Avenging The Triplet Alphas
Chapter 43

Arielle's POV

Ethan's temper had gotten the best of him and I couldn't fault him. Dealing with the Van Tyson's was a whole lot of work and we were outnumbered in wit and effort as well but it wasn't going to end like this. "We will not take no for an answer, Ethan." Loki slammed his fist on the table, making me jump in surprise. "We came here for one thing and one thing only and we're going to it by any means." "You'll have to get Nia over my dead body then," I watched wide-eyed as Ethan spat out. "And don't think that would happen either."

"The last time I checked, I hadn't left the room yet." I cut in, my voice rising a notch as I sought to get them both to quiet down. "If anyone is to make a final decision, it has to be me, not any one of you."

"Spare me your delusions of grandeur, Arielle," Loki replied curtly. "You're running out of options here and our offer is seemingly being discarded by the both of you, so I have no choice but to move in for the kill." "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, feeling rather confused.

"Our son," He began. "If we can't get you to come back with us, we want to take him with us."

A small gasp escaped my lips as I tried to mask my shock. I had been remotely prepared for this moment, I knew it would come so I wasn't completely fazed by his words but hearing it was a difficult pill to swallow. "Ethan is going nowhere."

"You named our child after this man?" Jonathan cut in, the shock in his voice gave me some sense of satisfaction.

"He stepped up for me when you three left me to die, you have no right to feel aggrieved." I retorted.

"I will not have you taint our child's blood with this usurper." Loki regarded me with an angry expression. "You're coming with us."

"She's not and if you've found it difficult to come to terms with the realization that you've lost, I'm willing to settle this the traditional way." Ethan hurriedly replied before I could say anything.

His ego was going to be the end of him. He was going against everything we agreed on, preferring to engage in a battle of bruised egos with the Van Tyson's, he was playing into their hands and he had no idea about it.

If he went into battle against the Van Tyson's, he would lose when it was all over and it would end with him dead and everyone in our pack suffering the same fate. The Van Tyson's were that ruthless and they took no prisoners. I couldn't let that happen, not when I had a grand plan to settle this without any bloodshed.

A few weeks after we found out the Van Tyson's was coming, I was fortunate enough to meet a witch here in the pack. She hadn't been in practice for over a decade but she still commanded a great deal of power, one talk led to another and she assured me she had a way to solve my problems without the need for war. She gave a book passed down from the great witches from her coven, the Book of Impossible Tasks written by the first witch of the North. No supernatural creature had ever been able to pass through the hurdles in the book without failing at some point.

The witch, Faye, had assured me this would work and after going through the tasks in it, I was confident that they would fail. It would be beyond anyone's wildest dreams if they succeeded but the odds were against them and I couldn't wait to see them fail and return home in shame.

All I had to do now was to get them to accept my offer and given how desperate they were, I knew they would take this chance.

"I have a better way to handle this situation." I began, forcing them to turn their attention toward me. I cleared my throat as I relaxed into my chair, hoping to look as uninterested as I could be.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Elijah snapped, not bothering enough to hide the irritation in his voice.

"Have you by any chance heard about a mystical book filled with challenges?" I began, looking between them.

"What does this have to do with any of these?" It was Loki's turn to ask and as always, he always sounded calm.

"To avoid the unnecessary bloodshed for my sake and to spare the lives of the innocent, I came up with a plan that would benefit all parties involved."

"The suspense is not ending anytime soon, is it?" Ethan eventually spoke up. He looked just as confused as the Van Tyson's brothers and I couldn't blame him.

No one knew of this plan beforehand. I had kept it from everyone including Ethan. He was visibly pissed as well but he was doing a good job of covering his emotions.

"A dear friend of mine was kind enough to reveal to me the mysteries surrounding the mystical Book of Impossible Tasks," I stated. "And after going through the contents of the book, I'm rather convinced that it was going to work." "Impossible tasks?" Loki asked me, wearing a scowl on his face. I snickered, I couldn't wait to see his reaction when everything dawns on him.

"My proposed deal is, if you've come here to take me and our child back at any cost, you have to prove to me how desperate you want us. If you fail to complete the challenges I'll set for you three under the required time frame, you'll leave here and never return." I started and the room fell eerily silent.

"What happens if we succeed?"

"I'll have no other choice but to go back with you." I held the gazes of the Van Tyson's.

"I don't think this-"

"There are no ifs, buts, or second chances," I cut Jonathan short. "My decision remains final and you have to pick an option within the next 24 hours or it would mean you've wasted your time coming here."

I watched on in silence as the Van Tyson's debated amongst themselves using the mind link. The occasional frowns and slight shake of the head didn't deter me from my earlier prediction.

They would end up picking what I wanted. At this point, it was inevitable.

"We've come to an agreement concerning your decision and we have decided to try out these impossible tasks to bring you back home with us."

Jackpot.

"Your first challenge will be communicated to you all in the next 12 hours," I replied smugly. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I suggest you make your way back to the guest house and await further instructions." Loki nodded and shared a look with his brothers before they proceeded to walk out of the dining room.

I heaved a huge sigh of relief, that had gone better than I thought it would.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Arielle?" Ethan asked me in a low menacing tone, he looked outrightly incensed.

"I was trying to help just like we both agreed it would happen." I tried to pacify him.

Ethan was often too strong-headed for his good and he was not seeing the bigger picture here. For someone as smart as he was, he was letting himself get played by the Van Tyson's who had nothing to lose.

"This wasn't what we agreed on, not in the slightest bit. You undermine my credibility and position in front of the Van Tyson's and I'm certain that whatever caution they might have had when approaching me was out the window by now." I had never seen him this angry in a long time.

"I was trying to stop a war that would've hurt both sides," I began. "I won't apologize for trying the better route.

"The better route?" I sighed as he scoffed. "They can directly negotiate terms with you without regarding me, is that the better route, or perhaps you mean the new plan you sprouted out of nowhere without telling me previously?"

"I didn't know it would work and I didn't know how to tell you about it either, you would've discarded it the moment I brought it up," I said, sounding defensive.

"Because it would've been the best thing to do!" He yelled at my face and I instinctively moved a few steps back. "The Book of Impossible Tasks has been redundant for many decades now, I wasn't even born the last time it was in use. How certain are you that the tasks aren't old-fashioned already?"

"Because I picked them myself and there's no way they're coming out of this successfully," I assured him.

Ethan opened his mouth to speak but he snapped it shut.

I wished he would give me the benefit of doubt and let me take care of the Van Tyson's, I was the best person to handle this situation, no matter how much he might refuse to believe it.

"All I want is for you to trust me, just this once." I began softly. "I want to do this and I can't do it without you."

"I don't want you to make a mistake, we have no room for that."

"War would be the greatest mistake, believe me. This is the best route we can take and once they fail, they'll be gone for good."