MILDRID’S POV “Here you are,” I said to beta Tim as I found him on the balcony of the third floor of the Packhouse. “Hey, it is you” he responded. “I have been looking around for you. At a point I almost believed that you are not in this building” I said. He sighed. “So what is happening, where is alpha Fred?” I asked. It was supposed to be yesterday, but it appears things did not go as he planned. I warned him about this but he did not listen. Now let’s see where this leads us at the end of the day. “He left with the others” he murmured. “Leave, but you said he will remain here, you said the sacrifice will be done yesterday,” I said. My suspicion is correct, now what will be the solution? “He left with the Pixies to the other Packs and they are not back yet” he replied. “But you said the initial plan...” “Just stop rubbing it on my face, will you? There would still be another time, he will not remain there forever” he retorted. I can see that the whole development was stressing him up, but it won't be so if he had listened to me and gone ahead to do the necessary long ago. “See I never even know that he would be going with them. I got here yesterday only to discover that he had left. He just makes it look like I don’t matter to him anymore” he explained. “But do you, what have you done to show your relevance? You need to do something to make yourself relevant” I informed him. Of course, he does not matter to the alpha anymore. He brought this disaster on them, didn't he? Any sane person would know his exact place in the land at the moment, but not beta Tim. He still relies greatly on his previous contributions and relevance to the Pack. “Then what else is left to be done? I don’t want to be discarded this way” he lamented. “Imagine what high prestige you would have if you had chased the Pixies away from his Pack and handed the Pack over to him. You brought this upon the Pack, and now it is in your place to put things right” I said. He sighed. “And that is why I want to kill my daughter in front of him for the offense of treason. I want him to know that I place no other above the Pack. If I should do this to my daughter, then he will have to reconsider his stand about me” he explained. “That is not the solution, Tim. The sooner you sacrifice your daughter, the faster it is to reclaim your land. But then it wouldn’t matter in whose presence you took away her life. The time is ticking and very soon it will be almost impossible to take back what is ours” I said. “You are right. But what does killing my daughter have to do with all of this? If I remember correctly, sacrificing her was because of the powers you have given me. It wouldn’t change anything if she dies now, would it? I already have the powers” he asked. He is a very stubborn man. What else can I do to make him stick to me blindly without resistance? Once I am done with him I will turn him into a zombie and he will never question my authority. I just can't wait for the day to come. “No, beta Tim. You are absolutely correct and that is what I thought too” I replied. He was even more confused by my response and so he asked. “How do you mean, what has changed now? I hope there is not another sacrifice to be made just yet?” “Not at all, Tim. On the contrary, we would be using one stone to kill the whole birds in the forest” I replied. His eyes opened wide in disbelief and he exclaimed. “Really... how?” “Of course, yes" I replied. "At first I thought Dawn’s blood would only give you power, but now it turns out that it can do even more. A whole lot more than you can imagine” I giggled. At this point, he was so happy that he drew close to me and whispered into my ears. “And what else can it do?” “Her blood can be used against the queen of the Pixies” I revealed with an air of triumph. He instantly drew back from me in disbelief and asked. “How is that possible, Mildrid?” “Turns out the queen got unusually attached to her even more than she does her king. Dawn’s death would completely weaken her and kill her zeal to live. She will surrender to death once Dawn is no more” I replied. After I had finished speaking, he thought about what I had said for a while but found it hard to come to terms with it. He could not believe me. “How could this be true, then how come she had never looked for Dawn the whole time, and if she is this close to my daughter, she would not be hostile towards me. She should be aware of the position I hold in Dawn’s life”He is right in his logic, but now it behooves me to play with his intelligence. His brain is very easy to toy with. “She is an opportunist. That is what she is. She wants to keep Dawn to herself and she would not hesitate to do away with everyone related to her. Why do you think she left your sons in such condition or do you think she was unaware that they are her brothers?” I paused and watched his heartbeat race angrily as he listened to me. “She did so to get a hold of Dawn. Dawn is a female beta wolf, and she knows just how rare that is” I replied. “Now I see, you are right and even Dawn said so herself” he murmured. “Then it must be done today, she must die today,” I said. Honestly, I am tired of having to go back and front with him regarding this. Dawn should be killed already and I get this over with. I might be forced to do it myself if the need arises. He has already given his consent and that is all I need. “No... No... she will die when I want her to” he protested, much to my dismay. “Are you becoming weak, beta Tim?” I asked him coquettishly. I think the love he has for his daughter has resurfaced, it is obvious that he was about to renege on his words. He better don’t, because if he does I will wipe out not just Dawn, but his whole family. “She... she... she still needs to live a while longer” he murmured. “Then what happens after that? She will get married and give birth to kids and then grandkids and the list goes on. They all will want nothing to do with you, they won't want you to live forever, and they will hate you because you are immortal. But if you can kill her now, she will still be one of you. And as one of your zombies, you will never fear losing her to another. You will never be lonely” I tried to cajole him into reasoning like me. He gritted his teeth and looked fiercely at the sky. “Now I will kill Dawn before that ruthless queen, I must kill Dawn before her and make sure she watches while Dawn takes her last breathe. She thought she can deal with me, but I will get at her through my daughter. I will make her feel the pain of losing someone that matters to her” “No, Tim, we are done doing things your way and I say we do them my way going forward. Go get everything ready, she will be killed by exactly four O’clock today” I announced. He bowed and didn’t say another word.