The Rebel's Tamer

CHAPTER 4

Chanelle arrived at the villa, not so far from their house but not near enough for her father to put her in surveillance. It's no surprise that the place is palatial. Cars can only be parked far from the main gate, it would take a few minutes to walk through the large front garden before it.

The place is guarded as expected, and guests seemed to have been background checked before getting invited. She wonders what made them invite her, she's like a prey inside the enemies' territory, but she's looking for fun so it should be okay. Living with a monster at home made her fearless.

"Don't you know me?"

A reason for suspicion. As Chanelle gets nearer, she starts hearing a commotion. A blonde woman loses her poise, as she fights with the robust guards which halted her from moving forward.

A good seven people are now queuing, losing their shits as the time goes by.

Chanelle could only talk to herself in her head, her best friend Agatha was not invited, she wonders why. The reason she's here is to get away from the toxic environment in her house, and for free drinks. At the back of her mind, she hoped no one would dare to flirt with her, she just wanted her peace even though it's obvious this is not the right place to find it.

"You weren't invited, Miss, the family doesn't allow gate-crashers. Please leave quietly and let others pass through," the guard calmly said.

"How would you know that!? I am friends with the Roswells! Let me in!" the woman totally lost it, slamming a designer bag to the guard's chest who seemed unaffected by it.

Chanelle heard it clearly and suddenly felt hesitant, she doesn't have the invitation with her, and with her reputation, she might not get in by the guards' subjective judgements.

A deep breath, and gracefully walks towards the entrance where the guards were blocking the way. She thought maybe her charm is enough for her to get in. Instantly, people in line glanced at her with inspection, probably wondering how she got the confidence to enter.

"I-I'm sorry, I forgot my invi—"

"Welcome, Miss Chanelle Miranda."

The guards smiled at her and cleared the way for her to enter, which surprised her. They knew her, or at least they knew that she's invited by just looking.

"How could you let her in? You didn't even check her invitation?" she heard the woman complaining again, same with frustrated groans from others.

A fast walk towards the heart of the party is what Chanelle thought of, before the guards could change their minds and throw her out.

Oh to be far from home she thought. Her father let her attend the party, she was confused as she heard his father's political party is in opposition to the party that the Roswells openly support. She then realized that that was the point. When her father said…"Be friends with the Roswells."

As if she would follow that!

Still, she did not bother disagreeing, she wanted to flee after all. Maybe the party will fuel her mind to write something controversial in her blog, that's the best case scenario.

Roswell's affairs? Relationships?

That's fun.

But wouldn't that be too obvious to tell that it's her who publicized it being the enemy? Is this invitation a trap?

She let out a harsh breath as she saw the mansion and its lights. Outside is covered with grassy ground, some strangers were outside and Chanelle tried to familiarize some faces. Good thing her heels are not lengthy, two inches is enough since she's already quite tall. Gosh, she walked so much!

Not minding the people, she entered the mansion. There, she was welcomed with not so many people which immediately brought her anxiety. Did she come too early? or the guests are really few?

Subconsciously, her issues make her feel inferior, not that everybody else in the place is clean in the first place, it was just too unfamiliar for her to care less.

Some appear to be friends, there are also familiar faces which she had shared glances, small nods, and fake smiles with.

"You came, I thought your father killed you already…" The girl paused and laughed with her equally annoying friend.

The night is young, but this woman surely gets on her nerves like a child bothering a teen to play with them.

"I mean…of course, not dead–dead. But my Dad always mentions you being a sample of what I should not be, and a person I should never surround myself with."

The girl dramatically shook her head, expressing disagreement with what she herself said, but was obviously sarcastic.

"Why talk to me then? You must be interested in what you'll learn from me."

The girl scoffed, and couldn't believe in what she heard. "What? No way, why would I want to be influenced by someone like you?"

Chanelle raises a brow and moves forward making the girl flinch. "Want me to show you an example of how a rebel child behaves?" she whispered.

A panic blinks, and Chanelle has her peace again.

"Thanks," she said when a waiter passed by and gave her a drink.

She surveyed the place, until someone blocked her view.

"Good evening, Chanelle," the man spoke.

She knew this person, not by name but because she saw him once at the bar, the one who made her terrified of being transparent.

"Hi?"

The man chuckled. "A question? We're glad you came, I'm the one who suggested inviting you," he proudly said and smirked.

We?

It took her a couple of seconds before realizing. A Roswell?

Blood rushed to her head and panic instantly grew in her system, she couldn't speak a word, she wasn't prepared for the encounter, she could've practiced how she'd react. What is she supposed to do? Especially with the fact that this person seems to know her, and considering that this is their second meeting, it would be obvious if she'll act differently than the first one.

The man again broke the silence and chuckled. "Calm down, I'm not an enemy. I'm sure you know what I mean by that."

Chanelle raised her head and met the gaze of a Roswell, she sure knows what this person is talking about, but she's smart and she doesn't want to put her guards down.

On the other hand, chilling isn't so bad, so she breathes calmly this time.

"Who are you?" she asked, shamelessly.

The man was stunned in amusement.

"Ethan, cousin of the famous Vaughn Roswell. You know him, right?"

Now that she sees his face clearly, he's definitely a Roswell, and she heard his name too, she heard he's the nicest, and they aren't wrong based on her observation.

Chanelle diverted her eyes to the crowd, to which in her surprise, had them as their focus of attention.

"You're the nicest Roswell, but I guess people are surprised to see you being nice to me as well," she said casually.

In her peripheral vision, she saw how Ethan followed her gazes.

"I thought you completely have no idea who I am, I almost got offended. Would you like to sit?"

She didn't answer, she just followed him somewhere until they reached a corner on the second floor. She couldn't believe she is this trustful. What if he turned out to be a bad person and she followed her all the way upstairs willingly? She brushed off the idea when she saw people, of course, there is more to what she just saw downstairs. There are couches around, the lights are dimmed, the atmosphere is cozy, and the people here are more of private individuals who are here for business and not for fun.

"Tan, Vaughn is looking for you," a man suddenly approached Ethan before they could even have a seat.

"He misses me already?" Ethan jokes but gestures to her to sit.

The other Roswell frowned, she knows this person, the only brother of the famous Vaughn. He looked clueless with Ethan's reply, was he not supposed to joke? Why are they so serious? She thinks.

"Oh." The man noticed her, and gave this expression saying he knew something was up, but Chanelle didn't understand the gesture, she felt more uncomfortable.

Until they had to leave her alone, which to her honesty, she preferred.

"Excuse me for a minute, I'll be back with Vaughn so you can meet him."

She panicked. "Oh…T-There's no—" need to do that. She couldn't finish her sentence, the two alpha men just disappeared from her sight.

Good thing, a waiter appeared and that's when she calmed herself down through drinking.

Now how the heck should I introduce myself? If the cousin and brother brought me shivering, what more with him? f**k it, Chanelle. Think!

Should I leave?

Chanelle raised her head in frustration, that's when she noticed three handsome men approaching her.

Damn. I should've left when I got the chance.

There, hers and Vaughn's eyes met.

And indeed, it brought her more than shivers, beyond dilemma.