DRAMA NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 115
Chapter 115
**Margot POV
Kelly summoned me for morning tea with her again today. We were in the sitting room alone and she was talking incessantly about the ball. It was all she had talked about for days.
I had heard all about her plans to dramatically reveal her red gown from beneath a more modest, tear away dress she’d had made. She’d gone on at length about the look of envy and desire she hoped to see on king Blake’s face.
She was talking now about the dance lessons she had been taking and how she was sure she would draw every eye and leave everyone drooling. I hummed and nodded occasionally, but that was the most I could muster.
I was so tired. I hadn’t been able to sleep properly in weeks. It was difficult to focus on anything,
especially Kelly’s bragging.
I was too concerned about what was going to happen after the ball. Or maybe even during. I hadn’t been able to find any solid information to relay back to King Blake. I could only hope that the little bit I was able to tell him was helpful.
Graham’s uncle was so busy with the troops that I hadn’t seen him in days. No one knew exactly what he was doing. I wasn’t sure even Graham did. He’d been mostly absent from the packhouse, too. Which was probably why Kelly kept insisting that I come here.
If she was alone, then who would lavish her with praise and attention?
The pack was thrilled about the inauguration and the entire town was beautifully decorated to welcome the guests that would be traveling to attend. Gold lettering gleamed on the signs outside of the shops and flowers had been
brought in from all around the territory.
The grand hall where the event was going to be held had been completely remodeled to make it as impressive as possible. I had helped Kelly pick out the paint that they used when they red id it. She brought me along for nearly every step of the preparations, actually.
It almost felt like Kelly was intentionally trying to keep me busy. It wasn’t just me, though. Everyone in the pack was running around trying to bring her vision to life. By the time the ball actually happened, we were all going to be worn thin.
“Margot,”Kelly’s irritated voicecalled. I shook my head and turned to face her. I had been staring out the window and I completely zoned out.
“I’m sorry, what?”I said.
“Hello!Have you heard a singleword I’ve said?” Kelly demanded.
Her arms were crossed high over her chest and she was glaring at me.
“I’m so sorry,”I answered meekly.“Ihaven’t been getting enough sleep. I just zoned out.”
She didn’t look convinced. She looked at me skeptically.“You’ve been acting super weird lately,” she said.“It’s like you’re an entirely different person.”
I laughed softly, as if her words were absurd.“What do you mean? If I’ve changed at all, it’s only because you’ve been spending so much time with me. I’ve learned a lot from you.”
She looked thoughtful.“I mean, yeah,”she shrugged.“I have taught you a lot about fashion and that kind of thing, but that doesn’t have anything to do with how weird and withdrawn you’ve been.”
“I haven’t been withdrawn,”Iargued.“Just tired, like I said.”
“Don’t try to play it off,” she
commanded. She sat forward in her seat and narrowed her eyes at me. “There’s something up with you.Spill it.”
“I’m just a little distracted, that’sall,”I insisted.
I thought that I had been doing a much better job of acting normal. If Kelly had noticed that my behavior was different, then that meant everyone likely had. If that was true, then I could be in real trouble. If Graham started to suspect me, then he might be able to figure out that I had been helping King Blake.
If Graham and his uncle learned that I had betrayed them, there was no telling the horrors that they would subject me to. I focused on my breathing and tried to keep myself calm. I couldn’t let on that there was anything wrong.
“No, there’s something more to it.Ever since the Lunar Festival, you’ve been like this.” She crossed her legs and leaned back in her
chair.“You’d better tell me what’s up with you,” she noted.“There’s no point in trying to lie to me.”
“The Lunar Festival?”I asked.
Of course, everything had changed after that. How could I go back to the way things were after seeing the kind of leader that King Blake was? That festival showed me how backwards everything in Lanecreek was.
“Look, even just mention ing it hasmade your face go all pale. Does this have something to do with all that time you spent with Blake?”
Her tone was accusatory. I stared at her, unable to respond. Then a smirk spread over her face.
“I get it,” she said.“I knew Blakecouldn’t be satisfied with that little pipsqueak. He wouldn’t risk picking a fight with Graham by stealing me away, so he turned to you instead.”
“What?”I balked. She thought that Ihad been sleeping with the king.
“No, it’s not like that. I mean, I amattracted to him…”
“He’s good looking,” she stated.“And he’s certainly got the spoiled,entitled attitude of a king. Some girls like that.”She was smirking at me in a way that made me uncomfortable.
“Really,”I said nervously.“I’m notanything special. If King Blake was going to take a lover, there would be a hundred women he would choose before me.”
I would never try to sleep with a married man, but that wasn’t going to convince Kelly. The concept of loyalty just didn’t seem to matter much to her. I wasn’t aware of anyone she had slept with besides Graham, but the way she talked about other men made it pretty clear that she was open to the idea.
“Then why were you spending somuch time alone with him?”she pressed smugly.
I shrugged and crossed my arms. I
was so uncomfortable with what she was implying. Maybe it would be a good idea for me to let her believe it, though. It might keep her from getting any more suspicious of me.
I was as careful as I could be with my meetings and correspondence with King Blake, but there was no telling what she might find out if she started poking around.
“I thought that if I got close to himI might be able to convince him that he should agree to Alpha Graham’s offer of trade.”I smiled weakly.“I know that I’m not that desirable, but I’m… soft. It puts men at ease. I thought that if I played to my strengths, I could help the Alpha to win king Blake over.”
It wasn’t a lie. I did hope that the king would grow to trust us and open trade with Lanecreek. At the time, I trusted what Graham said he wanted for the pack. I thought that if we could just get the king to give us a chance, everything would
be alright.
Lanecreek had been through so much. We just needed someone that actually cared about us to take control and give us a chance to live peacefully. I thought that I was helping. In retrospect, it was a good thing that Blake had remained skeptical of all of us. Graham’s intentions were not what he presented them to be at all.
He pretended that he cared about us, but everything he did was in pursuit of his own power. It was disgusting.
“Is that right?”Kelly said with asmirk.“Maybe I underestimated you. I thought you were too meek and scared to use your wiles on a powerful man. I guess I have been a good influence on you.”
“You’ve been an influence, alright.”
We both looked to see Graham standing in the doorway. I felt my heart rate double instantly. Graham’s eyes were locked on me
as he entered the room. There was something dangerous in his eyes as he approached me. Something was wrong.
“What do you mean by that?”Kellyasked.
Graham stopped in front of me and smirked.“What cause, exactly, have you been discussing with my dear cousin?”
My heart went still. I didn’t want to believe it, but I could see it in his eyes. He knew.