Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 63

That was impossible. Evan would never stoop to mating with a half-breed nothing, one that even used to be a filthy slave for another pack. Flicka had asked her father to look into Claudia's past.

She knew basically everything there was to know about the weakling b***h, though that wasn't saying much considering she was lower than trash. Illegitimate daughter of an Alpha of a weak pack - the disgraced Dark Moon pack no less, most of whom had been slaughtered all on the same day weeks ago - and of a human slave. Honestly, Flicka didn't despite humans so much as she was disgusted by those who dared to try to mingle with superior werewolves.

Where did they get the nerve? Humans weren't Flicka's concern until they tried to squeeze into upper society where they didn't belong, and Claudia was the worst of them all. Seducing Evan? Trying to become his Luna? Where did the stupid f*****g slut get that idea? Did she think all a Luna had to do was lie on her back and spread her legs like a useless w***e, and that would be enough to buy her trinkets and gifts all her life?

A stupid, brainless piece of s**t like a tiny half-breed, only brave when she had the Alpha's favor, could never fulfill a Luna's duties. Claudia knew it too. The b***h was probably banking on getting pregnant with Evan's pup as soon as possible so she would be kept safe that way, at least fertile if not even half-useful. It was sickening how sly she was.

The only thing that puzzled Flicka was that her mother had barely any identifying information. There was proof she existed, but she had no birth certificate, no educational record, no state-level ID at all. In packs like those, humans were slaves, but their werewolf masters still had to go through the motions of registering them with the state. But it had taken Flicka's father a few days to even find out she was dead because she didn't have any file anywhere to attach a death certificate to. It was as if she had appeared out of thin air.

There was no doubt she was dead, of course. There were two eyewitnesses who had been around when she died giving birth to Claudia, a disgraceful child of r**e, though it was possible the mother was also another shameless w***e who had seduced the Alpha. Those two former slaves had even pointed out where they had buried Claudia's mother in the woods. But that answered no questions about where she had come from and how she had existed for so long as Kris's personal slave without any living record. Where had he gotten her? It was as if, more than a slave, Claudia's mother had been a prize pet from someone's backyard slave mill. What a shame the mystery meant Flicka couldn't use the information to torment the b***h. Though now that Flicka knew exactly what was at stake, the Luna position that rightfully belonged to her and not the half-breed w***e, she would hire some additional private investigators on her own time to find out everything she could to bring Claudia down.

Of course, all this internal ranting was to mask the miserable sobbing Flicka had thrown herself into the second Evan left. Her father and mother patted her back, cooing reassurances from where they sat next to her on the horribly lumpy bed of the dorm room she had to stay in.

"Honey, don't you worry about a thing," said Gerald. "This isn't a disaster. It's a setback, but remember what I told you? About us working more closely with the Joseph family for the last several months?" "What do I care! That stupid b***h always ruins everything! Why can't someone just kill her and-"

"Sweetie, let your father talk. He has something to say you want to hear, I promise."

"Now, Flicka, honey. About what Matthen said. I'm going to tell you now since it's time for us to make a move, but not a word to his son Ken, understand?"

"What? This is a secret from Ken? But he's Alpha Matthen's heir!"

"Yes, but his mind isn't quite as realistic as ours, or his father's. You know how idealistic he is sometimes. You've gone to school with him since elementary years, haven't you? He's not like us."

"Well, that's true. I knew he was going down the rabbit hole from a long time ago, but he's been hanging out with Claudia like an i***t forever."

"Exactly. Now, I'm going to tell you what Alpha Matthen has told us so far about the plan, and I also want you to do one last thing to see if it's truly necessary to go to such lengths..."

***

Alpha Evan left the campus base almost immediately, which was perfect timing. Flicka had meant to go take a good look at what Claudia had become anyway. Since arriving here with the escort team, she hadn't had a chance to find her friends and get the latest gossip on what was going on with Claudia, if any of them were even here and not evacuated out of the city. But irrelevant, she'd find out about that later. This particular business was something she trusted only herself with anyway.

First task: confront Claudia and find out whether this threat of making her the Luna was real. The Joseph family's proposal to work together to take over the pack was a last-resort measure. After all, the coup they proposed to overthrow Evan would benefit the Josephs the most, while all the other head families remained second fiddle. There was no gain to be had there, and there would be the additional disgrace of seeing one of their own advance to the head position. The Josephs would win the internal race to power, and the Glilies didn't want that.

On the other hand, even if there was no gain, it could mean no loss, too. Things would remain the status quo, roughly, as opposed to the reality that would overtake them all if some hybrid no-name mutt became Luna. Everyone lost, then. If that threat was real, the Glilies had no choice but to ally with the Josephs. But on the other hand, if Flicka could secretly secure her position in advance as Evan's future Luna, the Glilies could turn on the Josephs, tell Evan what that family was up to, and then the Glilies would be the ones at the top with Alpha Evan...

Flicka went to the greenhouse. It didn't take much probing to find out Claudia was always there. She had to make sure Claudia wasn't already there, of course, since Evan had threatened them all about her. But if Flicka showed up first, and Claudia came after, and if there were witnesses to verify that Flicka hadn't 'deliberately' gone there to confront the bitch...

"Ugh! What are you doing here, hybrid?"

Claudia stopped at the entrance when she caught sight of Flicka at the first row of potted plants. She was only momentarily surprised, not that Flicka gave her any credit for her composure. "I'm checking on the herbs," she said calmly. "The sick bay has been planting extra rows of banshee weed since the research team wants it for experiments. They think it has something to do with the toxin the rogues used to stop us from shifting."

"I didn't ask for your whole life story, okay?" Flicka stalked around the elevated benches holding the plants in neat rows, then stopped in front of Claudia, arms crossed. "You know, trying to prove yourself useful isn't going to fool anyone. Everyone's heard that you're trying to become Evan's Luna. It's pretty sad, but I know you don't see how sad it is since you're not looking from the outside in. Trust me. From our perspective, it makes you look f*****g pathetic. You should stop before you end up embarrassing yourself even more than you already have."

"I don't see how that's any of your business. If I become Evan's mate, then it might be relevant to your family later since it's part of pack affairs, but the decision is Evan's and Evan's alone. You have no say in it. Neither do your parents."

"You're talking back to me? You still don't get who I am, do you? I've been here long before you were and I'll be here long after you're gone. And I don't need to be running errands for the sick bay or the research team to provide it. I'm a Glily. Our money built this place, hybrid."

Claudia had the audacity to tilt her head. "This greenhouse was actually donated to the campus by the Joseph family. You must be getting things mixed up."

Flicka clenched her teeth. Overcome with fire-hot fury, she grabbed the corner of the wooden tray housing the tiny banshee weed sprouts and overturned it. The entire thing went spilling onto the greenhouse floor, soil and seedlings and all. "You ignorant b***h, don't talk about money like you know anything about it-"

A fierce slap sent her to the ground. Stunned, she stared up at Claudia, who stared down at her with cold eyes.

"I don't care if you have nonsense to say to me. But people worked hard to plant and grow those seeds. They're not yours to throw around. Now pick them up."

The wolf was waiting in Claudia's eyes. It was even stronger than Flicka remembered. So last time hadn't been a fluke after all, even though she had convinced herself that was what it had been... Damn it! This wasn't going to work. She had to move to the second part of the plan. But that meant Flicka had to get out of here as fast as she could.

Trembling, she began scooping up the spilled soil as Claudia did the same.