5 Dinner with King Aiden 　　

Anna POV 　　Waking up from an horrible dream, I sat down on the bed. I was done reading all the books which I had taken from the library. I lay down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. 　　When it was time of dinner, I went to the dining room to see Katherine and King Aiden seated waiting for food to arrive. I sat down quietly and when my eyes moved to Aiden, I looked away immediately. He was looking at me even when I caught him. 　　This man...... Did he wants to put me in trouble? 　　“I heard from the guards that you went to the border, did something came up?” Katherine acted as if nothing happened between her and King Aiden. 　　“We found two people dead. One woman at the border side and a man in the middle of the forest.” Aiden replied, not meeting her gaze. 　　“What had killed them?” She asked. 　　“We are still investigating on that. We do not know if it was a witch doing, or the foreigners residing in here or the hunters. We are not yet sure.” Aiden replied. 　　The maids arrived with the food and they served us different kind of meals. 　　As we began to eat, Katherine’s narrowed her eyes at me. It was as if she was warning me not to speak about what I saw earlier today. 　　“We were invited to go to the birthday party of Lycan King MacPherson of the neighbouring village which will commence tomorrow noon.” Katherine spoke up. 　　“Reject the invitation. I don’t have time to go on birthday parties.” He used the small knife to cut the meat before eating it. 　　“Ah, but MacPherson is a member of the councilmen. But if you think you would be busy then I will go alone.” Katherine eyes lit up at the idea that she would be going alone. I knew what she was up to but I decided not to speak. 　　That day until the evening, I stayed in my room alone when I heard a knock from the door. It was Katherine, telling me that she would be out of the village for a few weeks for the birthday ceremony. My instincts told me she was going to see her mate but I didn’t bother to argue with her. 　　Wasn’t she supposed to stay by Aiden’s side to make up for what happened at the wedding? Perhaps he might change his mind and fix another date for the wedding ceremony to hold. 　　When the time of dinner reached, I went downstairs to inform the maids that I would be having dinner in my room. I would not want to share the table with King Aiden. 　　“I thought you were going out with Katherine for the party.” I heard a voice from behind and when I turned around, I found Aiden. 　　“She didn’t want me to go with her. I am fine staying here without her.” I replied, wanting to go far from him. But walking out of the king would seem rude which could lead to punishment. 　　“Hmm...... Why don’t we go out on a walk outside?” He offered. 　　“I am fine. I was just going to tell the maids about my dinner and—” 　　“You don’t have to worry about that. I can tell them to bring it at the garden for us.” He replied. 　　“Us?” I frowned. 　　“Yes.” He raised his hand for me to lead the way outside the castle. 　　The sky was almost turning dark and the stars was slowly appearing from the sky. The silence around us was making me more nervous. What was I supposed to say? Does it even feel right having dinner with the King alone? 　　“Anna.” His voice was calm and gentle in my ears. I raised my head to look at him and realized he had shifted closer to me. His dark eyes started to appear dark red in the night. 　　I swallowed hard and raised my hand to push him away. 　　“Your highness...... What are you doing?” I asked, noticing that change of his eyes which was appearing bright yellow in the night sky. 　　“What am I doing?” He raised his hand to shove my hands away. His right hand reached for my face and he tucked the strands of hair at the corner of my ear. 　　“I am your sister-in-law and what you are trying to do would be considered cheating if anyone catches us in this position.” I looked at him, not breaking gaze from him. 　　“No. It is the mating bond. Don’t you feel it?” He asked. 　　I gulped hard. “I don’t feel anything. Please move away.” 　　“I don’t care whatever people say and I will make sure you fall in love with me. Your sister does not deserve someone like me. She has a mate and you are my mate.” His warm breath fell on my cold skin making me shiver. 　　“But she still loves you even with that.” I said. “A King as yourself should pick someone as strong like Katherine. She is fit for the position of your Queen.” 　　“But it is you I want.” He smiled. 　　For a moment, I continued staring at him. The cold wind slamming against my bare skin. Was the King under the influence of alcohol? 　　I sometimes wonder if this was the man whom my sister would be getting married to? Would he still think of me like this after the marriage? 　　I felt my heart skipped a bit as his eyes went down to my lips. I gulped hard not wanting to stay in this place any longer. 　　Just then, the maids arrived with the dinner. They placed the food on the small wooden table and added a lantern to keep the place warm. 　　At this, I moved far away from him. When the maids left, I turned to look at him. 　　“Your highness...... I don’t think you should joke around with things like this when you know your position in this town. You are the Lycan King and you should act like one.” Without waiting to hear his response, I began to eat the food. 　　“Do I look like a joke to you?” He asked. 　　“I know but you don’t have to use those words on me. You are already acquitted to my sister.” I replied in a calm tone. 　　“If it weren’t for your sister, would you have married me?” He questioned, making me frown. 　　“You are using the wrong words, Your highness.” I corrected him. 　　He stood up and started walking towards me. Before he could reach out for me, I stood up and walked away. 　　“I will take my leave now.” I bowed my head even though I hadn’t eaten much from the food. I already lost appetite seeing him behaving like this. 　　“I am not done with you.” He turned to me. 　　“Your highness if you’d like to speak with anyone the maids and even the guards are there to keep you company.” I said calmly. 　　“Sit!” He ordered. “You aren’t done with your food but yet you are leaving.” 　　With his unmoving gaze on me, I had no other option than to sit with a frown on my lips. 　　“How about you come to the court with me? I have some work for you to do there.” He muttered. 　　“Work for me?” I asked. 　　He hummed in reply as he chewed the food in his mouth. “The court has been having ups and downs during this period. Nobody knows who the person killing innocent people in this town.” 　　“So how does this have to do with me?” I asked. 　　He smiled. “That...., We will think about when we get there.” 　　I shook my head. “I think I am better off not going with you.” 　　“Trust me you will enjoy the ride there to the council. We will be using the white horse. Have you ride a horse before?” He questioned. 　　“No.” I shook my head, remembering what happened when Katherine and I were still young. Our parents took us to learn how to ride a horse but unfortunately the horse I rode was an aggressive one and I fell off into the mud. Since then, I refused to ride a horse.