CHAPTER 20 – 3:29

“Don’t tell me you haven’t missed this.” He grinned, hips moving in a slow tease under the fabric.

Bianca smiled in amusement, “I think I miss you more.” She said.

The following day, Moira stood by Brynn’s side in the study room, where she had been summoned.

“It must be given within 3 to 3:30 pm tomorrow, no more than that. We can’t risk her stumbling into the trial.” Brynn said, handing a wrapped object to Moira,

“We need her late enough to last the night, and early enough to wake up in time for her departure. No mistakes.”

“Yes, master,” Moira said, her eyes furrowed in curiosity.

“I would’ve done it myself, but she trusts you more.” He said, “You don’t have to worry, it would be over before she even begins to suspect.”

It was now past 3 pm, and Moira had started to panic a bit. She had poured the whole contents of the bottle that Brynn had given her into Aurora’s glass of milk, only for Aurora to tell her that she wasn’t going to take milk until early in the morning.

She had served the milk at 3 pm, and now it was 3:17 pm, and Aurora had yet to take even a sip of milk; she didn’t know what to do.

If Aurora doesn’t drink it, she's done for.

Moira paced about in her room when she heard a knock on the door.

She quickly opened the door to find Luke standing on the other side,

“The master demands to know if it’s been done,” Luke said.

“No,” Moira said, “Not yet. She said she can only drink the milk in the morning.”

Sweat started to form on her forehead.

Luke saw her looking worked up, “You have to calm down, she mustn’t sense you panicking, else she would suspect.”

“What do I do, Mr. Luke?” Moira said, terrified. “In less than an hour, the guests are going to be arriving, and I have less than fifteen minutes to give Aurora the drink.”

Luke felt a bit worried for both mother and child; if this didn’t work out as planned, it would be a disaster for both of them. While Aurora would shockingly learn about the world she never thought existed, Moira might be severely punished for not avoiding it from happening.

If Aurora were to suddenly find out about the werewolf world, she would freak out, and that wasn’t what the master wanted.

“Don’t look, but she is heading straight to us right now,” Luke said, seeing Aurora coming. “In the meantime, your presence is needed in the kitchen to supervise the food preparation. Act normal and go.”

Moira bowed her head and headed towards the kitchen.

Aurora, now close to Luke, saw her mother leaving. “Where’s she going?”

“Her attention’s needed in the kitchen.”

“Oh,” Aurora sighed, “I thought we were still going to talk more.” She bit her lip in sadness. She rarely has time to chat with her mum; it’s been one job or another for her mum since she moved into the mansion weeks ago.

“You could talk to me,” Luke said,

“It probably won’t interest you,” She said, “It’s about a certain man of my interest, back at home.” Aurora grinned, shyly bowing her head.

“Really?” Luke’s brows lifted. “Try me. It might also interest you to know that I know a few tricks that might make him want you more.”

“Really?” Aurora’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah.”

“Then I think I need to tell you about him,” She said and stepped inside the room. “Come in, you don’t discuss such matters standing.”

“Okay.” Luke stepped inside the room and shut the door behind him.

“Okay, there’s this boy that I have known since college years.” Aurora started; she hadn’t yet sat down but was heading towards the chair in the room, while Luke followed behind.

Luke saw the covered glass of milk on the table, and an idea struck him as he sat down in a chair.

“Permit me to say this,” He said, “Sorry for cutting you off, but I had heard that one needs to hydrate the gullet in preparation for a lengthy talk.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Aurora waved off, sitting down. “I can handle lengthy conversations even with a dehydrated gullet.”

“Do you not think that it would be wise to be on the safe side at least?” Luke looked at the clock on the wall, which was now 3:25 pm. “It hurts to have a dehydrated gullet. I think the milk would do just fine.” Luke pointed at the milk on the table.

Aurora looked at the glass of milk that her mother had brought for her earlier,

“Okay, fine,” She stood up, “I’ll have to replace this one, it’s been here for a long time.”

“And by the time you get back, I will be gone.” Luke said, “Like you know, we are always busy around here. And besides, it’s been covered, as you can see, still very safe to drink.”

Aurora looked at the glass of milk that was now in her hand.

“Unless you don’t want to hear the tricks that I have to give, you might as well make use of this chance.”

Aurora felt silent for a while, considering what to decide, but Luke smiled at her and seemed interested in her story.

‘It’s just milk after all.’ She thought.

“Fine then,” she took a little drink, “Can we talk now?”

“It would take more than that to hydrate, let’s try the whole glass,” Luke said, “I thought you liked milk?”

“I do,” She said, “But I prefer it in the morning.”

“Tick, tock,” Luke said, staring at the clock. It was now 3:27 pm.  

Aurora drank the whole contents of the glass, and Luke heaved a sigh of relief.

“Okay,” She dropped the empty glass on the table and went to sit down on the edge of the bed.

“So there’s this boy I’ve known since college days.” She continued, “He’s tall and handsome, makes time to visit me at my place of work. We talk almost every time, and I have even gone to visit his place a few times.”

“So this boy,” Luke said, “Has he asked you out? Or confessed his feelings to you?”

“Not…” Aurora yawned, “Not really.” She rubbed her eyes, feeling sleepy.

“So, how are you sure that he feels the same for you?”

“Because… he calls me whenever he needs me…” Aurora’s eyes closed a bit.

“This boy, what’s his name?”

“His…. His name?” Her body slumped a bit.

“Yes, what’s his name?”

“His…. name……is….” A soft thud was heard.

Aurora slumped sideways, her eyes closed, her chest rising slowly as she fell asleep.

“3:29, that was a close one.”

Luke stood up and walked just outside the door, and saw Moira, almost bumping into him.

“I will now tell the master that it has been done.” He said and walked away.