My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 160

Sera

“I don’t trust her.”

I looked out into the yard. "I know. It’s a problem. I don't trust her, Mina. She only cares about her own preservation. I need a way to make her untouchable, something to own her so she can't trade me away again if the wind changes"

"You could use the Lord," Mina suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "Spread the word about the affair. Make them the laughing stock of the keep."

I shook my head. "Rumors aren't enough. Not in the South. My mother is a survivor; she'd just say I was making up stories, and my father wouldn't care as long as the borders are quiet. I need something real. I need proof."

Mina went quiet for a long moment, watching the snow drift past the balcony. "A blackmail?"

I stared at her. The word felt dirty, heavy, but it fit perfectly into the void I was trying to fill. "Yes. That’s what it is. A blackmail."

Mina digested that, her brow furrowing as she looked back at me. "Why do you need her under your thumb so bad, Sera? She’s your blood."

"Because I need to be aware of what’s going on in Valdris," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper. "I need her to be my eyes back at home. She’ll do anything to preserve herself. If I have proof of her betrayals, she’ll be the best spy I could ask for"

Mina smiled, a slow, impressed look spreading across her face. "Lunas are not suppose to scheme. That’s an Alpha’s job."

I frowned, “I’m not the Luna—”

“Yet,” Mina countered.

“‘I’m not trying to be an Alpha. I was just trying to keep my own Alpha safe.”

“Oohhhh…” Mina face brightened.. “My Alpha? Is that it now?”

“Stop it.”

“Fine, fine.” She said with raised hands.

“Thank you.”

"I have a plan though," Mina said suddenly, her energy shifting. "The night of the vows. You know how the night is usually like here?"

"No," I said, looking at her curiously. "How is it?"

Mina leaned closer, her eyes bright with a mischievous glint. "It’s a night for anyone to fuck anyone they want. There are no rules once the moon hits the peak. People take what they want, right there in the snow or against the walls. There's absolute deniability. If someone sees the Queen with a warrior, they'll just think it's the spirit of the night".

I froze, staring at her in genuine shock. "Wait. You're serious? Everyone just... does that? In the open?"

Mina laughed, the sound loud and unrestrained. "Sera, you look like you just saw a ghost! Yes, in the open. It’s the celebration of the bond. We are wolves."

I was struggling against Fenris’s grip, my breath coming in short, panicked hitches. I hadn't planned for it to go this far. I had asked for a blackmail, not a bloodbath. I heard Irina groan, a wet, rattling sound that made my own ribs ache.

"Fenris, let me go!" I hissed, clawing at his leather-clad arms. "Yvara promised! The bitch promised she wasn't going to hurt her!"

Mina was staring at us from across the hall. Her eyes were wide, filled with questions I couldn't answer. She could already smell the lies on me. She hadn't been part of the "Inner Circle" plan for the Totem. She had expected a simple blackmail, a way to keep a wicked mother quiet. She didn't expect to hear the Queen of Valdris being broken behind a closed door.

We had all heard Irina scream in that room. And from here, we could all smell the blood.

Mina took a shaky step forward, her voice stuttering, her eyes darting between Fenris and me. "Why... why are you holding her, Fenris? Why aren't we helping her? She’s hurting!"

I stared at the door, tears finally breaking out and blurring my vision. I fought against Fenris’s grip with everything I had left. "She promised me! Let me go!"

Fenris didn't move. He didn't flinch. He just reached up, placing his massive, calloused hand firmly over my mouth, cutting off my scream.

"Shhh," he whispered against my ear. "Be patient, Sera. Trust them to do their job. The Totem has to be taken."

"What are you saying? She’s dying." Mina’s voice was a thin, terrified thread in the dark.

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