Chapter 222 - Rifling

Andreas was in Zoe's lab, rifling through the bottles of medications. He had to look up which was the one he needed, and in his anger and frustration, bottles were being carelessly knocked over and spilled all over the counter and floor.

This room was a pristine white like all the others of Zoe's with floor-to-ceiling one way windows that allowed a view of the woods from the inside while reflecting the forest when viewed from the outside. It was another beautiful fucking room that he had designed for her and equipped with all of the state of the art equipment that she requested.

And now she was staying at a treehouse being protected by Lucas—a lycan he never thought would go against him. But he could scent Lucas all over that area, and there was no other reason he would be there.

Lucas was the one who they had relied on when Marius disappeared. Sure, he didn't know the elders' secrets, but he seemed just as unlikely to switch sides as anyone. He called them when Graeme showed up on pack land with the unconscious human. He helped Marius when Miss Cady bit him. He helped the elders get the sample of her DNA and kept them informed on her movements.

Lucas being trusted by Graeme was just more evidence of the drastic sway the Alpha and his mate had on their pack members. It was necessary to get this pregnancy taken care of tonight so no one else would witness the glow that the witch apparently had.

Not finding the name he was looking for on any of the medication bottles thus far, he roared in frustration and threw all of the remaining bottles off of the shelf to go clattering against the floor. He watched as they bounced and rolled, scattering into disorder. Once they all finally stilled, he moved on to the microscope and centrifuge and the other equipment, sweeping them all with one arm so they would go crashing down into pieces.

He had put up with that freakish Zosime for what seemed like so long—all of her relentless scientific rambling and tangents and theories—not to mention the endless void of longing he would catch in her eyes when she wasn't batting them innocently like a school girl. And now she might actually be off gossiping about him? How could she? After everything he had done for her, she couldn't handle two weeks without being pampered?

Zoe was meant to be a gift from that psychotic ancient creature who bartered for their pack's alyko, but she felt more like a curse. And if she was going to be the end of him, that is exactly what she was.

If the truth really did come out about how the elders had set up Derek and Genevieve Hallowell, effectively sending them to their deaths that day, Andreas and Pearce would be mauled in the streets—torn limb from limb in a way that would make Auden's death appear merciful. There was no forgiveness for the kind of betrayal that they were involved in. Andreas understood it, and if it were as simple as the elders plotting against the Alpha and Luna, he would wholeheartedly agree.

But it wasn't that simple.

The ancient one had approached Derek and Genevieve first, attempting to strike a deal for all of their alyko. He would give them money, a more powerful political position amongst the packs… pretty much anything they could have asked for if He could take their alyko population. If they refused, however, He assured them that He would kill every lycan that walked their lands. In effect, the Hallowell wolves would become extinct.

After discussing the dilemma with the elders and receiving their unanimous advice to make the trade for the alyko—or the "cursed witches," as Auden had called them in the meeting—the Alpha and Luna had still refused. They were going to risk the lives of the entire pack just to save the small number of them who were despised by many in the first place.

Derek and his mate were trying to find a solution for another way to deal with this monster who was demanding their alyko. They had spoken with some of the Winters, trying to come up with a way to either kill or appease Him. But time was running out, and they had not found the answers or alliances they needed to keep the pack out of jeopardy.

That is when Andreas, Pearce, and Auden decided to take matters into their own hands. They approached the ancient one. They made the deal to have the Alpha and Luna killed—a staged attack by His strays—in order to spare the lives of the rest of the pack.

Did the elders get additional perks from the deal? Sure. They were given access to resources they never had before—Zoe being one of them. But now that resource was going to be all of their undoing.

Andreas gripped his thinning hair in frustration and stalked to another cabinet on the far side of the room, opening doors and shuffling through materials looking for more medication storage. Maybe Zoe kept what he was looking for in her office.

On his way back through the lab, stepping over spilled bottles and equipment, another cabinet caught his eye that he hadn't searched yet. He opened it to find what he recognized as the anti-alyko serum, the misoprostol pills he was looking for, a mortar and pestle, and a few other instruments he didn't recognize.

"Finally," he grumbled to himself and seized the pills along with the small mortar and pestle.

If he could crush up enough of this and get it into a drink, it would be easier to administer without her knowledge. Hopefully she was at a social gathering. That would be ideal.

But he had to take care to make sure she didn't somehow overdose.. The vanishing that was planned on Samhain was essential for all of this to go smoothly.