CHAPTER 10

　　" Your Highness! The fourth king has sent you an invitation for his daughter's birthday and...", Raven's personal assistant couldn't manage to spill out the rest of the words. He was hesitant and afraid to pronounce what was written there.

　　Raven who was seated on his silver throne looked up to see the red envelope. Making a deep frown, he accepted the letter and opened it all by himself. The dragon kingdom was merged into four separate kingdoms. However, they had only one supreme king among the other Kings and it was Raven. His relationship with other kings was competitive. Everyone fought hard to be the supreme king but ultimately, they had to bow down in front of Raven's power.

　　At the end of the reading letter, Raven's face was wrapped in darkness. He didn't expect that the fourth king would be having such a ridiculous request. He asked Raven to appear with his new found mate. It was no better than an indirect insult. The fourth king wanted to provoke him simply although the whole kingdom knew that his relationship with his mate wasn't so solid.

　　" Rubbish!! How dare they mock me?", Raven growled, snapping close to the letter. Their intention was obvious since the event didn't seem so important to arrive with his mate. Raven's assistant a.k.a personal adviser, Odin came to bow in front of him, suggesting him carefully,

　　" Think about it,My Lord! It's just a banquet! If you take her with you, they won't be able to make fun of you. It's just.. win-win for all of us."

　　Raven gritted his teeth silently, his one hand crumpling the paper. Odin was right about his suggestion but he hated that woman. How could he ask her to be his companion?

　　Raven went back to sit on his throne. Upon resting one hand on the rattle, he gave his command angrily,

　　" Tell that woman to be prepared!"

　　___________

　　" So, you are his woman now?", Kayla asked in a weak voice, her round eyes turning watery. Alessia was combing her hair when she just heard her. Her hair was still damped with water as if she had just come out of the shower. Staring back at Kayla's face through the mirror, Alessia asked back nervously,

　　" Why do you ask that?"

　　Then her eyes switched to fall on her neck in where Raven bit her during their passion. Dragons liked to bite on their partners whenever they were excited. Although Kayla was still very young, she was old enough to understand the intimate relationship between a man and a woman.

　　Alessia sighed heavily, getting up from her stool,

　　" Kayla! It's not what you think. No one will ever take the place of your brother in my heart. It's just..a deal..to have an heir..."

　　Kayla was still very innocent. In her eyes, Alessia shouldn't have been with Raven at all. She sobbed sadly, asking for her words,

　　" Promise?"

　　Alessia was tongue-tied again as Kayla could be very emotional sometimes. Since it was the truth, she gave Kayla her words,

　　" Yes!! I..will never be his woman..not in this life.."

　　A knock from the door happened to interrupt their conversation. Alessia raised her voice, furrowing at the door slightly,

　　" Yes??"

　　A feminine voice replied politely,

　　" Miss, the lord has sent a dress for you. He said that there would be a banquet tonight."

　　Alessia became silent for a while. She actually never thought that Raven would bother to take her in a gathering. Still hesitating, she allowed the maid unwilling,

　　" Come inside!"

　　The maid pushed the door open with a big plate. In a moment, the red sparkling dress caught their eyes. It was shinning and expensive, absolutely not suited to wear as a slave. Alessia couldn't understand why he would be so kind all of a sudden. Was it because of the sex?

　　Kayla came forward first to look down at the cloth. She gasped when she realized that those weren't stones but diamonds that glittered crazily. The maid reminded her again before leaving, secretly looking at the gown with jealousy,

　　" My lord wants to take you somewhere today. He wants you to get prepared before 7. Keep it in mind."

　　Alessia blurted suddenly, unable to keep down her curiosity,

　　" But where are we going?"

　　The maid couldn't suppress her jealousy anymore. She thought that she was allowed to bully Alessia just like everyone else in the castle. The maid sneered back at her instead of replying,

　　" Who are you to ask so many questions? You are already fortunate enough to make an appearance even after being a slave. Yet you are complaining?"

　　Alessia bit her lips hard and didn't question further as the maid walked off arrogantly. Kayla wanted to chase the woman, infuriating,

　　" That girl.. how dare she..."

　　" Let her go, Kayla! She is right in other ways!", Alessia cut her off with a bitter smile. Her mate didn't even respect her as a human being. How could she expect others to treat her nicely?

　　The expected evening came with a chilling air around. The weather wasn't particularly warm that evening. It would take a long while in the carriage to reach the venue.

　　Alessia was seated in her room, waiting for the call. She dressed nicely to avoid any argument. She learnt the harsh truth that it was useless to fight against the king when he held the power over everyone in the kingdom.

　　Odin came on the door, knocked before speaking out loud,

　　" Miss! The lord is waiting in the yard. Please come out now!"

　　Alessia stood up with a heavy sigh. She wished that she could stop going there. When she immersed herself from the stairs, the whole castle was in awe. She looked nothing close to a slave. The custom made red dress adorned her body beautifully. Even her small bump couldn't be noticed under the veil of the gown. The maids had multiple comments about her but they couldn't ignore the fact that she was the first woman who was fortunate to accompany the Lord in a grand banquet. In the past, Raven didn't take any woman with him even though he liked a few of them. It was definitely a shock to everyone especially to Helena who was fuming.

　　The maids all sent her envious glares as she walked past them to reach the yard. From a distance, she could spot the king barely. Once they became close to each other, Raven's eyes stayed stuck on her, mesmerized by her beauty. The twitch in his pants started but he looked away reluctantly. It was surprising to realize how much he reacted around her. Naturally, he lost his interest after having the first check. Only with her, he had the opposite reaction.

　　Raven spoke to her in a cold voice,

　　" You are going to meet the other kings today. Keep your mouth shut if you want to live. Don't make yourself miserable in front of them."

　　Alessia hummed softly, looking down at her feet as she began to realize the importance of this meeting. After she looked up at him, she was momentarily shaken by his handsome face. It was rare to see Raven dressed up so beautifully. The dragons in the kingdom always stayed half naked,loved to show off their muscular body. Raven was wearing black robe today with various ornaments on his massive figure. He was looking like those greek gods with a powerful aura.

　　Alessia's heart skipped a beat but she blamed it for the mate bond and swallowed hard, keeping her eyes down always. Upon noticing no carriage nearby, she asked quietly,

　　" Where is the carriage?"

　　Raven replied, looking up at the sky,

　　" We are flying today. The sky is dark already. It may rain later on. We have to arrive there as early as possible."

　　Alessia looked up at the sky and her face turned rigid. Her lips trembled together in fear and suddenly shouted out loud,

　　" NO!!!! We can't!! We..we can't.. please.."