Chapter 64

Mira’s POV

They stared at me like hungry dogs waiting for bones. We had crammed ourselves into the old barracks...the one nobody bothered with anymore, tucked away in the ass-end of the training fields. Smelled like wet socks and regret, but secrets love a bit of stink. I picked it on purpose. No Elora lurking around, no Dante glowering in the shadows. My stage, my rules.

I didn’t bother with sugarcoating. “Let’s not kid ourselves,” I said, arms crossed, voice bouncing off moldy stone. “We’ve got no Alpha. Dominic’s basically a ghost. Hasn’t said anything in days, but we still act like he’s in charge. What a joke.”

Some of them got real squirmy at that, like I had just torn open a wound. But under all that discomfort, I saw little nods. They knew I was right.

Kellan, big guy, not a lot going on upstairs, grunted. “Elora’s running things now. She’s at his side, calling shots.”

I flashed a smile sharp enough to cut butter. “Is she, though? Or is Dante running the show while she plays puppet? You’ve all seen it. She clings to him at every council. Says she’s fighting for Dominic, but what if she’s just after the throne?”

That shut them up. Silence, thick and tasty.

I leaned in, dropped my voice really low, and made them strain to hear. “What if she poisoned him?”

Eyes went wide. Didn’t need to spell it out, the idea already wriggling into their heads, setting up shop. Doubt’s a nasty parasite, once it gets in, good luck shaking it.

I kept going, softer now, like I was confessing a sin. “I’ve served Dominic since before Elora even sniffed these halls. I cared for him long before she showed up. Now I watch him rot while she grins at council meetings. Ask yourselves...who wins if he dies?”

Kellan mumbled something, and I caught her name. Perfect. The cracks were spreading.

I started pacing, boots scraping the stone just to make sure they heard me. “You’re not pawns. You’re warriors. You really want to kneel to some girl hiding behind a broken Alpha’s son? Or do you want real power? Someone who actually gives a damn about you, not someone who treats you like meat for the grinder?”

They watched me, hungry, desperate, almost hypnotized.

“If Dominic goes,” I whispered, “I’ll need men I can trust. Men who’ll help hold the pack together while everyone else tears it apart. Stick with me, and you’ll get more than crumbs. Rank. Land. Respect. All of it.”

You could practically see the gears turning, greed’s always louder than loyalty.

They nodded, at first just a twitch, then with real conviction. Not a mob yet, but enough. Enough to let my poison spread, barracks, training fields, even the grubby taverns. Let the infection do its work.

By moonrise, they’d be whispering my words to anyone who’d listen, twisting the story tighter. Elora the poisoner. Elora the snake. Elora, weak and dangerous all at once. Hell of a reputation.

Later that night, I crept through the castle halls. Servants scattered, eyes glued to the floor, but I saw their backs stiffen when I passed. My influence was already worming its way through the cracks, making folks glance sideways at Elora’s chambers.

Stopped at a window, peered down into the courtyard. Elora was pacing, talking to Dante, hands balled up, I could see the stress from all the way up here.

Beautiful.

Let them chew each other up. Every minute Elora looked shaky, I got a little stronger.

The next morning, I was back in the barracks. More faces this time, not just Kellan’s crew, word travels fast when power’s on the table.

I played my part, looked tired, betrayed, like I had just swallowed a mouthful of ashes. “I should be next to Dominic,” I said, letting my voice crack a bit. “But Elora keeps me out. She says it’s for his good, but really? She just doesn’t want anyone to see what she’s up to.”

They were listening, eyes darting between each other. I pressed on.

“You’ve all seen him. He’s wasting away. You think that just…happened? No way. Someone wanted him gone. And who’s waiting to pick up the pieces? Elora. With Dante propping her up, she’ll use every one of you to keep herself in power.”

I looked them dead in the eye, one by one. “Unless we stop her.”

I didn't need any cheer. Their silence was enough. They were with me.

By sundown, the gossip hit the council like a thunderclap. It didn't really matter that I wasn’t sitting in there, stuff like that, it moves through a place like ours faster than a bad smell.

“Elora poisoned Dominic,” hissed some maid in the corridor.

“She and Dante cooked it up together,” a stable hand snorted, flicking hay from his shirt.

“She’s after the throne, you know she is.”

I just picked up scraps as I drifted by, one more delicious than the last.

Back in my room, I stood at the mirror, dragging a brush through my hair. My own face looked back at me, composed, stunning, a little smug. Untouchable, honestly.

Soon enough, the pack would see what I saw. Not Elora, the shaky little mouse. Not Dante, all sulk and scowl.

Me.

Mira.

The only one actually worth the crown.

The thing is, power’s like a houseplant, if you don’t give it something to chew on, it withers.

So I kept showing up at the barracks. Night after night. Every time, more guys hang around, more voices buzz. They started grilling me for details, and I tossed them just enough to keep them hungry. Gave them riddles instead of answers. They didn’t need facts, they needed a reason to get scared.

“Gonna wait till the whole pack falls apart?” I snapped at them, eyes flashing. “Or are you gonna have your shit together when the truth lands?”

Their heads bobbed like puppets. They were mine. Not all the way yet, but close. Real close.

That last night, as I slipped out, hugging the shadows along the stone walls, I couldn’t help grinning.

Elora was still playing nurse by Dominic’s side, and Dante was still kissing up to the council, so desperate to look clean. Meanwhile, I was already redrawing the map.

No blades needed. No messy bodies on the floor.

Just whispers.

And once you let those loose, good luck ever stuffing them back in the bottle.