Rise of the Rejected Luna - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: _Merciful Kiss Of Death
When I stepped into the mansion, walking through the grand foyer of the living room, I spotted Catherine seated at the dining table.

She seemed distressed about something, making a call in a hushed tone.

Curious, I paused in my tracks and took advantage of my enhanced wolf hearing to hear what she was saying.

“No, I’m telling you your poison didn’t work.” She snapped at the person at the other end, seeming furious.

She drummed her fingers on the table anxiously as she spoke to the mysterious person at the other end of the phone.

I couldn’t quite pick up what the other person was saying, but I could guess that it was the witch who made the poison from the previous night.

“I should meet up with them sometime. A poison like that could come in handy one of these days.” I muttered to myself as I decided to continue walking toward the dining room.

Meanwhile, Catherine kept on trading words with the witch. “I am certain I placed the correct dosage. I think someone sabotaged me on purpose. I didn’t mean to kill those other people and ruin my pack’s relationship with…”

She paused, a frown appearing on her face.

It seemed the other person had said something to agitate her.

“So you don’t have any advice for me?” She queried with gritted teeth.

At this point, I’d gotten in front of the dining table but she still hadn’t noticed me, her frown only deepening further.

“H– Hello?” Her voice was no longer a whisper as she brought the phone away from her ear, glaring at it. “Bloody witches!”

Having heard enough, I coughed awkwardly to signal my presence.

She jolted a bit, obviously startled until she raised her head and met my innocent smile.

“Good morning, Catherine.” I greeted her with a slight bow.

I noticed the change in her mood when she looked at me.

She’d been angry at the person at the other end, but her face lit up when she saw me.

Not because she enjoyed my presence… Oh, no.

It was because she knew I was another way for her to further her plans to get Phoebe out of this mansion.

Little did she know that she was playing right into my carefully laid trap. All these pitiful wolves were.

“Ah, Negan. Forgive me, I didn’t notice you entering.” She feigned a polite smile. “What brings you here? Kaene just stepped out for work.”

I nodded, responding with a fake smile of my own. “Yeah, I spoke with him outside. It’s really sad what happened last night. I wonder who would do something as despicable as poisoning innocents.”

I would’ve smirked if she weren’t looking at me.

Her eyes quivered with guilt, which she tried to hide as she faked a cough. “Indeed, it’s terrible. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.”

Hehe… Bloody hypocrite.

Wanting to play on her emotions a little further, I added. “Regaining the trust of our allies and our people in the pack is going to be hard now. The general populace is still unaware of what exactly happened, but news of the deaths has already begun spreading.”

I cackled internally watching how Catherine was visibly uncomfortable in her seat.

Guilt was eating her up like a caterpillar through a leaf and I was enjoying watching it.

Her guilt wouldn’t be enough to redeem her of her crimes.

Werewolves like her were why I believed more than anything that all of them deserved the merciful kiss of death.

“Anyway, I have a meeting with the Luna.” I remarked, knowing that referring to Phoebe as the ‘Luna’ would aggravate her more.

I was right…

She scoffed silently, throwing her face away from me before mumbling. “Well, good luck with that, Negan. I think I’ll try having breakfast.”

And with that, l left her alone, already smelling the anger and regret simmering from her.

Her anger was toward Phoebe while her regret was at everything that happened at the Luna Ball last night.

Well, boo-hoo.

When I got upstairs, I spotted Miranda, Phoebe’s maid, and sent her to go fetch her mistress.

The girl still looked at me with suspicion, which she tried to hide and I found it really funny.

If only she knew I was the one who implanted the rumors she had of me and Phoebe into her head.

Anyway, I was led to what was supposed to be Phoebe’s office and waited, pacing around while taking in the view.

My next plan involved Phoebe and giving her the illusion that I was getting close to her.

By then, Catherine should’ve snapped and shown Kaene the footage.

And then… The traitors in our midst will take care of him for me.

Just when I began grinning to myself about my plans, I heard footsteps approaching, as well as a familiar scent that was a bit clouded by the scent of a rather expensive perfume.

I turned around, smiling brightly at Phoebe who’d entered the office with her maid. “Good morning, Luna.” I bowed slightly.

My smile widened when I noticed how uncomfortable she was at first until she also bowed and greeted me.

After sending Miranda out of the office, we caught up and chatted a bit, Phoebe managing to laugh despite how tense she originally looked.

Eventually, we agreed to go out to the gardens to discuss the diplomatic documents and visits she’d be helping me with and then left the office, accompanied by her maid.

When we got downstairs, former Luna Catherine, who was eating breakfast, acted just the way I expected.

She responded to Phoebe’s greeting, her tone and expression neutral.

Any outsider who saw her would think she was a simple mother-in-law who was just too busy to respond normally to her daughter-in-law, but I knew better.

That woman was losing her mind, contemplating hard on whether she should show Kaene the footage.

It was only a matter of time before she snapped and showed him without hesitation.

Once that happened… The Blue Moon pack will be right where I want it.

In chaos.