Chapter 88 - All The Unsavory Things

“What the hell did you do!” Granger snarled angrily at the woman standing before him.

“Exactly what was asked of me, sugar,” the woman smiled.

Granger shoved her hard against a tree, pinning her down with his arm held to her throat. He snarled at her once more.

Unphased by his anger, Alice cleared her throat.

“I don’t mind getting a little rough, but we really need to establish safe words before we get started,” she smiled mischievously.

Granger snarled again, pushing down on his arm a little more force.

“I might also point out that if anything happens to me, Holden will be mighty unhappy about it,” she smiled. “Now, I know he seems like a real sweetheart puppy with no bite to him, but I should warn you. There’s more Jabberwock than Dormouse in that man.”

“What is it with you people and this Alice in Wonderland crap!?” Granger growled in frustration, though he did let her go.

Alice smiled to herself, straightening out her shirt and zipping up her jacket. She placed her hands in her pockets and leaned back against the tree casually.

“Force of habit,” she replied nonchalantly, “boss man likes it, makes it easier to stay on his good side.”

Granger huffed. Alice watched him pacing back and forth for a minute. Obviously, he was angry, but she saw something else, concern, fear. It made her curious.

“I enjoy a handsome man brooding as much as the next gal. Those baby blues really pop with the furrowed brow and all that huffing,” Alice said, giving herself a moment to enjoy the view.

Granger turned to find her looking him up and down with a hunger in her eyes. He growled at her, feeling a profound irritation at her unwanted attention.

“Anyway,” Alice chuckled, rolling her eyes, “what exactly is the complaint?”

“The problem is that the shit you gave me almost killed her!” he snarled, once more moving as though he would attack her.

This time, however, Alice was faster than him. Nestled safely within her pocket was a collapsible steel baton. She pulled it out, extending it before her, pointing it directly at him.

“I should mention that I am no Dormouse either,” Alice smiled.

Granger stopped, growling. He considered whether it was worth it to let out some of his anger.

“You’re too pretty for such complicated thoughts, sugar,” Alice cooed, “I’m going to make it really simple for you. Ok? You can’t take me on, and even if you could, you can’t handle the fallout. So, save me the paperwork, and let’s get back on track.”

He let out a loud growl but moved away from her.

“What happened to her?”

“Her heart stopped!” Granger shouted angrily, back to pacing back and forth. “You were just supposed to help influence her against the last person she saw, not kill her!”

Just as she had been trained for many years to do, she showed no outward reaction. Keeping her expression either playful or neutral.

“That’s not possible,” Alice replied with confidence. She had used it many times. She knew how it worked.

“And yet, that’s exactly what happened!” he growled.

“The device I gave you creates a mist that affects the brain chemistry. Activating the areas of the brain that contain fear and your sense of danger, as well as short-term memory. It wouldn’t affect the heart directly. At most, it could have increased blood pressure, temporarily.”

“Her heart stopped! Stopped!” he hissed. “They used paddles to shock her heart. They pumped adrenaline into her. She almost died!”

Alice clenched her jaw and swallowed.

“Did you follow the directions I gave you?” she asked.

“I followed the directions Holden gave me,” Granger said.

Since her arrival in Winter, Alice had been unable to get warm. But hearing that Holden had given this man a different set of directions sent a chill down her spine.

“What directions?” she asked.

“You told me that I had to mist the air around her, but because of the full moon, I wasn’t allowed to visit her,” he began, “I called Holden. He explained how to open the device and take out the liquid. He told me I just needed to get it on something that could be placed in her room.”

“What did you do?” she asked, fighting to hold back the mix of anger and panic that she was feeling.

“I sent her a bouquet of flowers.”

“And how much of the liquid did you use on these flowers?” she asked carefully.

“A couple drops on each of the flowers,” Granger replied.

“You fucking idiot,” she sighed, unable to hold back anymore. “The reason that this liquid is used in an aerosol form is because of how potent it is. He told you just to get it into her room, one drop. That’s all you needed!”

Granger’s eyes widened.

“I did this?” Granger asked quietly.

“This is no longer my problem. You need to go get those flowers out of that room before anyone else is affected by them!” Alice shouted angrily as she turned and began to walk away.

“I’m the reason Ashleigh almost died?” he whispered.

Alice once more felt that chill running down her spine. She stopped in her tracks.

“Ashleigh?” she asked, “Alpha’s daughter? That Ashleigh?”

Alice turned as she spoke, seeing Granger nod his head, confirming her fear.

‘That son of a bitch…’ she thought to herself.

“Then, you’re Granger? The mate?” she asked.

He nodded once more.

She took a deep breath. Focusing her thoughts, remembering her training, and made her expression as neutral as she could.

“Granger, you need to go right now to the hospital and get rid of those flowers. Drown them, shred them, and destroy any trace of them. Then, in the next hour or two, I will call you. When I call, you come. No questions, no excuses.”

“Why?” he asked.

“You’re terrible at this no questions thing,” she sighed, “but this one I will answer. If you don’t come when I say, then I can’t guarantee Ashleigh’s heart won’t stop again.”

Alice walked away without another word. Granger called out to her, but she didn’t listen. Then, when she was sure he couldn’t see her, she hid and watched him leave.

Once he was gone, she pulled out her phone.

“You should have told me it was for Ashleigh,” Alice spoke into the phone.

“When have I ever told you who it was for?” Holden replied. She could hear the smile in his voice.

Alice closed her eyes, feeling the frustration in her gut growing larger by the second.

“Using this on her… you knew how her body would react,” Alice stated, holding back as much as she could, but it was a struggle. “Wolfsbane doesn’t leave the system, ever. Combining the two, that’s poison.”

“Is it?” Holden sighed on the other end of the line, “must have slipped my mind.”

Alice bit her lip to keep from making a sound, from reacting in any way.

“Will I see you for dinner tonight?” he asked, as though it were a casual conversation.

Alice swallowed down her thoughts, feelings, all the unsavory things that she had been trained to forget.

“No,” she replied, “I will head home in the morning. I haven’t seen Alpha Caleb or his Beta yet. You wanted a report on their movements as well, correct?”

Holden was quiet at first. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

“‘I wish I hadn’t cried so much!’ said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out. ‘I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears!’”

Alice clenched her jaw and closed her eyes.

“Don’t drown in your own tears, dearest Alice, and don’t shed them so lightly.”

Holden spoke with warning and disgust before the line disconnected.

Alice let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Then, gasping for air, she fell to her knees.

“Ahh!!” she screamed as she hit the ground, flinging snow all around her.

Taking only a moment, Alice picked herself up. She took a deep breath and brushed off the loose bits of snow.

“Let’s get to work, sugar,” she said to herself, her playful mask restored once more.