The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 89: The plan with loopholes.

~Orion’s POV~

I stood at the top of the fortress that would one day be mine, whilst looking down at the several hectares of land that would also soon be mine.

The clouds overhead were stormy and dark— the telltale sign of an incoming rain. The rumbling of thunder rolled through the city like an ancient drumbeat echoing across the heavens, shaking rooftops and rattling windows in its wake. Heavy wind blew at my face and hair as I admired everything below— the vast lands, the animals, the buildings, the people, the soldiers— everything!

And I was glad.

For some reason, I felt a strange kind of satisfaction-like warmth spread across my chest because I knew now that it was only a matter of time before I laid claim to all of these.

Before I would lay claim to the pack and to the throne.

To the treasures of this pack, to the power, to the wealth; and to the soldiers parading all over the city aimlessly.

All of those respect they all accorded to Zarek, the way they treated him like he was some kind of god; untouchable. Fierce. Like he was always right; It would all soon be mine.

A small smile crept up my face as I stared out at the bustling crowd. I watched the children scamper about and the traders screaming out desperately as they locked their stalls in order to escape the incoming rain. Even then taverns were closed up too now, training on the training ground also stopped as everyone tried to rush to the safety of their homes.

But I did none of those, because I was home. At the top of the Alpha’s fortress— my soon to be new home.

"Orion, what are you doing here?" A surprised feminine voice called out to me, snapping me out of my reverie, and I turned around instantly, stunned to see Jennifer taking slow strides toward me, her pretty blonde fanning out behind her like a mass of cloud— a beautiful cloud.

She was still clad in the pink dress from earlier but her hair had finally been let loose to fall over her shoulders and back, giving her that ethereal look that made me drawn to her in the first place. The same look she’d used in deceiving me into thinking that she was just as ethereal... just as innocent.

I sighed. "Jennifer."

She smiled. "Do you have trouble sleeping? Are there things you’re thinking about?"

Without turning to acknowledge her this time, I whispered; "There are always tons of things there for me to think about. But I’ll be just fine. You should go into the house, it’s about to rain and you don’t want to catch a cold."

"I don’t care about a cold!" She snapped, her voice so fierce it made me turn around to stare at her— like really stare at her.

It wasn’t until now that I noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the way her usually blood red lips seemed extremely pale and chapped. She’d done nothing at all to enhance her appearance, and that was strange.

Very strange.

Indeed something was wrong with her.

Indeed she’d had an altercation with Zarek like I had thought.

Deep down, I itched to know what it was. I was curious to find out what had transpired between both of them to make her look so distraught, but deciding that it was none of my business, and that I would probably find out what it was sometime later, I pressed my lips into a thin line and said; "You should. You don’t want anything happening to that beautiful body of yours."

The key to having Jennifer wrapped around your little finger was flattery, and I intended to use that to my advantage.

She smiled, just as expected. But what I didn’t expect was her leaning into me. She pressed her body into mine— more like her breasts— and sighed as she looked up into the growing dark clouds.

"I want us to find other means to get Zarek out of the throne."

I balked. Blinking, I asked; "What?"

For some reason, I’d expected her to go quiet. I’d even expected her to drop whatever she was inching at; But to my surprise, she didn’t drop it, instead she said; "You and I know that he isn’t just going to step down from the throne, allowing you to simply take over. He may have lost his memories, but he’s still as proud as ever."

"So what are you suggesting?" I couldn’t help but ask and I noticed how she smiled brightly before pressing herself even closer to me— as if that was even possible.

She ground out; "That we do something to him. Probably frame him or a crime or accuse him of any crime grave enough to warrant his execution. We can also ask someone to kill him for us... there’s an abundance of things we could do to him."

I went as still as a rock but that didn’t stop Jennifer from rambling on and on about things we could do to him, and when she noticed that I still wasn’t responding, she tugged at my arm and cried; "You can come up with something, can’t you?"

I sighed. "No."

Because truth be told, I didn’t want to be a part of this. I knew that I had my own reasons I wanted Zarek out of the throne, but at the same time, I wasn’t so desperate as to resort to such hideous means.

Whatever argument Zarek and Jennifer must’ve had must’ve been big. Big enough to make her suggest his execution.

I carefully detangled my arms from hers and took a step back. "We can do something else. We can probably pay him off or something, seeing as he doesn’t even recognize the true meaning of his position."

"And he wouldn’t take that. You know him!"

I shrugged indifferently. "Truthfully, I don’t even think I know Zarek anymore. Ever since he woke up from the coma, he’s been a totally different person. He doesn’t even feel like my best friend anymore."

"And that’s more reason why he should be taken out of the picture. You shouldn’t even feel anything, right? Not when your best friend is long gone!"

"I’m not going to be a part of this." I snapped, my voice carrying a note of finality. "I may agree to take the throne but I won’t kill Zarek to have it."

"Then what happens when he regains his memories? What will you do when he remembers everything and wants his throne back?" She snapped, rolling her eyes; and I couldn’t help but go quiet.

Jennifer may be crazy but there was truth in her words. She was right even though I didn’t want to admit that. My heart thrummed in my chest as I weighed her words and when I caught a flash of ginger red hair running through the crowd below, my heart skipped a beat.

Dahlia.

My wolf howled in excitement

And with resolve, I came to the conclusion that maybe Jennifer wasn’t totally wrong. Maybe her plans weren’t as crazy as I thought.

Getting Zarek out of the picture would mean full access to Dahlia.

And access to Dahlia means everything I’ve always wanted and more.

A smile graced my lips as I stared down at Jennifer and then I nodded. "Okay."

She smiled back, but as soon as the smile came, it quickly disappeared when she also noticed Dahlia in the crowd. She frowned and in that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder why she hated Dahlia so much.

Why the ever peaceful girl seemed to set her skin ablaze with irritation and disgust.

It was absurd.

But I shook off the thought— Not that it really mattered.

"Good. But first I want her gone." She muttered, pointing at a running Dahlia and as soon as she said that, my heart stopped. Sweat broke out on my skin despite the cold and my wolf snarled in my head, causing the hairs at the back of my neck to stand on end.

My heart raced so badly that I feared she could hear it but after successfully taking deep calming breaths, I asked; "Is that even necessary?"

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Yes it is. I want her killed. And I want that other lady with Zarek’s bastard gone as well. Them and their godforsaken minions!" She spat, the venom in her dripping onto the floor like honey.

I frowned in confusion as I turned to her. "Nyx?"

"Yes. I want Nyx out of here. I want Dahlia out too, but I want them killed. They’re better off dead than alive, knowing fully well that they’re a threat to us."

’But Dahlia isn’t!’ I wanted to argue, but deciding that Jennifer didn’t deserve any argument or explanation, I kept my lips sealed.

I’d rather have Jennifer killed than allow a strand of hair on Dahlia’s hair to be touched, and I wasn’t even exaggerating.