Ch 3- A dangerous plan

Maya’s POV

“I have an idea!”

Valeria suddenly exclaimed, clasping my face between her hands. Her eyes lit up with excitement, and for the first time since I had told her about my impending marriage, she looked as though she had found a solution to our problems.

“Let’s run away!”

Gracious Goddess!

The idea was so tempting that I almost jumped out of my chair.

It wasn’t the first time Valeria and I had contemplated escaping from my family. Over the years, we had spent countless hours dreaming about packing our bags, sneaking through the kitchen door, stealing a couple of horses from the stables, and riding away to start a new life somewhere nobody knew our names or cared about our past.

Back then, it had been nothing more than a childish fantasy. But now, with my wedding to Lord Draken approaching, the idea seemed like a lifeline. Unfortunately, reality was never as kind as our imagination.

“I can’t,” I said sadly, staring into space. “Lord Draken will still hold my father responsible for my disappearance. He might retaliate against the pack.”

Valeria’s excitement dimmed slightly.

“As much as I want to save myself, I can’t condemn innocent people to suffer because of me.”

The thought alone made my chest ache. Our pack was already struggling to recover from years of hardship. The last thing we needed was a war with the vampires.

Valeria released my legs and jumped to her feet, pacing in front of the cold chimney. She had a peculiar habit of walking whenever she needed to think. According to her, remaining still prevented her brain from functioning properly.

I watched her move back and forth, hoping she would come up with something that didn’t involve sacrificing my life. Suddenly, she stopped and tapped her lips thoughtfully.

“What if we use a reverse mechanism?”

I frowned.

“A what?”

“What if you were taken against your will?” she asked, her eyes brightening. “That dead bloodsucker wouldn’t blame the pack. He would have no choice but to accept his loss.”

I stared at her, struggling to understand what she was suggesting.

“Valeria, I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

She rolled her eyes impatiently. “What I’m saying is, what if you were abducted?”

“Abducted?” I repeated, my voice rising.

“Yes!” Her excitement grew with every word. “Imagine you’re on your way to the vampire’s gothic fortress when a group of scoundrels ambushes you and carries you away. Your father and brothers would be innocent. Lord Draken would have no reason to punish the pack, and you would be free to disappear without anyone suspecting the truth.”

I gripped the arms of my chair, staring at her in disbelief.

“Are you suggesting that I plan my own kidnapping?”

Valeria nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly! We could pay some miscreants to attack you and make the whole thing convincing. Once they carry you away, you disappear, and the story spreads that the Alpha’s daughter has been abducted by unknown enemies.”

For several seconds, I simply stared at her. Then I slowly leaned back in my chair.

“Val, this is the most brilliant plan you’ve ever come up with.”

She grinned, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. “All my plans are brilliant.”

“Of course they are!” A small laugh escaped me, the first genuine one since my father had decided to trade my future for a political alliance.

But my amusement quickly faded as reality caught up with us.

“There’s just one problem,” I said.

Valeria’s smile faltered. “What’s that?”

“How am I supposed to make this happen? Where will I find bandits willing to do the job? And even if we find them, where will I get the money to pay them?”

Her expression turned thoughtful. For a moment, she said nothing. Then she twisted her fingers into her apron and lowered her voice.

“What about your mother’s nuptial dowry?”

My smile disappeared.

My mother’s dowry.

The words carried me back to a place I had spent years trying to avoid. My mother’s room, the Luna Suite, had remained almost untouched since her death. The servants assigned to clean it once a week were the only people permitted inside, and they were even careful not to disturb anything. Her belongings remained exactly where she had left them.

Her hairbrush still rested on the dressing table, and her old-fashioned dresses hung neatly inside the wardrobe. Her jewelry remained carefully stored away, preserved like precious memories of a woman who had been taken from us far too soon.

When I was younger, Valeria and I would sneak into the room whenever we found an opportunity.

We would explore her belongings, admiring the beautiful fabrics and glittering jewelry. Sometimes, I would lift one of her dresses to my face and inhale deeply, hoping to catch even the faintest trace of her scent. It was my childish way of feeling close to a mother I barely remembered.

Sometimes, I would drape her necklaces around my neck and stare at myself in the mirror, wondering why I hadn’t inherited her breathtaking beauty.

Those memories were bittersweet.

My mother had been the only person who might have protected me from my father’s resentment. She had died giving birth to me, and ever since then, I had lived with the knowledge that my existence reminded my father of the woman he had lost.

I had never asked to be born. Yet somehow, I had spent my entire life paying for it.

Valeria and I knew there was an ancient box hidden inside my mother’s closet. It contained the treasures my father had given her during their marriage: exquisite Muga silks, Persian pearls, and gold jewelry.

At the bottom of the box was a mulberry silk satchel containing three hundred gold coins.

Three hundred gold coins.

Enough to pay the men we needed.

Enough to buy our freedom.

But taking them would mean breaking into the one room my father guarded most fiercely.

“If Father discovers that I’ve taken something from Mother’s chamber…” I shuddered.

The memory of the punishment I had received the last time he caught me trying on her clothes was still painfully vivid. He had made it very clear that I was never to touch her belongings again.

Valeria stepped closer, her expression softening. “Maya, I want you to understand something. If your mother were alive, she would want you to take those coins.”

I lowered my eyes.

“No mother would willingly allow her daughter to be married off to a monster.”

Her words struck a tender place inside my chest. I knew she was right.

My mother would never have wanted this for me. But knowing that didn’t make the decision any easier.

“I know,” I whispered. “But how do we find the men willing to help us?”

Valeria stopped pacing then she moved closer and leaned toward me.

“I know someone.”

My head snapped up.

“You do?”

“Well…” She hesitated. “Not exactly someone I’ve met personally.”

I stared at her.

“Valeria!”

“Let me finish!” she protested. “I heard some stall keepers talking about him a few days ago.”

“Who is he?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking far too pleased with herself.

“His name is Kingston. He’s a rogue hireling who’ll take almost any job as long as the price is right.”

“A rogue?”

I flinched, pressing my back against the chair.

Of course.

Who else would be reckless enough to accept a job involving the abduction of an Alpha’s daughter?

Rogues lived outside the laws and protections of the packs. Many were dangerous, unpredictable, and willing to do things respectable wolves would never consider. Hiring one to fake my kidnapping was undoubtedly a terrible idea. Unfortunately, terrible ideas were beginning to look like my only chance at freedom.

I drew a deep breath. “Where can I find this ruffian?”

“One of the stable keepers, Troy, mentioned seeing him at the Grim Goblin Inn in the downtown village two days ago.”

“The Grim Goblin?”

Valeria nodded.

I had heard of the place. It was a tavern frequented by rogues, wandering mercenaries, and other questionable characters who preferred conducting their business away from the watchful eyes of the pack authorities.

It was hardly the sort of place a respectable Alpha’s daughter should visit.Then again, I was about to be married to a vampire against my will. Respectability was the least of my concerns.

“Then I need to go to the village,” I declared.

It wasn’t the first time Valeria and I had sneaked out of the castle. Over the years, we had slipped away on numerous occasions, disguising ourselves as ordinary village girls whenever we wanted a few hours of freedom.

But this time was different.

I couldn’t simply walk into the Grim Goblin Inn and announce that I wanted to hire a rogue to abduct me.

Kingston might laugh in my face. Worse, he might recognize me and decide that handing the Alpha’s daughter over to Lord Draken would earn him a greater reward than helping me escape. I needed a disguise and a convincing story.

“Let’s go!” I announced, pushing myself out of the chair.

Valeria blinked at me before hurrying after me.

“Where are we going?”

“To Kai’s chamber. I need some of his clothes.”

She stared at me.

“Why?”

“Because I’m not walking into a tavern full of rogues dressed like the Alpha’s daughter!”

I continued toward the door, already considering which of Kai’s clothes would fit me well enough to pass as a young man.

“And after that,” I added, “we’re sneaking into Mother’s chamber to take the gold coins.”

Valeria stopped walking.

I turned to face her and clasped my hands together pleadingly.

“Please, Val.”

My father’s enormous iron padlock stood between us and the treasures in my mother’s room. Fortunately, Valeria possessed a talent for picking locks, a skill she had developed through years of curiosity and our countless attempts to sneak into places we weren’t supposed to visit.

She stared at me for several seconds before releasing a long, defeated sigh. Then she reached into her auburn curls and pulled out a tiny straight pin.

“Maya Russell, you will be the death of me,” she complained.

I grinned.

“Maybe. But not today.”

She shook her head, muttering something under her breath as she followed me down the corridor. For the first time since learning about my impending marriage, I felt a flicker of hope.

The plan was dangerous, reckless, and possibly the stupidest thing we had ever attempted. We were about to steal from the Alpha’s household, hire a rogue, and stage the kidnapping of his only daughter. If we failed, the consequences could be disastrous.

But if we succeeded, I might finally have a chance to escape the fate my father had chosen for me.

And I was willing to risk almost anything for that chance.

I would rather face the dangers of the unknown than willingly surrender myself to Lord Draken.