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“The original plan wasn’t to kill you. Look, I couldn’t change that you’re stronger than me or that you’d grow in power. But I thought if I could shake your emotional state and stress you out then you wouldn’t have a stable grasp on your abilities, and you just might come close to falling.” Dani sniffed. “I would only have been speeding along what would have happened if you’d gotten the position of primary. It doesn’t suit everyone. Some can’t cope with the workload. You wouldn’t have.”
Bree could only gape. This skank clearly thought she was fully justified in her actions.
“I know how desperate you were to believe that Paxton was gone for good, so I thought it might crush you if you thought he was back on the scene. It was Bernadette’s idea to leave the necklaces lying around your house. It was also her idea to use the retrieval agency.”
“Wait, you’ve been working with Bernadette?” Could this get any more fucked up?
“I didn’t have enough money to hire a loner—they’re expensive, you know. I used to counsel her once a week; all she ever talked about was Paxton. I suggested to her that making it seem like you were in danger might make him show himself to ‘rescue’ you. She agreed and got all excited. Really, I was just hoping that adding a splash of danger to your life would help shake you up. I was going to help you recover after you lost control of your gifts.”
Oh, well then that made it okay.
“I was sure that once people saw how easy it was for you to fall, they’d have to acknowledge that I should be primary. But I’ll admit, you’re more resilient and grounded than I thought. So I upped the stakes a little, sent more loners your way, but you just wouldn’t break. People weren’t avoiding you, they were seeing your strength and seeking you out.”
Sickened, Bree sneered. “Are you even able to see past your own wants and needs? Do you even care how much damage you’ve caused? People have died—”
“No one was supposed to get killed,” snapped Dani, her eyes wild. “What happened to Benny and Crawford should never have happened.”
“But it did. Two innocent people lost their lives.”
Dani looked away. “They knew the position of enforcer carried risks. I think they’d rather have died fulfilling their role than peacefully in their beds. It’s not like they left behind a mate and kids. Renee cared for Benny, but she has a true mate out there somewhere.”
“There are females out there waiting for Benny and Crawford, unaware that their true mates died because of your hunger for power.”
“That doesn’t mean they can’t have a mate. They’ll just have to imprint on someone. That worked out well for you, didn’t it?” Like that made everything fine.
Bree’s lips curled back in disgust. “You’re just rotting from the inside, aren’t you?”
“Rotting? No. But we all have darkness in us—even omegas. A person won’t stay in power long if they’re not cunning enough to keep contenders at bay. I didn’t want you harmed, though. I just wanted to … manipulate the situation a little.”
“And yet, you handed me over to hyenas.”
“Because you wouldn’t just crack! You would have found out my part in everything sooner or later, and then I’d have been executed!” Dani jutted out her chin. “Judge me all you want, but I did what I thought was best for the pride.”
“Bullshit. You did this because you like the power. The respect. The high status. You couldn’t handle the idea of going from a primary to just another omega.”
“I told you, you wouldn’t have coped well with the position. I’ve been doing it a long time. I’m good at it. People trust and listen to me. They know I care about them. You don’t give a damn. There’s no sense in you having the position. You don’t even want it. It fits me. I was born for it. The pride would never choose you as primary if the choice was up to them.”
Bree flexed her numb fingers. “You talk about being so much better than me. You don’t think it’s weak that you’re clinging to power?”
“No, because I earned it. I wield it well. I do good with it. You wouldn’t. You only do what’s best for yourself.”
“You’re honestly saying that to me?” Oh, sweet Jesus. “You never planned to leave the pride. But you had to make it look like we were far from enemies so no one would suspect you had anything to do with my ‘disappearance.’”
Dani’s expression said “well, duh.”
“What about Mateo and Drina?”
“I convinced them to leave. It was easy enough, considering they knew they were in deep shit with Vinnie and were going to be banished anyway. I thought it might help you think that Paxton was back if they disappeared. It was Drina’s idea to leave a little blood.”
