Chelsea's POV

I smiled as Viktor pressed the silver knife against Marcus's throat.

Perfect. Everything was going exactly as planned.

"Ten seconds, Alpha," Viktor repeated, his gray eyes cold as winter. "Where did the girl go?"

Marcus looked around the room at his scared pack members. At Sarah hiding behind her father. At me, standing quietly in the corner like I wasn't scared at all.

Because I wasn't scared. I was excited.

Finally, after twenty-four years, Kira would get what she earned. And I would get everything that should have been mine from the beginning.

"Five seconds," Viktor warned.

"Wait!" Marcus held up his hands. "I'll tell you, but first you have to promise not to hurt my pack."

Viktor laughed. "I don't make promises to dead Alphas."

"Then I won't tell you anything."

The silver knife bit deeper into Marcus's skin. A drop of blood rolled down his neck.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. A text message. I pulled it out, pretending to be scared like everyone else.

Is she gone yet? The message was from my secret source. Someone even Viktor didn't know about. Someone who wanted Kira dead even more than I did.

I typed back quickly: Soon. Viktor has Marcus. Plan is going perfectly.

Good. Make sure there are no witnesses to what really happened tonight.

Already taken care of, I answered. The pack will think rogues killed her. Marcus will blame himself forever.

I put my phone away and looked up to see Marcus looking at me. There was something strange in his eyes. Like he was seeing me for the first time.

"Chelsea," he said slowly. "How did you know Viktor's name?"

My blood went cold. Had I said Viktor's name out loud? I couldn't remember.

"I... what do you mean?"

"Just now, when they came in, you whispered 'Viktor's here.' But he hadn't introduced himself yet."

The room went dead silent. Everyone was looking at me now. Even Viktor seemed curious.

Think, Chelsea. Think fast.

"I must have heard one of his wolves say it," I lied. "You know how good my hearing is."

Marcus's brown eyes narrowed. "Your hearing isn't that good."

Viktor tilted his head, studying me like I was an interesting bug. "Well, well. It seems we have a little spy in the pack."

"I'm not a spy!" I protested. "I hate rogues just as much as anyone!"

But Viktor was happy now. "Oh, I don't think you're watching for us, little wolf. I think you're spying for someone else entirely."

What? That didn't make sense. I was working with Viktor. We had a deal.

"Tell me, Chelsea," Viktor continued, his voice getting lower and more dangerous. "Who else knows about tonight's plan?"

"No one! Just you and me, like we agreed!"

Viktor's smile vanished. "We never agreed to anything, girl. I've never seen you before in my life."

The world turned sideways. That was impossible. I'd been talking with Viktor for weeks. Planning Kira's arrest. He told me I could take her place as the pack's favorite once she was gone.

Hadn't he?

"But... the messages," I stammered. "You've been sending me texts for weeks. About tonight. About getting Kira."

Viktor looked at his rogues. They all looked confused too.

"Search her phone," Viktor demanded.

Before I could move, one of his wolves grabbed me and yanked my phone out of my hands. Viktor scrolled through the texts, his face getting darker with each one.

"Interesting," he said finally. "These texts aren't from me. Someone has been claiming to be me. Someone who wanted you to think we were working together."

My legs felt weak. "That's not possible."

"Oh, but it is." Viktor held up my phone so everyone could see the screen. "Look at the phone number, little spy. It's not mine."

I looked. The number was definitely not Viktor's. But then whose was it?

"Someone has been playing a very clever game," Viktor said, his gray eyes sparkling. "They used you to get information about the pack. They used you to make sure Kira would be alone and vulnerable tonight. And now they're probably using you to make sure there are no witnesses."

"Witnesses to what?" Marcus demanded.

Viktor's smile was pure evil. "To Kira's real theft, of course. You see, Alpha, I'm not here for the girl at all. I'm here because someone paid me to cause a distraction. To make sure all eyes were on this pack house while the real hunters grabbed their prize."

The room spun around me. This couldn't be happening. My perfect plan was falling apart.

"Who hired you?" Marcus grabbed Viktor's arm, forgetting about the knife. "Who took Kira?"

"I don't know," Viktor revealed. "The payment came through anonymous means. But whoever it was, they know a lot about the girl's power. They know exactly what she's worth."

I felt sick. Someone had used me. Someone had played me like a doll, and now Kira was in even worse danger than I'd planned.

But who? Who else knew about Kira's secret power? Who else wanted her gone?

My phone buzzed again. Another message from the unknown number.

Viktor grabbed it before I could. His face went white as he read.

"What does it say?" Marcus demanded.

Viktor looked up, and for the first time since he'd arrived, he looked truly afraid.

" It says: 'Thank you for the break, Viktor. The girl is mine now. If you ever want to see your brother again, you'll leave and never come back.' "

Brother? Viktor had a brother? "My brother died five years ago," Viktor whispered. "No one knows about him. No one except..."

He never finished the sentence. Because at that moment, every window in the pack house burst inward.

Black smoke poured through the broken glass, making everyone cough and gag. Through the smoke came laughing. Cold, cruel laughter that made my wolf whimper in terror.

"Hello, Viktor," a voice said from somewhere in the smoke. "Miss me?"

Viktor dropped my phone and backed toward the wall, his face full of fear. "It can't be. You're dead. I saw you die."

"Did you?" The voice was getting closer. "Or did you see what I wanted you to see?"

A figure stepped out of the smoke. He was tall and thin, dressed in all black. His face was hidden behind a mask, but his eyes...

His eyes glowed silver like moonlight.

"Surprised, brother?" the person asked Viktor. "You always were too trusting."

Viktor's hands shook. "Dimitri... how...?"

"How did I survive? How did I plan all this? How did I turn your little spy against you without her even knowing?" Dimitri laughed again. "Oh, Viktor. You have so much to learn about revenge."

He turned those silver eyes on me. "Thank you, Chelsea. You played your part perfectly. Too bad you won't live to see the rest of the show."

Before anyone could move, Dimitri raised his hand. Silver light shot out, hitting me in the chest.

Pain burst through my body. I couldn't move. I couldn't think.

As darkness closed over my view, I heard Dimitri's voice one last time: "Phase two begins now. And this time, the girl won't run."