Chapter 25 25
Third Person POV
Hazel watched as Adrian closed the door as he left; his words rang in her mind, 'What did he mean by that?' Somehow she felt betrayed by his words.
Now he was going to completely join forces with Thalia and tell them everything that had happened here. Knowing Thalia , she was going to take full advantage of it.
She felt her chest tightening, her hands grew weaker as the excitement slowly faded away, and she gritted her teeth in frustration. Even more so, she didn't know why she felt the way she did, but it vexed her even more.
"So what now?" Alpha Draven asked her; she looked at him while he sat down, still staring into the night.
"I don't know really; I didn't think this far ahead, I guess," she replied. Draven chuckled, then turned back to her to face her. He stood up, gradually walking towards her bed.
"I knew you'd say this."
"Well, I did agree to help you with your revenge, but we aren't in a rush; baby steps, Hazel," he said to her, giving her the assurance that she needed.
"But what are you going to do about Adrian taking sides with Thalia ? I can't stand it when she's around," she asked him. Draven thought for a little while longer, then shook his head.
"There's nothing I can do about that, I'm afraid; he's a part of the pack, the nephew of the alpha; telling him he can't stay in the pack or in the house is the same thing as chasing him from the pack," he replied.
She saw the sense in what he said: Adrian was once the alpha of the pack, even though just as a replacement, chasing him from the pack would definitely bring up more questions, questions that she wasn't ready for others to poke their noses inside.
"So far, he hasn't done anything to warrant my suspicion, and I assure you, I am watching my nephew," he stated. Hazel wasn't sure how well they could plan ahead if the people they wanted to bring down stayed with them in the same building.
The tension, pressure, unpredictability, everything may be too much for her to handle; she wasn't good at playing games like this; the only thing she knew was that she felt hurt and betrayed and wanted her revenge back.
"So what are we going to do?" She asked him; hopefully, without Alpha Draven, she knew she was doomed to suffer.
"What do you mean, what are we going to do? Nothing has changed in the plans; then coming still isn't going to change anything," he said gently. His eyes looked around the room, as if searching for something.
"What then is the plan?" Hazel asked hopefully; she felt the confidence coming from Alpha Draven, and she felt she could do anything, so long as he was by her side.
"First, no need to go after your parents; they're the last we need to focus on," he said. "Why can't we focus on them?" Hazel asked, slightly confused.
"Because Thalia is the one who truly controls the Labrinth company; she's the one pulling the strings and knows the strings and structure of the company."
"Even if we bring down your parents, Thalia will only grow stronger with the lack of her parents; she's that type of pernephew, taking the control of others after they leave.”
He turned to look at her, his eyes levelled steadily at hers, while he slowly caressed her chin. "So we go for Thalia ?" Hazel asked.
"We go for Thalia ; without her the family will cripple, so will her parents and thus the entire pack; that's how we'll go about it," he finished.
She understood the basis of what he was trying to say, but one thing still bothered her mind. "But how exactly are we even going to start anything with her?”
“Thalia has an almost spotless record on managing the company for the time I wasn't available; not even my parents can match her in her managerial rights." Hazel spoke with doubt because she had every right too.
Draven chuckled a bit before continuing, "You forget. My foolish nephew made an alliance with the Labrinth company, and if there's one disadvantage about alliances is that you're prone to showing your weaknesses to your partner," he spoke the words with assurance.
"Oohh"
Hazel hadn't thought about that; she hadn't fully integrated herself into it. Accepting the fact that her new family was the Diamond pack, she calmed herself down.
"So when do we start?" She asked excitedly, knowing that this time she wasn't alone.
"When?"
"We've already started; Noah had gone to make some light investigations to ascertain the integrity of her company. If we find any flaws or mistakes, we can use them against us, but if they find us out, then it's over for us," he stated.
Hazel swallowed hard, realising that the path she had chosen, she wasn't prepared for it. "Was it a wide choice to express myself like I did to him?" She asked, unsure of the answer herself.
If indeed they had something to hide; Hazel telling them that she was coming for them was enough reanephew for them to hide whatever secrets they had even better.
Draven shook his head. "It wasn't the best course of action, but I don't blame you still." He spoke the words gently. "Remember, your next move should be known only to you; always mislead your enemies," he said.
She nodded her head agreeably but still wondered how her choice was going to affect their future plan. Suddenly she realised that she had been so bothered about herself that she hadn't bothered to ask Draven about how he was feeling.
"Hey, are you okay? Sorry, I forgot to ask you after I woke up," she said apologetically. Draven watched her for a while longer, then shook his head slightly.
"You don't have to apologise, and I'm okay; I feel much better," he said. She could see it; he seemed much brighter; maybe it was just her eyes that misled her, but she was certain that he had gone through some changes.
"The witch says to check up on you if you're feeling better after she gave you some potions."
"Potions?" She asked, looking around. On her right side of the bed, she noticed a glass tube with a green liquid inside. She backed away from it.
"Did I drink that?" She asked Draven in shock; never before had she eaten something that she wasn't sure about. Alpha Draven slowly nodded his head.
"All of it?" She asked in horror; she could actually smell the pungent smell it gave off. She smelt her breath but nothing. Draven watched her with amusement.
"You should thank her; you'd be dead if she didn't give you that rancid potion to drink," he said with a low chucked. He stood up, stretching with a yawn.
"Are you going now?" She asked in disappointment; she wished he could stay with her longer; she wanted to ask him too; she bit her lip in hesitation.
"Yes, I'm going to rest in my room," he said as he began walking towards the door. "Your wolf..." She asked
"What about my wolf?"
"Does it still feel like it's raging after bloodlust and wanting to kill people at random?" She asked him carefully; she was fully aware that this was a very sensitive topic known only to her, Noah, and the witch.
"We won't know until the full moon blossoms," he replied before closing the door behind him. Hazel sat alone in the dark, feeling tired and exhausted; she was out of all her energy and still had to have an argument with Adrian.
"I need to rest," she said to herself as she covered herself up. The exhaustion slowly took her, sleep embracing her like a mother would cradle its pup.
\~~~~
Adrian stormed out of the house, walking head-on towards his car. He was absolutely furious with himself; for him being such a fool, he had known the answer to the questions he had in his heart, but he hoped she would prove them wrong; he had expected too much.
But strangely enough, now more so than ever he desired her, so much that his heart aches; he regretted leaving her the way he did; he wanted to say more, pour out his heart, say something to make her want him just as much as he wanted her.
He knew the basis of their marriage was purely for revenge—nothing else but revenge—if he could somehow find a way to make her love him through the tiniest bit of affection that may remain in her heart.
Thalia saw him walking towards her and ran over to him. seeing her, his sadness and rage slowly dissipated, melting away as snow would on a rock. "Are you okay?" Thalia asked him as they both embraced each other.
He hugged her deeply, not wanting to let her go. He remembered the last words he had said to Hazel , promising himself to make it come true. "Yeah, I'm okay now," he said, smiling into her eyes.
Seeing her this happy to see him gave him joy on a different level. "So what did they say? Why did it all happen? Why is Hazel with your uncle?" She asked all her questions at once.
"Adrian!" He heard Thalia 's voice calling him; he turned to face her; he hadn't really thought about what to tell Thalia and her family.
"Hey, where have you been?" Thalia 's palm struck his face with enough force to loosen one of his teeth.
"You knew about this, didn't you?" Thalia screamed in his face, "You brought my family here just to disgrace us; you gave us an invitation letter, all for what?" She said.
Adrian smiled, saying, "I'll tell you everything when we get home, but."
"But what?" She asked curiously.
"I need you to be my mate, Thalia ," he said the words with absolute confidence.
"What?" She asked, "Adrian, no."