You Wouldn't Dare (Khaos Trilogy Book 1), стр. 32

cuddle the mutt; I had no regrets about shoving him away whenever he had reached out for me as a toddler. I had never wanted to play with him or really do much with him at all. He had never again come to me for comfort since the day I had grabbed him and sliced his arm open.

I remember it with such clarity. Drake had beaten him for something or other; I had barely been paying attention to the matter, wanting only to escape and take comforts in the new consort I had found. Khaos came running to me, asking for “his mama” to help him, to show him some mercy. His tears had stained my dress, and I reacted before I could think. The horror in his eyes still lingered in my mind now and then, his face merging into what I imagined my son would have looked like -had the Goddess granted him his chance. Then the rage would come again. Khaos, the worthless, pathetic child had been given a chance, but my darling son hadn’t? Where was the justice in that?!

Khaos disgusted me with every breath he took, and every day I regretted my impulsive decision to rear him as my own. Yet now I was beginning to see the effects we had on him. All the times Drake had made him beg for food, the beatings he had endured, the whips, bites, burns. Physically, I could see that we had caused damage. He was beyond disgusting to look at, but emotionally? That had stayed hidden for years, finally coming to the surface ready to destroy us all. It was because of this that I wanted him gone. I had convinced Drake to rear him by saying that Khaos would rule by his side, but I knew that if ever Khaos’ wolf was given the chance to be free, he would destroy us all in his revenge.

So, I did the only logical thing I could think of. Whilst everyone else was busy covering up for Drake and his murder of some stupid girl - not that she was any actual loss to the world - I was busy formulating a plan.

I would pretend to be the loving mother, finally giving Khaos the affection he craved. Even now, even after all we had done to him, he was desperate to feel as though he belonged. He was searching for his place in the world and I knew that if I dangled even the merest bit of affection, he would jump at the chance to have me in his life. Once I had gained his trust, I would help him get out of here and hope that he would remember my act of kindness when he came for his revenge. We couldn’t keep him locked up forever. He was fast approaching his majority. The time was coming when he would be expected to take over this pack. Drake would have to think of something that would explain to the pack why Khaos would not be the next heir - although I doubt they would be surprised with whatever tale Drake chose to tell. Nobody here had any respect for the mutt. But that came with its own set of problems; somebody would challenge him for the Alpha position.

Drake was so stupid. He knew this was the reason we had needed Khaos in the first place. Treat him however he wanted behind closed doors, but he should have been ensuring that the pack at least knew he was the next leader. This was one of the main reasons why I chose to never be around Khaos. No one in this pack would be able to say that they had witnessed me treating him unkindly, nobody would be able to confirm that I had caused any of the injuries plaguing his body. I had kept my cards close to my chest and my hatred for him under control.

I was positive that my plan would work. I could use this against Khaos if he became reluctant to trust me. He could pick a random member of this pack and they would be able to say the same thing – they had never witnessed anything on my behalf.

The plan was fool proof. So, all I had to worry about was who would be the next Alpha if it were not going to be Khaos.

Whoever took over as leader of this pack would have no use for me. I would either be outcast as a rogue, relegated to an Omega or used as a sex toy whenever the Alpha got bored with his current Luna. Which is why befriending Khaos had another benefit for me. If I could release his wolf, help him hone his skills, he would take me with him wherever he went. As mother of the Alpha, I would keep the respect and position I had come to know and love, and in that case, I would happily leave all of this behind.

I smirked to myself as everything fell together. Drake had no idea of what was about to come, and even though it would kill me to have to pretend to be nice to something I despised, it would be worth it in the long run.

Khaos was in The Cage. For years he had cried at the mere mention of this torture chamber, but today had been different. He had willingly walked to the box, ripping the lid off the top of it, and climbed inside with no encouragement.

Even as the guard came over to put the lid back, he hadn’t begged and pleaded as he usually did; he had simply glared at him with a scalding hatred and then closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

I knew that I had to push ahead with my plans - things were moving faster than I had expected. How much longer would Khaos keep tolerating this for? Desperate people were sneaky.