Raine had never attended such a party before. No. she had never attended any party in her life. Thus, when Torak asked her to come, she tensed up.
A party?
"If you don't want to come, you don't need to." Torak chuckled when he watched Raine's shock expression. He had imagined this would be her reaction.
Torak only offered it because he thought, Raine would like to try it since her progress had been good all this time. She had talked again and started to interact with other people with less fear and even talked about making friends in the university.
Raine frowned, she was behaving spoiled right now as she snuggled and put Torak's arms around her body.
"Don't get depress like that…" Torak tousled her hair. "I will not force you to come if you don't like it."
But, Raine asked him faintly as she watched the movie again. "Is that the party where you will wear a mask?"
"Yes." Torak replied as he rested his hand on Raine's head, caressing her hair.
"Can I choose my mask?" Raine asked again.
This time Torak's eyebrows creased as he stared at Raine, who was resting her head on his chest. "Do you want to come?"
"Only if I can choose my mask…" Raine said timidly, she didn't even raise her head to see a wide smile on Torak's face when she agreed to come.
"Sure, you can choose your own gown…" Torak tousled her head. He knew it was hard for her to come into this decision, but she chose to do it anyway.
She was trying hard.
==============
The next following day, Torak has some meeting to attend and promised he would come back to pick her up for the mask party.
In the afternoon Calleb came to bring a dress for Raine. Even though Torak said she could pick her own dress, but the fact that she had never attended something like this made her gave up the option and let Torak to pick something for her instead.
"Try it, I want to see!" Calleb urged her, when Raine had accepted the enormous box. He looked more eager to see the dress than Raine herself. This was the first time for Torak to choose something like this, so it was understandable that if people that close to him became curious.
Well, it was only Calleb because Raphael didn't show any expression for this fact. He was too busy with his work.
"Did Torak ask me to try it right away?" Raine hugged the package box and looked at Calleb innocently.
Calleb frowned upon hearing her question. "No… he didn't say something like that. But, you need to try it anyway." He replied. "Try it, let me see." His eyes glimmered with excitement.
"If Torak didn't ask you, then I will try it later when he is here." Raine said it lightly and walked toward the stairs.
"Why don't you let me see it?" Calleb was annoyed, he really wanted to see, but for the party tonight he wasn't invited, hence his only chance to see Raine in the dress that Torak had chosen for her was only now.
"Of course because I want Torak sees me in this dress first." Raine shouted from the second floor, afterward, there was a sound of the door closing.
"Sometime I missed her timid self…" Calleb clicked his tongue.
==============
Inside the bedroom, Raine put the box on the bed and stroke the edges of it gently. She took a deep breath, even the box smelled so nice.
The box was wrapped in blue with white ribbon atop of it, even the package alone looked so expensive Raine was afraid to ruin it as she opened gingerly.
She untied the ribbon of the box and opened it to reveal a pure white dress. She picked it up and her eyes brightened. The dress was so beautiful. Raine had never seen such a beautiful dress.
The streamline dress was figure- hugging with laces around its neck and sleeves, it didn't reveal too much skin neither too translucent. There were not much intricate embroidery, but it didn't cease its beauty nonetheless.
The fabric was so soft to the touch and when Raine rubbed on it.
She couldn't wait to try it, but before she did that, Raine pulled out her phone from her pants pocket and made a phone call to certain someone.
It only took two seconds before the line was connected.
"Thank you for the dress!" Raine was too excited until she forgot to say 'hallo'. "The dress is so beautiful and soft!"
"I am glad that you like it." Torak's soft voice could be heard from the other line and also a man's voice, from the sound of it, seemingly he was talking about something when suddenly he stopped because of Torak's words.
Actually, Torak was in the middle of meeting, but when he saw it was Raine who called him, he picked up his phone in the middle of the chief direction's presentation. This acted alone was surprised them, because Torak was extremely strict when it came to work.
However, who the person that called him in the middle of the meeting? Their cold- blood's boss even smiled when he listened to the other person speaking.
And when Torak talked in soft tone that they had never heard, all of them whipped their head Towar Torak, curios if they actually heard it wrong. But, nothing wrong with that, because Torak was still talking onto his phone while gesturing to them to continue the meeting.
"Are you busy?" Raine asked when she heard there was slightly noise at Torak's side. "Did I bother you?"
"No, you will never bother me." Torak said sweetly.
Once again, the chief production stopped his presentation because of shock, the rest of the people, who attend the meeting, also couldn't believe with what they heard.
It must be a woman, who their boss was talking to. Who was she? Their future lady boss? That more likely.
All of them listened to the conversation silently as the meeting suddenly halted.
"What are you doing?" Raine asked curiously, usually Torak would be busy at this hour, she just too excited and forgot as she called him directly.
"Meeting." Torak replied curtly.
"Oh." Just as Raine had thought. "I will hang up then." She said hurriedly and then added shyly. "Don't forget your lunch."
Torak smiled brightly upon hearing a concern in Raine's voice. "I love you." He said heartily.
"I love you too…" Raine replied and giggled, her heart felt unbelievably warm, though he had said that countless time, but the feeling still the same. "Bye."
"Bye…" Torak kept smiling even when the line had cut off.
I love you?
Bye?
What was this? The sky would fall? Or Torak Donovan suddenly became more human than usual? Little they knew, their boss even not a human.
"Proceed with the meeting." Raphael finally broke the silence and strange gazes that all the head sections threw on him.
The chief direction continued with his presentation as the other people in the meeting room tried hard to keep track with the matter at hand instead of wander their curiosity about the lucky woman, who managed to capture their boss's heart. That wasn't an easy feat.
Torak had been like this ever since Raine started to talk normally that was a good sign, but his Alpha always put her first in everything without exception.
Well, as long as he could afford that, Raphael thought that would be fine, after all that was a privilege to be a filthy rich and an Alpha atop of it.
==============
When the night had finally fallen, even the moon was exceptionally bright and beautiful.
Gregory stopped the car in front of the entrance door as Torak emerged from the car and walked straight to their bedroom in the second floor.
The scent of Raine filled the entire house like a natural fragrance of the house itself, that reminded Torak about something that called home.
He opened the door and found Raine was staring at herself in front of body- length mirror, her reflection on its surface was so exuberant, especially when Torak's figure reflected beside her in the mirror.
She turned around like an angel she was, pure and pristine, Torak was in a daze as if his world was spinning and brightened up only by her smile.
"You are here…" She sauntered across the room in her white dress that hugging her body perfectly, her long, black hair flowed casually over her shoulder, she had applied a simple pink lipstick and nothing else, but that was enough to make Torak was at lost.
Torak watched in silence when his little mate walked toward him, as if the life itself was approaching him with every step that she takes.
The life that he would cherish.
"How is it?" Raine opened her arms to show herself in her white dress in front of Torak.
"What should I do?" Torak said in low voice as he pulled her into a hug. "I am starting to regret my decision to invite you to the party. I don't want you to come to the party." He sighed helplessly as he rested his chin on Raine's shoulder.
"Why?" There was a smile behind Raine's question.
"Because I want to keep you for myself." Torak admitted. "I don't want other people to look at you now…"
Raine laughed upon hearing Torak's cheesy words, though it sounded so shabby, but it made Raine happy to hear that.
"Would you change into your sweater?" Torak asked ridiculously.
"I will draw more attention that way." Raine hit Torak's back playfully before she pried herself out of his arms. "Should we go now?"
"Hold on." Torak said and pulled out something from his pocket, it was a velvet box.
Torak gave the box to Raine for her to open. Raine opened the box curiously and found a pearl necklace inside, she touched the necklace, astonished.
"This is beautiful." Raine said breathlessly.
"Not as beautiful as you." Torak said lightly, but he meant his words as he took the necklace and put it on Raine's neck, he kissed her shoulder that made Raine shuddered. "Beautiful indeed."
The l.u.s.ter from the pearl and her white dress complimented each other perfectly. Under the light of the room, both accentuated her flawless skin, which looked as if she was basking under the moonlight.
Raine could feel her face turning red by Torak's words.
==============
Inside the car, Raine was starting to get nervous once they were getting closer to their destination. Beside her, Torak kept caressing her hands and stopped her from biting her lips.
He assured her if everything would be all right, he would be by her side for entire time all she could do was to stay beside him. Raine even didn't need to talk if she didn't want to.
Torak's words calmed Raine a bit, before she got another panic attack.
"What if I ruin your image?" Raine looked at Torak in depress. Probably it was too quick for her to be in a public? She needed more time for this, this was too fast, wasn't it?
"You will never do that my love." Torak chuckled, amused with Raine's nervous state. She looked like a little kitten that being cornered, though this was something that she decided herself. "Or, if you feel really uncomfortable, should we go back?" He offered.
There was a complicated feeling that reflected on her beautiful obsidian eyes.
Going back? And waste the dress and the necklace that Torak had bought for her? Not to mention they would arrive in a matter of minutes now. It was a waste of time and money. Should she ask for going back now?
Raine shook her head stubbornly. "I am fine." She said, more to herself rather than to Torak.
"I know you will be fine, my love." Torak kissed her forehead gently. "I will be with you."
Raine took a deep breath to calm herself. She knew Torak wouldn't leave her alone, if worst come to the worst, she would simply never ever attend this kind of party anymore in the future.
This was a mask party after all, she would never take off her mask, so no one would see her face.
In the end of the road, a bright and magnificent building could be seen, once their car entered the main gates, it took a while before they could reach the main building. Along the way, the trees on their right and left were adorned with small colorful lamps that flickered against the dark night.
It was such a splendid view to behold.
"You need this." Torak said before they needed to get off the car. He pulled out another box from the seat and opened it to reveal a white mask with intricate design and black fur on it right side. "Because the time is tight, you can't choose your own mask, I hope you like this one."
Raine didn't say if she liked it or not, but she leaned over to peck his lips and smiled brightly. Turning around, Raine let Torak to tie the mask.
The white mask with black fur covered half of Raine's face and only revealed her kissable pink lips for everyone to see.
When the car came to stop, Torak get off from the car and opened the car door for Raine.
The moment she emerged from the car, a bright light surrounded her and intimidated her eyes, once again she felt self- conscious, but when Torak grabbed her hand and the spark that erupted from the skin contact, reminded her that she wasn't alone.
Torak put her hands on the crook of his elbow as he led the way to the party room.
Raine was to focus to keep her step steady, so she wouldn't fall in her three inches heels, she didn't dare to go with higher than three inches, though it didn't help much with the height difference between her and Torak.
Because of that, Raine didn't realize many pair of eyes were looking toward her direction in questioning gazes.
Women would look at her in jealousy and started to compare themselves with Raine, while men looked at her with interest. This was the first time for Torak Donovan to attend a party with a woman as his partner.
Who is the woman with Torak Donovan?