Chapter 17: Chapter 17

I must confess that the Gridon estate had a neat and organized atmosphere. If I had come here under different circumstances, I might have loved strolling through the grounds. Outdoors have never been my thing, but going through here made me reconsider.

Lui stepped in front of the mansion's double doors as he approached it. He ushered me in by opening one of the doors for me. The interior floor was black and gold marbled tiling, while the walls were a deep maroon hue. I saw a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor is in front of us. Lui led me to it, and we quickly ascended upstairs.

The second level reminded me of a hotel room because there were so many passageways and rooms that you would tend to get lost very quickly. Lui led me to the third floor, where there were only approximately seven unoccupied rooms. We passed the sixth room and proceeded to the seventh chamber, located at the end of the hall. He opened it to reveal a vast and grand office room, which I had to bite the inside of my lips to keep from gawking.

"Alpha, we have brought lady killer smile." Lui address the man sitting behind a large wooden office desk. The man has messy auburn hair and piercing brown eyes. He looks like he's in his mid 30's or 40's. Either way, I wasn't that good at judging people by their age.

"Excellent!" The man beamed and finally looked at me from his massive amount of paper works. "Please, lady killer smile. Have a seat." He gestured towards one of the black leathered massage chairs that looked like it cost more than my life.

I didn't want to insult the man, so I chose to sit as he instructed. We heard the door break open as I was doing so, and a crazy-haired boy appeared. "Lui, we need you. The hybrid is crazy!"

“WHERE IS SHE!?” We heard the scream coming somewhere far. “Give me back my Gabriella!!” After that question, we heard another sound of glass breaking in the background.

Lui grimaced and looked at his Alpha and bowed. “Alpha, I must leave.”

“Very well. Make sure that you subdue the hybrid before he destroys the mansion.”

With that, Lui finally left, and now I was stuck here and alone with the Alpha. As soon as the door clicked, the man in front of me stood up and bowed. I blinked in disbelief that this man was showing me respect. “Lady Killer Smile, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Alpha of the Gridon pack. My name is Torian Gridon.”

"G-Gridon? Like Tyrelle Gawen Giridon!?" I almost bit my tongue after saying two G's in a row, but thankfully I didn't. They do have the same hair color and other facial traits, now that I think about it. Tyrelle's only distinguishing feature is that he has silver and purple eyes.

At the mention of Tyrelle, the man beamed proudly. “I see you have met my son?”

“Your son!?” I exclaimed and raised my hands in a 'hold up' gesture.

“That spoiled rich looking brat is your son!?”

Torian, the Alpha, grimaced, and I was briefly concerned that I had upset him. "Is my son being impolite to you?" Is he not lavishing you with riches and properly courting you?" Somehow, he appeared more offended that his kid was not treating me properly than that I had referred to his son as a spoiled brat.

So that's why Tyrelle wanted to make the arrangement. But I feel that there's something else going on that makes them want Tyrelle and me to date.

"We were just enjoying lunch together this afternoon!" I sputtered and saw him exhale a breath of relief. "That is until your men brought me here. Was it Tyrelle who instructed those men to take me?" I inquired fiercely. "I've still got classes to go to!"

“No! My son did not direct the order. I did. You don't have to be concerned about your classes. I own that school, and if you want all A's, lady killer smile, you will get all A's.

What the hell kind of offer is that? But somehow, I was very tempted but chose not to accept because it seemed wrong. Especially when the deal between Tyrelle and me is off, Torian might use that against me.

“Right. I’ll think about it.” I said with uncertainty. “If you don't mind me asking, why am I here?”

“Ah…” The Alpha scratch his head and finally sat back down. "Now that you mentioned it, it would seem like you and my son are already getting close. I thought that he didn't make any progress yet, so I thought that I would bring you here to put a good word to you for him."

"Uh hu..." I eyed him suspiciously. There has got to be a reason why this man wants me to date his son, right? I mean, Tyrelle mentioned that he is only approaching me to convince his father that we are dating. There are hundreds and thousands of girls out there who would be happy to date his son. So why me specifically? I mean, aside from my killer smile. There must be a purpose here.

"You know." I started to say and crossed my arms over my chest to seem intimidating. "Tyrelle mentions my killer smile a lot of times. Even you. Why would you, an Alpha, be interested in that?"

"I am!?" The Alpha looked away, which only heightened my suspicion.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Speak now, or I will curse your family and pack with my smile!" I declared. I was bluffing, of course. I do not have the guts to do that, nor do I know if I can curse people.

I did not expect it to work, but the Alpha seemed pretty scared as he finally met my gaze. "Lady Killer smile, please!" He pleaded. "We simply think you are suitable for my son!"

"I am just a human with a killer smile. I am not a werewolf."

"Your race doesn't matter! And you are far more valuable than any other female wolf out there. You are perfect for my son."

"Valuable?" I asked and raised my eyebrow at him. "So you need a powerful girl to side by your son? Why?" Finally, I was getting somewhere. When the Alpha didn't speak, I gritted my teeth. "You better speak up and be honest why your pack and that hybrid out there is after me."

"Lady Killer Smile, I assure you that our pack has nothing to do with the hybrid. Nor do we know the reason why he is after you."

"Then tell me why your pack wants me."

"But it might ruin my son's progress!" He whined. I gave him a pointed look and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine!" He pouted. For an Alpha, he is a pushover. "There are currently other packs out there who are challenging us for this territory. And to make things worse, numerous reports of vampire sightings are being reported."

"Great," I said unenthusiastically and rolled my eyes. "I'm guessing you need me to drive them away with my smile?" Of course, I meant for this as a joke, but when I saw the Alpha looking away and whistling while playing with his thumb, I immediately sat up. "SHUT UP. YOU'RE KIDDING ME!"

The Alpha looked startled at my outburst. "I didn't say anything."

"You!" I pointed at him accusingly. "Want to use me to become a tool to help you with this territorial war!"

"I wouldn't say use you. I am simply asking you for your help in the means of having you fall in love with my son and making you the future luna of the pack. That way, you can - I guess I better stop talking right now because I am making things worse than it already is."

If only I could smile right now, then I would surely give him a sarcastic one. "Yes. Glad you finally noticed." I said grimly.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and in came Tyrelle. There was a look of panic in his eyes before he saw me. Once he did, he heaved a sigh of relief before looking at the Alpha. "Father, what is the meaning of this. Why is Gabrielle here?" He demanded.

"You!" I got up from my seat so that I could face this two-faced werewolf in front of me. "So, you and your father want to use me as a weapon for your territorial war. Is that it?!" I accused.

Tyrelle blinked and looked taken aback by my words before glaring at his father. Then, returning his gaze to me, he said, "Gabrielle, if you come with me, I can explain."

"Oh, save your breath. You're just as bad as Al!" I yelled, then thought about something. "Actually, I don't know because I have no idea why that hybrid is after me too!"

Tyrelle suddenly grabbed my arm. "Come with me, and let's talk."

"No. I don't want to come with you. Because I certainly will NOT help any of you with this war." Tyrelle ignored my struggles and carried me over his shoulder like I was a sack. I screamed and started pulling at his hair, but the werewolf boy gave no hint of reaction as he carried me out of his father's room and into one of the rooms on the 3rd floor.

"Let's talk here. My room is soundproof, so no one can hear us."

"You wanna talk deals again? Why don't you start with telling me that accepting your deal would mean helping you with this pack war?!" I demanded.

"Hey!" He glared. "I do not care about the pack war. Nor do I need your help to resolve it."

"Tell that to your father!"

"I did, but he wouldn't listen." He insisted and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, the deal was that you simply pretend to accept me in front of my father. I never said that you would have to use your killer smile to help us. I can handle this war on my own. All you have to do is to pretend to be with me so I can go back to New York and play in the finals."

I stared at Tyrelle. The young wolf doesn't seem like he is lying at all. "Is that right?"

"Yes!" He insisted. "I never expect any help from girls at all. I mean, all you do is smile, and you can scare even full-grown wolves away? That just seems unreal."

"Werewolves and vampires are unreal." I pointed out.

"Point is!" Tyrelle said through gritted teeth. "All you have to do is to stand by my side—nothing more and nothing less. I will treat you as if we are dating until we can convince my father. Plus, I promise to send guards to protect your parents. That is my deal."

I narrowed my gaze at him. "Once the deal is off, you better stay the hell away from me."

"That is my plan." He nodded. "So, are you still good my deal?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Good. Allow me to escort you home." He said, and as we exited his room, I was suddenly engulfed in an embrace with a chained hybrid.

"MY BABY!" He cried and stroked my hair with his chained hands. "Do not fret, for your knight in shining armor is here!"

"Get off of her, hybrid." Tyrelle said and kicked Al off of me.

Al fell on his butt as a few people came to hold him in place. "Hey, mutt. Keep your hands away from my woman!"

"I am not your woman," I told him coldly.

"Master Tyrelle, what should we do with the hybrid?" One of the men holding Al down asked.

"I guess we can let him go after Gabriella and I leave. I wouldn't want such a loud-mouthed guy like him locked up in the mansion."

"Mansion?" Al looked surprised and finally looked around him as if for the first time. A slow smile spread across his lips. "Oh yeah, please!" He said, looking excited. "Lock me up in one of the rooms with my Gabby poo! All expenses paid, right? Thank you, sugar daddy!"

I looked at Tyrelle to see him grimaced at Al. "If I were you, I would lock him up. In a coffin. Forever."

Tyrelle nodded at my suggestion. "You're right. That is a good plan." He said, and together, he headed downstairs, leaving a hysterical prick behind.

"That's my woman, you mutt!"

Tyrelle and I kept on walking, completely ignoring the yells and threats of Al. As we were doing so, a nagging feeling in my gut pushed me on the deal I made. For some reason, I feel like I should have thought things through first before accepting anything. But for the time being, I guess having someone to protect my family from Al might be a good thing.