Chapter 6：Secret Plans

Vikrov’s POV

When the maid mindlinks me to tell me the Blood Moon pack’s Beta is awake, I’m more than ready to interrogate her in detail.

I’m downstairs in the pack house when I feel a strange presence–the intoxicating scent of my mate. I recognize it for what it is immediately. It catches me off-guard–my mate is somewhere inside the pack house right now.

I try to resist my wolf’s urge to go find her immediately, steeling myself against instinct. I’ve been shifted for four years now, and I know every member of my pack personally. If my mate were someone in my pack, I would’ve recognized her a long time ago.

Unless…

Unfortunately, I have a guess. 

I walk step-by-step to the room where the captive is being held, and with every step I take, the mate bond grows stronger. 

I push open the door. Her scent lingers in my nose. 

The moment I lay my eyes upon her, I know deep in my heart that we’re mates.

I’m mates with the enemy. 

‘MATE! MATE! MATE!’ My wolf, Tempest, howls incessantly, and before I can stop myself, I repeat his exclamations. 

“MATE!” I shout.

The girl – Cynthia, if intel serves, looks more taken aback than anything else.

Which doesn’t surprise me. As beautiful as she is, I find myself a bit incredulous at the possibility of my mate being the enemy. 

Tempest seems to be trying to connect with Cynthia’s wolf. I can feel his impatience, but it doesn’t seem to be working. 

I have to play this carefully.

She seems weak. I need her to trust me for my plan to work. I shouldn’t scare her again. 

Cynthia looks up at me nervously. “You–”

“You–” I say at the same time. 

I pause, catching her eye. We both burst out laughing. She looks a bit more relaxed now–good. I’ve charmed the enemy before. Why should this time be any different?

“Ladies first,” I tell her smoothly.

Cynthia looks down at the wounds on her arms. “Am I… am I seriously injured?”

I briefly debate how much to tell her. “Yeah, you fell off a cliff. Do you remember how you ended up there? Or anything before the injury?”

“I…” she averts her gaze from me. “I…”

Oh, she’s hiding something.

I take her hand as gingerly as I can manage. “You can tell me anything.” I flash her a smile. “I’m here for you.”

“I’ve lost my memory,” Cynthia blurts out. She swallows nervously. “And my wolf.”

I narrow my eyes. That’s certainly convenient. Is she really as helpless as she seems?

I really can’t feel her wolf, though. So maybe she’s telling the truth. 

“So that’s why I can’t feel your wolf,” I muse. I’m unable to stop the grin from creeping across my face. I grip her hand tightly. “Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in on all the memories you’ve forgotten.”

“But I–” the girl looks worried. “I don’t know if you really understand. I mean, I don’t even know who I am.” 

I concoct the lie in a split second.

"Your name is Cynthia," I start to tell her. "Cynthia Rose. My name is Vikrov. You’re in the Eclipse packhouse–you’re a member of the Eclipse pack, we both are. You’ve been here since you were little. You’re my mate, and we’re deeply in love."

My lips twist into a sharp smile.

"Most importantly, we're getting married soon."     

Cynthia looks utterly shocked by the news, as I’d expect. Just as I’m about to say more, though, I hear my father’s voice call out to me through the mind link. 

I suppress a sigh, and the sting of irritation I feel upon hearing his voice. 

‘Vikrov,’ my father’s voice rumbles. As the true Alpha of the pack, he’s the only one who doesn’t refer to me as Alpha. ‘Beta Brooks has told me you’ve captured the Blood Moon pack’s Beta. Report to me immediately.’

I grown inwardly. ‘Yes, Alpha.’

There’s more I want to say to Cynthia, but I can’t. I stand up swiftly. “Don’t worry about all that now,” I tell her. “Get some rest, my love. I’ll come check on you later.”

And with that, I leave the room. 

I arrive at the Alpha office, where I find my father, Alpha Maverick. He looks up at me when I enter. “What’s your plan here, Vikrov?”

“The Blood Moon Beta just woke up. I was going to interrogate her, but she seems to have lost all her memories. And her connection to her wolf.” 

I pause, lowering my gaze. “I told her she’s my mate. She believed me.”

My father doesn’t say anything, but a wicked scowl twists and contorts his features. 

“I plan on using our supposed mate bond to gain her trust,” I add hastily. “To make her fall in love with me, so we can use her against the Blood Moon pack.”

“Tell me, Vikrov,” my father says. “Is this girl really your mate?”

‘Yes,’ My wolf Tempest insists.

I make the call in a flash of lightning: “No. She’s not. I just want to gain her trust and help us take down the Blood Moon pack.”

It’s not my father’s fault that he can’t trust the True Mate bond anymore. After all, his mate, my mother, betrayed him and cost him nearly everything. The Eclipse pack suffered terrible losses. Since then, he’s believed that mates hinder werewolves from making proper judgements.

He’s demanded that myself, as well as my younger brother, never let our mates affect us. We’ve both been forced to swear we’ll never be with our True Mates. 

“Good,” my father says, relaxing slightly and leaning back in his chair. “Thanks for informing me.”

I recognize the dismissal when I see it. “Of course,” I say, turning to leave. 

When I make my way out of the office, I immediately catch my younger brother Galen listening in on our conversation. 

“Galen!” I whisper harshly, rolling my eyes. He always does this. “Follow me.”

I lead us out of earshot of my father’s office, as well as anyone else who may be eavesdropping. “Were you snooping?” I ask him sharply.

He nodded casually.

“You can’t reveal a single word of what you heard to anyone. Ever,” I warn him coldly. “Especially not Cynthia.”

“Are you afraid of the plan failing, or are you afraid she'll hate you when she knows the truth?” Galen’s words made me furrow my brow.