Chapter 16

Liliana’s POV

I watched Caden stand in the middle of that dusty, pathetic cabin. His shoulders slumped under the weight of his own failure. He looked small. For a man who claimed to be an Alpha, he looked remarkably like a boy who had broken his favorite toy and realized too late that he could not put it back together.

“You are still chasing her,” I said.

My voice cut through the silence like a blade. I did not bother with the dainty, trembling tone I used when the pack was watching. There was no need for that act here.

“Even now, with the proof of your treason sitting in her hands, you are thinking about her. You are wondering if she is safe.”

Caden stiffened. His jaw locked tight. He would not look at me. He just stared at the floor. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides.

“I am thinking about the pack, Liliana,” he replied. “I am thinking about how to fix this disaster.”

“Are you?” I asked, taking a slow step forward. My eyes traced the line of his spine. “Because I do not see an Alpha fixing a problem. I see a man who is terrified that the woman he discarded has finally decided to hit back. You still love her, do you not? Despite the lies, despite the fated bond we share, you still harbor a pathetic lingering attachment to that girl.”

“That is not true,” he snapped.

He finally turned to face me. His eyes were gold, flashing with volatile defensive heat.

“She was my responsibility for three years. Of course I do not want her dead. That does not mean I have feelings for her.”

“Your hesitation says everything, Caden,” I replied. A cold, sharp smile played on my lips. “Your silence is louder than your excuses. You are mourning her. You are mourning the loss of the only person who actually knew how to run this pack.”

He growled. A low, guttural sound vibrated in the small room.

“Do not talk about her as if you know her,” he warned. “You are nothing like her. You are—”

“I am exactly what you wanted,” I interrupted, my tone icy. “I am a beautiful, soft, compliant distraction. Is that not what you told yourself every night you slept beside her? That you wanted someone who did not carry the weight of the world on her shoulders?”

Caden paced toward the window. His movements were jagged and unnatural. He looked at the trees outside. His expression was haunted.

“I did what I had to do,” he muttered. “Everything was supposed to be perfect. The pup, the transition, the legacy. Everything was supposed to fall into place.”

“And yet it is all crumbling,” I said. My voice dropped to a low, mocking whisper. “You are weak, Caden. You are a weak man playing at being a king.”

He spun back around. His eyes were wild.

“Then help me!” he demanded. “If I am so weak, tell me how to stop her! She has the ledger. If she gets to the Council, my life is forfeit. Your life is forfeit. Does that mean nothing to you?”

“Of course it means something,” I said.

I stepped right into his personal space. I looked up into his face. My expression was unreadable.

“But I do not need your help to handle a jilted ex-lover. I have my own ways of dealing with people who refuse to stay in their place.”

“She is not just a person,” he insisted. His voice was thick with unearned protective instinct. “She is the daughter of an Alpha. If you touch her, her pack will descend upon us.”

“Let them come,” I sneered. “I have never feared the pack, and I certainly do not fear her.”

“I need to go,” Caden said abruptly.

His resolve wavered.

“I need to check the border guards. If she is trying to leave the territory, I will find her.”

He pushed past me. His haste was pathetic.

I watched him storm out of the cabin. His boots pounded against the earth. He was running, still hoping, still chasing the ghost of his former life.

He was a fool, but he was a useful one.

I waited until the sound of his engine faded into the distance. The cabin was silent now save for the wind rattling the broken door.

I walked to the table where Serena had left her note. I picked up the scrap of paper. I folded it carefully and tucked it away.

I moved to the center of the room. My posture shifted. The facade of the fragile pregnant mistress dropped completely.

I felt the air grow heavy with the hum of a different kind of power.

I pulled a small obsidian stone from the pocket of my robe and held it to my ear.

“It is done,” I whispered.

My voice was fluid, resonant, and entirely foreign.

“He is getting suspicious. His resolve is weakening, and his sentimentality is proving to be a genuine liability.”

I paused, listening to the static on the other end of the connection. My eyes flickered toward the dark treeline where the shadows seemed to pulse with an ancient, hungry anticipation.

“He thinks he is in control, but he is merely a placeholder for the harvest,” I continued. My voice dropped into a register that sounded like grinding stone. “The situation with the girl has escalated, and our leverage is shifting. We can no longer afford to wait for the ceremony. We move the plan forward. Tonight.”

The voice on the other end responded in the same ancient tongue—low and approving.

I smiled to myself.

Everything was falling into place faster than I had anticipated.

“Yes, the harvest will be bountiful,” I replied. “Caden has served his purpose. Once the girl is dealt with and the Council is distracted, we strike. The pack will be ours. The power will be ours.”

I ended the call and slipped the stone back into my pocket.

The cabin felt different now—not empty, but full of something cold and inevitable.

I walked to the door and looked out at the moon, which was beginning to pale as the night deepened.

Everything was prepared.

The pack was broken.

The Alpha was distracted.

And the sacrifice was finally in place.

It was time to reap what had been sown.

I stepped outside. The cool night air brushed against my skin.

My mind raced with the next steps.

Serena thought she had escaped. She had no idea that she was walking straight into a web far larger than Caden and his pathetic schemes.

My true allies waited in the shadows.

Ancient forces that made the Alpha Council look like children playing at power.

Caden would chase her. He would waste his energy and resources.

And while he did, I would tighten the noose around this entire territory.

Liliana the fragile mistress was merely a mask.

The real power had always been mine.

I touched my stomach lightly.

The pup was real enough to sell the story, but it served a greater purpose. A bridge to complete control.

Once Caden was no longer useful, the child would ensure my position.

Or perhaps it would not.

Plans could change.

A soft laugh escaped my lips.

The sound carried into the trees.

Serena had the ledger, but I had something far more dangerous. I had patience and allies in places no one would suspect.

I also had the will to do what needed to be done.

By morning, the first pieces would fall. Caden would return exhausted and desperate.

I would comfort him with sweet lies and soft touches.

He would never see the blade until it was at his throat.

I turned back toward the main house. My steps were light and confident.

The game had entered a new phase.

And this time, I would not be the one left behind.

The wind picked up. It whispered secrets through the leaves, making me smile.

Let them come. Let Serena run to her father and let the Council stir.

None of it mattered because the harvest was coming. And I would be the one to claim it all.