Miranda's point of view

My interest piqued immediately when he said he’d come up with a plan.

“Finally. Where do I come in?” I asked.

Instead of stating his plan, he stared at me from head to toe with a disgusted expression.

“You should stop doing these rituals. You look like a ghost in these clothes,” he spat. If looks could burn things, my dress would be on fire by now.

“I can’t stop,” I replied.

He frowned. “Why?”

“You don’t understand. I need—”

“Do you really want to have a child with him?” His voice suddenly lowered as disappointment washed over his face.

His assumption made me laugh, but I sobered up quickly and decided to give him a clear explanation.

“Think about it. I’ve been doing this ritual for the longest time, and if I suddenly stopped, if you were Lorenzo, wouldn’t you suspect something is off with me?” He didn’t say anything, but I continued anyway. “I need to keep pretending to love and care for him. That way, he’ll let his guard down and we can carry out our plan smoothly.”

He remained silent, still eyeing my outfit. Feeling frustrated, I decided to stop explaining myself.

“We’re not here to talk about my ritual. Let’s talk business. What’s the plan you’ve come up with?” I asked.

“Let’s have a seat,” Vincenzo said, leading us to the small sitting area a few meters away from the Moon Goddess’s altar.

After we’d all taken our seats, he cleared his throat and began:

“Here’s the plan. Since you’ve agreed to work with me, I want you to come up with an excuse that would keep Lorenzo engaged and away from his study for a while,” he said.

I frowned slightly. “Hold on. I thought we agreed that I’d be in his study to delete the scene or turn off the camera. Why am I keeping him away?”

“We did not agree on that. And besides, if you go to his office, he wouldn’t need an investigation to know you’re involved.”

“Oh…” I nodded slowly, agreeing with him.

“We don’t want him to trace any of this back to you. All I want you to do is hold him off, and my men will take care of the rest.”

Hmm… He’s so thorough. I guess I understand why Maurice acknowledges him as the Alpha. He’s got the qualities of a leader.

“Are we good?” His question pulled me back.

“Er…” I didn’t know what to say, but a question suddenly crossed my mind, and I voiced it. “Where do you intend on hiding him? I mean, your father. And how sure are you that Lorenzo isn’t going to find him?”

Vincenzo shook his head. “I’ve been diligently planning this for years. Trust me, Lorenzo can never find him,” he answered confidently.

I don’t know if I’m reading too much into this, but his confidence sounded as if he’s ready to fight Lorenzo head-on.

“My brother is very suspicious by nature. I know I’ll be his first suspect the moment he finds out my father’s missing from his cell. But don’t worry, I have everything under control,” he said.

“I believe you. Just make sure my safety is under your control too,” I said, because that’s my main concern—I can’t die before bringing Lorenzo and Mia down.

He subconsciously turned his whole body to face me, his eyes staring into mine, and I saw different emotions in them. Of all the emotions, love stood out—but I might be tripping.

“I’m a man of my word. No harm will come to you,” he assured me.

“Thank you in advance,” I chuckled, hoping he’d look away from me, but he didn’t.

Silence befell us as we waited for him to proceed, but he didn’t say anything. He just kept staring at me, making the atmosphere awkward. I cleared my throat loudly, which woke him from his trance.

“Interesting,” Maurice said as he chuckled lightly.

“So, after rescuing your father, what’s the next step? How do you intend on taking Lorenzo down?” I asked.

“We’ll wait until my father recovers, then find a way to frame Lorenzo and get the public on our side and…” He paused and sighed. “Honestly, I haven’t really thought about what to do after rescuing my father,” he confessed.

I found myself nodding in understanding. If I were him, I’d be so focused on rescuing my father before thinking of anything else too.

“Just framing Lorenzo and getting the public on our side isn’t enough to impeach him,” I said.

“What do you suggest, then?”

I smirked. “Let’s get the Alpha King involved!”

Maurice’s eyes widened as he nodded in support. “That’s a great idea.”

“Great idea? Let her finish,” Vincenzo scolded him. “What do you mean by ‘let’s get the Alpha King involved’?” he asked, facing me.

“We know Lorenzo has powerful elders backing him. Even if we frame him or bring out evidence of him being a corrupt leader, his backers would manipulate things, and he’d still remain the Alpha... All our efforts would go to waste.”

Vincenzo agreed with a nod.

“But, if a higher power like the Alpha King is present, then we’d successfully get him out for good,” I explained.

Maurice clapped, his face beaming with a smile.

“That’s an excellent idea, Luna.”

“Yes, it’s an excellent idea. But how do we invite the Alpha King over?” Vincenzo asked.

I smiled. “Leave that to me. I’ll take care of it.”

“Leave it to you?” he asked, doubt dancing on his face.

“Yeah. The Alpha King’s mate was from my pack, and we’re best friends,” I answered with pride.

“You’re friends with the Alpha King’s mate, not the Alpha King. Being friends with his mate doesn’t mean you get to invite him anywhere, Miranda,” he said.

Miranda? My stomach churned in excitement when he said my name. It sounded so beautiful coming from his mouth.

“Are you still here with us?” He snapped his fingers in front of my face.

“Yeah,” I said, slapping his hand away.

“I said we should think of something else,” he said.

Just as we were at our wits' end, it came to my mind that in my previous life, the Alpha King’s mate gave birth two months from now, and Lorenzo allowed me to visit her.

“Let’s focus on rescuing your father first. I’ll think of how to invite the Alpha King,” I said.

Vincenzo’s brows furrowed. “Are you sure?”

I slapped his shoulder lightly. “You have to be confident in me. You’re not the only smart one in this collaboration.”

He stayed silent for a brief moment, then sighed and agreed.

“When is the mission?” I asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!” I exclaimed.

“Yes. The sooner we rescue my father, the faster we’ll take down Lorenzo.”

I groaned but agreed with him, and said whatever came out of my mouth.

“Come on, Claire, let’s go get some things ready for tomorrow. I guess I’ll give my beloved husband the most relaxing full body massage…”

“Massage?” Vincenzo cut me off with a disapproving growl.

Uh-oh. Someone’s angry. A deep frown appeared on his face, and his eyes hardened.

Hmm. Maybe I should tease him a bit.

“Yes,” I answered.

“You want to give Lorenzo a full body massage?”

I frowned slightly, pretending to be offended by his question. “Have you gone deaf? Why do you sound so surprised?”

Joy. I felt nothing but an inexplicable joy as I watched his jealousy grow. I decided to tease him further.

“We’ve been together for many years and we have seen every inch of each other’s bodies. There’s no—”

“That’s enough!” he cut me off. He clenched his jaw. I could see his neck and ears growing red from anger.

“Just don’t sabotage our plan,” he said, then stormed out.

Maurice laughed. “You should stop making him jealous,” he said.

“Maybe he shouldn’t be jealous in the first place. He’s just my brother-in-law and nothing more,” I said, pretending I didn’t like how he was getting jealous over me.

“Have you forgotten? He’s your original mate. Even though something happened and you couldn’t recognize each other as mates, the mate bond will always be there,” he paused. “I don’t understand why you’re not feeling it as much as he is, though.”

He’s right. Why am I not feeling the bond at all, but Vincenzo can? I pushed my thoughts aside.

“We should leave, Maurice. I have to prepare for tomorrow,” I said.

“Have a lovely day,” he replied.

I signaled Claire, and we left.