coming back. You won. We won. You just need to… step up now.”
His laugh was dry.
“Step up? You think I’m not trying?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Yes, you did.” He raked a hand through his damp hair.
“Everyone says that. You, my father, the pack. Hell, even the Omegas look at me like I’m the back-up plan.”
I stayed quiet.
Because the truth?
They kinda did.
He didn’t know what it took to be Alpha.
Silver did.
And the pack knew we ruined our chance at having the best Alpha yet, even with her being a woman.
“I just… I thought it would be different,” he muttered.
“When she left. I thought the pressure would lift. That people would finally see me. But they don’t. They see her shadow. And now that she’s not here to screw it up, they’re realising she was the better choice.”
I swallowed hard.
“You are the better choice.”
I didn’t believe that anymore.
Not with how fast he was unravelling.
Sterling let out a sharp breath.
“I need to talk to Kael.”
I blinked. “Kael?”
“Yeah. He’s got connections. He might know what Silver’s doing in the Cassano pack. If she’s planning something… anything... I need to know. I don’t trust her. Not anymore.”
Oh no.
Not Kael. That guy was shady as hell. Deep in with the underworld packs. Deals, bribes, dark magic—name it, Kael had touched it.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light.
“We agreed to let her go. Let the marriage fix the tension between packs.”
“That was before I realised this whole Alpha training was a setup to expose me,” he said bitterly.
“If I go down, she comes back. I know it.”
Sterling stormed off, rage practically leaking from his pores.
And I just stood there, frozen.
Because the thing was—I knew he was spiralling. I knew this was going to end badly.
And worst of all?
I was starting to wonder if maybe... just maybe... we had picked the wrong Night twin to bet on.
I sighed, looked at everyone who had just witnessed both the debacle and left.
This was not going according to plan.
If Sterling is denied as Alpha, I won't be Beta and I won't be able to pay off my family debts.
Worse, if Sterling is denied as Alpha, he could expose me to bitterness.
I rubbed my hands on my face.
What have I entered into?
He was going to see Kael. God know what he wanted to discuss with Kael.
Did he want to kill his sister finally? So she won't ever be in the way of becoming Alpha?
Knowing Sterling, I knew he was going to do more than spy on her.
"Hello, handsome."
I turned and saw Donna staring at me with lustful looks.
She was the only one apart from Sterling and me... Well, plus Sterling’s father, who knew about the plan.
And that Silver was my mate, whom I rejected for this stupid plan.
"Donna."
She smiled and adjusted her blouse.
"I see Sterling has continued to fail repeatedly."
"He will be better."
"Would he? I fear that our pack is coming to its ruin soon."
"If Sterling is a shitty Alpha, I will be a much better Beta for the pack. We just have to get him through the rough patch first and make him Alpha."
"I can do my magic again like I did Silver. Spread to the whole pack that his father intentionally fails Sterling because of Silver."
"That is a brilliant idea, Don..."
"And it comes with a price."
I stared at her and she looked me up and down.
I was no fool to know what she was talking about.
"Meet me at the old store by 10 pm."
Donna fluttered her lashes, blew me a kiss and sashayed away, making sure her ass was in my view.
All this I was doing for Sterling, for the sake of him being Alpha, hopefully, it doesn't come back to bite me.
My mind went back to Silver.
- Writer
