Page 55 of Winning the Wolf

"No," she murmured, watching him, "not at all. I knew you had a secret crush on him when we were growing up." Putting her arm around my shoulder, she hugged me. "And now you have someone to take care of you when I'm gone."

Panic exploded in my chest and I shuddered, grabbing one of her wrists in protest. "You're not going."

Before she could protest, I lifted my other hand and blew a pink powder into Nyla's face. She coughed twice, her eyes widening before she slumped to the ground. Oops, the witch had suggested I threw the spell when Nyla was seated. My bad.

Bending down, I brushed my twin's hair out of her face. Her eyes were closed and her pert nose was gently touching the soft carpet. Good, she at least hadn't hurt herself in the process of the sleeping spell.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, stroking her cheek, "but you've been through enough."

Taking out the wig I'd hidden under my leather jacket, I went over to the dressing table and fastened it on my head. When my new witch friend had arrived at the gates, I'd asked her to post my package, retrieving it when Killick had left me to discuss the plan with Caleb.

Inside, she'd packed a sleeping spell, a wig and some other handy tools I might need. I'd had no idea whether the council would agree to Nyla's plan, but I'd had an idea what my sister was going to do. I knew how she worked. And that was why I was going to take her place.

Taking out my phone, I texted the witch again, asking her to cast a spell that would trick Killick into thinking that I was spending time with my sister. The witch replied quickly to say that it was done. A light fuzzy feeling enveloped me before it fizzled away. This was it.

Finding Nyla's phone on her bedsit table, I screenshot the message from Jeremy, asking Nyla to come right away. He replied almost instantly, asking me to set the plan in motion.

Tucking my phone away, I headed out of the bedroom, locking the door behind me. Nyla would be pissed and distraught, all at the same time, but I had to save her life. And him, too. My mate.

"Nyla?"

My heartbeat thundered in my head as I greeted the man - Brian - with a smile. He was a part of the small bodyguard that would be escorting me to the woods. I just prayed that Killick would stay with his other men, instead of saying goodbye to me - well, not me, my sister.

"Hi, I'm ready to go. Jeremy just messaged to say to meet him right away. I've been debriefed already and need to set off before we miss our opportunity."

Members of the pack had been confused by us twins over the years. We'd looked very alike but we weren't identical. The men going with me today were Phileas' top bodyguards, under order from Killick, to keep Nyla safe. They wouldn't have been around us previously, they'd been too busy protecting the former alpha. If my naive plan worked, they wouldn't recognise that I was actually Larissa, their new alpha's mate.

"Yes," Brian said, stepping aside, "the alpha has confirmed that we set off now."

Bowing my head, I shot off down the hallway and descended the stairs. Killick and his team would still be by the lake, getting their own debriefing. He would kill me if he knew what I was doing.

My chest squeezed as I thought about him. Lying to my mate was tearing me up inside, but it had to be done. I'd noticed that he'd lagged behind his men when doing a lap of the lake, and that was because his life force was supporting me. If I allowed him to surprise Jeremy, there was a chance he wouldn't be fit enough to fight. I couldn't take that risk. If Killick died because I'd hindered him, my heart would break. We might have only just started our journey, but I cared for the man deeply. If I prevented both his and Nyla's death with my own, they could both move on. Killick could even find a new mate. The bonding ceremony hadn't taken place, which meant he could find someone else.

The thought sent a fiery blast down my arms and I almost stopped in my tracks. The thought of Killick laying his hotness on another woman soccer-punched me in the gut. There was no way I could tolerate the idea... the whole time I was alive. If one of us had to die, it was better that it was me. Even if that meant he made love to someone else for the rest of his life. Shit, I wanted to kill Jeremy for what he'd done to us.

“Are you ready?” Brian asked when we reached the front of the mansion.

Almost in a daze, I nodded and jumped straight into the van, narrowly avoiding Caleb as he came through the front door with Orson. They headed towards the helipad, deep in conversation. My heart fluttered as the engine started and I shuffled on the front seat. Several of Philias’ men climbed into the back, some dressed in protective gear, and some in cheap destroyable clothes. I’d seen the casual uniform before, when the pack’s bodyguards had been patrolling the town. They used cheap clothes in case there was an emergency and they needed to shift. It looked like I had three men who would turn into a werewolf in order to protect me. I just hoped no one died trying to save me.

The driver’s door opened and Brian clambered in, his ear piece obvious on the side of his head. He was clearly an important part of the plan. I just had to make sure I didn’t trip up and ruin the plan.

“This is Brian,” he said into his walkie talkie. “We have Nyla Medley, ready for departure.”

Wow, I hadn’t ever seen inside the operations of the pack before. I knew that those close to the alpha had a lot more responsibility than those of us who were allowed to live our normal lives. I was mixing with royalty and destined to become a part of that world. Except, I wasn’t.

Sighing, I leant back against the seat and stared out into the grounds of the headquarters. The front of the property was surrounded by manicured lawns and beautiful gardens. Caleb and Orson had disappeared around the side of the house, heading straight for the helicopter.

“Helicopter will be ready in fifteen minutes,” Caleb replied over the speaker, “you better get going.”

The engine revved to life and the tyres crunched on the gravel as we set off. The men stayed silent as we left the driveway and turned onto the road, speeding up when we were free of the forest. I slipped my hands under my thighs to hide the shake in them. My phone was in the room with Nyla, a timer lock on it so she couldn’t get inside. When she awoke in an hour, it would all be over. She would hear the alarm on my phone and open it to see the message I’d left her.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and sucked back the tears that threatened. My energy was draining every second, taken by Killick due to the spell. My muscles were weak and my organs were achy. I didn’t have long.

Swiping open Nyla’s phone screen, I checked the message from Jeremy. He had agreed to meet me an hour before Killick was supposed to arrive. No doubt, the bastard would know it was a trap. He wasn’t stupid. However, he wouldn’t be expecting an attack from the sky. Hopefully, it would be enough of a surprise to capture him and evade the rest of the Dusk Moon Pack. Our argument wasn’t with them.

“How are you feeling?” Brian interrupted my sad thoughts.

I coughed and shook my head, not bothering to hide that I was shitting a brick. “Like it’s all going to go tits up.”

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