SOMEWHERE IN THE SHADOWS//QUEEN VESPERA'S SWAMP
The war room buzzed with tension.
Holographic screens lined every wall, displaying maps, surveillance footage, and grainy images of the triplets' palace. Female warriors stood at attention along the edges of the chamber—scales dark, eyes cold, claws sharpened. In the center of the room, a large table displayed a detailed blueprint of the Blackmoon Pack's stronghold.
Queen Vespera sat at the head of the table. Her silk robe barely contained her bulk. Her cloudy eyes moved slowly from face to face.
She did not speak.
She did not need to.
General Thrax stood beside the holographic table, her scarred arms crossed over her chest. She was the toughest warrior in Vespera's army. She had killed werewolves with her bare claws. She had never lost a mission.
But today, she looked nervous.
"My Queen," Thrax began, "the kill team is assembled. Twelve of our best warriors. Silent. Deadly. Ready to move on your command."
Vespera nodded slowly. "And the lycan? Where is she?"
Thrax tapped the table. An image of Samantha appeared—young, dark-haired, scared. The image had been captured through a window, from a distance, by one of Connie's drones.
"She is kept in the slave quarters of the palace, my Queen. The triplets do not guard her personally. She is just one of many women there."
"Just one of many." Vespera's voice dripped with contempt. "They do not know what they have."
"They do not, my Queen. But Kayden does. And if he reaches her first—"
"He will not." Vespera slammed her fist on the table. The holographic image flickered. "We will reach her first. We will kill her first. And Kayden will never become human."
One of the commanders—a young female with bright green scales—spoke up. "My Queen, forgive me, but I must ask. Why not capture the lycan? Why not use her blood for ourselves? If her blood can break curses, surely it could—"
"It could do nothing for me." Vespera's voice was sharp. "I am not cursed, child. I am a full lizard. I have no human form to return to. The lycan's blood might heal a wound. It might calm a fever. But it cannot make me young. It cannot make me fertile."
She leaned forward. Her cloudy eyes glowed.
"Only Kayden's mark can do that. Only his venom flowing through my veins. I do not need the girl alive. I need her dead."
The green-scaled commander bowed her head. "Forgive me, my Queen. I understand now."
Vespera leaned back. "Continue, Thrax."
Thrax tapped the table again. The image of Samantha was replaced by a map of the triplets' palace.
"We have identified a weakness in their security," Thrax explained. "A drainage tunnel that leads directly into the slave quarters. It is narrow. Unpleasant. But our warriors are small. They can fit."
"How many guards?"
"Four at the entrance. Two patrolling the corridor outside the slave quarters. The rest of the palace is heavily guarded, but the slaves themselves are not considered a threat. Security around them is... lax."
Vespera smiled. It was not a pleasant smile.
"Arrogant wolves. They think they are untouchable."
"They are about to learn otherwise," Thrax said.
A ripple of dark laughter moved through the chamber.
Vespera raised a claw. The laughter stopped.
"Tell me about Kayden. Where is he now?"
Connie stepped forward from the shadows. She had been standing so still that no one had noticed her.
"My Queen, Kayden is preparing for another trip to the human world. He wants to test his limits again. He will be away from his camp for at least two days."
Vespera's eyes glowed brighter. "Two days?"
"At least, my Queen. Perhaps longer. He is... eager. He wants to feel human again."
Vespera laughed. That dry, rattling sound that made everyone's scales crawl.
"Eager. Yes. He is eager to leave us. To leave his people. To leave me." She stood up. Her bulk cast a shadow across the table. "But he will not. Because when he returns, the lycan will be dead. Her blood will be useless. And he will have no choice but to accept what he is."
She walked around the table, passing each warrior, studying each face.
"I have waited centuries for Kayden. Centuries. I watched him grow from a hatchling. I watched him become a warrior. I watched him become an Alpha. And I watched him chase this foolish dream of humanity."
She stopped in front of Thrax.
"I will not let a wolf-blooded girl steal him away from me."
Thrax bowed her head. "She will not, my Queen. I swear it."
Vespera returned to her seat. She sat down heavily, her joints creaking.
"Give me the details. How will you enter? How will you find her? How will you kill her?"
Thrax pointed to the drainage tunnel on the map. "We enter here. Under cover of darkness. The tunnel leads to a storage room adjacent to the slave quarters. From there, we move quickly. Find the lycan. Kill her. And disappear before anyone raises the alarm."
"And if someone raises the alarm?"
Thrax's claws extended. "Then we kill them too."
Vespera nodded. "Good. What about the triplets? The Lycan princes?"
"We will avoid them at all costs, my Queen. They are too powerful to fight directly. But they are also... distracted."
"Distracted how?"
Thrax hesitated. "Our spies report that the triplets are fighting among themselves. Over the lycan. Two of them want to keep her. One of them wants to claim her as his personal mate. They are not united."
These were false information being supplied to Vespera.
Vespera's eyes narrowed. "Interesting. So the girl is causing problems even without knowing it."
"It seems so, my Queen."
"Good. Let them fight. Let them tear each other apart. That only makes our job easier."
She turned to Connie.
"Any word from our spy inside the palace? The servant girl?"
Connie nodded. "She is in place, my Queen. She will unlock the slave quarters door on the night of the kill. She will also provide a distraction to draw the guards away."
Vespera smiled. "Excellent. What is her name again?"
"Vera. My Queen."
"Vera." Vespera tasted the name. "So, who is this human girl you keep talking about. The one you say is your friend? Mira?"
"Oh, she's Alpha Kayden's girl."
"She is human, is she not?"
"Yes, my Queen. She is a captive. Kayden keeps her as a servant. But she hates him. She is happy to help us."
Vespera laughed. "A human betraying a lizard to help other lizards. The world is strange."
She stood up one final time.
"Thrax. You leave tonight. Kill the lycan and make it clean. Make it quick. I do not want her to suffer. I also want the Mira girl to help me poison the water of Alpha Kayden with a love potion."
Thrax saluted. "It will be done, my Queen."
"And Thrax?"
"Yes?"
Vespera's cloudy eyes burned. "If you fail... do not bother coming back."
Thrax's scales paled. "I will not fail, my Queen."
The war council ended. The warriors filed out of the chamber, and soon, only Vespera remained.