Betrayed By My Mate, Crowned By An Alpha.

Revenge is a game

(Ashley)

My whole body hurt when I woke up. The scratches on my face had closed during the night, but they still burned when I touched them. My ribs ached every time I breathed. The pack doctor had given me pills for the pain, but they barely helped.

I stared at myself in the mirror above my dresser. Three days ago, I had been Daniel's girlfriend. Three days ago, I thought I would be Luna someday. Now look at me. Beaten in front of the whole pack by that little nobody who used to follow me around like a lost puppy.

The memory made me want to throw something. Aria standing over me in that ring, making me say the words. Making me submit to her like she was actually better than me. The whole pack watching while she humiliated me.

I had always been prettier. Always been more popular. Always been the one other girls envied and boys wanted. But somehow Aria ended up with everything I was supposed to have.

A soft knock on my door interrupted my thoughts.

"Come in," I called.

Daniel stepped into my room, closing the door behind him. He looked as angry as I felt. Dark circles under his eyes said he had not been sleeping well either.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting on the chair by my window.

"Like I got hit by a truck." I turned away from the mirror. "Your father's little pet really did a number on me."

Daniel's face got darker. "She got lucky."

"Lucky?" I laughed, but it came out bitter. "Daniel, she beat me in front of everyone. Made me look weak and stupid. There was nothing lucky about it."

"You underestimated her. We both did."

I had underestimated her. I thought Aria was still the quiet girl who used to let me copy her homework. The one who always stepped back when I wanted something. I was wrong.

"So what do we do now?" I asked. "Just accept that she wins?"

"No." Daniel stood up and started pacing around my small room. "We make sure this does not last. My father made a mistake marking her. The pack will see that eventually."

"When? After she has been Luna for years? After she has kids and makes herself impossible to remove?"

"It will not take years. She does not know what she is doing. Give her time and she will mess up."

I was not so sure about that. From what I heard, Aria was working day and night to learn her new job. The council members actually seemed to respect her, which was more than they had ever done for me.

"Maybe we should speed things up," I said.

Daniel stopped pacing. "What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe we help her fail. Make sure the pack sees what a terrible choice your father made."

"How?"

I had been thinking about this for three days. Ever since I woke up in the pack hospital with half my face bandaged and my pride in pieces.

"People talk," I said. "They gossip. They share stories. What if we gave them better stories to share?"

Daniel sat back down. "Keep talking."

"Everyone is wondering how this happened so fast. One day she is your rejected mate, the next day she is Luna. That is not normal."

"So?"

"So people are already suspicious. They just need someone to tell them what really happened."

Daniel looked interested now. "And what really happened?"

I smiled for the first time since the fight. "Aria has been planning this for months. Maybe years. She was never really happy with you, Daniel. She wanted to be Luna, and she figured out the best way to get there was through your father."

"You think people would believe that?"

"Why would not they? Think about it. She spent eight years with you, but she never seemed that excited about getting married. Never pushed for a ceremony or talked about having kids. What if she was waiting for a better opportunity?"

Daniel was quiet for a moment, thinking it over.

"She seduced him," I continued. "Your father is lonely. His mate died years ago. Along comes this young, pretty girl who knows exactly what to say and do. She probably threw herself at him the minute you rejected her."

"That would explain why he marked her so quickly."

"Exactly. She manipulated him. Used his grief and loneliness to get what she wanted. And now the whole pack has to suffer because your father could not see through her act."

I could see Daniel warming to the idea. His face was getting that look he got when he thought he was being clever.

"People might buy that," he said slowly. "Especially the older wolves who remember how much my father loved my mother."

"They will more than buy it. They will be angry. No one likes being fooled, and that is exactly what Aria did. She fooled all of us."

"But we would need proof. Or at least evidence that makes it seem true."

I had thought about that too. "We do not need proof. We just need details that sound right. I can tell people I caught her watching your father during pack meetings. That she always found excuses to be around him. That she asked me questions about his preferences and habits."

"Did she actually do any of that?"

"Does it matter? By the time the story spreads through the pack, no one will remember where they heard it first. They will just know that Aria Blackwood is not the innocent victim she pretends to be."

Daniel stood up again, but this time he looked excited instead of angry. "This could work."

"It will work. People want to believe the worst about others, especially when those others have something they want. Half the pack is already jealous that Aria got to be Luna without earning it."

"Who do we start with?"

"The younger wolves. The ones who trained with us and saw how Aria always acted like she was better than everyone else. They already do not like her much."

"Sarah and Michelle will listen to you," Daniel said. "So will Tara."

"And Jake Harrison has been bitter ever since Aria turned him down for the summer dance two years ago. He will love hearing that she is a manipulative witch."

We spent the next hour planning exactly what story to tell and who to tell it to. The best lies were the ones that had just enough truth to be believable. Aria had been around Kael plenty of times over the years. She had been at pack meetings and training sessions. She had probably talked to him alone at least a few times.

All we had to do was twist those normal interactions into something sinister.

"Start small," Daniel advised. "One or two people at first. Let them spread it for you."

"I know how gossip works," I said. "By the end of the week, half the pack will think Aria has been playing a long game to steal the Luna position."

"And the other half will at least have doubts about her."

"Which is all we need. A Luna who does not have her pack's complete trust is not much of a Luna at all."

Daniel headed for the door, then stopped. "Ashley, are you sure about this? Once we start spreading these stories, we can not take them back."

"I am sure." I touched the fading scratches on my cheek. "She humiliated me in front of everyone. Made me crawl and beg in that ring. She deserves whatever happens to her."

"And if my father finds out we are behind it?"

"He will not. We are going to be very careful about this."

After Daniel left, I looked at myself in the mirror again. The scratches were almost gone now, but I could still remember the feeling of Aria standing over me. The way the pack had cheered when she won. The way even Daniel's supporters had looked impressed.

That was going to change. By the time I was done, no one would be impressed with Aria. They would see her for what she really was. A calculating, manipulative girl who used her body to steal another woman's place.

I started getting dressed, picking out clothes that made me look innocent and hurt. People were more likely to believe victims, and I was definitely going to play the victim.

First stop was the kitchen, where Sarah usually ate breakfast. Then Michelle, who worked in the pack nursery and loved to gossip with the other mothers. After that, I would find Jake and plant the seeds in his mind.

By dinner time, the whole pack would be talking about Luna Aria's real motives.

And by the end of the week, they would be wondering if Kael Stone had made the biggest mistake of his life.

I smiled at my reflection. Aria thought she had won when she beat me in that ring.

She had no idea the real fight was just beginning.