Aiden watched his father during another witchy transmission explain the situation, putting emphasis on the fact that The Devil’s Pact was still valid despite all that had transpired. He admired his dad for what he was doing trying to keep peace between species at all costs and he hoped that he too, one day, would be just as dedicated to the cause.
Once that was done, his mom clapped her hands twice and said, “I say that a party is in order. Karen, care to help me out?”
“Sure,” Aiden’s mate agreed readily, even though she didn’t know what to expect. “I cannot bake to save my life,” she gave her a sheepish smile, “but anything other than that is fine by me.”
Aiden’s mom laughed good-humoredly and then dragged his mate away.
He could hear her tell his mate in a hushed tone, “As the alpha ultra’s mate, it is expected of me to organize such events. But my role doesn’t stop there. We better hurry. Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, my cousin and I will have work to do.”
“Okay,” despite the puzzlement he could hear in his mate’s voice, she didn’t ask any questions regarding the matter.
“Mom’s cousin?” Aiden sported a frown, “As in Karl, the president of the witches’ council? What kind of work do they have to do, dad?”
“They are going to try to convince the witch community of the necessity of not going to war with Blake,” was his dad’s retort.
“Okay,” he drawled as understanding dawned on him. “We can only hope they’ll succeed.”
** ** ** ** ** **
To say Karen was perplexed as to what she should wear would be an understatement. Well, considering she had been swept off her feet by Aiden and brought here, it was no wonder that she didn’t have anything of hers to wear. And she didn’t even have the money to buy anything either.
The perks of being kidnapped, she thought to herself as she followed around Aiden’s mom.
This latter came to a sudden stop and turned to her, “I sense that you are not particularly excited. Maybe you do not realize the importance of the threat that was looming above our heads…”
“It’s not about that,” Karen dismissed the idea at once, “I might not belong to this world, but I am not dumb enough not to realize how worried you all were.”
“Worried is an understatement,” Jasmine laughed good-humoredly. “What’s bothering you then?”
“I have nothing to wear,” she said in a hushed tone as she blushed deeply.
“I take it you didn’t check the closet in your room?” Jasmine smirked.
Karen’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline.
“I remember Aiden saying he was going to send off a servant to buy you a few outfits,” she explained matter-of-factly.
How thoughtful of him, Karen mused fondly.
Jasmine dragged her to the room in which she stayed and, soon enough, she found herself staring at numerous outfits nowhere close to just a few.
“It’s too much. I… I… cannot possibly accept,” she stammered.
“Nonsense,” Jasmine smiled at her. “You’re his fated mate. If he isn’t doting on you, what kind of alpha would that make of him?”
You’re his fated mate, the words echoed in Karen’s mind, and she felt almost as if those very words were changing her present and sealing her future.
** ** ** **
The party was in full swing. Aiden was doing his thing mingling with warriors, that is and enjoying it, until his mate made a glorious entrance.
Okay, there was nothing particularly glorious about it. She just descended the stairs and he had to keep his wolf in check to try not to rip out every present man’s eyes.
The dress she was wearing was far too revealing to his liking. Okay, he liked it, but he would rather she wore something like that behind closed doors.
What was he to do?
He made a beeline to the end of the staircase and held out a hand.
She took it despite the hesitant smile plastered on her face.
“You look ravishing tonight,” he whispered in her ear after kissing the back of her hand.
“I don’t want to trouble you,” she said meekly, which was unlike her, and that unsettled him.
He was ready to defend himself and tell her that she was no trouble at all when her next words, which were spoken rather harshly, struck him, “You can go back to your whore now.”
“Huh?” His eyes bulged.
Where did that come from? And what whore?
He noticed that she furtively looked at one of the warriors Jennifer was her name if he recalled and he went from confused to slightly upset to elated.
Indeed, if his sweet little mate was jealous, that could only mean she did care about him despite claiming the contrary.
“She’s a warrior… anything but a whore, I’ll assure you,” he said placatingly.
“So you say,” she rolled her eyes at him. “So you say.”
“Green looks good on you,” he then complimented her on her outfit.
She clicked her tongue at that, and looked at him with a slightly pained expression, before freeing her hand and disappearing into the crowd.
What was that about? What did he do now?
He realized only too late the double entendre of his words and thus followed after his mate.
Despite being human, Karen could admit that she was starting to feel the mate pull. And she wanted to impress Aiden, and thus picked a lavish green dress that was at the back of the closet. It was strapless, heart-shaped on the bosom section, and flowed down into beautiful cascades that reached her mid-calves.
Absolutely stunning.
For make-up, she asked Jasmine for help. Aiden’s mom was only too happy to provide her with the necessary products.
She realized she was a little bit late, and although she didn’t want to make a dramatic entrance, she had no choice but to go down the staircase, alone, almost as if she was the queen of the party.
One could only imagine her surprise and the feeling of self-loathing that replaced her earlier anticipation and glee when she found Aiden chatting up a beautiful brunette in a little black dress. A girl could never go wrong with a little black dress.
To say Karen was fuming would be the understatement of the century. Why had she even made an effort for him? Yes, her anger was mostly directed at herelf. As she tried to hold back an enraged shout, she plastered on a fake frosty smile.
Aiden must have sensed her or seen her, for when she reached the bottom of the staircase, he was there, waiting for her. She didn’t have enough control on her mouth, it would seem, for she ended up blurting out her inner musings.
And it wasn’t long before Aiden defended the girl he had been with… no surprise there. She was a looker.
And then, cherry on the damn cake, he had the nerve to tell her that green looked good on her. With that, there was but one outcome, she needed to leave.
And go where? Her mind quipped.
I don’t know. Anywhere will be fine. Anywhere but here.