Going to the drawing room, Warren opened the door for her like the gentleman he was brought up to be and waited for her to get in. Closing the door behind him, he took her to sit on the large couch.

"My mother wanted to give you this," he said leaning to the other side to lift a box and give it to her.

"What is this?" she asked him.

"I don"t know. She asked you to wear it for this evening. If the dress is right, you could match it with the pearls," by the mention of the pearls, Heidi gave him a tight smile not knowing else to do as she didn"t have them anymore. The night when the lord had tugged the necklace from her neck, she had forgotten to pick the pearly beads from the ground. In her defence, no one would remember about the pearls after being kissed so pa.s.sionately.

She opened the box and pulled the material out to feel dread fill up her mind seeing the depth at the back. Warren seemed to have caught her feelings for the dress and spoke,

"If you don"t like it, you don"t have to wear it."

"No no. I like the dress. Please convey my thanks when you see her," she put the dress back in the box and covered it back with the lid.

"I understand that my mother can be difficult and I am glad to see you making an effort in building the relations.h.i.+p with her. I admire you for that," he stated and she was glad that unlike other men who sided with their mother even though they were wrong, Warren was being mature and thoughtful.

It was hard to believe that someone like Venetia had brought up a son to be a true gentleman. Then there was his cousin who used words to attack her at unexpected moments. She didn"t even know why she was always compared them but it wasn"t a mystery. Warren was her fiance and Nicholas was...Nicholas was going to be her direct lord once she would marry Warren. The very thought made her heart sink in despair.

He had confessed of wanting her and she tried finding the meaning of it which turned out to be useless. Dwelling in it didn"t do her any good but she did it anyways, unable to forget the guilty pleasure which she had tasted.

"Is there something weighing your mind?" he c.o.c.ked his head to the side.

"Nothing much," she shook her head. After a while decided to ask, "Was it magic that turned the lord"s hair?"

"It is a mix of the white witches and black witches potion. Something you will find in the black market," he answered, "By the way...Duke Wilford is a popular man, even if he is a human he has enough power to influence people and things in Bonelake. There will be many guests but different than the ones you have seen until now," seeing her raise her brows in questions, he continued, "You will understand when we arrive at the manor. I would request you to not question anything when we are there," he waited for her response.

"Okay, I will be quiet," she didn"t know why he was stressing about it as it wasn"t the first time for her to attend a soiree. After coming to Bonelake, she had realized how men and women were idle. Idle with their time, not knowing how to spend apart from ridiculing others lower them and behind their back.

When evening arrived at Duke Wilford"s manor, Heidi sat next to Warren at a table inside the large hall, listening to the people converse as usual without adding any input from her end. Heidi had worn the dress Venetia had given her along with the mink fur which covered her back. In the beginning she didn"t understand why Warren had asked her to keep quiet but now that she was here, she undersood the reason.

The hall was filled with guests but there was something unsual. Slaves that belonged to the vampires and humans had accompanied their masters and mistresses. It was easy to spot the slaves as each one of them had a collar around their neck, some also having a chain attached in the front of their collar so that the owners could drag them around. Apparently, Duke Wilford wasn"t just a Duke but the man who ran the slave establishment in the border of the Bonelake empire.

Looking around, her eyes fell on the lord who was talking to a lady who sat too close to him. With her red lips, the lady spoke to the lord with a l.u.s.tful gaze in her eyes while the lord seemed hardly fazed with the lady"s presence next to him. Heidi could tell that most of the women in the room had their eyes on Lord Nicholas due to the sudden change in his appearance.

The devil who disguised as an angel had dropped his angelic robes. But was that an act or the truth? Her heart squeezed when she stole a look or tow at him without anyone"s notice.

Half way of the soiree a slave was slapped right across the cheek, gathering few attention towards the owner and the slave who had crossed the owner. The owner was a male vampire who glared down at his slave who had fallen on the ground. The woman trembled in fear, her hands shaking.

"What did you say?" the vampire asked lowering down himself to look at his slave, "Didn"t I say to follow the rules. Is it that difficult for you to understand?" he spoke calmly but his demeanour spoke otherwise.

"M-mast-ter I-" the vampire caught his slaves throat and dragging her up to her feet.

Another vampire who wasn"t far from them commented, "I told you not to be lenient on the slave, Vincent. They are never grateful."

"Did you hear that," the vampire asked his slave who struggled when he squeezed the woman"s neck, "Your disobedience is going to cost my reputation. Let me teach you right here," he pushed the woman away.

"F-forgive me master," she bowed her head but that didn"t do for her owner. He folded his arms across his chest with a dire look and ordered, "Strip."

"Master please!" the woman cried, her eyes livid with what he just asked her to do.

Maybe it wasn"t an uncommon thing for something like this to happen but Heidi was far from being alright with the scene that took place in front of her eyes and it made her queasy. She went to get up to only feel Warren"s hand tighten around her wrist in an iron grip that made her wince.

"Don"t," she heard Warren utter the word so that only she could hear.

"The new slaves always cause trouble. They don"t know when to stop talking and start obliging," Venetia who was sitting at her table spoke disapprovingly.