Ridiculous

Ridiculous
DECLAN

“They've been waiting,” Beck said as I got out of my car. He was standing out here, looking all distressed and agitated. It was barely dawn and the atmosphere was misty. He has no logical reason for being out here. But then it seems he's been waiting for me. And it seems pretty urgent.

“Who's been waiting for me?”

“The elders.”

I rolled my eyes, but I can't deny that I feel a pinch of uneasiness about facing them. They said they'd be here today. I never knew they meant so early.

Don't they fucking sleep?

“I should just pull a Vince on them,” I grunted out, stepping inside.

“No, you won't. It's gonna end badly for you.” Beck reprimanded.

“It's gonna end badly for me either way.” I retorted. We arrived at the courtroom and they stood and bowed.

Fucking hypocrites, fulfilling all righteousness even though they don't regard me in the slightest.

“Cut the crap. Get to the point.” I was as impatient as I was jittery. I needed to hear how they planned on crucifying me.

“We wanna believe you already made plans on killing the princess.” One of them began.

It sounded a bit suspicious. As if he knew I had already taken her back to Vince.

“You came this early in the morning to say that?” I gave a dry chuckle. “Be for real, gentlemen. I'm not that stupid.”

“Fine. We know you returned her to Vince.” The other one admitted boldly.

It wasn't shocking that they tend to know my every move. They're closely affiliated with the sorcerers. And I'm not sure if they have a few powers themselves. But if they don't, the sorcerers are definitely the ones keeping them informed.

“I had to return her. She's his mate and she was dying here. She'd be useless to us if she died.”

“Useless? She's supposed to die, Prince Declan. That's the only way we can ever defeat Vince Walker.”

“So I kill Elena to weaken Vince, and I kill Vince to take his Pack and then what happens next? We become one big happy family?”

“Yes.”

“Lies.” I spat out.

“We've always been a happy family. Us, and your Father.”

“You might have had a good relationship with my father, but that's only because he submitted to your orders. He let you guys control him.”

“We weren't controlling him. We were only leading him on the right path and he was wise enough to follow.”

“Right. What if I don't act as submissive as him? What are you gonna do to me? I'm genuinely curious.”

“We know you will. You're a young Prince who needs guidance and we're sure you'll let us show you the way. But you must get rid of Vince Walker. He's the biggest threat to our existence.”

“It doesn't matter that you returned the Princess to him.” Another one added. “You can still storm the Pack and kill all of them.”

“I thought the war was against Vince. Why do I need to kill even his friends?” For once, I had the decency to ask this question.

Except I'm asking it a little too late. I should have asked before hijacking this Pack that belonged to Elena's Father.

“That way, we're sure of a neat victory.” The one speaking now stepped closer to me and patted my shoulder. “You have so much potential to become one of the greatest rogue Kings. Don't mess it up.”

I read between the lines of what he just said, and I might be crazy, but it sounded more like ‘you better do as you're told, if you wanna stay alive much longer.’

“We’ll give you five days to launch an attack on Vince's Pack. If you don't do it, we'll have to assemble the sorcerers and invade the Pack ourselves.” They finalized and marched out of the hall.

I watched their retrieving forms, with a great wave of perplexity.




VINCE

I tapped the door softly to alert them of my presence before stepping into the room.

“Come in.” Her cheerful voice warmed my heart. I thought I'd never hear that voice ever again.

I stepped inside and she was on her hospital bed with Leo by her side. Their hands were intertwined but then she pulled hers away and stretched it to me, asking for a hug. Her smiles were twice as wide now.

“Come here, my boy.” She giggled.

“Your boy?” That stung, but it's Cheryl, so it's all good. “Alright, Ma'am.”

I bent slightly, and she wrapped her hand around my neck in a short, deep hug. I graced her cheek with a kiss.

“It's so good to see you like this.”

“It's so good to see you like this too, Vince.” She replied and finally let me go.

“See me like what?” I asked, reciprocating her smiles.

“You know, looking all happy and relieved. And we know who it's all thanks to.”

I nodded, holding back my chuckle. “Right. So do thank her once you get discharged.”

“How's she doing though?”

“She was still asleep when I left the house. But she's fine. She'll be.”

“But I heard Dr. Drake went over this morning to check on her. What could be the problem?”

Cheryl and her questions. The bad part is that she's not gonna stop until you give her an answer.

“I bit her.” I blurted out. “There. She blacked out after.”

Her eyes widened. And then she gave a less shocked reaction. Then slowly nodded.

“Alright. That's not so bad.”

I couldn't help but laugh. “You asked. I answered.”

“You should have just told me to mind my business. You didn't have to be so blunt.” She pouted. Now Leo was laughing too.

“Cheryl, c'mon. I know you too well. If I'd asked you to mind your business, you would have gotten more inquisitive. Besides, you've always been interested in knowing the details of my hanky-panky with Elena. So there, you have your answer.”

“You're still a jerk, Vince.”

I chuckled. “Sureee. Now can you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“I need to borrow Leo for a minute.”

“A minute.” She repeated with a warning glare. “Not more than a minute.”

“Sure. But just perhaps, it takes more than a minute, what can I do to appease you?”

She grinned. “I'm just a girl. So you know what I'm gonna ask for.”

“I'm disappointed. I thought you were gonna ask for something more tangible.” I teased, gesturing at Leo to follow me.

“Are you kidding me? I've been in so much agony because of those dogs. Days of shopping sprees will definitely help me forget the agony I went through.”

“Yeah, sure. Tell me when you're ready.” Leo and I were already leaving the room when she shrieked and yelled out a “thank you, Vince!”

“She's such a baby.” Leo scoffed as we walked the hallway.

“She's a handful. But fucking sweet.” I commented and came to a halt. He did too.

“What's up?”

“You asked what Declan spoke to me about yesterday.”

“Yeah, tell me.”

“He wants us to be a team.”

“What?” Leo shook his head. “He's insane.”

See? Even Leo thinks it's ridiculous. I know it's ridiculous. So why the fuck have I been restless and pondering on it?

I can't shake off that proposal from my mind. It's haunting me. But it's fucking ridiculous too. Like why would I wanna team up with Declan?