Chapter 92: Chapter 92

DAHLIA:

The auction house was very close to the inn that one just needed to walk towards it. The only problem for us was of course the guards that were scattered about with their rune detectors…

I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. I promised myself and Livia that I will make sure I’d do my best to make this mission a success. This means I had to make my scent more pronounced than Tristan’s and to do that, I had to wear a dress I would never wear ordinarily…

I looked back at the red and black gown I had donned myself in. The neckline was cut at such a low angle that it’ll be too hard to move without giving away too much skin…

‘You can cover it up with something else,’ Eva said, her face lighting up in excitement. She really liked showing off some skin. I just wanted to make sure Tristan and I make it out there alive…

‘Ah, of course,’ I mumbled back, remembering what she was talking about.

I opened a jewelry box and took out a necklace with an enormous tear-shaped amethyst in its midst. This was the first ever gift Tristan has ever given me. He presented it at the engagement party, and although I had declined his gift at that time, he gave it to me again a few days after our wedding had commenced.

I sighed for a second time… Although Tristan and I aren’t really fated mates, we did have a wedding, and we were still married… Or was that marriage a fake one too?

‘Don’t think about that for now, Dahlly. We have an auction event to get to, so we must hurry,’ Eva reminded me.

I picked up the necklace from the box and hung it on my neck. It did cover up my exposed bosom perfectly. It didn’t look bad at all…

That’s right. If we can pull this off, we can finally lay all the souls of those departed Shadow Rune wolves to rest.

Feeling satisfied with the way that I look, I hurried and went down towards the inn’s receiving area where Tristan must have already been waiting.

As I descended the stairway, I can feel every eyes gravitate towards me in astonishment. It gave me a chill.

I had been in similar situations before, being my father’s daughter and playing the part of Kaist’s fiancé and escort for the longest time. However, today it felt different. While werewolves were normally pulled in by people’s scents, these vampires couldn’t possibly be swayed by that. So why then were they looking at me so intensely?

‘Don’t mind them. Men will always be men no matter where you are in the world, Dahlly,’ Eva commented.

I trailed my eyes towards Tristan. He was after all the reason I was here and why I was dressed like this. He must have forgotten to close his jaw and became aware of it only when I have already arrived by his side.

“Dahlia, that dress,” he said in a faint whisper.

I looked at how his eyes flickered towards every inch of my body, even at the ones who were hidden away from his view.

Good… Maybe this dress could really work wonders for us…

“What? Are you going to make me wear something else,” I asked in a low tone.

Of course I knew he wouldn’t do that. He had always pounced on me and undressed me when he had the chance in the past, so why would he attempt to cover me up now when we could achieve the outcome we want with this outfit?

He shook his head, seemingly still mesmerized. Did he even listen to what I just said?

It doesn’t matter. Just as long as he doesn’t suggest that I change clothes after my arduous ordeal, then it will be fine…

Now the next ordeal was getting ourselves safely inside the auction house.

I have never attended an illegal auction before. I did attend auctions for charity purposes back at Talandor, but I have never been a bidder. I was told that the bidding event was always full of colorful people and even colorful surprises.

I put on a light coat and wrapped my arm around Tristan as we exited from the inn.

We have taken ten steps so far without any guards stopping us. I guess they were more distracted by the amethyst necklace hanging by my neck, which made them forget about using their detection wands on those passing by.

Before we can take another step further, Tristan removed his outer coat and draped it around me.

“Put it on, honey. It’s cold.”

He said it a little too loud for my taste. Why would he go announcing that we were a couple in the middle of the streets?

“Thank you… honey,” I said, smiling back, and snaking my hand around his arm once more.

As soon as we reached a shabby looking building that Gideon identified earlier as the auction’s venue, Tristan knocked at the door three times before a small peep hole was opened.

“What’s your business? We’re closed.”

“That’s too bad. Aren’t there squirrels in the foxhole?”

My eyebrows twitched involuntarily. I knew it was a code, but why did the organizers use such a nonsensical code? Was it meant to be since no one would use those words unwittingly?

A few more seconds after, Tristan and I were escorted inside, but Gideon was left standing out in the cold.

My grip against Tristan’s arm tightened. If Gideon cannot come with us, then there’s one less person to protect Tristan if he was ever caught as a Shadow wolf…

Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Tristan squeezed my hand lightly.

“It’s alright,” he whispered. “Don’t be afraid…”

I wanted to laugh. I was deathly worried that he will be in trouble, but here was Tristan comforting me when it should have been the opposite.

Besides, I had come this far to be afraid…

An escort in a mask led us into an empty private room. “Please wait here until the auction starts. You can order some refreshments if you want from the attendants posted outside of your room.”

As soon as he said this, he bowed down and left.

I surveyed the room we were in. It looked like a regular room in any inn, but we could never be too sure. I sat close to where Tristan was.

“Thank you for your coat,” I said after removing the outer jacket he had given me while in the streets.

“You keep it on you. We don’t know how many men would participate in this auction. I don’t want you to feel awkward.”

I smiled wryly. “Well, what if I wanted to make them feel awkward,” I said, thinking how this could be a good decoy.

“I don’t like them looking at you like that,” he replied dryly.

“What is it to you?… You are not my mate, and after this, we’ll have to stop becoming husband and wife too…”

I said it absentmindedly, unaware that it may have come to Tristan as a shock. However, his reaction was something far from what I had expected.

Instead of getting angry, he reacted suddenly that I didn’t even had time to do anything else. Before I knew it, Tristan had clasped me into a very tight embrace that I almost could not breathe.

“Dahlia, tell me you didn’t mean that!”

“Mean what?”

“You didn’t mean it, right?... Are you really going to leave me?”

“What’s the point of staying together? You are not my mate, and I am not yours…”

“You know that’s not true!”

He had said it before when he showed up in Payn… He showed me the mark in his chest – the mark I had made…

“Could I really trust you to tell me the truth after all those lies,” I asked Tristan. “Which between us is true, and which one is false? I really don’t know them anymore…”

My head was throbbing, and my heart was beating very fast. Why must Tristan keep on messing with my heart like this?