Alec licked the blood on his lips after biting Lauren on the neck. She gasped when he slowly went down to his knees in front of her without tearing off their gazes.
"What will you do-"
"I want another bite, Lauren. Perhaps on your thigh?" He said darkly which made her gulp in anticipation.
She knew his fangs would hurt but she wanted the pleasure that came along with the pain. His lips sucking on her skin, his bloodthirsty eyes, his every gulp of delight, all of it felt like heaven to her.
So when he kneeled in front of her and lifted her skirt to reveal her creamy thighs, she felt a little dizzy. And when he finally sunk his venomous fangs into her skin, she threw her head back as she held the back of his head.
In the middle of it, Lauren’s eyes widened when she heard a knock.
"You have a visitor, Your Majesty," it was Matthias’ strained voice.
Panic arose in her chest but Alec acted like he didn’t hear anything. He continued sucking her thigh like all he cared for was her blood and nothing else.
"Alec, someone is outside!" She tapped his shoulder.
He withdrew his fangs with an annoyed look.
"It is Chief Councilman Lionel, Your Majesty."
Lauren flipped to the side and almost landed on the floor badly. She even hit a lamp and knocked some books because she was in a hurry to get away from the table and fix herself. The buttons of her dress had been unbuttoned which exposed her chest, so she hurriedly buttoned them up. They were in the King’s office for Pete’s sake, they shouldn’t be doing dirty things here!
"Fix your things, Alec!" She said in a small voice at Alec who was still in front of his table and looking at her grimly as if he wasn’t pleased by how she jumped out of his table in haste.
"Come on!" She threw him a sharp look while she was still busy with her dress.
Alec sighed irritably and started to pick up his things that were scattered on the floor. Lauren then went to the shelves and pretended that she was checking out the books when the chief councilman entered the room.
"Your Majesty," Lionel bowed.
Lauren turned to the old man who immediately noticed her presence.
"Good day, Chief Councilman Lionel. I am sure you have something important to discuss with His Majesty. I shall excuse myself then," she said and exited smoothly as if she wasn’t panicking a minute ago.
When she saw Matthias outside, she cleared her throat and walked past him. Her cheeks were a little flaring. The way Matthias bowed his head with a ghost of smile on his lips told her that he somehow had an idea of what happened inside the King’s office before Lionel came.
Feeling parched after that heated moment, Lauren was about to go to the kitchen when she crossed paths with a minister in the hallway towards the staircase.
It was Minister Haystone. The middle-aged pureblooded vampire smiled at her. Seeing the man, she was reminded of his daughter, Jennifer, the lady Ethan was supposed to marry. A friend of Eloise back in childhood who also bullied her.
"Queen Lauren," Minister Hayston bowed. When he raised his head to meet her gaze, a sharp glint crossed his eyes for a moment, which didn’t escape her.
Most ministers didn’t want her to be the queen. She knew that. All of them believed her sisters were way better. Or perhaps somewhere at the back of their minds, they could feel that she was not a simpleton they could manipulate but a wild flower with a lot of thorns.
"My daughter, Jennifer, is holding a tea party tomorrow in our mansion. Most of the ladies from elite families will come. She asked me to invite you."
And the woman really had the guts to invite her after how she was bitten by her snake years ago?
Well, it was a long time ago and people changed. Though, she doubted if those ladies would even want a glimpse of her if she was not the Queen.
A tea party with a bunch of noble ladies sounded a little chaotic, but Lauren thought that it was a good opportunity to take a look at the ladies in town. By doing so, she might find a trace that would lead her to that mysterious woman.
She couldn’t just idle. Her time in the castle was about to end. She needed to know who was the mastermind of the rebels.
"But if you are busy, it is alright. My daughter will not mind."
"No, Minister Haystone. It happens that I have some free time tomorrow. I can spare an hour or two. I heard Jennifer just came back from Acheron. She was a dear friend of my sister Eloise back then, so I want to see how she’s doing."
It was dinner when Lauren met Alec again. He had been out for hours after his talk with the council chief. Meanwhile, she stayed in the castle and read the court reports in the King’s office.
Normally, if the King was still alive and he had no eligible heir, the Queen had no right to meddle with the court affairs and read confidential court reports. One cannot even enter the King’s office without his presence.
Things had changed though.
"I talked with Dr. Bentley. The rose we found in Abalone village was made out of sorcery and filled with poison. As of the moment, he couldn’t pinpoint what kind of poison and how it was made, which means a powerful black mage is behind this," said Alec.
A black mage? Lauren’s eyes squinted and she stopped eating.
"No new deranged human?"
"None."
She nodded, a little relieved. But she knew the relief wouldn’t last long. They didn’t know when would another one resurface.
"Minister Haystone seems to be suspicious. You have been digging into the court officials, right? Found anything yet?" she asked.
Alec’s eyes dropped to her plate which she only touched for a few bites.
"Eat more. We’ll talk later."