Scarred Wolf Queen Chapter 188

**Briony's POV**

"This plan is pure genius," I said, looking at Sophia with genuine admiration.

The next morning, we put everything into motion. After training wrapped up, Sophia and I "accidentally" bumped into Victoria and her dad.

"Oh hey, Victoria!" Sophia's voice was sickeningly sweet. "Perfect timing. We just got word from Alpha King Nathan about doing a full security sweep of Pack facilities - including everyone's living situations."

"What's that got to do with me?" Victoria's nose wrinkled.

"Are you kidding? As future Luna, you should be all over this stuff. This is your chance to prove you can handle real Pack responsibilities."

I watched Victoria's eyes practically sparkle. Sophia knew exactly which buttons to push.

"You're totally right!" Victoria straightened up immediately. "I should definitely be involved. Dad, don't you think?"

Her father looked like he'd rather eat glass, but with his daughter staring at him expectantly, he had no choice but to nod.

So for the next few weeks, we dragged Victoria around to "inspect" various Pack operations every single day. Meanwhile, Benjamin's construction crew quietly got to work.

"Holy shit, they're fast," Mark said on the third evening, staring at the construction site. He and Cyrus had just gotten back and immediately jumped into our operation.

"That's what happens when nobody's breathing down their necks," the foreman said, wiping sweat from his face. "Honestly, if that guy hadn't been micromanaging everything, this place would've been done ages ago."

No kidding. Without Victoria's dad constantly interfering, the professional crew moved like a well-oiled machine. Framework went up in a week, then walls, finishing work, electrical - everything.

At the same time, I was handling another crucial job - quietly moving non-combat Pack members to safety.

"Third group made it to royal territory safely," I reported to Alpha King Nathan during one of our late-night calls.

"Good work," his voice came through the phone. "Keep it quiet. We still don't know how many spies are floating around."

This part moved slowly because we had to be careful as hell. Only one family at a time, and we had to make it look like normal visits or errands.

Time flew by. With everyone working together, Victoria's house went up way faster than expected.

On Christmas Eve, when the last shingle got nailed down, the foreman let out a huge sigh.

"That's a wrap!" he announced. "Less than a month - we actually pulled it off!"

Christmas Day, Alpha Adam threw a special ceremony. The whole Pack showed up.

"Today's worth celebrating," Adam stood on the platform, holding up a set of keys. "Our Pack members can finally go home."

He turned to Victoria's father with the fakest smile I'd ever seen. "Here are your house keys. Hope you'll be very happy there."

With everyone watching, Victoria's dad had to take the keys. His face was priceless - he couldn't look pissed off, but he obviously wasn't thrilled either.

The best part? Luna Isabella had already arranged for the Omegas to pack up all their stuff and move it out that same day.

"Talk about efficiency," I heard someone whisper. "Finally don't have to deal with certain people anymore."

That night, the Pack house threw the biggest party we'd had in months. Without Victoria's family casting their shadow over everything, the whole atmosphere was completely different.

"Bri!" A familiar voice called out.

I spun around to see Layla running toward me, grinning from ear to ear.

"You're back!" I grabbed her in a huge hug.

"Of course I came back. I heard you guys pulled off something major."

"Long story," I laughed. "I'll fill you in later."

The party went until way past midnight. Seeing everyone actually relaxed and happy filled me with this warm satisfaction.

Over the next few days, we kept working on the school security system. At one point, I noticed Cyrus was installing way more cameras than seemed necessary.

"Why so many?" I asked Freya.

She stopped what she was doing and gave me this serious look. "Because too much weird shit doesn't add up. Victoria and her crew always seem to catch you when nobody else is around, and her dad somehow knows stuff he shouldn't."

"You think they've been watching us?"

"More than that." Her expression was dead serious. "I think they've got something bigger planned. These cameras aren't just for monitoring the school - they're for getting answers."

I nodded, trusting her instincts completely.

Meanwhile, my magic training with Benjamin kept going. Fire elements made me nervous as hell.

"Maybe we should practice by the pool?" Sophia suggested. "You know, just in case."

Smart move. While I didn't actually set anyone on fire, the mental drain knocked me out for a whole day afterward.

Wind elements were way easier. Maybe because wind doesn't like being controlled either - you just have to guide it.

"You're picking this up crazy fast," Benjamin said, sitting next to me while I made little breezes dance around us.

"Probably because wind's like me," I grinned. "Neither of us do well with being caged up."

One evening in late winter, our whole group gathered on the Pack house terrace. We had a fire going and everyone was sitting around with drinks.

"These past few weeks have been absolutely insane," Ethan sighed. "But at least we got that family out of here."

"Speaking of which," Sophia suddenly piped up, looking at the triplets, "are you guys seriously planning to share one mate?"

All three brothers looked at each other, then nodded at the same time.

"You seem pretty sure about that," she raised an eyebrow. "Like you already know who it's gonna be."

Maxwell and Christopher both went quiet, but Benjamin...

He was staring right at me, and there was something in his eyes I couldn't quite read.

The air got weird all of a sudden. I could feel everyone's attention shifting toward me, even though nobody said anything directly.

"Um," Noah cleared his throat, "it's getting pretty late, maybe we should..."