The Alpha's Drakonian Mate

CHAPTER 7: THIS MEANS WAR!

Savannah’s POV 

Just an hour ago, I was so confident of our master plan of making Xavier fall for Tia. I envisioned the scene in my mind, and it all flowed so smoothly. Tia, dressed in an elegant princess gown, appears in front of Xavier and seeing the beautiful, confident and powerful woman she is; he would fall head over heels for her at first sight. Tia would slowly fall for Xavier, who would turn out to be a good man under the bad boy disguise and everything would be all right in all our worlds. 

But sadly, the reality was much, much different from my perfect fantasy. As soon as Tia appeared wearing her ‘seductress’ costume a while ago, I realized that our plan was not going to go as smoothly as I would have liked; or at all. 

“How is this? Better?” I risked a glance at Tia as she appeared wearing yet another costume and sighed. As I expected, it was no better than the last three. This time, it was a puffy pastel pink gown that clashed with her red hair so badly that I couldn’t help but cringe. Uh huh. Even I knew that pink didn’t go well with red hair and I wasn’t even a redhead. Tia, who normally stayed the hell away from anything pink, now decided pink is her favorite color? Really? Where had my confident, sensible bestie gone and who was this confused mess standing in her place?!

I raised my brows at her, not saying anything, and her shoulders drooped in defeat.

“Damn it! What the hell does one wear to entice a stupid dragon? Should I just cover myself in gold or something?” She groaned, and I bit my lips to keep from laughing. 

“Tia... Just relax. You are trying too hard.”

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, smearing the pink mascara all over. I didn’t dare to mention that and set her off now that she was already a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Seeing her struggle like this, the guilt in my chest became heavier, and I felt like the most selfish, shittiest friend alive. But honestly, I wasn’t trying to throw her to the wolf, or in this case, dragon, to save my own ass.

“You know Tia, Xavier isn’t as bad as you think.”

“What? From where did this come from suddenly?”

“I have to tell you. Because I didn’t agree with your crazy plan just to save myself. I would never do that to you. You know that, right?”

“I know, babe. You have always looked out for me even when I was on the path of self destruction. I will always trust you even if I don’t trust myself.”

“Then you have to know that I wasn’t just hoping that Xavier would fall for you to let him off my back. I was hoping you would love him too and we would all be happy.”

“Why would you wish that evil on me? Me and that stupid lizard? Eek!” She shuddered, and I raised my brows. 

“You have seen him, right? Isn’t he gorgeous?”

“Well, that he is. But he is an asshole!”

“I have a feeling he isn’t.“

“Huh. What do you mean?”

“I mean, I have always gotten a dangerous vibe from the dragon king. I knew that he was bad news. But it hasn’t been like that with Xavier. I knew that he was going to bring trouble but I didn’t feel as if he was bad.” I sighed. “My instincts tell me that he is a good guy beneath all that sass, and I wonder if he is also helpless in all this. What if he is just a pawn in his dad’s game? What if he just needs a reason to break out of his father’s hold? That’s the reason why I asked you to seduce him, hoping it would lead to a happily ever after for you too,” I confessed. 

“Oh, Anna… You haven’t changed even a bit. Just the hopeless romantic as ever. You have read too many of those stupid books where the heroine tames the bad boy. Not all princes are fairy tale material, my crazy bookworm!”

“It’s not like that. It’s just what my instincts are telling me and they have never led me astray so far.”

“Alright. So let’s say Xavier is a good guy. I still don’t understand why I should have to love him. If it happens, let’s deal with that then. For now, let’s stick to the plan and focus on making him forget you. And yes, I will never think you are sacrificing me for your happiness or any bullshit like that. Got it?”

“If you say so,” I said doubtfully.

“Forget it for now. Let’s focus on the current crisis first. Help me choose an outfit before I lose my nerve and just decide to run screaming.”

“As I said, relax and be yourself. You are an awesome girl and if he has any sense, he would love you as you are. Just let him see the real Tia.”

“Huh? Then should I go wearing a T-shirt and jeans?” She assured, rolling her eyes. 

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

Tia narrowed her eyes at me in question before they widened with a devilish gleam. 

“I think I know what to wear!”

Before I could even respond, she zoomed out of the door and I stood there wondering what was it going to be this time. Then I remembered what she had tried so far and decided that it can’t get any worse than that.

“You wanted the real Tia and here she is!” 

I looked up, bracing myself to face yet another fashion disaster. But as my gaze fell on Tia, my jaws hit the floor. Woah! 

All the ridiculous makeup was washed off her face, showing off her adorable freckles. Just a bit of mascara on her eyes and pink lip gloss on her lips and she looked every bit the natural beauty she was. Her red hair was freed from the confines of the pompous updo fashion she had tried to tame it into. And now it flew wildly, framing her face perfectly. 

She was wearing an emerald green blouse that made her green eyes pop and she paired it with a black legging. A pair of shiny black boots with heels completed her outfit. As she stood there, raising her brows at me confidently, I felt my lips stretch into a grin. This was my Tia. The spitfire of a girl I loved with all my heart. 

Try to resist her, Xavier! I challenge you!

“Atta girl! Go slay that dragon!” I cheered.

With renewed confidence about our plan, we both marched over to Tristan’s office. Tristan and Xavier were supposed to have their democratic meeting there, but they would most probably be holding their pissing contest right now. Men!

As we reached, I turned to Tia, and she nodded at me resolutely. We got this, girl! Once we entered the room, I did a quick scan of the room, trying to access the situation. As expected, Tristan and Xavier were glaring at each other vehemently while the rest of the officials sat bewildered. Poor blokes were probably wondering why their rulers were so cranky all of a sudden.

Right then,Tristan stiffened as if sensing my presence and turned to me; the hostile glare vanishing off his face to be replaced by a loving smile. I was about to reciprocate the sweet gesture when Xavier also turned to me. Just as with Tristan, his eyes softened as his gaze met mine and I felt the urge to go hide in a corner. He was looking at me with a fond smile, as if we weren’t practically strangers. Focus, Savannah, focus! It’s time for Tia to shine!

I turned to Tia, ignoring the burning gaze of the dragon prince. She grinned at me before stepping forward and striking a pose, gathering the eyes of everyone in the room.

I sneaked a glance at Xavier, expecting to see him drooling over the beauty in front of him. I grinned as I saw Xavier glancing at Tia but to my dismay, after a cursory glance, his eyes moved past her, dismissing her just like that. The grin froze on my face as his gaze slid past her and landed back on me. His lips crooked up in a seductive smirk, and he raised his brows at me. I could literally see all my carefully laid plans dropping on the floor with an audible c***k. Feeling helpless and pissed off, I stood there cursing Xavier to the hell and back. You were supposed to fall in love with my bestie the moment you glance at her. How dare you dismiss her as if she was just another nobody? 

I didn’t know if I was pissed off at him for spoiling our plan or offended that he didn’t even take a second glance at her. Tia looked absolutely gorgeous. Even if he was besotted with me as he acted to be, he was a man and he should have sent her an appreciative glance or two. Why the hell didn’t he? 

I furrowed my brows as a thought occurred to me. What if he realised what I was up to? Was it even possible? Nope. It was just between me and Tia. There was no way he could know about it. Dismissing the thought as my paranoia, I turned to Tia. All my hopelessness vanished at the moment I saw her expression. With her green eyes narrowed, fire almost sparking from them and her lips pursed into a determined frown, she looked like a woman with a mission. I knew that expression all too well. This meant our plan was still on. This was just a challenge for Tia until now. But now, it was a war, and Xavier had no idea what he had unleashed. The game is yet to begin, Xavier...