Twenty eight

"Do I really have to wear this?" Kira asked with a disgusted look on her face as she scrutinized the black dress Marianne had handed to her.

"Well, it's either this or the other one and since you already threw that one away, this is all we have left," Marianne replied, mentally cursing the minute she agreed to help Kira get dressed. She definitely didn't expect her to be so picky about everything.

"Forget the dress, do you have any idea why Damien wants to see me? It's very unlike him to invite me anywhere. He literally hates my guts and so do I," Kira ranted and Marianne mentally rolled her eyes.

"How about you just find that out by yourself Kira? I mean, I'm simply following orders and there's no way in hell, I'd know what my Alpha is thinking. All I can tell you is, Draco asked that I get you dressed up cause Alpha Damien wants to have dinner with you and talk about important issues as well. That is really all I know," Marianne replied and Kira sighed.

Although she tried to mask it, she was really nervous about his sudden invitation and she could not help but think this may be his way of trying to politely send her out of his pack. She, of course, still had her plans of bringing peace between both her pack and his but pushing that aside, it would most definitely hurt her feelings if he actually told her to leave and she'd most probably cry herself to sleep if that should happen.

"Are you feeling nervous Kira? You seem pretty off," Marianne pointed out, noticing how lost in thought Kira looked.

"Nervous? Me? Why would I be nervous? Don't be ridiculous Marianne. I'm just wondering why that crazy asshole would invite me for dinner, that's all," Kira denied quickly, snapping herself out of her messy thoughts and mentally preparing herself for the worst.

"Okay, if you say so but we still have to solve the issue of what to wear Kira except you want to wear your casual jeans and t-shirt to eat with him," Marianne said sarcastically and Kira let out a frustrated sigh.

"Okay fine Marianne, you win. I'll wear the stupid ass dress but definitely not the black one, I'll take the other one instead. This one is way too short for me and I don't want him getting the wrong idea," she said defensively and Marianne rolled her eyes at her.

"You don't have to sound so defensive Kira, it's just a dress. Besides sweetie, you say this is too short but the blue one is pretty much going to expose your breasts and lucky for you or should I say unfortunately, you have pretty big breasts. What I'm trying to say is, no matter the choice you make, you're still going to look hot regardless and if he decides to misunderstand the fact that you're beautiful then that's his problem, not yours," Marianne said and Kira smiled.

"Now that I think about it, I'm probably worrying over nothing anyway. He already said he finds nothing about me attractive and apparently, he looks at me the same way he looks at Draco," Kira said, masking her hurt behind a dry laugh before heading towards the dress she had thrown away earlier.

"He probably didn't mean what he said," Marianne said dismissively and Kira scoffed.

"I don't care if he meant it or not Marianne because the fact that he said it out loud, to my face, without any feeling of remorse, already tells me enough about how he really is. Anyways, forget I said anything. I'll get dressed and meet you outside in about half an hour. Sounds good?" Kira asked.

"Yeah sure thing Kira. See you in a bit," Marianne replied before walking out of the room.

Kira let out a tired sigh as she examined the dress on her body. If Damien hadn't been such a jerk to her, she would have loved the idea of wearing the dress a lot more but knowing that he wouldn't even flinch when he saw her in it, made her feel even less motivated.

****

Damien paced nervously in the dining chamber as he waited for Kira to join him. He could not remember the last time he felt this nervous over a simple dinner.

"The lady is here sir," Eugenia informed him and Damien immediately felt his throat go dry.

"I...invite her in," he responded and Eugenia bowed slightly before walking out.

Damien stared at the doorway and as soon as Kira's presence graced the room, he blanked out for a few long seconds.

"Good evening you jerk," her familiar voice hissed, snapping him out of his momentary daze.

"Good evening to you too Kira," he replied, trying his best not to stare at her too much although he couldn't help but be mesmerized by her beauty. She looked absolutely stunning and although he hated to admit it, he was drooling on the inside but as always, he blamed his wolf.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Kira asked, wondering why he kept staring at her with so much intensity. She couldn't help but feel even more nervous as his eyes stayed fixated on her, almost like he was scrutinizing her.

"You look beautiful," he replied honestly and Kira could not help the shy smile that crept on her face although she quickly dismissed it and went back to wearing a frown.

"You sure about that Damien? Don't I look a lot like Draco? Am I still considered beautiful?" she hissed and Damien mentally rolled his eyes.

"I didn't mean what I said Kira. I was only trying to tease you but I guess I went too far and I hurt your feelings and for that, I'm genuinely sorry. You definitely look nothing like Draco cause you're a woman and a beautiful one at that," he said to her and Kira was slightly confused by how calm and genuine he sounded.

"Is something wrong with you? Are you sick? Are you dying?" she asked and Damien stared back at her in confusion.

"Do I look like I'm dying?" he replied with a question and Kira scoffed.

"I don't think you'd willingly compliment except if you're sick or being threatened and since I doubt anyone can threaten you, I thought it was maybe the former. Anyways, scratch that, why exactly am I here Damien? You couldn't have possibly set this up just to apologize to me. You're not that reasonable," she said and Damien smirked.

"I wouldn't say I'm not reasonable, it's more like I wouldn't do something like this on my own accord for just anyone," he replied and Kira frowned slightly.

"So what then? Did you set this up to put me above just anyone? I don't think so though, you wouldn't think of doing anything to hurt your girlfriend except you had no choice. So spit it out Damien, why am I really here?" Kira demanded, wearing a blank look on her face.

"Believe it or not, the real reason for this was to apologize to you. Yes, I admit, it wasn't my idea at all, it was Draco's idea but I felt guilty for what I said to you and I was wondering how I could get you to forgive me and he thought we should talk over dinner and also come to terms with everything about us and our packs," he explained and Kira let out a small sigh.

She mentally laughed at herself for hoping the idea behind the dinner would be in any way romantic whereas, it was simply political.

"Let's say I accept your apology, what have you decided then? Do you wish to end our pack rivalry and join hands with me or is this dinner a goodbye?" she asked, masking her shaky voice by clearing her throat.

"So that's what you think? You think I'm about to throw you out?" he asked and Kira rolled her eyes.

"If you were in my shoes Damien, wouldn't you think the same thing? Listen, I know we don't get along and that you don't like me but I, more than anything, want all of this to just end. I'm sure you agree that it's old and tiring at this point. The rivalry was only due to a misconception anyways, so I'd rather we just settle things maturely," she replied.

"I have no intention of kicking you out Kira, you can take my word on that. I just want to understand why you want us to join hands. We can simply call a truce and move on by living our respective lives but why are you so insistent on this union? What are these creatures cursed by the sun that you mentioned and why do we need to join hands to get rid of them? If they're really going to destroy us, we can just fight them when they come at us but there's no reason to be together in order to do that," he said, trying to understand why Kira was so insistent on joining hands with him.

"I don't have specific answers to your questions Damien cause I'm only following the will of the moon goddess. We may not know it now, but there's definitely a reason why we have to join hands and I'd rather we start preparing for anything before it's too late," Kira replied and Damien sighed.

"Remember what I said at the forest when you first told me this, I said, I don't mind making a pact with you but let me tell you, it's not as easy as it seems. My pack won't accept you or want anything to do with you and you could even get attacked. Are you really ready to deal with that?" he asked.

"They won't attack me that I can assure you but as for not wanting anything to do with me, I get it and it's the same on my side. The rivalry can't just end from one day to the next, it will take a while but eventually, everyone would have to come to terms with it," she assured and Damien nodded in understanding.

"Now, let's talk about us," Damien said with a small smile and Kira was confused.

"What about us?" she asked.

"I know I've always disregarded it as unimportant and insignificant but you're my mate Kira and I can't always disregard that even if I may not like the idea. Like I said before, I don't see myself leaving Sheila cause I love her and I don't want to hurt her and neither do I want to hurt your feelings and put you in an uncomfortable position," he responded and Kira could slowly feel her heart tightening.

She was hurt and she couldn't deny it.

"I'd rather we not talk about that Damien. I get it, you love her and my existence won't change that so there's no need to go over the obvious. You are with the woman you love and I stay out of your personal life and keep our relationship simply political. You can be rest assured, I won't interfere in your relationship, I promise," she told him reassuringly, slowly hard to avoid breaking down in tears.

"Thank you for understanding and I'm sorry it has to be this way," he replied and Kira forced a smile on her face.

"It's okay," she muttered.

"We should probably start eating now. Enough talking," he said but Kira knew she couldn't stay back any longer.

"If you don't mind Damien, I'd like to retire to my bedroom. I want to get some rest and prepare myself," she mentioned and without waiting for him to reply, she stood up and walked out, leaving Damien confused and worried.