Word Count: 2083

~Lavelle

Shit. I almost forgot about her part in the plan.

"Elowen..."

She stalks closer, eyes wild. I gave her careful instructions, and I didn't fulfil my end of the plan.

"Care to tell me why I'm standing in a guest room upstairs and not in the cells?" She demands, gesturing around us at Caroline's room.

I wince. I'm just as surprised as she is to find out Caroline has been sleeping up here since she arrived, and not locked in a cell downstairs. I never thought Tavrik would have that kind of mercy.

I rub the back of my neck. "I think it's better you fill me in about that."

She blows out a shaky breath in an effort to calm herself. "I went to the cells, fully intending on getting your sister out, only find the cells are completely vacant."

"Yeah, about that..."

"She's hear on her own free will, isn't she?" She looks at Caroline's rumpled bed, and all her belongings strewn about.

How Elowen hasn't been caught is beyond me, but I'm never going to question her on her talents again. Somehow, she managed to locate this room and realised Caroline was occupying it.

I wring my hands. "Kind of."

"Great, let's get out of here." She approaches the window, hiking it up. We're two stories from the ground, so I'm not sure how she expects us to get down.

"No, it's not that simple," I say quickly. "Caroline wants to be here because he's seduced her. He's manipulating her."

Elowen turns, pulling a disgusted face.

"Yuck." A shiver rolls through her body. "That's a new approach for him."

I hated witnessing it, leaving Caroline at that table with him. But she's in far deeper than I could have expected, and to pull her out now will be like navigating a maze. To keep her from him would be to alert her that I'm here under false pretences.

"Caroline will go, kicking and screaming, only to come straight back here," I tell her. It's not so simple as ferrying her out of here while Tavrik's back is turned.

I thought she would want to leave.

"Oh well. I'll lock her up until you're back," Elowen offers with a shrug. I think she could string Caroline up from the ceiling and have no moral qualms about it.

"If you could get her out without her fighting you," I say flatly.

He's gotten so deep inside her head, it would be an impossible task.

"A little smack over the head will take care of that," Elowen muses, moving around to inspect the room, like she's searching for something that might suffice.

"Elowen..."

I'm not going to knock my sister out, just to drag her unconscious body of the property. It would be an impossible task, anyway. Elowen's frame is far too small for her to carry a body out on her own, while navigating the maze of guards around the perimeter.

"Do you want your sister to be safe?" She demands. "Just because Tavrik finds her useful now, doesn't mean he will forever. And the moment he doesn't anymore, she's dead."

I begin to pace, pushing my sleeves up to my elbows. Does Elowen think I haven't thought about all of this? Does she think I'm not making myself sick considering it?

"I know, I know," I mutter. "I'm thinking her being here might help me enact the plan, though."

Elowen watches me pace, expression drawn. "How so?"

"She keeps him distracted, it's good," I explain quickly. "She's also helping my case, making it look like I'm choosing to be here."

She could have told Tavrik that she saw that there was more between Zyre and I. She could have told him that he was generous, that he helped her.

That is how deep Tavrik's manipulation has dug inside of her. It doesn't even seem like she remembers how he treated her when she came to visit.

For now, I can use that to my advantage.

"You're willing to put her at risk like that?" Elowen questions.

"I'm going to kill Tavrik," I say grimly. "Soon. She'll be free then."

Elowen blinks at me, a grave look settling against her features. Then, slowly, it morphs into anger.

"You're an idiot," she spits out.

"This needs to be done." I sit down on Caroline's bed, the solemn weight of what I have to do resting squarely on my shoulders and chest.

Being here is the first step to conducting the plan, and the next, has been to not get thrown into a cell. So far, it is working. Tavrik foolishly believes I am here for refuge, and he is going to do everything in his power not to upset me, for now.

The next step of my plan is to find his weakness. Figure out his guards roster, find out when he is only an vulnerable. I haven't decided if I should poison him, smother him in his sleep or find a weapon to take him out from a distance.

Either way, this doesn't end until he's gone.

"I knew this was going to be the outcome of your plan, and yet I didn't want myself to consider it." Elowen buries her hands into her hair, shaking her head at me like she's seeing me in a different light for the first time. "Zyre is going to be furious."

I swallow tightly. I'm trying not to think about Zyre and his reaction to all of this.

"Leave tonight, and find him. Stop him from doing something stupid."

Elowen sighs, nodding tightly. "I will."

If there is anything I can trust her to do, it's keep Zyre safe. Some part of her still loves him, and while she doesn't mind forsaking me, she won't allow anything to happen to him.

"Thank you for trying. I can keep my sister safe now," I assure her.

I haven't had the warmest feelings toward Elowen, but she has committed to this. Had everything gone as we thought it would, she would have Caroline out of here by now.

She stares at me flatly beneath dark brows. "You can barely keep yourself safe."

"Tavrik believes me. He won't hurt me, or else he'll give himself away," I tell her.

A shadow passes over her face. She takes a step toward me.

"He's demented, Lavelle," she murmurs. "He won't hurt you overtly, but he will find other ways to remind you he is in control."

"I know..." I swallow tightly. "He is feeding Caroline food that makes her sick. I know he knows she's allergic."

Does he derive pleasure from seeing her sick, or is it purely a power thing? He must enjoy watching her force herself to eat it, even knowing what it will do to her. He must enjoy having her obey his commands so thoroughly.

"That sounds like him." Elowen shudder, recalling a memory from the recesses of her mind. "When he found out Zyre had befriended me, he tried to make my life hell."

She looks away, her jaw tight. I want to know, but I doubt pushing her on it here is a good time or place to do it.

"He will pay," I assure her.

She looks at me again, and finally, I can tell she believes me.

"I better go." She backs away toward the window. "Stay safe."

I rise from the bed. "I will, and keep Zyre away, please."

She shakes her head at me, a line forming between her brows. "You're a fool if you think I can stop him."

"You have to try," I insist.

"I will." She glances outside, then back at me. "Trust me."

I nod, watching her clamber through the window, agile as a cat, before she disappears into the dark. How she is able to navigate the guards, I don't know, but I suspect she knows this property like the back of her hand.

When she's gone, I close Caroline's window, turning to leave, only for my sister to walk in a moment later.

Her clothing looks a little dishevelled, and her lipstick is smeared. A cold, terrible feeling shivers through me as she wanders in, pausing when she sees me.

I immediately approach her. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

She brushes me off, kicking her heels off before approaching her bed. Her skin is slick, the blood drained from her face.

"You look ill," I note softly.

She sinks down onto her bed with a groan, laying back into her pillows. She clutches her stomach, fingers trembling a little.

"Just a sore stomach. It will pass," she forces out, her face screwed up in pain.

My jaw sets in a hard line, the backs of my teeth gritting together. The avocado she ate at dinner has made her terribly ill already — it might be the only reason she was excused to come back up to her room.

"You shouldn't have eaten the avocado. What were you thinking?" I sit down on the bed near her head, brushing her hair off her damp forehead.

"I didn't want to be rude." She rolls onto her side, hiking her legs up to her stomach.

I grab her clammy hand, trying to find the right words. Words that won't scare her off, or let her know I'm not really here because I'm afraid of Zyre.

"Why would he care if you ate around one item on the damn plate?" I question, squeezing her hand tightly. "This is ridiculous Caroline, he wasn't acting normal at that dinner."

"You're doubting him? Seriously?" She scowls up at me. "When he's been so kind as to invite you to stay?"

I exhale slowly, leaning back. I'm pushing it too hard. Even in her pained state, she isn't willing to hear ill about Tavrik.

My plan may be more difficult to conduct than I thought.

"We just need to be careful, okay? All these Alpha's are the same," I tell her.

She looks up at me, her eyes glazed.

"He's different. I know he is," she whispers.

I open my mouth to tell her just how wrong she might be, only to be cut off as she sits up suddenly, brushing past me.

"I think I'm going to be sick." She bursts into the adjoining bathroom, and a moment later, I hear her throwing up.

I care for her the rest of the night, sleeping in her bed so I can keep an eye on her. She's sick a few more times, but eventually, she falls into a slumber, and I follow suit.

I wake early the next morning, disorientated and wondering where I am. Beside me, Caroline lays, her mouth hanging open, snores drifting from deep in her throat.

Leaving her to sleep a little longer, I slip from bed and dress in some of her clothing. I need to head downstairs and see if I can talk to Tavrik again without my sister looming nearby.

The sound of commotion drifts up to meet me as I descend to the first floor of the manor.

There are guards scattered everywhere, and Tavrik is amongst them, talking intently. I approach warily, watching the tense expressions and general sense of unease.

Something's happening.

"What's going on?" I ask Tavrik as I approach.

He turns to look at me, a cruel scowl slashed across his face. He blinks at me, taking a few moments to recognise who I am and why I'm here, before the expression melts away and is replaced by grim uncertainty.

"Before I tell you this, I want you to know you're still safe here. I'm doing everything to keep you safe." He reaches out and grabs my arm.

A chill races down my spine. This is bad.

"What do you mean?" I ask shakily.

"Zyre entered my pack yesterday, and we apprehended him last night," he tells me, his voice sure and calm.

My eyes widen. "What?"

"Don't worry, he's in the cells downstairs." He rubs my arm gently. "He can't hurt you anymore."

❤️••❤️

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