40

ELEANOR
I felt a strange tug in my chest at the mention of his name. Easton. The memory of our first and last interaction was not exactly one to write home about, neither the start or end of it was pleasant and it ended with me rejecting him -quite rudely, now that I thought about it.
Jasmine sounded confident in her description of him, the information I had just supplied, one that said he hated Zane a lot, probably just as much as I did. I knew we did not part on friendly terms, but I wouldn’t mind seeking his favor and getting on his good side if it really did happen that his hate for Zane would be enough to have him join forces with me to take that brute down.
If the hatred wasn’t solid enough, then I would have to resort to other measures. If he held grudges owing to my rejection, then I would just have to go about it in a more level-headed way, apologize for my words and probably give him the reasons why I acted the way I did. Even if he wasn’t that inclined to wage war against Zane, he wouldn’t just leave a poor helpless girl to do such a dangerous thing alone, right? In the midst of all this, there was that one fear that never leaves from the back of my mind too, avoid it as I may, but it was clear as day now that Zane Mackane really is my mate, and it was only a matter of time before he goes on a power trip and mark me again just for the heck of it or his own amusement, who knows if it would be real next time? Time was running out.
“Eleanor? Are you listening to me?” Jasmine’s voice has me blinking back to reality, and I shake my head with an apologetic smile. I zoned out the moment she mentioned Easton.
“Sorry, it won’t happen again. What were you saying?” I urged as she gave me a done look, and I replied with a sheepish smile, beginning to usher us towards a spot where we could sit.
“Well, I got some good information from my source, and I think it would be of great help in our plan, that is….. if you are ready to swallow your pride and do exactly as I say,” Jasmine finished, looking at me pointedly.
“I had my reasons for rejecting him,” I mumbled before continuing more loudly, “I had no idea who he was, and he was suddenly going on and on about being mates! Given how ruthless and rash Zane is, I didn’t even entertain the idea because I didn’t want innocent lives to be wasted because of me if he couldn’t protect his pack. So if we’re going, to be honest, here, I did it mostly for him.” I defended myself with a shrug.
“Well, there is nothing to worry about, as indeed Alpha Easton is not as you thought he was. He isn’t weak or worthless or any of those words you would use to describe him. According to my source, he is actually one of the strongest alpha’s out there, and that’s the consensus. He has troops that are highly trained, and he is not scared of going to war, only for the right reasons, though. He is rich and influential in every sense of the word and that’s not all, he is also the right-hand man of The Alpha King, which makes him invincible,” Jasmine informed us, growing more and more excited with every one of her words. I blinked, realization dawning on me.
“Hold on a second, is he….. is he the alpha who was rumoured to have fought alongside the alpha king and thereby won his favor? The one that is cherished by the Alpha King and that he holds dearly like a son?!” Clara suddenly asks, her own eyes wide too, and Jasmine nods with enthusiasm.
“Yes, that’s right! So you see, dear Eleanor. You didn’t end up with a weak mate after all. Seems like you were always destined to win against Zane with the help of your mate. You don’t only get to win the war on a platter of gold, but you also get the opportunity to train first class with one of the strongest Alpha in the world. Doesn’t that sound amazing?” Jasmine regarded me, but all I could do was open and close my mouth like a fish out of water.
Part of me was glad that he wasn’t some weakling that I would be getting to endanger his life for me, but another part remains skeptical about dragging him into this whole ploy. Besides, who would want to risk the safety of his pack and all that he’d ever known to a woman who had rejected him without batting an eye or so much as a second thought? He wouldn’t even look my way before replying with a giant ‘No’.
“…. Eleanor!” Clara calls out to me, snapping me out of my reverie, “Aren’t you supposed to be rejoicing now that you know he is indeed capable of helping us out? Aren’t you happy about this turn of events?” She asked, and I found myself shaking my head as an answer the second her words landed.
“Well, I’m not happy, neither does this call for any form of celebration. Yes, it is nice to know that Zane has other powerful enemies, but this is the same man I rejected without a second thought not too long ago. Why on earth would he agree to help us out? Why would he want to risk his and his pack member’s lives for someone who clearly doesn’t give a fuck about him?” I asked, the questions directed at both of them.
“You should also remember that he never accepted your rejection. If I remember correctly, he said he would give you time to think about it. So that means we still have an open door. He didn’t concede just because you said no, so that means he probably didn’t hold a grudge. We can still go to him,” Jasmine tries to reason and I scoff lowly.
“You really believe that the world revolves around me, don’t you? He probably said that to preserve his pride as an Alpha who didn’t want to be rejected. He probably sees me as a loser now. I mean, who in their right mind would see such an easy path to freedom and decide to stick with hardship instead? Doesn’t that make me a coward?”
“No,” Jasmine and Clara said at the same time.
“That doesn’t make you a coward, not at all. You had your reason for doing that and I’m sure he would understand that once you both actually get to talk.” Clara says, eyes going soft.
“And what could that be? What reasons do you think would be enough to justify my rejecting him so coldly?” I asked, already knowing the answers myself, but for some reason I wanted to hear it from someone else, to hear if it really does sound viable and not just a poor excuse and an attempt to cozy up to him if I actually get to say it in front of Easton.
“That you rejected him because you were thinking about his safety. You said it yourself, Eleanor. Just tell him that. Tell him the truth. Even if you hadn’t known about him back then and should have jumped at the first chance you had at freedom. You rejected him because you were of the idea that he wouldn’t be able to withstand Zane’s wrath. That it wouldn’t be worth it to have him lose everything just to take you out of this hell hole. That is the truth and you will feel better and lighter if you told him just that.” Clara advised, and I let out a shaky exhale.
“And trust me, guys go crazy at the thought of the one they like actually thinking of or in your case, having thought of them. Trust me, he wouldn’t think twice before growing all soft and swearing his devotion to you!” Jasmine chipped in with a smile on her face.
I look between the both of them, chewing on my bottom lip, “So what if this actually works and he decides to join us, you know that is just going to be me using him to achieve my goals while he would believe I genuinely want to work things out between us while at it? Because don’t get me wrong, I still have no interest in mating with this guy. What if at some point he picks up on that and just dumps the whole thing, jeopardizing the whole mission? Wouldn’t that send us back to square one? You know we have to think about all these possibilities no matter how unlikely they may seem, right?”
“Yes, and no, Eleanor.” Jasmine started, “We’re aware that we have to think of all these possibilities, but that would never happen if you just continue to play it smart on your side. Gain his trust, stick with him and give him no reason to doubt you and get him to train you. That way you can train us too, so we won’t just wait around for you. I mean, I know a thing or two about fighting but I haven’t wielded a sword or morphed into my wolf in years, so I would be a little rusty, with your help, I could ignite that spark again, and with Clara doing the same, we wouldn’t be entirely useless when the time comes,” she explains.
Clara hums in agreement, looking at me as she spoke, “You know we were never opportune to train back at Blue Rock pack, so I know nothing about fighting just like you, but with the training you would hopefully be getting, you can train us too, we will follow your steps all the way and just hope it’s enough.” At the end of their words, there was a bit of relief at the thought of our plan tying together so well but I also realize that I couldn’t shake the ever-growing weight on my shoulder. The responsibility of our revenge and escape was resting so heavily on my shoulder that I could almost feel it take form, crushing me.
“Fine, you both have solid points and I am relieved that it seems to be all coming together, but, what if he rejects the idea, not wanting to be a part of this? What if… what if I can’t even get close enough to him to pitch the idea or even get the training as you have suggested?”
“Oh Eleanor, would you please stop being so pessimistic? And trust me, you will,” Jasmine affirms with a smirk finding its way into her face. That mischievous smirk that only appears when someone has something so planned out that nothing can shake them off it. Jasmine probably had something giving her such a level of confidence and it looked like she was about to spill it all.
“How sure are you?” Clara asked, taking the words from my mouth.
“A hundred percent sure, because Easton Dawson has just one person he despises at the moment and I know you all know who that person is,” she says, looking from Clara to me.
“Yes, but really why does he hate Zane? Is there some kind of history between them?” I asked.
“More or less…” Jasmine shrugs.
“Kind of the way your history with Zane goes too, but it’s a different story with Easton. Easton hates when the weak are being bullied, especially when someone is threatening his pack” she said, but Clara and I both had puzzled looks on our faces, “What I’m trying to say is that Zane had tried to threaten Easton sometime in the past but it didn’t end well for him as Easton was neither a pussy, nor was he weak. Since then, there’s been an enmity between them, so thick that either of them probably wouldn’t be surprised if the other wages war on them tomorrow. Especially Easton, who knows how Zane can get if he doesn’t get his way, so he is ready for whatever it might be that Zane would bring. Easton has also always been strongly against Zane’s ways, the needless wars, killings and slave trading. So trust me, once he finds out that you want to kill Zane, he wouldn’t think twice before accepting your alliance with him.”
She took a step closer to me before placing her hand on my shoulder. “I mean, why wouldn’t he accept to train you when you would be his eyes and ears, you would be his informant, letting him in on the happenings within the Blood Moon pack. He wins the war and he wins you too,” she says, ending it with a wink.
I had another question right at the tip of my tongue but was interrupted by the loud ringing of the alarm bell, informing us our short break was over.
“We will talk more about this when we get the opportunity to meet again, all three of us,” Jasmine promised as she bade us goodbye, already leaving in hurried steps. She suddenly stopped halfway and called out to me, “Think carefully about what I said, roommate. See you in our room later tonight with your answers,” and with that, she was out of sight.
Clara said her goodbye after a while too and I was left alone with my thoughts. Most of them are unsure, while the others are more on the positive side, wanting to see an end to this and come out victorious. Even though I couldn’t help the pessimistic thoughts that plagued my mind, I did hope that whatever this would end in would be a victory for me and freedom for my friends. I couldn’t ask for anything else.