Chapter 39

THE pregnant silence was deafening as Rafael and Russell were staring at the Davis sisters who were trying to humiliate each other. Niklaus noticed that neither husband was making any statement to make sure that their wives would not bully their youngest sister again. But what Niklaus did not count for when Lord Rafael Douglas was getting up from his seat and tugged his wife with him.
"Apologize, Your Graces. I did not think that my wife was disciplined enough to talk in that tone to you, even though you're family. I believe we have extended our invitation to this dinner," Rafael said as he was pulling Rosa to follow him.
Becca blinked at her brother-in-law and reading between the lines of his firm lips and hard eyes, she knew that Rosa would be suffering on her account.
"Please, Rafael. That would be unnecessary. I did not take any of that statement personally and to be quite frank, I have always been speaking with Rosa that way. It is our...um...affection to one another," Becca said as she was smiling at Rafael.
Niklaus was sipping on his champagne as Rosanna and Rafael were blinking their eyes at his wife. He smirked behind the flute and caught the attention of Russell as their gaze clashed for a moment.
"It is simply just another one of our gestures. Please, brother, I'm sure it would be okay for you to wait until we're finished with our dinner," Rose, being the responsible one between the three of them, asked Rafael not to ditch their dinner, and Rosa, thankfully, knew how to keep her mouth shut.
She knew that she had screwed up big time in front of her husband and being the intellectual she was, Rosa sat down again as she was looking at her plate. Becca noticed that Rafael's hand tightened against her sister's arm in a warning not to cause any more trouble in front of the Duke of Belikov and his duchess.
"Pardon us, Your Graces. I will teach my wife to be respectful in the presence of polite company," Rafael said before turning slightly toward Rosa as he released his hand but his hard eyes were giving enough warning should Rosanna do anything out of hand again.
"Forgive me, Your Graces," her sister said before Becca nodded at her and Niklaus was clearing his throat, putting down his flute as he was regarding Russell at the head of the table.
"I believe family drama would never cease to amaze us," he said as Niklaus smirked before Russell joined in.
"Indeed they are," the lord of the estate was saluting his flute to Niklaus as they were talking and the energy flow was back to normal but Rosanna was keeping her mouth shut and Becca did not know what would have been done if she left with her husband earlier if not for her interruption. She just hoped that her sister was not being abused by her husband.

“WELL, you have certainly made yourself look like a duchess earlier, my love,"
Becca turned away from the window as she was looking at the gleaming estate where her sister Rosetta and her husband resided while she tried not to feel her heart constricted for their relationships were still restrained even when they were all married well and lived away from each other.
Becca smiled before she smoothed her skirts over her legs as she turned to focus her green eyes on her handsome husband. She arched her eyebrow.
"Are you saying that I am not acting like the duchess that I am whenever I am not under threat? My, my, my lord, it has been a poor assessment of my personality if you think that I only act as if I am the Duchess of Belikov when I was threatened by my sister," she teased Niklaus as her husband was arching his eyebrow at her. Becca sighed.
"Okay, fine. Maybe I did act haughtily when they were being such bullies and mean to me. I guess Rosanna was still holding some grudge against me," Becca said as she leaned her hand over the sill of the window as rested her chin in her hand.
"Do you think she would ever forgive and forget what was happening during our childhood?" she asked as Niklaus was blinking his eyes at her.
"What do you mean?" her husband said as Becca turned to look at the outside scenery that was passing by as they were on their journey back to the capital of Niapachad Island, Royal Molftus.
"Well, did I ever tell you the story that my mother, Lady Georgia has doted on me that she neglected her other children in the hands of the nannies that were coming in and out of our lives?
“My sisters were given the education and the care by the employees that my father hired as my mother would not leave my side as I was growing up. So it might be the reason why Rosanna felt like she was acting the way that she was with me tonight despite that she was happily married to her husband," Becca said as she twisted her hands inside her skirts.
She could never forget the look that Rosa gave her when she was introducing her husband to her for the first time that night. She sighed.
"Then, she was a fool for not realizing that you love her as much as you could with your heart," Niklaus added softly before Becca was turning to look at him.
She blinked before Niklaus pulled her onto his lap. She squealed for a moment before she rested her hands on his broad shoulders as the roped muscles were bundling underneath her touch.
Becca stared at her husband as Niklaus was soothing his hands down her spine. She shivered for it had been a few hours since they last had sex. Or was it a day now?
"Why would you conclude that, my love?" Becca asked before Niklaus smiled down at her. His blue orbs were shining underneath the dim light that was slipping through the window of the carriage as the moon was illuminating their surroundings.
"I can see the way that you look at your sisters. You love them but you don't know how to insert yourself between them for you are separated from birth. You said that Lady Georgia raised you while your sisters were raised by nannies.
“It might be awkward for you don't think that you would have anything in common with them but I think in the future, you will find something to tie your bond even more," Niklaus said as he was massaging her butt. Now she knew that her husband was trying to distract her.
"Focus, Nick. You know they would never accept me for who I am or who I am married to. They think I outrank them in social rank anyway," she pouted before Niklaus kissed her lips.
How could he not when it was so tempting to take her right now and then on the soft velvet couch seat but Niklaus had to control his urge for he knew that Becca needed some reassurance that her sisters would welcome her into their loving arms.
"I see the way you look at her husband, Rafael, as he tightened his hand on her arm. Your sister winced but you, my love, are ready to fight her husband just to make sure that your sister was not abused by him. I can assure you, my love, that he had no attention to abuse or raise his hand against her. Lord Rafael Douglas loves your sister more than anything in this world," Niklaus said before Becca arched her eyebrow.
"How can you tell that when he gripped her arm?" she asked Niklaus for Becca never thought that Niklaus would be blind enough not to see the sign of abuse on her sister. Her demon stirred at the thought.
"Well, I knew something that you don't and I can't tell you about it. But I can assure you that both Lord Russell and Lord Rafael were in love with your sisters," he said before Becca was narrowing her eyes at him.
"I think you're bluffing and you know I will get that information out of you whether you want to tell me or not," she said as Becca pointed her finger at her husband's handsome face. Niklaus bit the finger and suckled into his hot, inviting mouth, and in an instant, his eyes were turning pure obsidian.
"You can try but certainly you won't win, my love," Niklaus said as Becca removed her finger as she leaned her face forward.
"I certainly will do it and you know at the end of our lifetime together, I will get it, my love," she sealed her promise with a kiss as she claimed her husband's soft lips as the clacks of hooves against the cobblestones leaving Msallste Square thundered against the night while the duke and the duchess were making their journey home.

NIKLAUS was looking at his wife as she was sleeping against his shoulder, swaying with the movement of the carriage as he tried to make sure that his wife was comfortable. He sighed as he looked at the rooftop of the carriage ride that they had been going on for hours in the dawn now.
His driver and footman were both humans and they most likely loved to travel during the sunlight for they missed the streak of sun to touch their skins. And this was the perfect opportunity for them to enjoy it while they can.
Niklaus turned to look at Becca, her sweet innocent Becca as they were weaving through the road that had an amazing view of the mountains that were known to the islanders as Mouth Thounau.
But of course, Niklaus knew something more about those mountains as he had been keeping the secret of the Origins from the commoners as well as those who were not on the Higher Court.
It was believed that years before the Origins settled on the island, there were rumors of the dragons roaming the lands. But, as the years passed and most of the pagan believers were converting themselves to the Holy Religion that was spreading around the Kingdom of Ludonea, the dragons went extinct.
No one knew for sure what happened to the amazing creatures as many theories and conspiracies went on and on for decades and are still popular among scholars now.
One theory that fascinated Niklaus the most was that the dragons took the form of humans while the unborn first child of the Lesser Gentry was still unborn. But this was supposed to include the magic that the dragon wielded to make certain that they would be reincarnated to insert themselves with the society that thrived on the island.
Or maybe it was just an old oral story that was to amuse the Lesser Gentry that they were better than the Higher Court.
But maybe it was true after all for Niklaus could sense the foreboding presence of powerful creatures when they were having dinner together. But that was not his concern for his wife's safety and happiness was the ultimate task as her protector. Niklaus leaned forward, touching their forehead together.
"I promise to you, my Becca, that I will make sure that you will be protected by all costs and your happiness is my true task as long as we both shall live," Niklaus said before he kissed her soft lips as Becca murmuring something in her sleep as they went on to their final destination after that night when Niklaus was enamored with her emerald gown on the night that his cousin asked him to attend the ball.
And Niklaus Dragomir will cherish that young lady whom he called his wife forever and always until the end of their life together.