Sabrina’s Problem

Chapter 18

Sabrina's Problem

Sabrina Carter had spent most of her life being admired.

It wasn't arrogance.

It was simply a fact.

She was the Gamma's daughter.

Beautiful.

Popular.

Respected.

For years, everyone had assumed she would one day stand beside Devin Hunter as Luna of Silverwood Pack.

Including Sabrina.

Especially Sabrina.

So why did it suddenly feel like everything was slipping through her fingers?

Sabrina stood on the balcony outside the packhouse, looking down at the training grounds below.

Her stomach tightened immediately.

There they were.

Again.

Devin and Jade.

Training together.

Laughing.

Talking.

Existing entirely too comfortably in one another's presence.

Nothing inappropriate was happening.

That wasn't the problem.

The problem was that Devin seemed interested.

Not romantically.

Not yet.

But interested.

Curious.

Respectful.

Sabrina knew Devin well enough to understand how dangerous that was.

Respect always came first.

Trust came second.

Everything else followed.

A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

"You're watching them again."

Sabrina glanced sideways.

Kiera, one of her closest friends, leaned beside her against the railing.

Sabrina looked back toward the training field.

"I wasn't."

"You absolutely were."

Below them, Jade blocked an attack and immediately launched a counter.

Devin barely avoided it.

The two exchanged a few words.

Then Jade rolled her eyes.

A moment later, Devin laughed.

Actually laughed.

Kiera frowned.

"I don't get it."

Neither did Sabrina.

For years, Jade Sullivan had existed on the edges of pack life.

Ignored.

Dismissed.

Pitied.

Now people wouldn't stop looking at her.

First the border investigation.

Then the festival.

Then Ryker Blackthorn.

Now Devin.

It was becoming a problem.

A serious one.

---

Later that afternoon, Sabrina found her brother near the training grounds.

Todd took one look at her expression and sighed.

"No."

Sabrina blinked.

"What?"

"Whatever you're thinking."

"I'm not thinking anything."

Todd laughed.

The sound held absolutely no humor.

"You have that look."

"What look?"

"The one right before you do something stupid."

She crossed her arms.

"I'm not doing anything."

That seemed to worry him more.

Todd's expression hardened.

"Sabrina."

The warning immediately irritated her.

"What?"

"Leave Jade alone."

Her jaw tightened.

There it was.

Again.

Everyone defending Jade.

Everyone worrying about Jade.

As though Sabrina were somehow the problem.

"I haven't done anything."

"Yet."

The single word landed like a slap.

Todd stepped closer.

"Listen to me."

His voice grew quieter.

More serious.

"Devin's making his own choices."

"This has nothing to do with Devin."

The lie came too quickly.

Both of them knew it.

Todd looked tired suddenly.

"You keep acting like Jade is stealing something from you."

"I didn't say that."

"You don't have to."

The silence stretched.

Then Todd shook his head.

"Whatever this thing is you've built up in your mind..."

His gaze drifted briefly toward the training grounds.

"...it won't end the way you think it will."

With that, he walked away.

Leaving Sabrina alone with words she didn't want to hear.

And fears she didn't want to examine.

---

The rumors began slowly.

Carefully.

Sabrina never lied outright.

That would be foolish.

Instead, she asked questions.

Questions that encouraged others to draw their own conclusions.

Questions like:

"Has anyone noticed how much time Jade spends around important people lately?"

Or:

"It's amazing how quickly she became involved in the border investigation."

Or:

"Ryker Blackthorn seems very interested in her."

Harmless observations.

Technically true.

Dangerously effective.

Within days, wolves started talking.

Exactly as Sabrina expected.

Some believed Jade's growing influence was earned.

Others weren't so sure.

And once doubt existed, it spread beautifully.

Sabrina simply helped it along.

---

Over the next few days she watched.

Listened.

Observed.

And what she saw only strengthened her resolve.

Warriors were beginning to respect Jade.

Several younger wolves openly admired her fighting skills.

Patrol leaders sought her opinion on the eastern forests.

Even some elders had started speaking to her differently.

The trend wasn't dramatic.

Yet.

But it was happening.

And Sabrina hated it.

Worse still...

She noticed Devin watching her.

Not often.

Not obviously.

But enough.

Enough that Sabrina could no longer pretend she imagined it.

Every time Jade entered a room, Devin noticed.

Every time she spoke during investigation meetings, he listened.

Every time she challenged him, he seemed to enjoy it.

The realization sat like poison in Sabrina's chest.

Because respect was growing.

Trust was growing.

And Sabrina understood exactly where that road could lead.

---

That evening, Sabrina sat alone in her room.

Moonlight spilled through the window.

The house was quiet.

For once, there was nobody around to distract her from her thoughts.

Slowly, she opened the drawer of her desk.

Inside sat a small calendar.

Important pack events had been marked months in advance.

Festivals.

Gatherings.

Council meetings.

Her eyes settled on one date.

Jade Sullivan's eighteenth birthday.

Eleven days.

Only eleven days away.

For years Sabrina had pictured her own future.

Her mate.

Her place beside Devin.

The life everyone expected.

The life she expected.

Now uncertainty had entered the picture.

And uncertainty was intolerable.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.

No.

She wasn't going to wait for fate.

She wasn't going to sit back and hope everything worked out.

A slow smile appeared.

Because she finally realized what she needed to do.

If Jade wanted acceptance...

Sabrina would take it away.

If Jade wanted influence...

Sabrina would destroy it.

The pack had begun forgetting who Jade really was.

They were forgetting her father.

Forgetting the disgrace.

Forgetting the scandal.

Forgetting why her family fell in the first place.

Sabrina intended to remind them.

And she knew exactly how.

Her father kept records.

Old records.

Details from the exile.

Information most wolves had never seen.

Most only knew pieces of the story.

But if those pieces began circulating again...

If questions resurfaced...

If doubts returned...

Jade's newfound respect could disappear overnight.

One rumor.

One conversation.

One whisper at a time.

Sabrina pulled a blank sheet of paper toward her.

Then she began writing names.

Pack members who liked to gossip.

Pack members who disliked the Sullivans.

Pack members who would repeat stories without verifying them.

By the time she finished, she had a list.

A plan.

A network.

And unlike simple jealousy, this felt productive.

Controlled.

Safe.

The first stage would begin tomorrow.

She would remind the pack exactly who Jade's father had been.

Then she would encourage wolves to question why Jade had suddenly become useful.

Then she would suggest that Jade was using Ryker's interest and Devin's attention to improve her position.

Nothing direct.

Nothing obvious.

Nothing she could be blamed for.

Just enough doubt to poison people's opinions.

A thousand tiny cuts.

The way reputations were truly destroyed.

Sabrina looked down at the calendar one final time.

Eleven days.

Only eleven days until Jade Sullivan turned eighteen.

Only eleven days before adulthood.

Only eleven days before Silverwood would be forced to see what Jade's future held.

Sabrina intended to make sure that future was as difficult as possible.

Whatever happened next...

Jade Sullivan was not going to walk into it with the pack at her back.