Chapter 4 Five Steps Ahead

EVERETT'S POV"

The road was smooth and almost empty, which made driving back to the house seem almost stress-free. Beta Declan always drove effortlessly smoothly. There were so many things he was good at.

I relaxed in the back seat and let my eyes close for a while to rest. Getting detoxified took quite a lot of my strength. Speaking of detoxification, I couldn't help but to allow my mind to wander back to the lady I had met with.

The way her big blue eyes shone like magic balls and her small soft red lips. Her hair had long golden curls reaching all the way down to her curvy hips. She was very beautiful, but her beautiful body was covered in scars both old and recent.

And I couldn't get her scent, she just scented... ordinary. The only way she could smell ordinary was if she masked her scent or if she was a human. But what would a human be doing in a city full of werewolves? And roaming about on her own as well.

Maybe she was running from someone so she masked her scent. Either way, I was indebted to her and I would find a way to repay her one day.

I couldn't help but to get the weird feeling like she gave in to me at a point in time. But no, I shouldn't be thinking about things like that. Everything was about to change.

The words had been engraved on the back of my mind since that very day...

My stepmother, Bella, walked suspiciously down the hall like she was avoiding being heard by anyone. I hid behind a pillar to make myself unseen and watched her make her way into my stepbrother's home office. A place off limits to everyone but her and him.

Carefully, I walked towards the entrance to find out why she had been acting suspicious. Anytime she went into that room, it was to plot something terrible.

My stepbrother, Kyle, was already waiting for her there. I heard the sound of her heels as she walked to and from the room.

"I spoke with the other elders myself today, since that old fool, Markus, is trying to cause us trouble. "I don't know how he ended up being an elder of the pack in the first place!" She angrily exclaimed.

"You know he will always be at Everett's side," Kyle spoke up. "He was Everett's mother's good friend and, from what I heard, he swore to her before she died that he would take care of her bastardized son. "Why don't we kill him and have peace of mind?"

"No very dear son, it will be very alarming if he dies suddenly. The other members of the pack will insist on doing an investigation and, without doubt, we will be caught. If it were that easy, I would have killed him and killed that bastard son of the late alpha Marvin as well."

Kyle let out a soft sigh. "So what plan do you have now?"

The sound of her heels stopped, and I heard her pull out a chair and heat down. "I have the other elders at my side, they felt it was highly unfair what your late father did to you, and they will forever give me their assistance. So I have decided to bring in a bride for Everett."

"A bride?" Kyle asked confusedly. "How is that supposed to help us get rid of him?"

"Listen. There is a woman who owes me greatly and I have spoken to her. She will give me her daughter to play the role of a bride. This bride will be our weapon. She will secretly be feeding him the toxins we have prepared so he will get sick and when he passes away, we can easily blame it on his sickness."

"That way, no one will suspect a thing!" Kyle added. "And when he dies, that old fool, Markus, will no longer wish to be involved with our family and will voluntarily step down from his position."

"That's right. It's all a matter of time until everything will be yours again. So let's have a little patience, my dear. Soon, you will be alpha."

The words felt so new, like I had just heard them. I would have rejected the idea of getting married, but with the elders on her side, I would be a fool to try to go against the entire council of werewolves.

Knowing that much, I just had to be careful of the new bride they would bring. Part of their plot was to make sure she didn't bear an heir, so Kyle could take over after her demise.

Being the illegitimate son of our father, no one believed he would hand the company as well as the alpha title over to me and, to be honest, I didn't either.

But he gave everything to me on his deathbed after being slowly poisoned by my stepmother and son. So I was the one who ruined their plan, and they won't give up just yet. They intended to get me out of the way, but I intend to protect what was rightfully mine and be five steps ahead of them in every situation.

"Remember, Alpha Everett," Declan said, pulling me out of my deep thoughts. They must never know that you left the house to get detoxified. You need to sneak into your room while I go park the car.

"No problem. Just be careful as well, Declan."

He nodded his head. "I'm always careful, Alpha Everett." Indeed, he was.

After the short drive back home, I climbed through the window of my bedroom as I always did whenever I snuck out and carefully closed the window. Just the way it had been.

The handle of the door twisted like an attempt by someone trying to come in before I heard a slight knock. "Alpha Everett?" My stepmother's voice called out.

"One minute!" I hid every evidence of ever leaving the house before opening the door. "Good morning, Mrs Carson." I never referred to her as mother.

She feigned a smile. "You look like a wolf who's been busy."

My wolf hated her just as much as I did. But I smiled. "I haven't been doing much, just getting dressed, since you told me my bride would come over today."

"Ah..." she nodded her head. She reached forward and adjusted the collar of my shirt. "Nice suit. You look like a man ready to get married."

I chuckled softly. I was extra thankful for my skill at being able to hide my emotions. "Please check on the maids and make sure everything is in good order to impress the lovely bride."

She smiled and nodded. Her eyes peeked into my room before she turned and walked away.

Declan was on his way to my bedroom. He bowed his head to greet the alpha's mother, and she touched his shoulder with a smile before walking away.

I sighed in relief. Declan came to me with a question in his eyes and I responded with a shake of my head to let him know she didn't see me sneaking back in or suspect anything.

For another day, we were saved.