His Secret Love Child (Book One of the LOVE CHILD series)

Chapter Twenty-Three "BETHANY"

Meanwhile..................

"Mistress, I have a report for you." The servant that brought the report was trembling in his boots literally. He had served his mistress faithfully for many years and he was very familiar with her moods. He knew that without warning she could erupt viciously, and strike deadlier than a cobra. She was not someone to be crossed.

She had been looking out of the windows, surveying the grounds, apparently lost in thought. Her calm exterior was belied by the raging anger inside. She seethed, her thoughts raged. "How dare he set her aside? She who was the Queen of Wolves."

She stiffened at the intrusion. She did not like to be disturbed. She whirled around to face the cowering servant behind her. His head was bowed and he held his hands out with the missive.

Bethany scowled at him, "You snivelling idiot. Did I not say that I didn't wish to be disturbed for any reason?" She snarled the question at him. The servant new better than to answer. It would just compound the situation. She angrily snatched the missive from his hands hand instructed him to get out. She did not want an audience. The missive held the seal of her spy within the Hawkthorne Estate.

She broke the seal and read the missive quickly, her anger rising as her eyes continued to scan down the missive until it exploded within her. She roared and tossed it aside. Mind linking her father and brother, "You two need to come here now." Her mental voice held a deadly menace.

Both of them came running to the tower room. As they arrived they heard the distinct sound of furniture breaking. Opening up the door, they were met by the sight of Bethany in a full blown temper tantrum. In the couple minutes that they had taken to get to the room, she had moved through it like a hurricane. The desk was overturned and in pieces, the couch, the chair, even the books on the shelves. Nothing within the room had escaped her wrath.

Their arrival caused her attention to turn to them. She tossed the missive at them both and her brother caught it. Giving out a vicious growl, Bethany said in a low deadly voice, "You two have constantly failed me, over the years. How many times have you let that human bitch and his bastard son slip through your fingers. Now he's back with the boy and he's at Hawkthorne. I thought you said that you had finally taken care of the boy." She finished, almost screaming at them in her rage.

"We did. The elixir that was given to him would cause his body to burn from the inside out killing him." This response from her brother only served to enrage her more.

"Well it didn't work. The boy is now at Hawkthorne and Hunter plans to save him." She shouted at them, "Read the damn thing."

With a puzzled look on his face, her brother unwrapped the missive and both he and her father read it. Their eyes widened and their expressions turned to stunned shock as they finished. "Hunter is planning to call his wolf?" This from her father in a voice filled with shock. "But that alone should kill him. His body will be too weak to complete the shift successfully. Besides he's too young to shift."

"Apparently you two have underestimated the boy's abilities. That's a mistake that you keep making and this is the last straw." Bethany was livid. She whirled away from them and looked out the broken window. "I want them both dead. No matter what. As long as they exist my right and my son's right to the Throne of Wolves will be challenged."

"You expect us to authorize an assassination attempt right under Hunter's nose. Are you crazy? And from what I gathered from that missive Rafe Drago, the KING of Vampires is also somehow involved in all this." This came from her brother in a voice tinged with both shock and disbelief.

Bethany whirled to face him, "You listen to me and you listen to me very well. I will not lose my place on the Throne. Not to some human bitch. The only heir that will have a claim to the Throne will be my son. Do you understand me." It would have been better if she had shouted at them, however her voice had taken on that deadly calm quality, that alerted them not to cross her. "Through my son, I will continue to rule. He is after all so malleable and submissive."

"You two will do whatever it takes to get Cameron and his bastard son out of my way. And father as a member of the council you will ensure that Hunter's petition to dissolve our marriage fails. Do you both understand me?" Her eyes bored into them both with deadly intent. Under her deadly unwavering gaze, they nodded. Denying her was not an option.

Bethany stared at them both for a moment longer, relishing the feeling of the power that she had over them. She knew the power that she held over them and that they dared not go against her or deny her what she demanded of them. Bethany then nodded slowly, "Good. Now that we understand each other send someone to get the twins from school. If they’re with me, I can use them as leverage over Hunter. The poor fool is so in love with kids that aren't even his."

Bethany whirled away from them, dismissing them summarily. They closed the door behind them quietly as they left. Bethany took a deep breath in an effort to calm her raging emotions. She had a very important call to make and she couldn't afford to have her emotions betraying her. The man she was about to call was very important to her plans to reclaim her place on the Throne of Wolves. After all he was the true father of her children. The second most powerful wolf in the shifter world. But like most men filled with greed and envy, he wasn't satisfied. He wanted it all.

Bethany thought back to all the years that they had plotted and planned to claim the "Throne of Wolves." The plan had been initially to kill Hunter after a while. But Hunter's mating with Cameron had thrown a monkey wrench into their schemes especially when Cameron turned up pregnant.

A very twisted smile came across Bethany's face as she thought about just how well she had fooled Hunter. Bethany had known from the very beginning that Cameron was Hunter's true mate, after all she had been sitting there, right at the breakfast table by the pool when Hunter had imprinted upon Cameron. She would have had to be brain dead to miss it. Realizing what was happening, she had quickly excused herself and left the estate. She then called her partner in crime so to speak and told him about Hunter's imprinting.

That's when they had come up with the plan for her to become pregnant. They didn't really care who was the true father. They counted on Hunter's caring, selfless nature and his ever consuming desire to put other's before himself and to always do the honourable thing. They knew that Hunter wouldn't turn his back on her. And they were right.

Even though Hunter had mated with Cameron, once Bethany told him of her pregnancy Hunter had done exactly what they predicted that he would do. He abandoned his mate to do the right thing and marry Bethany. But they hadn't counted on Cameron getting pregnant as well. If their spy hadn't accidentally come across the information, they wouldn't have known.

So they’re focus had shifted to getting Cameron and the baby out of the way first, before killing Hunter. With them both dead, no one would be able to challenge her and her son's right to the Throne after Hunter's death. Even though the boy wasn't biologically Hunter's child, Hunter had claimed him as his and therefore established him as a legal heir.

Their twisted scheme would see Bethany and him marrying and he would become her consort, finally allowing him to rule all from the most coveted seat in the supernatural world. He envisioned all super naturals finally bowing to him as he took what he deemed as his rightful place at last upon the Throne of Wolves. He after all knew what it truly meant to rule. And he intend to do so, with an iron fist. All would bow, all would submit.

Bethany had met him centuries ago. They had both quickly realized that not only were they of like minds, and nature, filled with greed and envy of others, but they were also true mates. They had kept this to themselves though, telling no one. They realized that declaring themselves as true mates would thwart their desire and plans to gain control of the Throne of Wolves. So they had carefully hidden their relationship while they plotted and schemed to both get what they wanted most.

Dialling a number that was committed to memory, Bethany waited for it to be answered. "Hello." His mysterious deep voice answered the phone.

Bethany, in voice not quite as calm as she would have liked responded. "We have a problem.”