Chapter 172: The Question of Mates
Pandora did not like the silence at all. She asked to see if he would nod, and then finally she would stop worrying about it and tell him her feelings. But this pause had shattered whatever she had been planning.
"Never mind, that was such a silly question," she laughed softly. Raven knew exactly that type of laughter—it was not the laughter of hurt, it was the laughter to cover the pain in her eyes.
The thing was, he had not paused because of anything else; he had just been caught off guard by her question, and that was why it seemed as if her saying it had made him begin to think—not like he had not thought about it before.
There was a wide smile on his lips as he finally turned to her. Pandora, taken aback by the sudden smile, stared at him.
"What if you are my mate?" Raven asked gently as Pandora’s eyes widened. She did not expect that at all. In fact, she was not even expecting him to say such a thing.
She gave him a pointed look as a weak smile finally rested on her lips. As she stood, she understood—even though she was not his mate, this was supposed to happen.
She did not even want to be selfish at all; in fact, she needed to be grateful. And then again, she did not want to keep her hopes up. What if he was just saying it because maybe he did not want her to feel bad? But before she could even stand up fully, Raven’s hands held her waist in place, holding her down.
Pandora turned to him, curious about the sudden stop. She looked at him as Raven then spoke.
"Do you not feel it?" he asked calmly. His face became calm, and even though his expression faltered slightly, Pandora could not quite keep up with what it was. Their gaze locked, but she was the first to shift her gaze away as her heartbeat picked up.
The way his hands were still on her waist as she sat, and the way his eyes were just locked on hers, made it impossible for her to stay calm.
"You have not answered me yet, my love," he spoke in a deep tone. Pandora did not know if this man was doing things on purpose, as he knew how that particular word weakened her and melted her heart.
Her cheeks flushed lightly as she nodded gently. Raven laughed softly as he pulled her to him. His hands wrapped around her as he pulled her into a hug. He moved his lips to her neck as he began kissing her there softly—so softly and tenderly.
Pandora’s body shivered as electrifying sparks ran up her body. Her lips parted in surprise as a soft moan left her lips.
Raven, who wanted to hear more, sucked more on her neck, and another moan left Pandora’s lips.
"Ahn~"
Raven gently pulled away as he noticed her face was already pink. She was blushing hard, and it seemed she was avoiding his gaze now.
He could not help but chuckle at how cute this really was.
"My darling, why are you all shy, hmm?" he asked as he cupped both her cheeks, making her look at him. Then he leaned in, kissing her on the forehead, and then he kissed her gently on the lips before kissing both cheeks, then her chin.
He made sure to kiss every single part of her face until Pandora could not help but smile at his very handsome behavior.
He pulled away softly as he then spoke.
"How about you go on and finish your last Chapter, and then once you are done, we will talk about this, and I will make sure to tell you everything," he spoke as Pandora’s face lit up. She spoke to confirm.
"Really? You are not pulling my legs, are you?" She gave him a soft glare as he chuckled, patting her head gently before he nodded.
"I am not pulling your legs. If I wanted to pull your legs, I would do it—but that would be later." He winked playfully at her, making her stomach flutter again.
She stood quickly, knowing that this man would still find other ways to tease her if she remained where she was.
Raven held back his smile as his eyes admiringly stared at her. There was a soft knock on the door. The evening had already gone down, so he wondered what was wrong as he was not supposed to be going anywhere.
He stood and walked to the door. When he opened it, there stood the guard, the one supposed to be at the royal duplex. It was then Raven realized that the queen must have called for him, and the guard knew he realized, so he did not say anything.
He simply gave a brief nod as he left. Raven closed the door, turned to Pandora—her eyes were on him—and then he spoke softly.
As he walked towards her and held her hands softly, Pandora smiled. She did not know why, but anytime she met his eyes, her heart kept doing that flip.
"I will be back," he spoke with a smile on his lips as he gently pointed at his cheeks. Pandora tiptoed as she gently kissed him on the cheek, her smile widening.
"Raven, come back early, okay? I have a surprise for you," she spoke sweetly with a wide smile on her lips. Raven’s heart skipped a bit as he did not expect that.
"Tell me, what is the surprise?" Raven leaned in as he lowered himself and brought his ear to her so she could whisper it to him.
"Don’t worry, I would not tell anyone—not even myself," he spoke as Pandora giggled at his not-so-smart move.
"Oh please, if I tell you, it would ruin the surprise," she spoke as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body lightly against his.
Raven moved as he gently pecked her lips, and then she pulled away as she spoke.
"You may go now before I tell you the surprise," she spoke teasingly, her bright blue eyes glinting with mischief.
Raven was curious. He wondered what surprise she wanted to give him, and the fact that he could not make a guess—knowing how unpredictable Pandora could be—was what made it even more intriguing.
"Okay, I will go and come back early," he spoke, knowing that sometimes when he arrived late, she was already asleep.
She smiled and winked at him. Raven’s body stilled briefly before he gave her a nod and then walked towards the door. That particular wink, heaven knew how he tried to maintain his composure. The way his stance had almost shattered just from that wink..it was so seductively innocent that he felt a little annoyed at himself for thinking that way, knowing she was trying to do exactly what he did with her. But hers was so damn different.
He entered the carriage as usual. The carriage was waiting, as that was how it always was when he met the queen. The carriage stayed outside. He entered, and as the carriage moved, he sat quietly, trying to brainstorm on what her surprise would be. He needed to focus, but that wink and surprise...
"Fuck," he said out loud as the other guard looked at him with a raised brow.
"This weather is beautiful," he added quickly, and the guard looked away.
He could not believe what he had just done. She really was driving him insane to the point he was now talking to himself out loud. What was funny was that she was not even trying.
"Was there any news sent by the queen, if I may ask?" he asked calmly. The guard turned to him and spoke calmly.
"Luna Ariana did not mention anything else, she only told me to call for you." Raven nodded as the guard then spoke again.
"I heard they will be sharing roasted meats tonight at the guards’ quarters," he said. Raven nodded.
"Oh yes, I forgot. They will be sharing it. I think they will also be adding chicken this time, because last time it had been postponed."
"That’s amazing, I would love to have some, but I don’t even know where they share it," the guard spoke as Raven shrugged.
"Then we will take some once we are returning, I will show you there."
The guard was caught off guard but nodded.
"That would be great, man," he spoke calmly as Raven nodded. At this point, maybe he would take it. He had not even planned on taking any, but now maybe he could. He noticed Pandora’s deep liking for chicken and meat stew.
Maybe he could get it with stew, Just like she liked it, with her favorite apple drink.
A small smile came to his lips as he could already picture how excited she would be once he gave it to her that smile on her lips.
He was happy that they had crossed paths that day.
But what if she was not his mate? Would he still stay by her side?