Under the Alpha

Pieces on the board

A thick silence fell over the small office, Sarah looked at the human girl. She stood straight, strong, and confident. A feeling of pride filled Sarah’s heart, her cub had truly grown.

Lavenda was the first to gather her bearings, the gleam in the girl’s eyes had shocked her. She reminded herself to consult Sarah on it later, but first, they needed to hear what Solance had to say. Lavenda gestured for Solance to sit in the chair, the girl sat down. The twins remained behind her, giving her support. “When you say you remember everything, what exactly does that cover?,, Lavenda asked, resting her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers to rest her head on them. Her eyes locked on the girl before her, the girl didn’t flinch. “I already told you how I was kidnapped, but now… I remember where he held me, before he passed me over to the thugs in the forest,, Solance said.

Sarah sat on the table, “Tell us everything,, she urged. Solance took a deep breath to steady her racing heart. “The first time I woke up, I was in a car trunk. It was old and smelled of smoke, cigarettes. The road was bumpy, I couldn’t hear any other cars,,

“Probably a dirt road,, Lavenda added, Solance nodded. “Then what? You said that was the first time you woke up?,, Lavenda asked. “Yes, I was foolish. I made a lot of noise, he stopped the car and… used a syringe with something in it, it made me sleep again,, Solance touched a point of her neck, remembering the feeling of the cold steel tip of the syringe piercing her skin. She shook her head and pulled herself away from the memory.

“The next time I woke up, I was in a room of some sort. I was lying on my side, gagged and tied up. The room had cement walls and a garage door?,, She paused, was she remembering that right? “I think that was the warehouse,, Aywa Said looking at her sister. “I think so too, that’s where we found your backpack,, Adele said squeezing Solance’s shoulder. “There was a lot of crates right?,, Adele asked, Solance nodded. “Were you moved from that place?,, Sarah asked, Solance shook her head. “That most mean your kidnapper, either knew that the thugs came there or-,, “He contacted them,, Solance disrupted.

“I remember, he was talking on the phone. He told whoever was on the other end. That he had a special girl for them, a girl who needed the utmost care,, Solance finished with a snarl, remembering how smug the man had looked as he said that looking at her.

“He told them where they could find me,, Adele learned down on her right asking “Are you sure?,, Solance meets the red-heads grey eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure,, Adele looked thoughtful, “And you had never seen or meet that man before?,, Sarah asked having caught on to what Adele was thinking. “I don’t think so,, Solance whispered trying to find the man in her memories, she couldn’t place him anywhere. “Before that day, I had never seen him before,,

“I see,, Sarah said, she stood up and walked around the office, a complicating look on her face. “It’s strange though,, She added as she wandered around. “Why is it strange?,, Solance asked, her blue eyes tracking the doctor. “You had never met him before, and yet he knew where to find you, he knew who to contact in order to get you killed. But you don’t know him,, Sarah finally looked at the blue-eyed human. A cold chill ran down the human's spine, “So I may not have known him, but he knew about me,, the girl whispered.

“Yes, so either you did something to him, unknowingly. Or…,, Sarah left the rest of her sentence hanging. “Or someone hired him to kidnap you and get you killed,, Lavenda finished her eyes trained to the human child. The girl’s face had gotten pale, the twins each placed a comforting hand on one of her shoulders. Solance was clearly shocked, “Who would do such a thing?,, she asked in a small voice, her fists shaking in her laps.

“My money is on that Josef woman,, Adele said crossing her arms. Aywa gasped at her sister's words “You can’t be serious sis,, Aywas eyes locked on her sister, but her hand remained on her friend's shoulder. Aywa could feel the small trembles in the human’s body, “I mean it! That snake can’t wait to get her hands on Sol!,, Adele said standing up.

“Just think about it, Mr. Hopkins gets sick, Sol gets kidnapped! That woman does nothing, but suddenly have money burning in her pocket?,, Adele said her hands flying around. “That is all just coincidences,, Aywa said trying to calm her sibling before she worried Solance needlessly. “Maybe! But I have been checking up on that woman, where she is going. Heck if you had seen her before all these bad things, you wouldn’t recognize her!,, Adele said.

“Adele is right,, Solance said her eyes downcast. Silence followed the human's words, “Margeret was a meek and bland looking person before,, Solance said. “Now, she is loud and mean,,

“But that’s not evidence, that’s just-,, Sarah said. “Just coincidences, I know,, Solance interrupted, she lifted her head and looked to Adele. “You have been checking up on Margeret?,, Adele nodded a sullen look in her eyes. Solance looked at the two adults in the room, “You know about this?,, She asked. “Yes, Adele asked me after Josef had been here if I would let her investigate. I saw no harm in it,, Lavenda answered.

“Adele, tell me what you have found,, Solance said, her voice commanding. It was not a request, it was an order. Adele didn’t even look to the Luna, her loyalty was already with the future Luna.

“The first thing I did was to look into Josef's finances, from when you were kidnapped, she started to spend money. A lot of money, but none of them were drawn from her own account. So that money comes from somewhere else, I wasn’t able to enter your grandfather's or your account. But I’m confident that, that is where she gets the money.,, Adele said, Solance looked thoughtful and then said “She maybe taking it from my trust fund, she was put in control of it in till I come of age. So no one would ask questions if the money went missing from it, they would just think it’s a grieving kid being reckless,, Solance said.

“Maybe, can you access it?,, Adele asked, Solance nodded “I can look at it, but not redraw or anything, not without my guardians signature,, Adele nodded “If we can track what she is spending, it may be enough to build a case against her,, “let's not get ahead of our self Adele,, Lavenda said. Adele looked apologetic but then got back on track.

“When I saw how much she was spending, I checked up on if she had any wealthy nearly deceased relatives. There was non. Which is was I figured it was money she got from you and your grandfather, well stole the money from,, Adele said. Solance nodded “Anything else? Tell all you find suspicious,, Solance wanted, no needed to know. These were her family, these are the people she trusts. “She also put the Hopkins manor for sale, I have been keeping an eye on who she is meeting. But she is good at being cunning. I know that your pendant, I know Josef have touched it recently, her scent on it was still strong,, Adele finished. Solance remained silent for a while, the rest of the occupants of the room waited.

“It does seem like Margret is the one who will benefit the most from my death, and the coincidences are too many to be ignored, but we don’t have any evidence,, Solance finally said, she stood up. She needed to move, too many feelings were in her body. Grandfather had trusted that woman! I had trusted that woman! “Then what do we do?,, Away asked, she now shared her twin’s view of the Josef woman.

Solance walked around the room and ended up at the large window, it faced the back garden. Fresh snow was falling, Dimitry and the guys were training. Just watching her mate made her feel safe, the dread left her. Made her mind clear. “We could fight for custody?,, Sarah said in the background. “It would take too long, and I would still be forced to move from here,, Solance answered her eyes still watching the guys tumbling around in the snow. “Solance could be removed to one of the city houses, go into hiding until she comes of age,, Aywa said. Solance shook her head. “Then we could be accused of k********g, police would be all over this place,, Lavenda answered. “But it would be cleared up, when Solance reappeared,, Adele added. “No, Margeret may scream Stockholm syndrome, have me hospitalized, and then she would make sure I never leave, at least not alive,, Solance said. “Then what can we do?,, Sarah said, how could she help her cub?

Solance kept watching her mate, Clyde now to had appeared. She watched the two golden wolves circling each other, she could easily tell them apart. Her mate was much bigger in size, he was bigger than any other wolf in the garden. Clyde was smaller, but his size made him better at dodging the larger wolf. Solance watched as Clyde was leading Dimitry on, Clyde looked to be struggling. But Solance could see how he was leading her mate on, Dimitry was overconfident. Clyde sprinted to the side and seemed to slip, Dimitry pounced, seeing his chance. Then Clyde spun around and launched his side into the larger wolf's stomach, Dimitry landed on his side hard. Solance grimaced that had to hurt, Clyde didn’t waste time. He quickly had her mate by the throat, though small, he had won, by being clever and using his opponent's arrogance and size against him. “We play along,, Solance turned to the women in the room, the plan forming in her head. On the office table was a chessboard, she walked to it and started to move the pieces around.

“What do you mean we play along?,, Lavenda asked watching the girl moving the chess pieces around the board. “I mean, we let Margeret think, things are going her way,, Solance says holding up the black king. “while we figure out what her next moves are gonna be, we need to predict what she is going to and how she is gonna do it,, Solance placed it, black king, on the board. “right now Margeret is well protected,, Solance placed the bishops and knights close around the king piece. “Margeret as the law and guardianship on her side,, Solance pointed to the two bishops. “She also as the financial means to get more pawns,, Solance point to the two knight pieces and then placed the pawns strategically around the board. “we also know she has the Kidnapper in play,, Solance held the black queen, and then placed it closer to the white side of the board.

The women looked closely at the board, “What about our side?,, Sarah asks. Solance smirked and started to place the white pieces around the board. “We know that soon I will have to go behind enemy lines,, Solance placed the king piece on the board. She placed in the front lines, she placed the queen, knights on each side of it. She placed the towers and bishops close behind, making them able to move into the front without any other move haven to be made. “But for now I’m not alone, I have my mate,, She points at the queen, “I the backing of the Alpha and Luna,, the two knights. Solance looked at the twins and Sarah and pointed at the two towers “I got the fierce protectors,, the twins nodded and Sarah sent her a smile. “I also have the support from my mate's future betas, Matthew and Zetrich,, She touched the bishops. “the pawns are those of the pack, who follows the Alpha and Dimitry, I know not the whole pack is backing Dimity and me,, Solance finished setting the board.

Sarah looked at it closely, “How come Josef doesn’t have any towers?,,. “for Margeret, she may have towers, that we don’t know of,, Solance said. “yet,, Adele added the gears already turning in her head. Solance smiled “yet, but there is one thing she doesn’t have,, “and what is that because so far this game will be close,, Lavenda said studying the board closely. “Time,, Solance said a cunning smirk made it on her face. “When I turn 18 it's game over, so we can win simply by stalling,,

“But then Josef will not get punished,, Adele said biting a fingernail, the thought of that woman going unpunished infuriated her to no end. “We can win by stalling, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to go for a checkmate,, Solance added. “we know that by the first, I will be taken from here,, Solance said as she sat back down. “But if I disappear or die right away it will be too suspicious,, Solance said. “Josef would have to wait for a better opportunity,, Adele said. “maybe an opportunity we can have control of?,, Aywa added. “so we need to predict that woman's movements, so her plan to get rid of you, becomes our trap to catch her in the act,, Lavenda said leaning back. Solance smiled, her eyes gleaming. “exactly,,

Sarah sat down, seemed like her little cub was more cunning than she thought. “so we will be beating her, in her own game?,, Solance nodded. “well what our first move then?,, Sarah asked. “first I will give Adele access to all the things I can, Margeret can’t catch me looking into that, with her getting vary of me,, Solance said reaching for paper and a pen. She quickly wrote all the access codes down and handed them to Adele, Adele quickly placed the paper in her bra. “of all places,, Aywa said facepalming, Adele just shrugs her shoulders.

“When I’m no longer here, I will do my best to put a stick in the wheel. Delaying the things Margeret has started. I will see what I can do to get the manor off the marked, delay my transfer to the boarding school,, Solance said. “while we will be keeping an eye on Josef's movements both financial and physical,, Lavenda said nodding. “not to forget to watch who she is contact with,, Sarah added.

“so we have a game plan?,, Solance asked, the women all nodded. “we gather intel and evidence, to take down Josef. But catching her in the act will be the end game,, Lavenda said leaning back in her chair. “but there is one factor we have forgotten,, She added. “Dimitry,, Solance looked troubled, her face turned to the window. “we can’t tell him,, she said. She knew her mate, he would never let her go into a viper's dent knowingly.

“he is your mate,, Sarah said, hiding this from him, it would hurt him. “I know, but I also know him. He wouldn’t stick to the plan and knowing I would be with the mastermind, the one behind all my hardship. I fear what he would do and it would only make the separation harder for him,, Solance said her tone sad. “he just wants you safe,, Lavenda said. “I know, but this a fight I must see to the end,, Solance looked at the Luna, her eyes determined, her will like a mountain.

Lavenda accepted, she too would keep this plan from her mate. As the Alpha, he wouldn’t let harm come to his pack, and Solance was pack Solance was family. “let's keep this between us then, now it will be dinner soon, and we have to be on our best act, so our males don’t realize what we are up to,, The girl’s quickly left the office, Lavenda sighed and rubbed her temple.

“What do you think Luna?,, Sarah asked taking the chair Solance had occupied earlier. “About what? The plan it’s dangerous, but it’s the only plan were the pack doesn’t suffer and were that snake doesn’t win,, Lavenda hated the situation, but had to agree with her future daughter it’s the only way. “That’s not what I meant,, Sarah said, though she felt the same way. For Solance to have to put her life at stake, just to bring down that woman, to be free and not having to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life.  

“Then what did you mean Sarah?,, Lavenda asked, she wasn’t really up for any more mind games. “I meant what do you think about your successor?,, Sarah said giving the other woman a smile. Lavenda chuckled, “she is perfect, I can’t wait for the elders to face her. They will finally learn their place,, Lavenda said with a smirk and an evil gleam in her eye.