38: Mystery POV! (Bonus Chapter)

Ada being the surrogate had played perfectly into my plans. She may have been trapped on the farm, watched and secluded. But had I begun working with some of my greatest allies while she was present on pack territory, she wouldn’t have let it slide. She would have fought. And then I would have had the difficult job if figuring out how to move her out of my way *again.* 

Finn, a vampyre king that was far older than any other being I knew, shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks, “We meet again.”

I kicked my feet in the dirt, looking around us at the surrounding woods nervously, “Yes, we do. Are you ready?”

He raised his striking white eyebrows, “Am *I* ready?” Shadows seemed to pour from his hands, cascading on the ground around us. With it, a deadly silence travelled. My ears buzzed as the silence approached, a near-deafening ring aside from his voice that echoed clearly, “You shouldn’t worry about me holding up my end of the bargain. I have something that belongs to me to gain,” the shadows wrapped around my ankles, “It is your part that we should both be worried about. Tell me again,” he cocked his head to the side, and pulled his pocket watch from the pocket of his waistcoat, “What exactly is your stake in this?”

The shadows were cold, near the temperature of ice. Goosebumps traveled across my body, painful and chilled. I shivered and managed a stiff shrug, “A grab for the throne. That’s all I’m after.”

His thin lips curled into a vicious smile— one that was almost otherworldly. “Your family has always been power hungry,” he hissed out and I nearly breathed a sigh of relief, “It will be your downfall.”

Finn could not know my true reason for doing this. For months, I’d been working with him and developing plans to amass an army to overthrow the Everett throne. We were so close to the point of attack, so near to being able to meet my end goal. So close to me being able to be reunited with my love. I’d had my suspicions that Ada was the destined surrogate for years, and had only been made familiar with the prophecy after I met Finn. Her being selected had been the final thing he’d needed to fall into place for him to agree to work with me. Once I showed that I had an in, he was sure we could succeed. 

Now the plan was simple: gather the army, march, battle. Once the battle was complete, I would find my love and we would be free. Free from the ties that held us and the chains that seemed to bind us. And the curse from that wicked fucking fairie, Lilith of the Alpenglow. 

In other words, Finn — whose real name was Fane Rosu — was simply a means to an end. A pawn. And while my heart did flutter slightly at the thought, I had no other choice. Finn was the Shadow Walker, one of the five original vampyre kings. They were said to nearly transcend time itself, and given the way he carried himself I did believe it. I’d heard stories from him that felt like they weren’t just from another time, but another world. I did find myself wondering sometimes when we were alone if the rumors were true and his shadows carried him from world to world. It was a tricky thing to convince him I was honest while playing the field. But I had done it. 

I was careful to keep my thoughts guarded at all times. I could never know who was listening. I wouldn’t let myself think of Finn or our plans for very long, for fear there was someone who could read thoughts nearby. The lovely Ada had always been so naive. She’d bared her feelings for all to see, and did nothing to guard her thoughts from those surrounding. She lived in such a small bubble, not knowing about any of the monsters that surrounded her. That *I* was one of them. 

Finn cleared his throat, “Shall we?”

His hand swept in the direction of the packhouse. I rolled my shoulders back and looked at the door leading inside, “Sure, Shadow Walker. Let’s go talk to the Alpha.”