You Wouldn't Dare (Khaos Trilogy Book 1), стр. 78
I had even hesitantly brought up the prospect of mating, only to be completely shut down in the gentlest way possible.
Two weeks of this and enough was enough, I was going to get my man if it killed me.
Amanda’s Diary
She actually left!
She’s gone.
Goddess only knows where that monster of a man of a man has taken her!
Her poor father is inconsolable! He’s absolutely beside himself, waiting for the moment when we feel the pack bond being ripped and severed. If that foolish girl goes ahead with this charade of mating, Goddess help her.
I honestly am getting just a little bit sick and tired of the utter selfishness of that girl. Her life was a dream here, she had everything! A prominent member of society, she would have lived with nothing but respect and held in the highest regard amongst the most prestigious of social circles. Khaos may be powerful and respected, but we would never accept him. His respect comes from his sheer strength and abilities, and not the well-bred mannerisms of his superiors.
We had to act quick, I would not allow my daughter to throw away everything I had worked so hard for! There was even talk of removing me as head of the she-wolves for our circle.
Me!
As if anyone could possibly achieve the level of dignity and poise I brought to the group!
The uprising had me slightly worried though, if enough idiots band together, they usually can kick up enough of a storm to get their own way - and this is where I found myself ringing Nyx once more and finalising our plan.
It was amazingly simple really. Both of us agreed that it would be utterly preposterous, (although Nyx said, “plain fucking moronic”, she really is the most uncouth and unladylike she-wolf), to storm an attack on the Dragonheart pack. The men there were beyond any normal warriors, almost feral in the way they trained and attacked. Honestly, it was borderline ridiculous. I would never allow my mate to become so obsessed, loving the bloodshed more than me! A man’s place in this world was to keep his mate happy, not to abandon her for the sweaty, unhygienic battlefields! Goodness, no!
So that’s where the utter brilliance came in - it really is such a fantastic plan! And oh, so simple!
I keep finding myself almost wanting to clap my hands together in glee and share the news amongst everyone, but Nyx had warned that we must be patient. One wrong move and we’ve destroyed everything.
Well, I wasn’t Luna of this pack for no reason! It was insulting of Nyx to even suggest that I would slip up and reveal the plan before we were ready. It was no secret that my mate was a figurehead. Behind the scenes, I ran this pack and we did things on my order.
Oh yes, Luna Amanda of the Atlantis Pack could keep her fair share of secrets, let me tell you!
The world would be shocked if they knew the extent to which I maintained power and ownership of all my surroundings, just by playing confidant to these idiots. Lending a friendly ear to those that needed it in the guise of friendships.
It’s amazing what one can learn that way!
So, the plan is as follows:
My mate, a few of our warriors, together with Nyx and her Beta managed to find the source of the Dragonheart pack’s water supply! How wonderfully marvellous! This means we really don’t have to do much of the work at all! A little Wolfsbane goes a long way, and we had it in abundance.
A little bit here, a little bit there, the entire pack would swallow it daily! They would wash their clothes in it, their dishes cleaned in it, it would be everywhere! The symptoms would start off slowly, nothing worse than a stomach-ache.
Obviously, the tricky part was keeping them from being overly suspicious. Wolves don’t get sick for long; no mere human disease will ever keep us off our feet. However, we can suffer from a bout of “plague” so to speak. Every so often a disease will appear amongst the wolf community, and it can be absolutely rife in packs that are in close proximity. If we kept the dosage of wolfsbane low enough, it was easy for them to confuse it with one of those illnesses.
Stomach-ache, sickness, headaches, loss of appetite, nose bleeds, all these were easy to pass off and not raise the suspicions of the pack doctor. At least not until it was too late. Besides, what was the usual advice to combat a sickness bug? Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
Oh, it was all so easy! Why hadn’t I done this years ago? I could have a pack the size of a small country by now, instead of the stupid rules of battle that we had to adhere to.
I didn’t ask Nyx to elaborate when she told me she had vast experience dealing with Wolfsbane - I would sever all ties with this woman, (and believe me I use that term lightly, she was more deadly than most of the men I knew), as soon as this was all over. I had no intention of becoming her friend, nor acquaintance, and so I simply nodded, leaving her to her delusions that we really were in this together whilst letting her do all the legwork.
The first batch of Wolfsbane was being deployed tonight, and we’d see how things went on this daily dosage for a week or so before deciding our next course of action.
Although, between you and me, I may have sent my mate with a smidge more than what we had initially