I took a deep breath after reaching my decision. I will tell him the truth. He deserves to know.
I show him my phone and he reads Roslyn’s message. After he’s done, he looks at me and questions, “Who is Audrey?”1
“Gamma Riley’s sister,” I answer.
Albert becomes confused. “How will she be helping you and Roslyn? And what’s the plan?”
I took a deep breath and exhale slowly. The moment of truth is finally here. I start from the scratch, “Roslyn and I want to empower women by training them, we want them to be strong, we want them to be able to defend themselves. And so, Roslyn came up with a plan. We will go to every pack in the world and convince the leaders to start training their female pack members.”4
“What if the leaders don’t get convinced?” Albert asks. It’s no secret that we live in a patriarchal world. There are men who believe in equality but also there are men who don’t want women to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with them. These male chauvinists want to exert their so called “superiority” on the women. And Roslyn and I are exactly planning to break this “superiority”.2
“Then, we’re going to challenge them.”16
Albert’s eyes go wide in shock. When he returns to a calm state, he asks, “How?”
This time, my eyebrows rise in astonishment. I didn’t expect him to react in such a restful manner. “Since Roslyn, Audrey and I have undergone the same training that the pack leaders do, we will be able to give them a tough fight. It will be their choice who they want to fight with. But there’s a condition though, if they choose me then they’ll have to send their Beta to fight with me. Same condition will apply to Roslyn and Audrey as well.”1
Albert keeps quiet for a while. But when he speaks, he surprises me, “That’s a brilliant plan.”8
“You think so?”
“Yeah.”
I give out a nervous chuckle. “When I started telling you about Roslyn’s plan, I thought that our conversation would go downhill but I’m really happy that our conversation is going well.”
He places his hands on my shoulders as a comforting gesture and tells me, “I trust you and I completely support you.”
I hug him. A tear escapes my eyes. “Thank you for believing in me.” He rubs my back in a soothing manner.
When we pull apart, he wipes away my tear and he says, “Thanks for telling me the truth.”
I smile at him.1
“So, how did Lancelot and Steve react to Roslyn’s plan?” He asks.
“Well…I haven’t told them yet.”
“Why haven’t you told them?”
“I know that they won’t take the news well so I’m not planning on telling them,” I say.3
“But they will eventually come to know when you carry out Roslyn’s plan. And getting to know from someone else would be worse than getting to know from you.”
I think over his words. He’s right. If Lance comes to know about Roslyn’s plan from someone else, then he’ll be hurt that I hid things from him. This will make a dent in our already strained friendship. I want to save our friendship. I want our friendship to return to its previous state. And for that to happen, I will have to tell Lance about Roslyn’s plan.
I look at Albert and nod.
This is a bad idea.1
Albert and I are presently in the sitting room of my pack house with Lance and Steve. Everyone can feel the tense atmosphere in the room. I’m nervous, Lance and Steve are confused and Albert is calm.
“What’s going on?” Lance questions when he looks at the serious faces of me and Albert.
I start, “I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
“I know Roslyn’s plan,” I say and exhale all the anxiety out of my system. There, I said it! I feel a little burden off my chest.
“What’s her plan?” He asks cautiously.
And I tell him. The fire in his eyes continue to increase as I reveal each and every detail to him. When I’m done, Lance takes a deep breath to calm down his anger while Steve remains expressionless.
When Lance is composed, he questions, “Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”
“I know.”
He shakes his head. “No, you don’t. Do you realize that you are happily and willingly walking into Roslyn’s trap?” He asks slowly and dangerously.5
“It’s not a trap,” I tell him with full confidence.
“I still don’t understand, how can you trust her?!” He asks as he explodes in anger.
“You already know my reasons for trusting her,” I tell him.
“I don’t want you to be a part of her plan.”
“I know that but I’m still going to be by her side.”
“You are going to be by her side by leaving my side? You’re going to leave your childhood friend for your new friend?” He questions with utter disbelief.3
“I’m not leaving anyone!” I shout to get my words into Lance’s thick skull.
“Yes, you are!” He exclaims in the same loud voice that I had used just a few seconds ago. “Your actions are enough to convey what your lips won’t. Your decision is clear to everyone present here.”1
I shake my head at him. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“Oh really?” He asks in a challenging tone. “If I ask you to choose between me and Roslyn, who would you choose?”
“I would choose the person who is taking the right stand. And Roslyn is doing just that,” I say cautiously.
“And I’m not? I’m trying to protect you from her!”
“I can protect myself! Don’t you have even a little faith in me?”
“I do!” He exclaims.1
“No, you don’t. If you did then we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”
“Albert, are you okay with Elizabeth being a part of Roslyn’s plan?” Lance asks.
“Yes,” Albert says without missing a beat.
Albert immediate response leaves Lance speechless for a minute or two.
“So, you too trust Roslyn?” Lance questions Albert.
I turn to Albert and wait for his response.
“I don’t trust Roslyn but I trust Elizabeth. She can take care of herself.”11
“I don’t want her to get hurt.”
Albert walks towards Lance and places his hands on his shoulders and says, “She won’t.”
Albert is able to convince Lance and Lance reluctantly agrees with me being a part of Roslyn’s plan while Steve doesn’t need too much convincing, which surprises me.
Suddenly, my phone starts ringing. Roslyn’s name flashes across the screen. “Hey,” I greet her as I answer the call.
“Hey, since Audrey agreed to support us, our team is complete. Now, it’s time to execute our plan. How about this Saturday? You and Audrey can meet me at my pack house and from there we’ll start approaching the pack leaders,” Roslyn suggests.