There was an hour of this excessive debating. The elders were completely divided on this topic. She could definitely convince at least a quarter of the elders into joining her cause, especially with the help of Martin.

The elders on her side would be a great asset to her one-woman battle. They were the ones who pulled the thread of the people. Whatever they said was respected and their sway over the pack was arguably greater than the alphas.

When the council meeting concluded, she and Martin stayed back.

"Excuse me," She ever so politely asked him. "Is it possible for me to ask you something?"

Martin just nodded waiting for her to speak. She took that as a sign that it was safe to talk but she waited until she made sure the pack elders with their supernatural hearing would have walked far away enough.

Then she softly spoke. "What am I looking for specifically? All he ever does is talk about random shit with me."

"Look for his weaknesses. Any way we can use to undermine him."

No shit. All of these werewolves seemed a bit dense. It would be so easy to manipulate Martin, and in doing so, manipulate all of the rebels.

"Oh. In that case, I might have something useful for you." Martin's eyes lit up.

"But I'm not sure. Maybe it's not important." She looked down, like a child waiting to be reprimanded.

"Just tell me. There's no harm in that."

"The other day. I heard him telling me how he thought there were people who didn't really like him as alpha...And he was so sad about it. I think he's really sensitive."

"Thank you. That might actually be useful yet." He wrote something on a small notepad and tore the page, giving it to her. "Here. This is where we will expect you next week."

Kaya took the paper, crumpling it up as she put it into her pocket. With that she nodded in thanks and walked away.

She went back to Xander's rooms hoping to find him there. She wasn't too sure of his daily schedule but she hoped he would've gone back to his quarters to rest.

Luckily, she found him there reading a book.

The minute she barged in, he closed the book and patted the empty spot next to him, gesturing to her to sit with him.

"How was your day?" She asked him.

"It was okay. The work was shit but I get to be with you now, so everything is great!" He smiled at her, as she tried her best not to recoil in cringe.

"Me too." Kaya smiled at him. "But I was so bored. When I'm not with you, the world feels so bleak. Like all of the color and vibrancy is only there when I'm with you." She gave him those puppy dog eyes. "I know this is a bit stupid, but I was wondering if I could hang out with you during some of your work. I know you're busy, but I promise. I'll be quiet. You won't even notice I'm there."

How could he resist her?

"Of course," He responded fast. No hesitation. "You can join me during council meetings and negotiations. Those are the more exciting parts of the job. You'll probably get too bored when I'm just sitting in my study doing paper work." He let out a little chuckle and a smile.

The next day, Kaya followed him to his council meeting and silently observed.

Her mate was very professional and detached...to the point of even being seen as callous. The elders on the other hand, severely praised "the wisdom and intelligence" of their so-called alpha.

After the overly long council meetings, Kaya followed Xander to the kitchens where one of the wolves had made some food. She and Xander conversed talking about nothing and everything at the same time.

After lunch she would roam around plotting to the voices in her head.

It was all so monotonously boring.

The sun rose. The sun set. The sun rose. The sun set. On and on and on it went. Until a week had passed and Kaya had escaped to the forest, telling people of the "surprise date" she was setting up for her beloved mate.

Back in that underground meeting room, she was introduced to the rest of the high ranked rebels. There were a few more elders there, but many of the rebels were young wolves who seeked the glory and power of writing history.

While all of the members had an "equal say," Martin definitely had the most influence on the other members, with Viola having the influence of the younger wolves. She was seen as a good leader...the one that would take over when Xander was gone.

If she managed to bend those two to her will, Kaya would successfully be in control of the Cause. That was her first task to complete.

"He's got the entire pack brainwashed." Jonah said, with his arm propping his head up. "The only way we can successfully plan this coup is if the majority of the pack turns against him and we manage to kill the guards protecting him."

"I can do it." Kaya spoke up for the first time since the meeting began. "There are no guards when I'm with him...And that would leave you guys to deal with the pack."

At least half the room thought she was a double agent. They underestimated how willful humanity was.

"Why is she even here?" One of the elders asked in disdain. "She's the alpha's mate. It is impossible for her to betray him."

"I would never love something as wicked and corrupt as him. He's a fucking serial killer." Kaya scowled in utter disgust, both at the elder and her mate.

"Kaya's right. If Kaya can distract him and we manage to sneak an assassin in, all we have to do is get the pack on our side." The rebels believed Viola was the smartest in the room, and if Kaya could use Viola as her conduit, she wouldn't even need to gain people's trust and loyalty. It would be so much easier, manipulating one instead of many.

After the meeting, and the rebels had finally agreed with Kaya's plan, Kaya stayed back to help Viola clean up the crumpled papers and food wrappers people had left behind.

"Why were you at the hospital?" Kaya asked.

Viola's eyes widened a bit as her gaping mouth refused to speak. Eventually she said, "Xander found out I was planning a coup, so I had to go on the run."

"Is that why you're looked up to here, like a leader?" Kaya asked curiously.

"Well...I guess. I don't think I'm really the leader though." She shrugged. "The true leader of this entire operation are the people who sacrifice their entire livelihood to help the Cause. All I do is help guide them to their true purpose."

"That's such an interesting philosophy!"

People like Viola, with their heart written on a sleeve, were so easily manipulated.

"How did you escape the hospital by the way? It was a massacre. There were dead bodies left and right." She still remembered the blood everywhere. And the mangled limbs and stained white coats. "And they were all innocent," Kaya whispered.

Viola's abnormal ears certainly caught that, a lone tear gliding down her cheek as proof.

"It's all my fault." That lonely tear suddenly had company. "If I had left earlier, this wouldn't have happened. I could've been gone. Away from all of this shitty politics."

Kaya wasn't sure what to do. Did she go over and cheer her up by whispering lies into her ear? Should she just watch? What would be the best course of action to get closer to her?

"It's okay. It's not your fault. It's his...It was his choice to hurt all of those people. You didn't choose for any of that to happen.

The words didn't do shit to help her. She had made it worse if that was even possible. Viola let out whiny sobs with uncontrollable tears. Kaya handed her a tissue box for the snot dripping down her nose.

Kaya didn't speak after that. She just stood stoically still, searching through her maze of thoughts.

Viola continued to cry until her sinuses had dried out and her eyes were too puffy to cry.

"Thanks for being here." Viola finally said after a while.

"No problem. You're worth it." She gave a comforting smile as she stood up to leave. "I should probably head back. He'll know if I'm gone too long."

"Okay. I'll see you next week?" Viola said, keeping Kaya at the door for a moment longer.

She just nodded in acknowledgement.

She was so glad to be out of that hell hole. Viola took up way too much of her time.

Months passed. With Kaya traveling to the forest each week with different excuses for her mate each time. Each week, she was a step closer to her power.

Viola had warmed up to her immediately and because Viola was so close to Kaya, the rebels listened to every word that escaped her mouth.

She spent everyday with Xander, listening in on his boring meetings and got to know the mates of other alphas that came to visit, many to surrender. While she would entertain them with deep conversations and warm cups of coffee, Xander would take the alphas into his office, many of them not coming out with their lives intact. She witnessed the exact moment they died.

It happened like a pattern. Each time, their mates would be so ecstatic in conversation, and then all of a sudden, the coffee would spill from their hands as they hacked out piercing sobs, just like Viola.

She left them there to cry. She didn't care about them. They didn't have anything she needed. They weren't Viola.

For the rest of the day, she was practically always glued to Xander's side. She found that she got to know all of his annoying quirks and his hideous flaws. He would never kill someone in front of her, but she heard it.

The door to his office was left ajar one time. Xander was meeting with a pack member. One she had planted to test what the best way to murder him would be.

She had listened in an attempt to figure out if he had found a method, but what she had heard was appalling. He had tortured him. Right there in his office, not give a fuck about the mess. The screams were so loud. They reminded her of the hospital. All the screaming and the begging.

He was so close to breaking, so Kaya had to walk in. She had a horrified look in her eyes cried and screamed at him.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU SICK FUCK! YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" Xander broke instead. His devilish eyes broke away, revealing the softness she was so familiar with. She fought the urge to smirk in pride.

"I'm sorry. I won't hurt him anymore." He dropped the knife he was holding and ran over in an attempt to hug her, but Kaya just turned away from him, smiling like a mischievous child.

"Don't even fucking think about touching me." She grabbed the pack member and then dragged him towards the entrance as fast as her legs could take her.

"Run." She told him when she had opened the ornamental doors of the grand foyer. He thanked her as he ran, in what she hoped was the opposite direction of headquarters.

A minute later, Xander was behind her, his warm breath falling against her shoulder like a little feather. Before a syllable could even leave his mouth, she turned around and walked to their room, making sure to slam it as hard as she could and lock the door. She moved furniture against it, to the point where a cavalry of dressers and closets and tables had barricaded the room.

"You're so brave, Honey. To risk your cover for that young kid."

"But you were the one who told him to be there in the first place," Kaya whispered into her legs.

Subconsciously she had curled into a little ball against the now empty wall.

"It's okay. You did good. Keep it up."

When she lifted her head, her gaze caught the deepest darkest corner of the room. And there, dressed in a funeral dress was Belle's condescending gaze of disapproval.

She closed her eyes, hoping to avoid them...But they haunted her even in her dreams.