Chapter 48
I told Vincent I was meeting Cole that night in the garden. It took a lot of convincing for him to let me go alone. He knew how much of a ladies' man Cole was. I walked alone to the garden.
It was almost 8. I followed the path to the bench at the center. Cole was already there sitting down waiting for me.
"Hey beautiful." Cole rose to greet me. "Do you want to walk or sit?"
"Sit. My feet are killing me," I said. He led me by the arm to the bench and sat next to me. It was a beautiful night. The sun had just about set and the moon was coming out. The Moon goddess let this conversation go well. I turned to Cole. "I invited you here to talk about your father and the dragon king."
"I was so hoping it was you regretted not choosing me," he smiled. I gasped and punched him in the arm.
"Just kidding. I figured you made some sort of deal with the dragon to get him to help you escape. You are beautiful and persuasive but not enough to change their mind about war." Cole said confidently. "So, what is your plan?"
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "I promised the dragon king revenge for his sister's death."
"You did what?" Cole stood up and yelled. "You will kill my father for that dragon. You don't even know what happened."
I stood as well. "Maybe we should walk," I said, placing my arm in his. "Will not kill your father unless I have to. I told Drake that tomorrow Katie will use her powers to get your father to confess how his sister died. After that Saturday there will be a duel of sorts. Your father vs. Drake. Fight till surrender or death."
"You can't do this." Cole said, stopping us from walking. He turned to me. "You don't know what this will do to Cash. He already knows he is different, but to know the whole truth. Everyone in our kingdom just believes he was adopted, not that he was created by my father."
In truth, I hadn't thought about that. "It is too late. The ball is in motion."Content © NôvelDrama.Org.
"How does the dragon king know we won't run at the first sign of your plot? For that matter, how do you know we won't run tonight after I tell them," Cole said.
I put my hand in his. "You won't tell them, and he won't run. Tomorrow I will make sure there are only a few people, so no more than it is necessary know of the past. If you warn your family or run, I have promised to end your line." "You wouldn't!" Cole looked at me with sadness.
"I won't have to," I replied. "I figured the threat would be enough to keep you all here."
"Who are you? And who's side are you on? What is next? You will help your father overthrow us. If my father is to go to a duel and be killed..." Cole paused. "Is that your plan to weaken us and overthrow us? I underestimated you." "Cole." I started.
"No, you would kill us all if it meant keeping your promise. We are just pawns in your game." Cole spat at me.
"It is not a game I wanted to play." Cole had walked off a bit so I sprinted off to catch up with him. "Please slow down. I don't want your kingdom. I have made the agreement that if your father doesn't survive the duel, you will take over."
Cole stopped so abruptly I ran into him. He wrapped his arms around me before we both fell to the ground. He shifted so he took the brunt of the fall.
"Filli, are you ok?" Cole said in earnest. Helping me off him.
"I think so and I am sorry. This is the best thing I could think of to reduce death to all involved." We sat in the grass next to each other. "I do hope that my conversation with Drake will lead him to accept surrender. He really wants to spend time with his nephew Cash. I said you wouldn't allow it if he killed your father."
"Well, that you got right." Cole said, smiling at me. He offered me his hands to help me off the ground.
"You see his sister was Drake's hero. It hurt his whole family when she was kidnapped." I said as we continued to walk.
"I remember a little bit about what happened," Cole said. "I even met her once while she was in the kingdom. All I remember was that she seemed sad, and Cash came a few days later. My mom cried when my dad said he is our brother." "You don't know how she died?" I asked.
"I didn't even know she had died. I thought maybe she abandoned him." Cole said. "I agree to your horrible plan."
"Thank you, Cole," I said, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"If my father dies on Saturday, our friendship is over. You understand that right." Cole looked at me.
"I understand and accept the consequences of the things I put into action." I silently prayed Drake will spare him.
"What do you plan to do about your father? He is still a threat to my kingdom," Cole asked.
"That is a secret for another day," I gave him a weak smile and hugged him. We had walked back toward the pack house.
"So about you and Kaite?" I said, teasing him.
"I will honor my promise and I am sure when she gets older, she will forget all about me."
Cole smiled.
"Let's hope that is all that is," I said.
"Plus. My true mate is out there somewhere." Cole kissed me on the cheek and walked into the pack house.
When I walked in, I saw him flirting with some new girl. He went through them so fast his mate is going to have a hard time trusting him. Whoever that future girl is, I hope she has a strong will.
As I stepped into my bedroom, I saw Vincent.
"Did he have to kiss you?" Vincent said, growling.
"Were you spying on me? It was only a kiss on the cheek. You, sir, have nothing to worry about." I walked over to him and kissed his lips passionately.
"How did it go?" He asked when we had come up for air.
"He is not happy, and I may lose his friendship, but he will play his part for now," I stated.
"Can you trust him?"
"He knows the consequences if he doesn't play along," I said sadly.
I looked up at Vincent. Tomorrow is the big day, and I was a bit antsy. "Would you mind if we let Sasha and Marcus out for a run? It would be good for them and us."
"I couldn't agree more," Vincent said. We both walked back down the stairs and shifted outside. It was such a great feeling to let Sasha run. Soon, she and Marcus were nipping each other and playing. I backed out into my mind to allow them some privacy.