1. CHURNING RUMORS AND THE ‘ELABORATE’ PLAN

CHAPTER ONE- CHURNING RUMORS AND THE ‘ELABORATE’ PLAN

1620 AD,

Silver Crest Packhouse,

10:46 am

“No!” The skinny redhead exclaimed after hearing her best friend’s outrageous tale, her brown eyes wide as saucers. “I don’t believe you.”

“I cross my heart, Jen,” The busty blonde— Katie said, her voice lowering to take on a more conspiratorial tone, “Alpha Killian is really impotent. The rumors are true.” 

The two she-wolves were in the Silver Crest pack gym house, working their asses off after a night of partying and intoxication.

“Well, what are you waiting for, Katie? Come on, give mama the juicy deets!”

Katie laughed, “Jeez! So impatient.” She teased. Placing her pair of dumbbells on the cold ground, she proceeded to tell her best friend the story.

“So… when you left me to go hang out with that insane boyfriend of yours,” Katie paused her story to shoot the redhead an accusatory look. The she-wolf had the decency to wince and look down in shame. “I got invited by a couple of wolves into the VIP area, and let me tell you Jen, it was a real orgy down there.” She lowered her voice, “Alpha Killian was there, totally drunk… in fact no one in that room was sober, every alcohol in there was mixed with wolfsbane—”

“Come on Katie, must you start at the very beginning? I want the scoop on the Alpha!” Jen interrupted her in a loud whisper. She knew the topic of their conversation was very sensitive, and that they’d be in trouble should they be caught hence the precautions.

“Alright, alright. So he motioned for me to come sit next to him, which I did. Next thing I know, he’s kissing me senseless, feeling every part of me,” She sighed deeply, a dreamy look making its way onto her face. “I had never felt the way I felt yesterday before, Jen— never. Naturally… I straddled him, grinding against him, itching for more, but his cock never rose.”

“What?”

“I swear, Jen. I reached down to help him out with my hands, but he pushed me off with so much fury, I thought he was going to strike me dead. Then just like that he was gone.” Katie finished, reaching down for the dumbbells again and resuming her routine. Jen stood there, frozen in shock, still taking the whole tale in. 

She cleared her throat after a moment. 

“It still doesn’t mean anything, Katie.” She told her best friend in conviction. “He might have been too drunk to get it up. O-or he could be into men?”

“No. A woman knows when a man is into men, and I’m telling you that Alpha Killian is certainly not gay. He is definitely impotent.” The busty blonde insisted.

“Maybe there’s a third option; he wasn’t that into you.” An authoritative voice inputted, causing the two she-wolves to turn in horror and shame.

“Beta Sullivan,” They both greeted with a curtsy, trying hard to keep their gazes to the ground.

Kendra Sullivan, Beta of the Silver Crest Pack shot them both a look of contempt. 

One thing she couldn’t stand were gossiping women who had nothing to do but talk about others. She wouldn’t have gotten to where she was today if she had wasted her time on backbiting and idle conversation.

“Head over to the sparring area and get to work.” She ordered them. The two she-wolves scurried to obey her command, pausing when she called for them.

“Yes, Beta Sullivan?” They stopped in their tracks, turning to face her.

“I’m not going to be this lenient next time.”

With a quick nod, the girls curtsied and scampered off. Kendra watched them go.

Damn that stupid idiot!

She thought to herself angrily as she headed for the Alpha’s office, her waist-length afro curls bouncing in tune to her movements, her light blue everyday gown swishing about her. 

The female-Beta barged into the Alpha’s office without knocking— an action that no other person in their right mind would ever dare.

“Killian.”

The broad, thick tall, bronze-colored Adonis paid his Beta no mind, choosing instead to gulp down his shot of scotch. He knew Kendra well enough to know that she was angry. With him.

But for the love of him, he didn’t know what he could have possibly done.

“Killian—”

“Whaaaat, Ken?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me, Kill. Have you been out of your study today?”

Killian shot her a confused look. “No. What’s going on outside?”

“The rumors are spreading… about your uhm— condition.” Kendra lowered her tone. She knew this was a very sensitive issue for her friend; being impotent and incapable of falling in love. 

They had been friends since childhood, she and Killian. 

Kendra remembered that day very well. 

She had just moved into the pack with her parents, and was starting third grade at Silver Crest Elementary. A couple of boys had crowded around her, mocking her dark, creamy chocolate skin color. 

Kendra had bawled her heart out that day, and to be honest if you asked her what her greatest regret to this day was, she’d tell you it was not standing up for herself back then. 

But that was how she had met Killian. 

He had swooped in like some gallant knight to save her. He had been beaten black and blue— as was expected of a little kid who tried to take out an entire mob on his own, but the ordeal had brought them together and it had started the budding friendship that had led them to where they were today.

Kendra began to like Killian since then, and the feelings progressed more and more as the years went by– even though she tried to tell herself that wasn’t the case all the time. 

The thing was that, Killian was family, and with his whole condition, she felt that any ideas she entertained in her head were only going to bring her nothing but heartbreak and trouble.

“I see.” Killian muttered, snapping the she-wolf out of her thoughts.

“What are we going to do about it, Kill?” She asked in concern when it became apparent that he wasn’t going to say anything else.

“Well, if rumors are churning let it, Kendra.” He brushed her concerns off nonchalantly. “How long did we think we were going to keep this a secret?” He wondered out loud. “Better they know now so they don’t have any silly notions that I’m going to find a wife and give them an heir.” 

Kendra studied the Alpha. 

With his head full of curly dark hair cropped at the sides, and his attractive face and even more captivating body, he was every woman’s dream man.

Every woman but her, that is.

Kendra didn’t think about those things much—hell, to say she didn’t think about it at all would be a huge lie. But Killian was more than that. He was family.

Why do you think such unholy thoughts about him then?

She ignored her conscience’s ramblings and steered her musings back to Killian.

Her heart ached for her friend.

Even though he tried to come off as nonchalant and unbothered about the whole thing, Kendra knew it was just an act. The wolf was worried.

The rumors had been too outrageous to be true when she had heard it back when she was just a little girl, but they were true.

The Goddess of love had really cursed the Silvercrest family because of how beautiful Killian’s mother had been. Killian’s mother had died a slow and painful death and the grief had claimed her husband, Alpha Jackson shortly after. The Silvercrests had all died slow, torturous, and lonely deaths.

Killian was the only one in the family left now.

And Kendra was going to do whatever it took to get him out of the silly curse— even if she had to die trying.

“Everything will be fine, Kill,” She assured him. “We’ll get you out of this, you’ll see.”

There was a brief knock at his door. Killian ordered whoever it was to come in. 

In stepped the Oracle for the pack, Maymunah… a frail old woman whose looks hinted at how beautiful she must have been in her youthful days. “I have bad news, Killian.” She rasped, getting right to the point. She knew that whatever it was she wanted to say, she could say in front of Kendra, even if it was a sensitive issue. 

“What is it now? Are the Riverdale Pack planning another attack on us again?” Killian growled, his blue eyes turning silver for a brief moment as he struggled to rein his wolf in.

“I’m afraid it’s more than that, Killian. This concerns Aphrodite.”

What more could she want now?

“What is it, Maymunah?” 

This time, as he spoke, Kendra noticed that the Alpha seemed hopeful, and if she was being honest with herself, so was she. Maybe the Goddess had finally decided to revoke the curse— undoubtedly at an outrageous cost.

“Aphrodite has changed the terms of the curse now, Killian. I saw a vision where she had an argument with the Moon Goddess, Selene who had tried to argue on your behalf. There’s a way you can break it now— in fact that is what we should be trying to figure out now,” came the Oracle’s answer, her tone very serious. “Because the whole pack will be destroyed if we don’t.

****

Kendra sat in one of the chairs opposite the Alpha’s huge one, her stockinged legs thrown casually over his desk as she watched him pace in the office. 

Killian was angry.

“The whole pack is at stake now, Kendra!” He practically screamed in her face. Any other wolf would have flinched, but not Kendra. “And it’s my family’s fault.”

“If it’s anyone’s fault, we all know who it should be, but Killian we can find you love. We can do this without Aphrodite’s blessing.” Kendra tried.

“You know that’s impossible, Ken.” The Alpha refuted. “You know that love, marriage, and children are a sanctity that only she can bestow on her chosen ones.”

Kendra pursed her lips. “I didn’t peg you as one who takes things lying down, Kill.” She lashed out, her brown eyes shining in anger. 

“I’m not.” Killian roared.

“Good. Then act like it, and stop lamenting like a pussy. We all know that’s not going to solve a fucking thing!”

Kendra regretted yelling at him, but it was needed to get him in control. All his life, the poor man had been stressed and worried. He didn’t deserve this? 

Her heart ached for her friend. 

She gave him some time.

When Killian had gotten his heartbeat to a human level and the color of his irises had changed from their frightening gray to their normal blue, he sighed. “What do we do now, Ken?” 

Kendra looked up at him and shot him a grin. “I think I have just the thing in mind.”

****

“Are you insane?!” Killian exploded after hearing Kendra’s ‘elaborate’ plan. “No. I’m not doing it.” He declared conclusively, his fine head bobbing to the left and right.

“That’s our only option, Kill.” 

“No. There has to be another way. You know how these women are, Ken. They faint when their corset is too tight, they faint when they hear bad news. Do you think without Aphrodite’s blessing, they’d love me? Especially when for most of our courtship period, I’d be a monster?”

Kendra chuckled. “One thing I know women love after Love, Killian… is power. And you have that. Trust me, it’s going to work.”

The Alpha pondered over the she-wolf’s words, begrudgingly admitting to himself that there was a semblance of truth to her words. “Time is of the essence though, Ken… the red moon is fast approaching.” 

Kendra smirked. He was warming up to her idea! “I know… that’s why you’ll court many women at once.” She declared. “We’ll set different times for you to meet up with them. At least one of them will fall through, you’ll see.”

One of them had to!

She didn’t say this part out loud though, not wanting to come off as doubtful. She wanted the Alpha to have faith, so he could put in his all… he definitely didn’t need any negative energy or uncertainty.

“Alright fine.” Alpha Killian sighed. “I’ll do it. Get the women lined up, and then let me know.” He made to leave the office, but stopped in his tracks. “Thanks for helping me out, Ken. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

Kendra grinned. Killian rarely got sentimental like this. “Anytime, Alpha.”

She watched the broad wolf close the door behind him, and then the smile disappeared from her face. 

What had she done?