Calhoun was quiet for a few seconds, then he burst into laughter.
"You crack me up, Gigi." He said. "Don't joke around in such a manner."
Gigi never felt so humiliated all her life. How could she confess her feelings to him and all he could do was laugh and tell her not to joke around? Was he that emotionless? Did he not care about anything in life?
"Go to your room." He ordered. "Go and think about your life, you are too naive for this type of talk."
Gigi held onto his arm as he tried to walk away. Calhoun stopped and turned to look at her. He knew the girl had a soft spot for him, but she was his cousin and not even a loved one. Calhoun could boldly say he hated Damita. She was too ambitious and was willing to do anything for the throne.
"Calhoun, I swear, I love you." She confessed, teary-eyed. "Don't push me away! I'm nothing like my mother, I'm a different person."
Calhoun chuckled. "Little girl, go to sleep." He said again and turned to resume his walk. Gigi pulled him but ended up pulling his robe off. Calhoun got pissed. He raised his hand to hit her but she moved back in fright.
"Don't make me punish you for harassing the king," Calhoun growled. "Now, get away."
Gigi shrank back. She was thoroughly embarrassed and she felt like the ground would open and swallow her.
"I'm sorry! I only wanted to be close to you, I never meant to get you angry." She begged.
Calhoun didn't answer her. He continued walking towards his chamber.
"Please, I will do anything to make it up!"
Calhoun finally stopped. "Anything?"
"Yes," Gigi answered sharply. She felt like she was finally able to get to him.
"Go to the kitchen, prepare me a soup with nice vegetables and meat." He said. "Make the soup yourself."
Gigi froze on the spot. She? To cook? She had never made any meal.
Calhoun knew that she would either have someone else do it or she wouldn't bother with it. He hoped that it would be the latter. He couldn't help but want to figure out what they were doing here at such a critical moment.
Gigi found her way to the kitchen. It was full of servants and the place made her feel disgusted.
"Listen to me everyone, the king asked me to prepare soup for him." She announced. "So, I'm going to select two of you for that job while I oversee it. Got it?"
Nobody answered. They were looking at each other, wondering who she was.
"For those who don't know, I am the king's cousin." She announced. "So you!" She pointed to Nichole. "And... You!" She pointed to another maid. "Both of you will make the soup. Come in, let's get cooking. Vegetable soup with meat! He doesn't want it spicy."
Nichole called the other maid and they took out the ingredients for the soup and laid them out for her. Gigi stared at them. The only thing she could recognize was meat and salt. She didn't know what the other things were.
"We need vegetables." She said, trying to not touch anything. "You, cook the meat to be slightly undone."
"Uh, that's not how we prepare the king's meal." The maid said.
"Do what I say," Gigi screamed. The maid nodded quickly. She washed the meat and placed the meat in a pot and began to boil it.
"You, chop the vegetables and do the rest. I'll come back in thirty minutes."
Nichole stared at her. She shook her head after she had left.
"She doesn't know what to do." She murmured. "Go ahead and do what she wants. If the king asked her to do it, then it wouldn't be an issue if the meal isn't okay. She will either have to confess that she didn't make the meal or accept his harsh remarks."
The other maids laughed.
Gigi returned to meet her mother in her room.
"Mom, I told cousin Calhoun about my feelings." She said,
"What did he say?"
"He laughed and told me to never play like that again," Gigi said. Thinking about it again only made her angry.
"I warned you," Damita said. "It's not as if I didn't say it."
"Mother!" Gigi whined. "You are supposed to help me get him, not stop me."
"Gigi, Calhoun isn't a man you can easily use. If you want to get him to do anything, you have to do it smartly and beat him at his own game of witty words."
"How could one ever beat Calhoun?" Gigi wondered aloud. "It's not like I can force myself on him. He almost hit me when I held his robe."
Damita chuckled. "You don't have to force yourself on him. You can make him force himself on you."
Gigi quietened. "Huh? I don't understand, explain."
"Fool." Damita cursed under her breath. "I wonder how you want to rule with Calhoun if you can't come up with something sinister or at least smart. Something that when he sits to think about it, even if he beats himself to falling for your trap, he will still praise you for setting such a good trap."
Gigi had a hard time understanding what her mother was trying to imply.
"Just be a plain mother. What am I supposed to do?"
"Giorgia!" Damita scolded. "How can you be so stupid? Don't you know how I managed to wed your father?"
"I wasn't there, mama," Gigi said, feeling upset that her mother had mentioned her full name. She hated the fact that it sounded like the female version of Calhoun's servant. She preferred Gigi.
"I have told the story to you, over and over and over again."
"Pardon me for not listening. It was so boring." Gigi said with an eye roll.
Damita exhaled. "Get a drug. Something that induces the urge for sex for werewolves and adds it to his meal. Serve him and watch him eat. Before he gets done, he will lose his mind and have his way with you. You can then use that to get him to do whatever you want."
Gigi thought about it. Although it sounded nice she began to reason the entire event. If Calhoun was as rogue as he was on a normal day, in bed, then she was finished. She could die during the process.
"What if I die?"
"Then you know you died trying to fulfill your goal," Damita said. Since her daughter wanted to be stupid, she was going to use her to get the throne. If Calhoun forced himself on her daughter, she could use it to force him out of the throne.
"Oh, mama! Do you have the drug with you?" Gigi asked. She was getting excited about it too. Damita smirked. She went into her bag to fetch the small vial bottle for her. Sophie placed it in the folds of her dress and thanked her mother heartily.
She returned to the kitchen to find them adding the last ingredients.
"Is it ready?" She inquired.
"Just a little more," Nichole said. "We just have to let it steam for a minute and it'll be perfect. Also, do you think you can choose what plate you wish the soup to be served on for him?"
Gigi was so happy she didn't realize the reason they asked. She hurried to the rack where the plates were kept. After rummaging through, she found the one which she liked and took it out. She was about to bring it when the other maid stopped her.
"Oh no, mi lady! The plates must be washed with water and dried with a clean towel before being used to serve the king just in case someone has previously put something in it."
Gigi thought about it, it seemed very likely to happen. She decided to wash it herself. She washed the plate carefully and thoroughly and then dried it with a piece of a clean towel. Nichole smiled discreetly. How naive she was.
"There my lady, the meal is ready," Nichole announced. "Shall I serve it or do you want to serve him yourself?"
Gigi waved her hand. "It's alright, I will serve it myself. Just help me find the king and tell him that I have taken his meal to his chamber."
Nichole nodded. She pulled the other maid with her away from the kitchen.
Gigi raised the vial bottle and emptied the content into the plate first, before dishing the soup. She placed it in a tray and took out a bottle of wine and placed it beside the plate of soup.
She made her way slowly to Calhoun's chamber. It wasn't empty when she arrived, Calhoun was also in the room with her brother. Gigi's smile faltered when she saw her brother there as well. She knew that Will had an insatiable appetite. He would want to drink the soup. If that would be the case then she would have to ditch her plan as well.
Calhoun did not mind. He intentionally came in with Will so that they could eat the soup together. He knew he couldn't die, so if anything had been done to the soup, it would only harm Will. He was always one step ahead.
"Gigi is such a wonderful lady, isn't she Will?" Calhoun mocked. "She took it upon herself to prepare lunch for the king! Such a humble subordinate."
Gigi felt embarrassed, but she managed to keep a smile on her face. She placed the tray on his table.
"Are there any cups here or shall I fetch some from the kitchen?" She asked softly. Calhoun pointed to his cupboard in response. Gigi made her way to the cupboard and took out two cups.
"Make it three," Calhoun ordered. Gigi gulped. Three? For what? "Also, bring two more spoons from there."
Gigi couldn't disobey so she did as she was told. She placed them on the table. She was about to leave.
"Where to? Come on, dine with me." Calhoun stated. "Dine with me."
Gigi's smile faltered. She also couldn't drink it. She had a bad tolerance for sexual urges. She had rejected her mate since she loved Calhoun and only wanted him.
"No no, I'm fine my king. I have a matter to discuss with my mother." She said sweetly.
"Surely not about a failed plan." He muttered. Gigi chuckled wryly. Was Calhoun a god? How could he easily predict things? "It's alright, you can leave."
It was just Will and Calhoun. "You may go if you want as well."
"Nah, I will rather eat your meal and rile you up," Will said.
Calhoun smirked. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
From the moment Calhoun perceived the smell of the soup, he could tell that there was something wrong with it. He didn't mind what was put in it. What a lot of people didn't know was that he was immune to a lot of poisons and drugs.
They began to drink the soup. Calhoun didn't enjoy the meat since it was overcooked. Yet he managed to eat the soup till the last drop. Will had finished eating and sipped the wine and he immediately began to feel funny. He was feeling hot and he could feel his werewolf fighting to come out. Why, it was broad daylight, how come he was feeling uncontrollable?
Calhoun only satisfied his prediction. Gigi had put something into the soup and from the way Will reacted, he knew that it was a drug that released a primal urge.
Will couldn't control it anymore so he left the chamber. Calhoun smirked and relaxed in his chair. Gigi was a fool, just like her mother.
Will had run out of Calhoun's chamber and went straight to his mother's room. He found Gigi crying her eyes out.
"You! What did you do for the meal?!" He demanded. His eyes were glowing and his vision began to change, blur and hazy.
"I didn't know you would be there." She sobbed.
"What... did... you..." He ended the sentence with a loud growl that sounded more like a roar. A piercing scream filled the castle and Calhoun chuckled in his room.