Chapter 181

Ella POV

Alexander and I entered the room slowly. It was a small room witha single table and several chairs around it. It looked like it was probably a break room for the employees of the warehouse at some point.

I could see the discoloration on the wall where a refrigerator had once been and there was a long, grimy counter that probably held a microwave at one point. But now the room was inhabited by Dr. McIntyre and several men in dark suits, nothing else.

“Leave,” Alexander ordered as we walked the short distance to the table. The men didn’t hesitate to obey his order.

Dr. McIntyre didn’t lift her head until the door clicked shut behind the others. Then, she looked up at me and smiled.

The expression made me uncomfortable and I glared at her. Alexander sat in the chair across from her and I sat beside him.

“I’m glad to see you’re uninjured,” Alexander said in a friendly tone.

“Thanks to you,” Dr. McIntyre said with a smile. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not thrilled about being held captive here, but it is better than being dead.”

“Glad to see you realize the gravity of the situation you find yourself in,” Alexander replied. “It’ll make this all much easier.”

“I asked for a meeting, remember?” Dr. McIntrye said. “You don’t have to convince me to talk.”

“And what is it you wanted to say to me?” I demanded.

Their casual conversation was pissing me off. There was no reason for them to act so friendly given the situation. This was the woman that had slowly poisoned me for years, after all. She wasn’t our friend.

The smile fell away from her face as she looked at me and Dr. McIntyre sighed. “I’m not sorry for what I did to you,” she said. “For the record, I think you should know that. The only reason that I reached out to you is because things have gotten far out of hand.”

“In what way?” Alexander asked.

My blood was boiling with anger, but he was so calm. It annoyed me, but I did my best to keep my emotions in check. Alexander was best suited to handle this, I needed to follow his lead.

“I’m sure that you’ve already dug up all of the dirt on my family,” she said, looking at Alexander. “So I don’t have to explain to you why I hate you royal brats and your wealthy, stuck-up parents.”

I bit my tongue to keep myself from responding. Alexander didn’t look phased at all.

“So why help us?” he asked.

“Because I didn’t realize what that fool David Lake was planning,” she said angrily. “When I found out the truth, there was no way I could stand by silently.”

“What is the truth?” Alexander asked. “If you’re going to speak in circles then there’s no point in having this conversation. Just spit it out.”

“Fine,” she said tensely. “Just, understand that I’m completely serious about this. I know it’s going to sound crazy, but I’m not making it up.”

“Go on.”

“David isn’t the one calling the shots,” she began. “He’s just another cog in a much bigger machine. He’s allied himself with a rogue group that has ties to the Northern king.”

Alexander went stiff beside me and his breath paused. I looked at him with concern. The mention of the Northern king had clearly shocked him, but why?

Dr. McIntyre didn’t seem to notice, she continued talking.

“Their ultimate goal is to take over the South. When I first heard about it, I thought it was ridiculous, you know? I mean, there would be a full out war. It would never work! But, then I found out what their plan was…” she trailed off, averting her eyes.

“What’s the plan?” Alexander asked. There was a hard edge to his voice that made it clear he was taking this very seriously.

I was too. It was true, that most would think her story was impossible, but given what I knew about David, I wouldn’t put anything past him. It seemed obvious to me that he was capable of betraying the kingdom.

He only ever cared about himself, after all.

“Their plan was to help David win the election,” she explained. “He would be a false king that they could control in order to get what they wanted. They were giving him all kinds of money and resources in order to make it happen. That included paying people like me to interfere with the people close to him.”

“In what ways?” Alexander asked.

“Well, keeping Ella’s wolf dormant for one,” she said, glancing at me. “If your wolf was controlled, you’d never find your fated mate, so you would never be tempted to leave David. He needed your families wealth and status in order to win. There was…” she trailed off again, a guilty look on her face.

I already knew why. Anger and sadness chocked me for a second, but I cleared my throat and spoke.

“The plan to kill my father,” I said firmly.

Her eyes went wide and she looked at me in shock. “How do you know about that?” she asked.

Alexander was looking at me in disbelief as well.

“That doesn’t matter,” I said. “But your reaction confirms it. David was going to kill my father so he could have unrestricted access to our pack’s resources.”

“It was supposed to happen shortly after your wedding,” she said. “I wasn’t involved in that, I swear,” she added quickly. “I’m not a killer.”

“How did David get involved with these people?” I asked. “Who put him in contact with you?”

“Archer Gray,” she answered immediately. “He’s well known in the Roguelands. He was the one that contacted me and asked me what I would do to get revenge for my parents. I agreed to help, thinking it would make me feel better. In reality, it only made things worse. And now, it might be too late to stop David…”

“It isn’t,” Alexander said confidently. “If what you’re saying is true and you can prove it, then we have everything we need to take down both David and Archer. Once they’re out of the picture and the immediate danger is settled, we can track down the rest of their group.”

Dr. McIntyre looked uncertain. She took a deep breath, then looked back at me.

“I don’t care about the king, the alphas, any of you,” she said firmly. “But the people will suffer if these people are able to take over. I can’t let that happen.”

“So, you’ll help?” I asked.

She nodded her head. “I’ll help.”

“Good,” Alexander said, standing suddenly. “Then we’ll take you to the king.”

I saw the color drain from her face, but she nodded slightly.

“Thank you Brianna,” I said as I stood. “I know that you don’t care about my opinion, but you’re doing the right thing. David would have destroyed so many lives if he was allowed to become king. You saved a lot of people by coming forward.”

Memories of the original timeline were flitting through my mind and I couldn’t help but feel slightly sick. In the past, I was too blind to see what was happening. Her explanation made perfect sense though. David was just a fool being used by others.

All of the damage he did was at the order of someone more wicked and intelligent than him. He was too reckless and rash to pull it off on his own. At least now, I understood what was happening in the original timeline.

And now, thanks to my second chance, I had an opportunity to do something about it.