Chapter 17

ARIEL


"W-W-What do we do?!" I stuttered uncontrollably as I paced back and forth in Roseline's room. "If his family is coming then that would spell doom for our plan. It's the end of everything!"

"Calm down, Aroel," Roseline replied, looking a little too relaxed.

"What do you mean by saying calm down?!" I hissed. "This is both our lives at stake here. How will I ever calm down?!"

"Yelling isn't gonna help either," she replied. "We just need to calm down and think of this rationally."

"Rationally?" I asked. "Just in case you have forgotten, nothing about this plan was rational in the first place."

"Well, we have no choice at the moment, do we?" she retorted. "You can either scream your head off or sit down and allow us to think about it."

"Fine," I sighed as I sat down. "This thinking thing had better yield some results."

We sat there in silence as Roseline looked to be deep in thought. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but be anxious. Too anxious to even think about anything. My life is ruined. If my parents found out about the plan then everything is going to be ruined.

"Have you thought up anything?" I asked.

"Just be quiet for now," she replied. "And you should be thinking of a solution also."

"I can't think of anything," she admitted. "You've been the one at the forefront of this plan from the beginning. I can't think of anything."

"Then let me think," she sighed as she laid on her back. "This is totally out of my calculations. I thought he would at least have to take you to the North before both families meet."

"If you have no idea what to do then we're fucked," I informed her. "I just want to emphasize the fact that you thought up this plan."

"I've heard that for the thousandth fucking time," she retorted. "We're both going down if this shit blows up so don't act like you aren't involved."

I went silent at that. She was right, and I would get the brunt of it even more than her.

"I got an idea," she finally said.

"What is it?" I perked up. "Tell me!"

"I think we're just going to go with the flow," she replied.

"Huh?" I asked, confused. "What does that mean?"

"I mean we would just let things go on as they normally do," she replied. "I'll keep trying to seduce him while you make him hate you even more."

"What?!" I yelled. "What if his parents come?! What do we do then?!"

"Nothing," she replied. "We would find a solution by that time but for now, this is the best I can suggest."

"What was I thinking when I decided to listen to you," I lamented as I also fell on my back. "I'm doomed. My dad is gonna kill me."

"Would you calm down?" she chastised. "We can't stop the plan now when we've already gone this deep into it. If we try changing it right now, it'll only backfire negatively on us."

"What's the difference?" I asked. "It'll still backfire negatively on us anyway."

"Do you have any better suggestions then?!" she asked, her annoyance evident in her voice. "If you have nothing better then don't complain."

"Arghh!" I groaned back on my bed. "I won't forgive if I get in trouble for this!"

"Back at you," she replied.

ROSELINE

I remained in one position long after Ariel left as I wondered what I had to do to remedy this situation. Everything was going to fall apart because of this new development and I can't have that. All of my plans were going to be ruined because of some nosey Northerners who can't seem to mind their own business.

"Why on Earth are they coming thinking about coming here just a week after Xavier came," I thought. "It hasn't even been that long. I haven't cultivated my relationship with him yet!"

I finally got a hold of myself after a while and sat up on my bed.

"I have no time to waste with this thirst trap," I said as I made my way to the bathroom where I freshened up quickly.

I wore a short, black, sleeveless gown which exposed a good portion of my cleavage and my thighs and matching black heels. I styled my hair in curly waves and let some of it cover my face just a little bit. I completed my look with some light makeup which I smudged in a few places for the sake of my plan.

I checked the time and it was already 8:00 pm which was the signal to start my plan. I took a few shots of alcohol, got my car keys and drove over to Xavier's house.

"I need to make him mine tonight," I thought as I approached the mansion.

I stumbled out of the car, my body almost hitting the floor but caught myself just before I fell. Once upright, I staggered towards his front door and banged on it erratically, demanding attention.

"Please wait," I heard Martha say as the sound of her feet got closer to the door. "Who is it?"

"Just open," I slurred, leaning all of my body weight on the door. "Open this damn door, Martha."

There was a pause for a few seconds before the door slid open slightly to reveal Martha who had a frown on her face. "Why are you here at this time, miss Roseline?"

"Shut your trap," I hissed at her as I peeked into the house. "Where is Xavier?"

"He is in his room," she replied, still holding on to the door.

"Then let me in, you old hag!" my eyes turned orange as I pushed her aside and forced my way inside.

"What are you doing here, ma'am?" she asked again.

"None of your business," I hissed. "Now, call him down here and tell him that I came in drunk."

"But, you don't seem drunk," she replied.

"I know that, dummy," I rolled my eyes. "I'm gonna lay on the floor now so call him and tell him that I am drunk."

"I'm sorry," she said with a stoic expression. "I can't do that."

"What?" I asked, completely taken off guard. "What did you buy say?"

"I said I can't do as you just said," she replied. "I was brought here to protect and take care of him, not serve you."

"Really?" I stormed intimidatingly towards her, but she didn't even flinch. Even though, my eyes were orange and even glowing as a sign of my immense anger. She stared at me without moving a single muscle. "Do you want Ariel to hate you forever? Do you want the only person who accepted a criminal old hag like you to hate you?"

"I guess you are right," she replied. "But, I want you to know this. The only reason why I let you in here right now is because of Ariel. The only reason why I'm turning a blind eye to you flirting with Ariel's groom is also because of Ariel. Now, I want you to answer a question for me. Who do you think would get it worse if I decided to tell the king about this? Me or you?"

"Ariel would," I grinned. "She's the one who consented to this plan so the majority of the blame falls on her. I can always say she convinced me to do it for her sake."

"And you would lose the man you so badly want," she grinned also. "Ariel would be chastised, scolded and then forced to marry the man that you want. I don't think she would be the one with the most loss. Xavier is a nice kid and I'm sure that with time together, Ariel would realize it too. Then, they would live happily ever after while you lament in agony at your loss for years. I know that because I used to be as obsessive as you are right now."

"Are you trying to threaten me, you hag?!" I growled.

"Don't raise your voice at me," she smiled as her eyes turned purple. "I can't hurt anyone due to the king's order but I can haunt you"

I flinched at the sight of her purple eyes and the immense bloodlust that seeped from her. Those eyes have been passed down through legend as one of the most scary eyes in existence. It was said that her eyes turned purple when she killed about one hundred werewolves on her own in an assassination gone wrong. The eyes were said to have turned purple because she let out all of the bloodlust she had to conceal when she went on her missions. Throughout history, those purple eyes were known to be the symbol of death."

"A-Are you at least going to keep our secret?" I asked, looking away from her eyes. I need to be careful right now as age barely deters a werewolf's capability.

"For now, yes," she replied. "But, I won't be your dog anymore. If you want something from him or with him, do it yourself. At least put some effort into it."

"Okay," I said as I took off my heels and made my way to the stairs. "I'll be heading off to his room now."