3

~Avia 

It didn’t take me long to debrief everyone on what happened. 

They figured that if I was alive, everything had gone to plan, which it had. So much of this has been meticulous thought out, and yet so much of it working out is up to chance. We doubted many people in the Passion Pack know about Kenna, which is why we chose her...She also happens to look a lot like me, which is why I was picked to enter the estate in the first place. 

I’m also most willing to give myself up to prison. I’ve committed enough crimes against this Pack that I can’t go back into society with my real name anyway.

"Let me see her,” I say, getting anxious sitting too long at the table, pouring out all the details to Malin, my friend and part leader of this rebellion. Only part, because I am also a leader...We are in this together, her and I. 

Malin sighs, getting to her feet. The transfer of diverting Kenna’s transport and replacing me in that spot with her was a complicated process, and one that happened too quickly for me to get a chance to speak to her. She was sedated anyway. Even though this was my idea, guilt has been gnawing at me since it happened. I never wanted to put the poor girl in any harm, but for this to work, sacrifices have to be made. 

A voice sounds from the other corner of the room, an all too familiar figure emerging from the shadows. "You don't want to greet your boyfriend first?"

I push up from my chair, smiling at the taunting tone in Kadrick’s voice. Him and I have only been together for a few months, having met when Malin and I recruited him to be in our rebellion. He comes from a wealthy family, one who grew to resent when he found out about those in poverty being displaced in order to keep the rich in their homes. 

It took no convincing at all to have him recruited. He has joined a force of many here...There are unspeakable amounts of rebellions throughout the Passion Pack, all with the intention to take Alpha Isaiah and his cold reign down. 

And although we are not the largest, we are the closest in succeeding in that goal. 

"I'm sorry," I breathe, letting him envelop me in his arms, fluffy brown hair brushing against my forehead as I rest it in the crook of his neck. "I'm exhausted already."

Parting with Kadrick has been one of the hardest aspects of taking on this mission. He has told me he is okay with me seducing the Alpha, knowing that it will lead to him being taken down, but I know it bothers him. I can add it to my list of things to feel guilty about. 

"You're doing the right thing,” Malin assures from beside me. 

I tilt my head toward my best friend. She is the strongest woman I know, having been through far more than she is willing to share with me or anyone. Her and I lived in the same neighbourhood when the Alpha sent a group of soldiers to our homes to burn half of them down, all because we refused to leave. Her family all perished in the fires...

"I would say he seems nice, but I suppose everyone with a secret does," I mutter, running my hand back through my hair. "Until you find out the truth."

Even though he has the essence of the Alpha written all over him, Isaiah has been uncannily nice, to the point I have had to remind myself of what my mission is.

Malin shrugs, shoulders brushing against the straight edge of her dark hair. "Well, you know who he is, and what he has done."

"Where is she?" I question, slipping from Kadrick’s grasp. I want to see Kenna...the real Kenna. 

Malin nods for me to follow, so I do, entering the familiar hallways of the compound I have spent the last couples years. Kadrick follows, as he usually does. He is still unsure of how to handle Malin’s authority, her no-nonsense character. It’s the only reason she is able to do something like this and be so unfazed about it. She would never have been able to do the mission...She would have walked straight up to Isaiah and slit his throat, regardless of the consequences. 

"We have been keeping her in here,” Karick comments as we enter a room that was once my office. However my desk has vanished, the windows boarded up. 

And on the floor, a girl, ropes bound around her wrists, a piece of fabric over her mouth.

I flinch at the sight. She looks a lot like me, with dark brown hair and large blue eyes which stare up at me, filled with horror and despair. Seeing her reminds me of where I come from, where my family decided to move from...They never should have. This girl comes from luxury, having never experienced anything like this in her life. 

I turn my head toward Malin and my boyfriend, who share the same black eyes, despite not being related. "Kadrick...Why is she tied up?"

"She was causing us issues,” He rubs that back of his neck, glancing at Malin. 

I kneel down, gripping the tight fabric around the girls mouth, ripping it off her. "At least take her gag out."

She makes a few muffled sounds of distress, writhing in her binds, until the gag is finally freed from her. He has a pretty face, one that would have likely bewitched the Alpha had she not been interrupted. I wonder if they would have been married too...She may not be from the Passion Pack, but with her father being a Noble, she is in one of the best positions to be paired with the Alpha. 

"You disgusting bitch! You think you can keep me in here, huh?" she yells, her voice piercing through me like a shockwave, having me stepping back from her in a panic. "When I'm out of here, I'm going to ruin your life."

"Please calm down Kenna. I'm not going to hurt you,” I practically beg. I feel bad enough keeping her here against her will, but it had to be someone, and as innocent as she is, a month of trauma will have to be traded for the wellbeing of so many others in this pack. 

"Hurt me? You've already locked me up in here," she growls, so much fire in her voice I’m stunned. Part of me expected her to be frightened. "You should just kill me and get it over with."

Malin steps forward. "I know you don't see it now, but this is for the greater good."

Kenna looks between us all with pure hatred burning in her eyes. "You rebels have what's coming to you."

We do look like rebels right now. I’m dressed in what would be clothes left for Kenna by Isaiah’s staff, but Malin and Kadrick wear all black, skin-tight to show off the amount of physical work we have all had to put in to be fit enough for this kind of work. 

"She's been like this since we brought her in. She's furious,” Kadrick drawls, wearing that mask that still doesn’t fit him very well. He can be tough, but there is so much fear in him, so much guilt. I’ve been trying to coax it out of him for awhile, knowing one day it’s going to blow up within him and hurt all of us. 

"Wouldn't you be too?" I question, still hardly able to believe we have essentially kidnapped a girl. 

"She doesn't know that this is good for her yet,” Malin comments, a threat laced between the words. She circles Kenna, each step purposeful. Kenna lowers her head, looking down at the floor. I’m not sure what it is about Malin that frightens her so much, but honestly I can’t blame her. 

I turn around so I don’t have to look at the girl, facing Kadrick. "I don't like the idea of holding someone captive. It's really crossing the line."

"It needs to be done. If you're in there and the Alpha finds out you're an imposter, he won't let you leave alive,” Kadrick reminds me, thick brows furrowing together. The tension in his tone is painfully evident. If he had his way, we would forget all this and run away together, but that’s just an unrealistic dream...

"And everything has been done to ensure that doesn't happen," I remind him, opening the office door to step out. Malin follows behind us, letting the door flicker close, before she bolts it shut. "Intercepted any letters yet?"

"None. Doesn't sound like her father cares all that much about her," Malin admits with a shrug, that wry smile making my stomach turn. She has no issue punishing the rich, the better off. I only have hate for those who have done us wrong directly. "If he did, he wouldn't have sent her to this Pack."

I lean against the wall of the hallway. "Isaiah feels like he has to impress me, it feels. He's being so gentle and kind."

Malin raised a brow. "He's a great liar."

That much is true, and soon, I will reveal everything that is going on behind the scenes, and I will completely dismantle his reign over this Pack. And then we can all start over, rewrite the system that has punished us so much...That is what it is all for. I don’t want anyone to experience my pain, or Malin’s ever again. 

"I know," I whisper, looking down at myself, at the fine clothing that Kenna was meant to wear, that I thankfully fit, for the most part."I want her in another room where she has room to walk around.”

Malin exchanges a glance with Kadrick, and I know my order isn’t likely to be followed. 

“It’s time for you to get back,” Kadrick sighs reluctantly, gripping my hand before letting it slide from his fingers. “The Alpha isn’t going to seduce himself…”