Vivian's POV
Vivian arrives at the Blackthorne compound in the late afternoon without warning.
She doesn't call ahead. Doesn't request permission. Just shows up at the gates in an expensive car with her hair perfectly styled and her smile sharp as broken glass. She tells the guards she wants to see her stepdaughter.
They don't know what to do with her so they escort her to Kaden's office.
The Alpha King is sitting behind his desk reviewing documents when she walks in. He doesn't look up at first. Just keeps reading like her arrival is completely unimportant.
When he finally acknowledges her his voice is cold.
"Vivian. I wasn't expecting you."
"I know. But I thought about Sophia being here alone in a strange pack with no family support and I decided I needed to come help her transition." Vivian moves closer to his desk with her hands folded in front of her like she's the picture of concerned stepmother. "I'm sure you understand how important it is for a young female to have guidance during this adjustment."
Kaden sets down his pen carefully.
"Sophia has everything she needs."
"Does she. Because from what I've heard she's been locked in your penthouse and only recently allowed to train. That doesn't sound like a healthy transition to me."
He leans back in his chair and studies her with dark eyes that miss nothing. Vivian has met a lot of powerful men. Her first husband was wealthy. Her current husband is influential. But there's something about Kaden that's different. Something that makes her instincts scream to be careful.
"You can stay for three days," he says finally. "But understand that if you cause problems with Sophia I will throw you out of my compound personally."
Vivian smiles. "Of course. I just want what's best for her."
It's a lie and they both know it.
That evening there's a formal dinner in the great hall.
Vivian sits at a table with other high-ranking females and watches everything. She watches the way Kaden looks at Sophia across the room like she's the only thing worth seeing. She watches the way the pack's attitudes have shifted toward the Omega. She watches the respect that's growing around her.
And she realizes something that makes her blood run cold.
Sophia is going to become Luna.
Not because Kaden forces her. But because the pack is starting to see her as worthy of it. Because something about that girl has inspired loyalty in ways that Vivian didn't think possible for an Omega.
If Sophia becomes Luna she'll have access to power. Access to resources. Access to a position that Vivian spent years building influence to protect herself from. An Omega Luna would change everything about how the pack functions.
Vivian watches Sophia laugh at something Kaden says and realizes the girl's not even trying to gain power. She's just being herself and it's transforming the entire hierarchy.
That's the most dangerous kind of threat.
After dinner Vivian positions herself near the archway where she can watch them without being obvious.
Kaden and Sophia stand together on the edge of the great hall. They're not touching but there's electricity between them. An invisible connection that the entire pack can see.
He leans down and whispers something that makes Sophia blush.
Vivian feels her jaw tighten.
She spent her entire adult life managing men. Managing her first husband into an early heart attack so she could access his money. Managing Sophia's father into a marriage of convenience where he stopped asking questions about what happened to his daughter.
But Kaden is different.
Kaden is looking at Sophia like she's not a means to an end. Like she's actually important to him. And that makes him unpredictable. Makes him dangerous in ways Vivian can't control.
She needs to fix this before it gets worse.
Later that night Vivian moves through the compound like she owns it.
She finds a group of elder females gathered in one of the residential wings. They're the pack's mothers and advisors. The ones who shape opinion through whispers and suggestions.
"How is Sophia adjusting," Vivian asks as she joins them. Her voice is gentle. Concerned. "I've been so worried about her."
An older female named Cerys studies her carefully. "She's doing well. Better than anyone expected actually."
"That's good to hear. Though I have to admit I'm concerned about some of the changes I've noticed." Vivian sits down and lowers her voice like she's sharing something difficult. "The way the Alpha King is with her. It seems almost obsessive. Don't you think."
Another female named Thea nods slowly. "Now that you mention it, it does seem unusual."
"I just worry that his judgment might be compromised. An Alpha's first priority should always be the pack. Not one female, no matter how pretty she is." Vivian lets that sink in. "And you know how Omegas can be. They manipulate. They use their weakness to make strong men feel protective."
Cerys leans forward. "Are you suggesting she's bewitching him."
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just a concerned stepmother who wants what's best for everyone." Vivian stands up to leave. "But you should watch her carefully. There's something about her that feels wrong. Something that doesn't add up."
She moves through the compound planting seeds.
By midnight she's spoken to five different groups of pack members. Each conversation is slightly different but the message is the same. The Alpha King is acting strangely. His focus is on Sophia instead of the pack. Something about her feels dangerous.
The whispers spread like poison.
Warriors start watching Sophia differently during training. They're looking for evidence of manipulation. Looking for signs that she's using dark magic or pack tricks to control Kaden.
Vivian watches from the shadows as suspicion blooms in the minds of wolves who were starting to respect Sophia.
She finds Mira in the library the next morning.
The Beta female is reading when Vivian sits down across from her. Mira's eyes narrow like she already knows this isn't a friendly visit.
"I'm concerned about your friendship with Sophia," Vivian says smoothly. "I worry that you might be helping her manipulate the Alpha King."
Mira stands up immediately. "Get away from me."
"I'm just trying to help. You seem like a good person and I'd hate to see you caught up in something dangerous."
"I know what you're doing," Mira says quietly. "And it won't work. Sophia is stronger than you think. And Kaden is smarter than you give him credit for."
But even as Mira says it, Vivian can see doubt flash in the Beta female's eyes. Even Sophia's closest ally is starting to question things.
By the afternoon of her third day Vivian has successfully planted doubt in nearly everyone's mind.
The great hall is quieter now. Warriors watch Sophia with suspicion instead of respect. Elders whisper when she passes. Even some of Kaden's officers have started to look at him differently like they're wondering if his judgment has been compromised.
Vivian knows her work is almost complete.
That evening Kaden calls her to his office.
She enters with her hands folded and her expression innocent.
"I think you should leave," he says quietly.
"But I've barely spent time with Sophia. I haven't even properly helped her adjust."
"You've spent your time spreading lies about her throughout the pack." His voice is cold but there's rage underneath it. The kind of rage that comes from someone who's being forced to act against their nature. "I don't know how you did it. I don't know what you said. But I can taste the poison in my pack's mind."
Vivian doesn't bother denying it. There's no point now.
"She doesn't belong here. She's going to ruin everything."
"She's going to change everything. And you're terrified because you finally found something you can't control." Kaden stands up and walks toward her. "So here's what's going to happen. You're going to leave this compound right now. You're never going to contact Sophia again. And if I ever find out you've spoken about her or spread lies about her I will find you."
"And what will you do to me, Alpha King."
He leans close and his voice becomes barely a whisper.
"I will make sure you disappear. No body. No evidence. No one will ever know what happened to you."
Vivian believes him.
She leaves the compound that same night but she's not defeated.
She has contacts. People who owe her favors. Rogue packs that would pay good money for information about the Blackthorne Alpha King and his rejected mate.
The seed of doubt she planted in the pack will grow whether she's here or not. The suspicion will spread. And eventually it will fester into something that tears Kaden and Sophia apart.
She doesn't need to be here to watch it happen.
As her car drives away from the compound Vivian makes phone calls to contacts on her encrypted device.
She tells them about Sophia. About the Alpha King's obsession. About the way the pack is becoming unstable because of her presence.
By the time she reaches the city she's already set plans in motion.
The rogues will come for Sophia. They'll take her. They'll break her. And when they do Kaden will either kill himself or go to war.
Either way the Blackthorne Pack will fracture.
And Vivian will be far away counting the money she's earned from destroying everything.