Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 464

Chapter 122:1 Needed to Get to Ciana

Murray creased his brow. He turned away from me and casually glanced out his window. At least, he wasn't outright denying me. He wasn't putting up an argument, either. If anything, he seemed surprised by my offer.

"Look, I know Luther, I know Ma...Luther's ambassador, I know Theo, and I know Frederic. I've got all the insider information to come up with a workable plan,' I added. I didn't want to mention Maggie's name because I'd had to explain a lot more to the elders and the pack and it could complicate things.

What would people think if the princess was against her own half-brother? Most people didn't know Maggie and Warren's real father anyway.

"You do know a lot of the players," Murray agreed.

"This is what I've come up with. Frederic's main goal is to keep the pack safe. He thinks supporting Luther is best for the pack. However, what he doesn't know is that Luther is less worried about pack safety and more worried about gaining followers," I explained.

"And how do you plan to use those two goals against each other?"

"Luther and his ambassador are willing to do whatever it takes to clear obstacles from their paths. We just need to show Frederic that Luther doesn't care about the safety of individual pack members."

"Neither Luther nor his ambassador will care what happens to individual pack members once they get what they want. If Luther gets power, he's going to step on all of us,' I continued. 'Once Frederic understands that, he won't support them anymore."

"But we have no way of getting Frederic to see that. He won't believe it if we just tell him,' Murray said, shaking his head.

"Sure we do. That's where you come in. If you're up for a little misdirection. All you have to do is spread rumors to Luther's ambassador that Frederic doesn't support them because of his wife. Then they will try and remove Frederic's wife as an obstacle," I explained my plan.

"That seems... Well, you want me to kidnap Frederic's wife and plant fake evidence that it was Luther who did it? There are too many things that could go wrong with that plan. I'm not comfortable raising arms against another pack member." Murray frowned and shook his head firmly.

"I'm not suggesting you kidnap her or even lay a hand on her," I clarified. "Actually, you should make sure that Beryl is guarded and protected at all costs. Keep her in her house under constant guard.'

"What? Ciana, that makes no sense. If you want Frederic to lose trust in Luther, then how is protecting Beryl going to help?" he asked, his frown deepening.

"This has to be subtle. I want you to help protect Beryl so nothing actually happens to her. As long as you can convince Luther's people that she is against them, I'm sure they will take action to go after Beryl, and at that point, they'll show Frederic the kind of people they are," I explained.

"Force Luther to show his true colors by tricking him to go after the one person that Frederic will always love, cherish and stand up for. Frederic would die before supporting anyone that tries to hurt Beryl," Murray agreed, nodding.

"Exactly." I smiled and nodded. "But he wouldn't be able to even get to Beryl, because we would be hiding her and protecting her.'

Finally, Murray was seeing my plan. And he agreed with me. That was all I needed. It actually felt good for him to listen to me, seeing as he kept talking to me like I was a little girl. I hoped that if I gave him a good plan, he'd start taking me seriously.

The best part, for him, was that I didn't have to be put in harm's way for this plan. Technically, no one did, because it was based on rumors. No one would be able to trace back where the rumors started.

"I'll put guards on Beryl and I will begin to spread those rumors. A whisper here, a whisper there, it will take off,' Murray agreed. He turned toward the door.

"Wait, there is one more thing I need,' I said, stopping Murray.

He arched an eyebrow and glanced at me. 'I told you, Ciana, I'm not letting you be directly involved. It is too dangerous.'

"I know. I just... I want you to arrange a meeting with Beryl for me. At her house, preferably when Frederic isn't around. We need to chat, woman to woman," I said.

***

Fredric's home was mostly silent. I knew that he must have been out recruiting more people to be on Luther's side. This was my only chance.

I had promised Theo to be careful and not do anything risky. Climbing through the window of Fredric's home didn't break either of those promises, right?

I walked up the wooden stairs, carefully not to make them creek under my pressure. Tiptoeing, I came to the master bedroom door. The light shined from under the door into the hallway-she was awake.

As soon as I was in, I met her kind and warm brown eyes. She looked just the same as she did before. You would never guess that she was in her late forties. The woman did not age at all.

"Ciana?" She was laying on the bed with a slick robe on. Placing her book on the side, her eyes widened. 'Is that you? Oh goddess, it is you!"

"It's great to see you. Beryl.'

She hopped out of the bed and ran toward me, enveloping me in a big hug.

She pulled back with a smile on her face. "Haven't you grown into a fine young lady! Your parents will be so proud of what you've managed to do.'

I blushed.

"I wish I was visiting you in better circumstances than this. But I have not come with great news.'

The smile slipped from her face. "I had a feeling. There has been a lot of talk within the pack, especially some of the higher ranking officials. They want to swear allegiance to Luther."

I nodded solemnly. 'Yes, this is very true. They want to go against the crown. But King Theo is nothing like Sebastian. He wants the very best for the people. I believe in him.'

She grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes. "Sweetheart, you don't have to convince me. I know Luther can't be trusted. I don't agree with Fredric at all. He has been blinded but he refuses to see sense. I told him many times before but he won't listen to what I have to say. I wish I knew how I could help in the cause.'

My heart lifted a little. This was great news. She was on my side.

"I'm so happy you said this. I actually need your help."

"What do you mean?'

"I know of a way to get Fredric to not trust Luther."

"I'm listening."

A slow smile came. "I’m going to need to borrow your clothes."

After three hours of preparation, I looked at myself in the mirror and gave myself the once over. I wore a casual navy blue coat that was one of Beryl's favorites, and my hair was dyed to dark brown and trimmed shorter to match the length of hers. I would be walking around in the late afternoon. Any finer details would be concealed in the dimming sunlight.