My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 84

Sera

"What is she doing here?" Fenris demanded.

Yvara stepped up behind Fenris. She glared at Irina. "We already have too many suspects for this mess, Sera. We don't need her involved."

I shook my head quickly. "Do not worry about her. She isn't going to say a word. She won't betray us."

Fenris and Yvara stared at each other for a brief moment. They looked at my mother, then looked back at me.

"So what is the plan?" Fenris asked, stepping back to let us inside.

I walked into the room and pulled my mother in behind me. Fenris shut the cracked doors and locked the iron latch.

I looked at my mother, ready to explain exactly what she needed to do. But Irina wasn't looking at me. She stood completely motionless.

She was staring directly at the center of the room.

Kael was still lying on the stone floor. The healer was kneeling beside him, his hands slick with blood, pressing hard against the elder's twisted, broken neck. Kael was struggling to breathe. A wet, horrific gurgling sound filled the quiet room as he actively drowned in his own fluid.

Wolves were incredibly resilient creatures. It was very difficult to kill them. So it wasn't a surprise that Kael was still breathing, even with a jagged piece of bone sticking out of his throat.

I reached out and tapped my mother's shoulder.

She broke from her trance with a sharp gasp. She looked around the blood-stained room, her eyes wide with terror. I could hear her heart beating frantically against her ribs. It was beating so fast and so loud that I was sure every other wolf in the room could hear it echoing off the stone walls.

"Who... who did this?" Irina asked. Her voice shook violently.

Everyone in the room was quiet.

"I did," Fenris answered flatly.

Irina choked on her breath. She stepped backward in pure panic, trying to get away from the massive Alpha. One of the guards standing by the wall immediately stepped forward and caught her by the arm, holding her firmly in place.

I walked forward and pointed down at Kael.

"This is the face I want you to replicate," I told her.

Irina stared at Kael in absolute fear.

Kael was very much alive, and he could hear every single word we were saying. His eyes darted frantically toward me. I could imagine the sheer horror he was experiencing. He was lying there completely helpless, paralyzed by the pain, listening to us plot to steal his identity before we killed him.

I turned away from Kael and looked at Fenris and Yvara. I finally explained the entire plan.

"My mother can mold flesh and bone with her magic," I said, keeping my voice steady and direct. "We have to find someone in the pack who has the exact same physical proportions as Kael. The same height, the same build. And we have to transfer Kael's face onto them."

I looked Fenris right in the eyes.

"But this person has to be someone you completely trust," I continued. "Someone completely loyal to you. They will take Kael's face, they will take Kael's seat on the council, and they will vote exactly how you tell them to vote. Once the face is transferred, we finish snapping Kael's neck and burn his body in the woods."

"No," Irina gasped. She shook her head so hard her blonde hair whipped across her face. "No, Seraphina. You do not understand what you are asking me to do. The ritual... the clay takes the exact imprint of the living flesh. It bonds to the life force. I cannot do it to a man who is actively choking on his own broken bones. It is barbaric."

"You had no problem practicing your barbarism on a helpless ten-year-old girl in Valdris," I shot back, turning to face her. "You didn't care about the ethics when my father needed a political favor settled. Do not pretend to have a moral compass now."

Irina opened her mouth to argue, but the sound of wet, tearing flesh interrupted her.

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