Chapter 152

ADAN

Everything was falling right into place.

Adan swirled the last of the whiskey in his glass, holding it up against the sunlight pouring in through the open windows, taking a moment to admire its beautiful amber hue. Then he downed it in a single gulp and slammed the empty glass down in front of his friend.

“One more?” Kerr asked, mid-pour as he filled another glass for himself.

They were in Kerr’s office at the back of his mansion estate, awaiting nine other guests expected to arrive shortly. It was a small but continuously growing group of powerful allies that Adan was satisfied, for now, to consider his inner circle.

“No,” Adan said simply, already walking off in the other direction. His heart was beating fast. It had been hammering in his chest like this for days. The excitement of everything coming to fruition had him completely wired, high on adrenaline and anticipation.

He started pacing the length of the enormous office, back and forth from wall to wall and over again, deep in thought, wiping his mouth with his hand absentmindedly.

Kerr left him alone, knowing his friend quite well. Adan was not to be disturbed when he was thinking something over like this.

“Confirm your position,” Adan articulated carefully into the receiver.

He and Kerr had adjourned to a small room next door to the library. It was a space Kerr’s wife had once set up as a guest bedroom, but which, after a lot of argument, Kerr had overtaken for his excess office storage. Very early in the morning, the two men had once again transformed the purpose of the room, turning it into a temporary mission control center of sorts for their nefarious undertaking.

The voice that responded to Adan’s question was a barely audible whisper.

To Kerr, it was only static. He held down the mute button on the speakerphone and looked up at Adan. “What did he say?”

Adan’s hearing was impossibly acute. “He’s inside the building,” he repeated. Kerr then lifted his finger to unmute them. “We’ll be offline until we have word the target is en route,” Adan continued, now addressing the assassin. “Stay in position until then and be absolutely sure that you are not seen.”

Another whisper came through on the speaker. Again, Kerr looked a question up at his friend. Adan only shook his head in response.

“And one last thing,” he said to their hitman. Adan’s clear, quiet and professional tone remained unchanged. “This is our one and only chance at a clean assassination. There is no margin for error. Do you understand me?”

A short whisper responded in the affirmative.

“Very good.” Adan smiled. “Complete this job as if your life depends on it. Because it does. Either Prince Nolan dies today, or you do.”

There was no response expected to that. Adan pressed a button, ending the call abruptly.

He patted his friend and co-conspirator on the back cheerfully. Kerr coughed and wobbled slightly. Maybe Adan used a tad too much force. On accident, probably. Or perhaps not.

He grinned. It took years of obsessive planning and patience to plot this all out, and a lot of help and luck to pull it off. Everything from faking his own death in the human world to the horribly tedious semester spent working a cover as a college professor. It was all about to be worth it.

The ultimate power that he had been craving for so long was so close, he could almost taste it.

“The world as we know it is about to change,” Adan said, eyeing the small crowd of nobles that was gathered in a semi-circle around him. “And it’s about damn time.”

Kerr, possibly mildly drunk already, cheered and raised his glass. His sister Clarice joined in, and then the others did as well.

The others were Adan’s uncle, Rey, and the seven members of Parliament that Kerr and Clarice had managed to sway to their side by now. The bunch was all devious smiles, wide eyes, and chaotic energy.

“The world as we know it today is wrong,” Adan continued. “When I was a child, I was made to believe that humans were our equals. That they were just as good, just as honorable as we are. That their lives had the same value as those of werewolves. But humans are weak, through and through, from their physical forms to the smallness of their minds. They constantly prove themselves to be low, vile creatures.”

Sounds of agreement rumbled in the small crowd, passionate but respectfully muted snarls and growls expressing their mutual disgust with humankind.

“The natural order of the werewolf is a hierarchy. And where are humans in the hierarchy? They’re beneath us. They are meant to be our subjects. The only way they have achieved their current status is because my predecessors have made the choice to allow it.”

Rey reacted to this, cheering Adan on and snarling his already ugly lips.

“And why?” Adan held out his hands in front of him. “For the sake of a silly idea they call ‘peace.’ First my grandfather, then my father. And now, my little brother Nolan, born the Spare, who dares to think he is strong enough to stand against me. Nolan would have werewolves negotiate even more bargains with the humans. Start relying on them for resources. And even embrace and adopt elements of their culture.”

Adan was getting riled up as he spoke. He believed, down to the deepest part of himself, in everything that he was saying. Because once upon a time, he had foolishly thought that he loved a human. He would never make that mistake again.

He gazed out the window at the bright sunlight, making his eyes light up like fire. The air in the room felt suddenly warm and thick, despite the cool breeze drifting in through the big, open windows. Adan’s audience watched him in silence, transfixed.

“Fuck the humans,” he said, his volume increasing along with his fury. “And fuck public opinion. Being liked has nothing to do with true greatness. Being careful doesn’t win you power. I will gain my foothold in this world without pandering to commoners. Or to anyone. It is better to be feared than loved.” He paused, staring intently into each person’s eyes, one at a time. “And I will be the most feared Alpha King the world has ever known.”

“Hear, hear!” Kerr raised his glass again, setting off another round of cheers.

“Hear, hear!” the nobles all cried out in echo, their voices overlapping.

“It begins today. Our new world. The total dominance of werewolves over all other species, the way it should be. And it begins with one simple step. One that you’ll be glad to know is already underway.”

Adan paused again for effect, loving the feeling of having everyone waiting for his next word with bated breath. It was delicious, holding their emotions in hand.

“Today,” he said finally, “we kill the Spare.”