Ariadne: Almost an Alpha | ✓

Chapter 52 - As Good of a Plan

Chapter 52 - As Good of a Plan 

On the plane, I determine a course of action, link Dylan pretending to be in California, and manage to get some sleep. By the time I've landed in Louisiana, I've got as good of a plan as I can think of with so little notice.

I have a cab drop me off far enough away from pack territory that anyone patrolling can't smell me.

The closer I get to the pack, the more I can feel it calling to me. The links to them in my head thrum with a stronger energy, and it gets harder to ignore.

I dump my bag in the woods near a tree and secure my knife holster across my chest, leaving the rest of my weapons for my hopeful escape later. If everything goes according to plan, I won't need all the knives; I only intend to use them if I'm caught too early.

Cain knows I'm coming, unfortunately, but I'm hoping he believed my lie about coming at night. I just need a minute to start the plan and ensure I make it past the first phase.

Right now, all Cain needs to do is kill me, and the alpha title reverts directly back to just him. I need to make sure that he can't kill me, that he'll lose his chance at the title if he does, which means I need to dissolve the current line of succession that he forced me to create.

I watch the borders from a distance for a bit, getting a feel for the timing of the patrols. I'm upwind, which I can use to my advantage.

Instead of making a run for it, which would create too much noise and allow them to hear me before they can even smell me, I sneak onto the territory slowly in between rounds. Once I'm far enough in that the next patrol round will at least have to follow a trail before they can find me, I pause.

Normally, a new alpha establishes a line of succession by linking their blood with the blood of their successors; it puts some of the alpha blood's magic in the magic of the next in line. When the alpha secedes or dies, all of the magic transfers over automatically to the person with the most significant link, so it's not necessary to go through the whole ritual of establishing a pack and its alpha again. It'll even naturally bond the new alpha to the earth of the territory through the blood connection with the old alpha.

Typically, when a new alpha rises, he or she only change the line of succession. I need to destroy this pack's line. I can't have Cain killing me just so he can fully become alpha again. If he wants the title, he'll have to go to the council and explain why it was suddenly ripped away from him, incriminating himself in the process. 

The process to destroy the line of succession is different than just overriding it with a stronger connection. I need to let the earth know that I'm home, ready to take on my new position. I need to strengthen my connection with it, and let it know Cain no longer has a connection with it.

I need to bleed.

I take a silver knife from my holster, cut my hand, and watch as my blood pours onto the dirt. I feel my connection with the pack strengthening, all their minds melding with my own, stretching against the sides of the box I've locked them away in.

Cain will know I'm here now, he'll feel them slipping away from him, feel the extra strength of being an alpha fade.

In the distance, I hear branches cracking and snapping, feet pounding against the ground. The next patrol round has caught my scent, and I need to hurry.

"I am here to reclaim this pack, to protect it, and look after its members." I squeeze my hand tighter to encourage more blood from the wound. "In the event that I am unable to act as alpha, no one will act in my stead."

My body gets warm suddenly, from my feet up, almost as if the territory is acknowledging me.

The wolves catch up to me only seconds later. I can smell the swamp rolling off them, the smell of Cain's henchmen, not the scent of this pack. He must keep them disconnected from everyone else, so they can do his dirty work without anyone catching on.

Now that I've finished, I turn around and wave at them with my cut hand.

"Hello boys, I wouldn't attack me if I were you," I say, plastering a satisfied smirk on my face and saying my next words in a sing-song manner. "After what I've just done, you all would get in a little trouble."

They snarl at me, but seeing the pool of blood on the ground, they listen. I, however, quickly pull knives from my holster and throw them in rapid succession, hitting most of them in the chest.

Time for phase two.

It'd be impossible for me to make it into the pack house undetected, so I need Cain to come to me. Now that his connection to the pack his severed, he can't mind link people to help him. The further away from the heart of the pack I can get him, the smaller the chance of people noticing something is wrong and coming to his aid when I attempt to kill him.

I quickly take the rest of them out.

Cain's smell gets closer in their stead. Underneath his own, distinct scent, he carries the smell of the pack, of the citrus trees planted by my great grandparents in the front yard of the pack house. I take in a deep breath, preparing myself to see the man who murdered my family for the first time in almost five years.

You're not a scared child anymore, Ariadne, I have to reassure myself. You got this.

I expect him to appear as a wolf, but when he doesn't, I take it as an opportunity. I launch a knife at him, but -- the knife being his weapon of choice as well -- he's able to grab it by the handle. Instead of throwing another, I launch myself at him.

I was prepared for a fight. What I wasn't expecting was for him to stand his ground, pull his hand from his back, plunge a large needle into my neck, and step back, but I should have known he would use his old methods; he always was a coward.

I try to go after him before the tranquilizer can get into my bloodstream, but he evades my slowing form. My vision gets blurry, but I try to fight it. My efforts, however, are futile, and my mind succumbs to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

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