Chapter Forty

"Oh, let me see...mmm yes this will do. Now go try it on."

"What, right now?"

"Of course our Lord hasn't been waiting here for nothing."

Rina flushed and walked to the next room and changed. The white dress stopped just above her knees. The mid section had delicate fabric swept to the left side of her waist showing every detail of her curves.

The chiffon sleeves cuffed around her wrists. Small pearls were meticulously placed at random on the soft sleeves. The front cut of the dress dipped into her cleavage. The look was modest with hints of sexual appeal from the dip in the front to the tight wrap of her waist.

She walked back to the sitting area and faced the demon Lord. His crossed arms bulged as soon as he saw her. He shifted in his seat but said nothing.

"Who knew those curves would pop so much in that dress. Whew our Lord sure has good taste."

A low growl trickled from Damien's lips, but his focus remained on his mate. Tomas ignored the growl and continued.

"Here darling put these on."

He helped Rina into a pair of nude heels.

"Oh yes this is giving your bottom a great arch!"

By this point Rina looked towards Damien to see what his thoughts were. But the result was a wash of heat passing over her. The demon Lord's eyes darkened as Tomas made Rina spin around.

His arms remained crossed knowing full well what he would do if they weren't.

"My Lord?" Tomas called.

His dark gaze snapped to the male. A wide smile stretched across the tailors face.

"Oh he likes it."

"Really, Damien?" Rina found her voice and smoothed her hands down the dress.

"You look beautiful." His voice was much deeper than usual.

"Thank you," she smiled.

"Alright now off with it and onto the gowns." Tomas turned towards the demon Lord. "This pick should be a surprise, don't you think my Lord?"

A low growl rumbled through his chest. He stood and placed his arms by his sides and flexed his hands.

"I look forward to this surprise." His eyes trailed down her body. He turned to Tomas. "Have the clothes I requested for Nathaniel brought to his room, the staff will assist."

"Thank you my Lord."

Damien left without another word and went to the kitchen where Nathaniel was almost finished with breakfast.

-O-

"Oh my goodness, you might get another mini Damien before the night is up with this gown." Tomas rubbed his chin as he looked at Rina from every angle.

"And I don't even have to make any adjustments! It's a perfect fit."

Rina bit her lip and looked at her reflection. She turned side to side and then to Tomas.

"Are you sure this isn't too much? Maybe something a bit more reserved?"

"Honey you will be announced as the Lady of the West. Nothing about you should scream demur. Damien is an alpha male, you are one too or his beast wouldn't have picked you."

Rina carefully sat on the sofa as Tomas spoke.

"I have serviced this family for centuries. And let me tell you something. You need to come out strong and confident. The Lord is yours and no one else's, let that be known."

"What do you mean?"

"Demon's are very territorial creatures, especially wolf demons. They are vicious and will take what's theirs. Now, you must prepare yourself for a fight."

"Fight, I have to fight?"

Rina stood and began to pace. "No one said anything about a fight."

"I'm sorry I didn't want to startle you with the information. No one would dare challenge you before Lord Damien, but there may be occasions where a demoness could challenge you if they are an alpha themselves."

Bright blue aura gathered within her hands. "If it's a fight they want, I can guarantee they will lose."

Tomas's eyes widened, he shifted back. Then suddenly a grin took over.

"Good," he whispered. His orange eyes brightened as the blue aura dimmed.

"This will be fun." he mumbled.

"For you or me?" she countered.

You don't get it, you have already sealed your position by not only mating the Lord but also producing a male heir. But the thirsty bitches are going to come out of the wood works once they hear you are human. They will pay little attention to your Northern title and assume you are a princess with little to no training of your holy powers." he grinned again.

"This will definitely be fun to watch. I just hope I'm there to see you take those grabby females down."

"You're having way too much fun with this."

"I'm on your side but it's been a while since I've seen someone put Damien's groupies in place."

"Groupies?"

"Come now, you must know the Lord has a large following though he pays little attention to them. All they want is the fame and fortune he can provide, though his good looks don't hurt either." he laughed.

Worry for the future settled in but Tomas's fun quips soothed them. His take on everything was very simple and straightforward.

"If you don't mind me asking what kind of demon you are?"

"Oh that's interesting I thought you would have assumed I was a wolf." he chuckled.

"Wolf demon's are known for their gold eyes, yours are orange."

"Believe it or not I am both a wolf and fox. My great great grandfather was a wolf demon and also Damien's great great uncle. Grandfather had a bit too much fun before he found a mate and here I am a couple of generations down. I'm mostly a fox demon but my blood is still considered kin to Damien's. It's why I'm here right now."

"What do you mean?"

"He wouldn't trust anyone else here with you. The staff is different, they have been loyal to him for centuries but I'm here cause I can keep a secret until the big reveal happens." he winked at her.

As simple as it sounded it made sense, Damien was a very private person. He didn't really trust anyone without years of loyal service.

"That makes sense." Just then her stomach growled.

"Let's get you out of that killer dress and you can go eat."

-O-

The conversation with Tomas was both enlightening and worrisome.

'Just how many past lovers did he have?'

Who was she kidding? Damien was ridiculously attractive, it would be no surprise if the number was in the thousands. Jealousy jutted its ugly head out. Thoughts of the possible beautiful woman she might come across left her in doubt.

What if he got tired of her and ran off to one of his past relationships.

Last night's doubts came back in waves. It all boiled down to them not having a foundation to build their relationship on. They had no experience save a sexual one to fall back on. This was where her doubts came in and won.

She needed to know where she stood. Yes, she was his mate and yes they shared a child. She would be the Lady of the western territory, would be his Lady. But she wanted to know if it was in name or as his as well.

There was a reason why they hadn't consummated their relationship yet. In any occasion where things heated up, either Damien or her eventually put a stop to the sexual tension.

Rina made her mind up, she would confront Damien with her questions. She wanted to know where she stood. There would be no surprises later, he would tell her what he wanted out of this.

Settled on a goal, Rina spread her aura and found Damien and Nathaniel at the other side of the palace in the training room again. She slowly made her way there and greeted the staff in the hall. In return, every member that passed her, made it a point to greet and bow.

She never liked it when they bowed. Even in her home in the Northern territory she instructed all to just casually greet, no bowing. It was a different era now, Rina was for the most part raised in the same childhood home her father was raised in.

Once her father became a teenager he was moved back to the palace. It was a humble upbring that gave him a different perspective in life than all the scholars and advisors around him had. Wealth was a double edged sword. It could blind you to the issue and desires the common people had.

It was one of the reasons why he was loved by their people. He ruled with a gentle but firm hand. He did not favor anyone due to their wealth nor did he look down on anyone that owned nothing.

Rina was raised exactly as her father but after his death she returned to their childhood home and lived there until now. Right now she was living in a palace twice the size of her own. The wealth the demon Lord had was obvious.

Yet he also did not flash his bank account around. He was a reserved male that wore expensive clothes and shoes but they were simple designs nothing flashy. His personality was flat with others but he did open up a bit to her, though it almost always led to a batch of heated kisses and more.

Again everything led back to a sexual desire.