Chapter 15

Landon's POV

Talia walks out on me, with her "going to grab dinner" excuse. 

She's hurt for multiple reasons, and I get her. Losing a child must hurt, not especially one who's more than a child but a doorway to the realization of our ambitions. We were so fucking close. 

I have to think of something fast.

Vance and Talia should be back from the games now. 

Jackpot! 

 "Hey Mars," Between my wolf and I, he's always been the smarter one, "what do you think are the chances of me being crowned Alpha in the case of Vance's demise." 

 "You are second in command, isn't that clear enough?" Mars validation waters my ego, making me lust after Vance's disappearance all the more. 

 "And how well do you think I would do?" I really do not care, at all. I'm just trying to talk to someone to escape the riot in my head. 

 "We both know you do not give a flying fuck about that." He says in a no nonsense manner. "Just do what you have to do, heck, I wanna feel how Alex feels when he goes 'Pack mates!' at pack meetings." Each with their reasons, but the goals align, that's fair enough. 

 "But we both also know that I'd need to actually look after over five hundred wolves, some voracious, for both prey and power." I reply to Mars. 

 "It's a step at a time." He says like a sage, "moreover, it's not the most important thing now. Vance still lives, you're still his bloody beta." That stung, more than it's supposed to too. 

 "What do you suggest?" I ask him, ignoring my hurt.

 "How about you think it up?" Bad man, bad wolf, dad always said. 

Talia and Vance are obviously not on talking terms. If they are going to be together, I have to think of something that would keep her in oblivion and at the same time not implicate her. Although I really couldn't care less… 

Nadia should be back soon

She claims it's dinner, but I know she just has to clear her head. 

I need to come up with something feasible before her return. 

A plan that would work after her loss would be the relief she so badly needs. 

I feel like a failure for having to go through my plans more than three times now. Three fucking attempts on Vance's life, all falling through so pathetically, one would think Nadia and I were spellbound. 

I also have to think of something that is less complicated and can be done right away. 

What could it be? 

Nadia would soon be back from her dinner. Dinner? Yes! Dinner. 

It's that time of the day, everyone is settling down to eat the last meal. 

We could poison Vance's dinner. To do that, we kinda need an insider. Talia is totally out of it. 

The only option left is the weird non wolf maid. Nadia is a bit cordial with her. Just maybe this is the plan we have been waiting for. We don't need to lift a finger, just sit and watch and wait. 

Some parts of me sometimes wished the gamma somehow wanted what I wanted for Vance, it would have been so much easier. 

I've always known Vance would be hard to take out, I also do know it would not be impossible. 

 "Hey." Nadia announces her presence, bringing me back from my reverie. 

I have something like the skeleton of our plan sketched out in my mind. 

She looks whitish, more faint than she looked when she left here. 

Her eyes are sunken with purple circles and her skin has a pale tone. 

Nadia's steps are unsteady and she begins to experience difficulty breathing. 

 "Are you alright?" I'm worried, but I want to tread with caution. 

 "On the way back from the diners," With her voice barely making it past a whisper, "I saw a couple of men, all of hefty build, with masked faces and hoodies…" Nadia is trailing off, and a single drop of blood comes running down her nostril. 

 "Hey, babe! Babe!" I started by gently tapping her hands and cheeks, but she's unresponsive, slowly passing out in my arms. "Nadia! Look at me, look at me. Don't you tear your eyes off." Her eyes close involuntarily. 

Thankfully, her heart beat and pulse are still both normal and healthy. 

Since whoever did this attacked Nadia and not Tyla, it means Tyla should still be very much okay. 

I try talking to Tyla through our mindlink, for a minute, nothing's going through. 

 "Hi Mars" Tyla says after a frightful wait. 

 "Hey," There is really no time for pleasantries, "what happened? " 

 "The hefty gruff men attacked Nadia with silver rings on their fingers." Tyla explains, it's enough reason to make her look this battered. 

If Tyla wasn't out, Nadia shouldn't have been hurt by the silver so badly. 

 "...bashed her head against stones so badly I was about to come out when they resorted to using silver, and said 'Tell Landon to be there by eight tonight'". 

Fuck! It's nothing new. You can't have your cake and eat it. It's common enough to be a saying. 

I knew who they were, and what they wanted. Why does everything have to be so hard?! 

I have to nurse Nadia to health, and it has to be immediately. 

Tyla is a very resilient wolf, and would heal in time from the effect of the silver rings. 

I start by dabbing her forehead with warm water. 

Blood starts returning to her pale lifeless fingers and she blinks back into life. 

 "Hey Babe," I say as soon as her eyes stop falling shut. "Should I get the doctor?"

 "Water." She croaks with intense pain, raising her head up as if to let words flow out. 

 It's six-thirty. Vance does not yet know that Nadia has lost the baby. 

Or… 

We could use this situation to our advantage. 

 "Have you thought of something?" Nadia asks. She's barely back to life and breathing and that is what is on her mind? Well, thank the moon goddess for an ambitious mate like myself. 

 "How about you get their weird looking maid to slip this in his meal?" I show her the little vial containing all that could make us what we want to be. My mind is made up about it, but it's best I put it as a suggestion to her. "We don't have to plan any home invasion, moreover we are not going to be suspects." I really hope my voice does not betray the eagerness and excitement in me. 

 "Hand it over." She says, sitting up straight with her back against the wall. The injuries on her face, although cleaned, look fresh and bad. 

She tucks it into a small purse which is still slung over her sloppy shoulders. 

I notice she wants to stand up and I help her, putting my arms below hers. "Are you coming?" She asks. 

 "Now?" 

 "Yeah." 

Nadia walks out of my apartment leaving me to lock the door behind me. 

 "Nadia." I call her but she's nowhere in sight.