2

I stare at myself in the mirror, admiring my clothing.

I'm in. I'm finally in.

This moment has been meticulously planned out for over a year now. From the moment I conceptualised this, I would never have imagined I would actually be standing inside Alpha Isaiah's manor, the perfect place to slowly dismantle his reign without anyone determining it's me.

Twisting my ankle around, I test my limp. Last night, it took a lot of grimacing and general convincing for the nurse to determine my ankle is merely twisted, and nothing more. I've been working on this performance all week.

Nothing can go wrong.

This isn't my first time meeting Alpha Isaiah, although I doubt he remembers the first time. This time meeting him is different. My impression of him this time is different. He's been kind, attentive and gentle.

Nothing like the man we have been plotting against for many months.

Shaking my head, I muster a calm breath. Remember why you are here. Remember what has been given up for you to do this.

Our rebellion against the Alpha started a year ago. Our influence has grown, but recently we trimmed some who have been undecided to ensure this mission would be successful. Everyone is relying on me to pretend to be someone I'm not. My name is Avia. Not Kenna. But Isaiah doesn't need to know that.

My goal here is simple. To gain Isaiah's trust, and get enough information to bring him down.

As much as I would like to, I can't kill him. Doing so would only have him replaced with a more vile man. Instead, we need the kind of information that can turn even his most loyal supporters against him. Something that makes him vulnerable, not fit to be a good Alpha, because right now, some still see him as a charming, powerful Alpha. x

I just wish this mission wasn't about to sacrifice my dignity.

There is no way I'm going to be able to get close to him without him trusting me, which isn't going to be easy. So instead of trying to be his friend, I'm going to try to be his lover. If the rumours are true, that won't be hard at all.

And it starts right now.

Pressing my hands over my body, I admire the sheer night dress I smuggled in with my backpack. It's definitely inappropriate, my lavender coloured panties partially visible beneath the silken fabric, looking provocative, but not overtly naked. I'm hoping he comes to the door and sees me, that it's the first seed I can plant in his mind.

None of the possible outcomes are certain, but we have spent so long trying to take Isaiah's reign down, that this may be the last option we have left.

A knock on the door makes me flinch.

Mustering as much courage as possible, I approach the door, knowing that once I open it, the real mission is going to start. Not only do I have to lure him into being attracted to me, but I have to convince him that my name is Kenna, and that I come from the Love Pack.

Our forces managed to intercept the real Kenna's car on her way here. She's the daughter of a Noble in the Love Pack, and is coming here to make Isaiah look good, since his reputation is severely damaged. My family is from the Love Pack, so it made sense for me to pretend to be her, while she is detained back with the rest of the rebels.

I'm relying on Isaiah having no idea what this Kenna girl looks like. She isn't exactly well known through the Packs, so I'm also hoping no one knows what she looks like through the Passion Pack.

I open the door, seeing Isaiah standing there.

"Isaiah. Good morning," I say, trying to act surprised, like I didn't expect him to show up at the door of my room this early in the morning.

Even though I can't stand Isaiah for everything he has done to me, I can't help but be momentarily breathless looking at him. You can hate all you want, but it's impossible to deny Isaiah is one of the most attractive looking men that anyone may lay their eyes on in their life.

His hair is obsidian black, swept back in an unkempt, distressed way. The odd curl of hair rains down across his forehead and temples, aiding in the effortlessly handsome appearance that makes him so irresistible to the public.

That's why Isaiah is so dangerous. People love him because he is beautiful, not because he is a good leader.

His eyes are a dark, almost black green, framed by thick ebony lashes. The smile on his face vanishes as those eyes rove over me, the slightest crease between his eyebrows suggesting a half naked women is the last thing he expected to see when he opened my bedroom door.

"I thought I would escort you to breakfast," he murmurs distractedly.

"I apologise for being indecent. Give me a moment," I breathe, closing the door.

Pressing my back against it, I allow myself to take a deep breath. That wasn't meant to be so challenging. I should have no issue pretending to seduce Isaiah, pretending to be in this position. I hate him, and want the worst for him.

Yet something about that makes my stomach churn. Maybe it's because he's far more attractive than I could have ever imagined, and suddenly I'm doubting my own abilities to seduce him. What if he laughs me off? What if he wants nothing to do with me and this entire mission fails?

Remember why you're here, Avia.

Quietly I change, pulling a more modest outfit over my body, hoping Isaiah considers what he saw to be an accident, and nothing more. Still, it compliments my light blue eyes and brunette hair. I look purely Love Pack.

Opening the door, I smile meekly at Isaiah, not having to fake my flushed cheeks. He looks over me once again before he returns my smile, nodding his head down the hallway, having me fall into step beside him.

"Maybe now would be a good time to tell you who I am, really," Isaiah murmurs as we walk, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh?" I comment warily.

"I'm the Alpha of this Pack. I can imagine that will likely either strike one out of the two usual opinions people have about me," he sighs, hopping down the stairs a few strides in front of me.

I consider my next answer, not wanting to reveal too much. "That you're hideously rich, proud and...handsome."

If I didn't live in this Pack, then that would be an assumption I would have about him, with good reason. Maybe I would have seen him on the television and thought he was handsome. Living here is an entirely different story. My perspective on him is far darker, more sinister and full of hatred.

  

"That wasn't what I was thinking, but I'm glad to know there's more to people's assumptions about me,” he says, sounding genuinely surprised. 

"I'm from the Love Pack. I had no idea you were the Alpha, which makes this perfect, actually,” I muse, knowing I have to reveal my intentions with him, that this needs to step up into the next phase. 

"Does it?" he asks apprehensively.

I pretend to struggle down the last part of the stairs. "I was sent by my father, a Noble in the Love pack."

For a moment he just looks confused, then a spark of realisation hits. "Oh yes, of course. I heard she was coming. I should have figured that out when you told me your name was Kenna."

Did he not request her to come himself? I thought yesterday he may have realised when I told him my name was Kenna, I was the Noble girl he was expecting. There has been so much risk with this mission, I’m far too relieved he hasn’t looked at me strangely and accused me of lying to care that he isn’t behind bringing Kenna here in the first place. It means one of the sources we were relying on was true...Isaiah and Kenna never met. 

"I was on the way there and my vehicle crashed. The men just disappeared, so I made a run to the closest place,” I explain with a loose smile, trying to make it seem as though I’m as perplexed by the coincidence as he is. 

We pause in the middle of the foyer, Isaiah had been just last night. "You didn't know my name?"

"To be honest, I don't know anything about you, or this place," I sigh, motioning to the impressive estate where he lives. It makes me sick just being here, seeing the wealth and all Isaiah’s predecessor’s hanging from the walls, depicted in marvellous oil paintings. "Father sent me here for politics, I think."

"I suppose that's a good thing," he comments, chewing the edge of his lips. I blink, surprised at the seemingly normal gesture. I’ve thought of him as nothing more than a monster for so long. "Your father has been helping me with public image. He was hoping to give an innocent face to this movement."

I swallow all that I could say, all that could yell at him, and simply tuck my hands behind my back, smiling.

"What do you do here for fun?"

"Whatever you like, Kenna," he shrugs. If I am to survive here as long as I need to dig the information from him that we want, I need to blend in. "You are free to do as you wish. Even correspond with the friends your father wants to set you up with." 

The smile doesn’t falter with my face, even if I think of the real Kenna, where she is right now. I will not be convening with her father, but I will be befriending the ladies Isaiah will want me to appear to be seen with. It’s all for appearances sake, for him to look good. I already know who these girls will be, who their families are.

"Friends...right."

"I would like to assign you a personal guard while you are here. Once the public knows you're affiliated with me, I have no doubt they will begin to target you,” he says in a clipped manner, looking reluctant to divulge anymore to me, although I feign confusion, perhaps a bit of fear. 

"How bad is the situation here?"

"Not great," he murmurs tightly, his expression faltering. "But you will be completely safe here. I can assure you of that."

It takes me a moment to remember why I am here, what I need to achieve, as I plaster a smile on my face again. "I'm sure you'll protect me, Alpha."

***

It didn’t take much effort to sneak from the estate. 

We had already determined an escape route for me to take when I needed to convene with the group, where the guards slack at patrolling, where the shadows allow me to stalk across the grounds and exit. From there, I take transportation into the city, and sneak through the familiar gate and into the compound, where I have spent the last three years planning this mission. 

Where my family awaits. And by morning, I will return. 

Everyone is sitting around a table when I enter, most yawning as they wait for me, aware of the early hours of the morning. Some will be waiting to see if I’m even alive, or if I was taken prisoner and then killed by Isaiah and his men. 

I grin as I meet the surprised gazes. "We've done it. I'm in."