172: THE REPRESENTATIVE OF DE MEDICI FAMILY

THE REPRESENTATIVE OF DE MEDICI FAMILY

Raine was filling the answer of her test diligently. She even finished it twenty minutes earlier than the due time. With the extra time, she was going to use the ten minutes to double check her answer. And she was going to spend the last ten minutes by looking around the test room silently.

Some students had done their paper just like her. They checked it again, and again just like she did. They were afraid that there was a missing question, or an error from their side. Meanwhile, the sight of other students who still had their nose buried behind the question paper, could be seen. Most of them were getting anxious, if ever they forgot to answer any of the questions.

Suddenly, Raine caught inside her own thoughts. She was wondering. If she got to pass the exam, then it could only mean that from today onward, this sight would be the very common scene that she would see every day. She was so thrilled. Just thinking about it made her full of excitement. 

Raine's eyes landed on Stephan, who was sitting just a couple rows away from her. She frowned when she caught the sight of him, so shamelessly and so soundlessly sleeping. He looked as if he didn't have a care in the world. 

How could he fall asleep in the middle of the test?

But then, Raine realized that she didn't have to care about that. She would ask Torak anyway once she met him later. So then, she continued her little observation of that place. Until the bell was ringing, an indication that the time was over. All the examinees must submit their answer. Raine was waiting for her answer sheets to be taken. And while waiting, she put all of her belongings inside her backpack. 

Only when half of the people had left the room, and it was finally less crowded. Raine stood up, and walked towards the door. She was suddenly reminded of what Torak said this morning, that he would ask someone to pick her up. Knowing Torak, Raine was sure that the person must have been waiting for her by now.

"Hey! Is someone supposed to pick you up?" Stephan ran after Raine. He caught her only two seconds later. "Or do you want me to drop you off at Donovan Enterprise?"

When Stephan mentioned the company, Raine could feel every eye in the room, staring at her questioningly. She was still not used to being the center of attention. Not even now.

Raine didn't answer Stephan's question. Instead, she quickened her steps, almost running. However, despite her effort avoiding the dragon shifter, Stephan was faster than her. He caught up with her without even breaking a sweat.

"I'm being polite here, why are you running away?" Stephan asked. But he smirked, seemingly satisfied when he realized that Raine was getting uncomfortable. "So, will you come with me? Yes?" He was still trying to get an answer from her. For as far as he knew, the girl was with speech disabilities, so he said generously. "A nod will do, just nod your head for 'yes'."

Regardless of what he said, Raine shook her head instead.

"Why are you so mean to me?" Stephan complained. "I know that our first encounter didn't leave a good impression on you about me. But, you've got to know one thing: I am not that bad." He tried to explain himself.

But then, Raine started to quicken her steps even more than before. All just to get away from him. In response to this, Stephan looked at her with amusement. What made this little girl think that she could outrun me?—he thought.

"Hey, I am talking to you…" Stephan chased after Raine, because now she started to run as fast as she could. 

Their interaction was getting more, and more attention from people around them. Because the both of them were running inside the long corridor, going all the way to the lobby.

There was one thing that Raine wasn't aware of; apparently most shifters tended to enjoy chasing after their prey. Thus, little did she know, the moment when she started to run, Stephan's instinct was immediately incited to catch her.

Raine was running as fast as her feet could take her towards the entrance gate, where many students were walking together with their friends. But then, from the corner of her eyes, Raine caught the sight of a familiar car. It was Torak's car. Wait, didn't he say that he would get someone to pick me up? Did he change his mind, and decided to come pick me up himself?—she thought.

Although the last option didn't seem to be impossible. Either way, Raine's focus was to run towards the car. Just like this morning, the flashy car attracted people's attention, making them stop walking to relish the sight of this rare car.

She decided to cover her face with her backpack, so that people wouldn't catch the sight of her face. She ran towards Torak's car. But before she could reach it, Raine could feel someone grabbing her shoulder. The grab successfully made her stop.

Raine shrieked in panic, but she stopped struggling right when she felt the familiar spark from the touch. His rough voice caressed her ears.

"What is going on? Why are you running like that?" Torak looked around, trying to find if there was a threat around. For as long as his vision could reach, he found nothing that seemed to be a possible inconvenience for his mate. Nor did he smell any peculiar scent in the air. But, why was Raine so terrified? 

Seeing Torak there, Raine felt an instant wave of relief running through her veins, as if a heavy burden was lifted off of her shoulder. 

"The dragon shifter…" Raine whispered, and pointed her hands toward Stephan. His smirking face from earlier, suddenly froze. He stopped that instant, while holding his hand in front of him. He thought that way he might appear innocent. 

"Alpha Torak…" Stephan said in a low voice from a great distance. Torak could hear him loud and clear nonetheless. Stephan didn't mean to catch Raine at all, he just enjoyed chasing after her. If he really intended to catch her, he would do so in only a matter of seconds. 

Yet, Raine didn't seem to think the same as him. And now, in consequence of what he had done, the dragon shifter had to face the wrath of the Alpha. All because of his foolish action of trying to chase after his mate. 

"It's not like what you think…" Stephan was fidgeting under Torak's angry gaze, no matter of the distance that was between them.

"Didn't Calleb already tell you, that you're not allowed to come near her?!" Torak said in a low voice. But the sound of him was so scary. It was topped with the aura around him that was turning cold, and dangerous. 

People were looking at Raine, and Torak. Some of them were whispering to their friends, and made their own perception about what was going on. 

Most students didn't follow the business news. But there were a few young heirs, and heiresses who took the same entrance exam that day. These heirs, and heiresses recognized Torak Donovan because he was the talk of the people in the business circle not so long ago. 

They took a couple pictures of him. He was hugging a girl's waist closed to him protectively. But unfortunately, they couldn't see Raine's face because she used her backpack as a cover. 

And the questions remained the same. What a young multibillionaire like Torak was doing in this university? Was the girl his girlfriend? But, from her appearance, and how it showed, wasn't she too young to be his lover?

On the other hand, Stephan gulped hard in fear. He walked slowly towards Torak, and Raine. "Alpha, I was just trying to help her. Because she was looking for her test room."

Torak grabbed Raine's shoulder, and turned around to their car. Because now the crowd was starting to get worse, with many curious eyes trying to tail behind them. They were disappointed because they didn't see anything exciting. 

When Torak and Raine got inside the car, it was Calleb's turn now. He came out from the driver seat, and walked to approach the dragon shifter. Calleb's appearance incited waves of whispers among the crowd, because he looked so young, handsome, and careless. The type that would make a young girl's heart melt. 

"Let's talk." Calleb said 

Once Calleb was close enough with Stephan, he flung his arms around his shoulder, bringing him away from the premises and they headed towards the parking lot. 

"I have told you specifically, to follow her secretly!" Calleb hit Stephan's head hard. They were inside Stephan's car now. "Why did you decide to appear in front of her without being careful?! And what did you do to her?" The Gamma pretended to recall his memory. "Ah, yes! You chased after her! Are you tired of living?!" 

He was so fortunate because of the situation, Torak could still hang on his last strand of sanity. If there was no side circumstances, his beast instinct would've taken over right away, and tore this dragon shifter apart.

"She was lost, all I did was help her!" Stephan roared as he rubbed his aching head. "I didn't do anything! She just freaked out!" He tried to defend himself for the accusation. 

He didn't do something immoral nor did he try to scare or harm her. Well, he technically teased her just a little bit… he couldn't help it, teasing her was completely inevitable once he found out that Raine was easily scared.

Something about her was very attractive.

"I didn't see how chasing after her could actually help her with anything!" Calleb yelled, and hit the dragon shifter's head again. "Why didn't you just leave her alone!?"

"That was a misunderstanding! She misunderstood me!" Stephan shrieked. "Stop hitting my head!"

"I have told you during my instruction, crystal clear! That you have to stay away from her! Look after her in SECRET! Which part of my words that you don't get? You literally had one job! By couldn't you do it as I said!?" Calleb scratched his head in frustration. 

The dragon shifter was too haughty to admit his mistake, but Stephan wasn't at the position to be more annoying than this.

"I am sorry, I am sorry!" Stephan finally said it out loud when he looked at Calleb who was about to hit him again. As a dragon shifter, apparently he turned out to be not as persistent as his older brother. 

"You do really need to be beaten first, before you could understand a job, don't you?" Calleb slumped his body. "If you already get it, now drive me to the company."

"Why should I?" Stephan asked agitatedly. He didn't want to spend even a second longer with the angry Gamma. 

"Because you have made me get out of the car. And now, they left me for sure." Remembering how angry Torak was when he growled through the mind-link, Calleb knew that another punishment for him, and the dragon shifter was still on the way. 

"So annoying!" Stephan mumbled. He was still young, and immature, so his past action was only based on his impulsiveness. The most important of all, Stephan didn't seem to have any malice intention. That was why Torak chose him, and told him to come. 

As long as his brother didn't give a bad influence on him, he would be fine within Torak's pack. With Raine's current issue that she couldn't be close to lycan, Torak couldn't ask anyone from his pack to do the job. 

Regardless, Stephan was still considered a strong shifter. And above all, he was more than capable to protect Raine if ever any bad circumstance shall happen.

"I can hear that." Calleb said as he closed his eyes. "Now drive, fast! I have a meeting to attend to." 

"Why don't you take a taxi?" Stephan said ruefully, but he started the engine anyway. Then they drove away from the parking lot.

"Why do I have to take a taxi, when I can use your service? Although it's true, I don't like your smell." Calleb said irritatedly.

"You can shift into your wolf form, and then you can just run." Stephan drove to the main road.

"I'm too tired to run." 

==============   

"Shouldn't we wait for Calleb?" Raine asked, when suddenly Raphael switched seats behind the wheel. "He is still talking to the dragon shifter." She added, while Raphael was starting the engine.

"He could find his way back. Don't worry about him." Raphael said.  2

"But, what if—" Raine took a second look at the entrance gate, but Calleb and Stephan were no longer there. 

"Stephan could never cause any harm to Calleb." Torak caressed Raine's back. "Are you hurt somewhere? Did he hurt you?" He tried to smell the blood from her, but there was no anomaly, and that relieved him. 

"Actually, he didn't do anything…" Raine said, as she was hesitant for a while. "I think I overreacted…" She said sheepishly. "Because the last time…"

"It's all right." Torak patted her head. "I was the one who didn't tell you about this. I am to blame for this." And he didn't think the stupid Stephan would walk straight to her right in the first day. 

"Did you really ask him to look after me…?" Raine asked, she put away her backpack, and zeroed her attention back on Torak. The last meeting with Stephan didn't end well, did it?—she thought.

"Yes, because I can't ask anyone from my pack to do so." Torak pulled out a sandwich that he bought just before he came to pick her up. Then he handed it to her. "Eat first, you must be hungry."

Looking at the sandwich, Raine's face beamed with excitement. She took it. "But, why? I think I'm fine now. I mean being near another lycans won't cause me problems…"

Torak frowned when she said 'another lycans'. The sound of it didn't seem right. It created this idea inside his head, of her being surrounded by many men. "You have been surrounded enough. If I was to add one more, I might have to face many risks. And I don't want to take any risk when it comes to you." He said. 

He still remembered that time when Raine was admitted to the hospital, and how bad her condition was at that time. And now that he wasn't on good terms with Serefina, what if something bad should suddenly happen to her, and Serefina was nowhere to be found? With all that in mind, Torak preferred to not take any risk at all.

Raine couldn't argue with him about that. 

"What are you going to do to him? You will not do 'something' to him, right?" Raine was worried. She felt bad about the thing with Stephan. If he was about to be punished because of her, it would make her feel even more bad for him. Actually, he had indeed helped her. Maybe next time, she would try to talk to him.

"Just a bit of a chat, I guess." Torak said in a deep meaningful tone. 

After that, there was silence inside the car, while Raphael was driving. Torak was looking at a document that needed to be signed. Since he had many lines of businesses, he had many things to look after. Especially when one of his businesses was continuously making losses. 

"Raphael, where are we going? We are not heading to the company, or home…" Raine looked at the unfamiliar road around her. She just realized that this wasn't the way to neither the company, nor home. 

"We are going to meet a business partner. I hope you don't mind coming along with me." Torak put down the document on his hand.

"Of course I don't." Raine grinned and snuggled into Torak's embrace, while the Alpha continued to do his work.

==============   

The car stopped at the lobby of a hotel, and from the looks of it, this must be a very expensive hotel. The kind of place that would cost someone a good fortune just to stay for one night. 

Raine felt a little bit nervous when she stepped inside the fancy lobby. She realized that she wasn't dressed for this visit. Most of the people there would dress in formal attire, or a beautiful dress for women. Meanwhile, she was wearing a sweater, jeans, and a pair of casual sneakers. Her appearance was completely out of the place.

The way she dressed, it really gave away her age. She was a timid little girl who just finished her entrance exam. However, when those hotel staffs looked at her, they treated her very well. It was because of the man beside her. 

Torak, Raine, and Raphael entered the elevator that was bringing them to the eleventh floor, where the meeting between Torak and the representative from the de Medicci family would be held. Also, at the same floor, a room was booked for Raine by Torak before. That way, she could take a rest there. The room was only a few meters away from the meeting room. 

"Is it okay if I leave you alone here?" Torak opened the door and held it for Raine. Meanwhile, Raphael went ahead to check on their meeting room. 

"Yes. It is fine…" Raine nodded gleefully when she saw the beautiful room inside.

"If you need anything, I will be in the meeting room. It's the room right in front of the elevator." Torak wouldn't mind it at all, if ever Raine interrupted him in the middle of the meeting. "If you're hungry, you can call the hotel staff to bring you some food. Do not roam around this place alone, understood?" 

Raine chuckled when she heard Torak's worried words. She felt like Torak was now acting like a nagging father, who was talking to his child. "Don't worry. I will just stay inside the room." She tiptoed, and pecked his lips.

"Good." Torak slightly relaxed, because of her words, and also her kiss. "I will leave you here then…" He rubbed her head, and left the room.

After Torak left her alone, Raine sauntered this spacious room. She opened the huge window inside. Behind it, there was a view of a big pool, where not many people were there. 

Afterward, Raine put down her backpack on a king size bed, then she sat on it. Though this bed wasn't as nice as the one in their bedroom at home, Raine enjoyed jumping on it like a small child, before she felt tired and decided to check out the bathroom. There must be a bath up, thus she would soak herself while waiting for Torak to finish his meeting. 

============== 

Torak was about to enter the meeting room when Raphael mind-linked him anxiously. 

[Alpha, you have to see this.] Raphael said.

Torak, who was already in front of the door, pushed it open. He walked inside the room. The first person that he saw was Raphael, who was sitting on the right side of his seat. And then, there was this person that he thought he wouldn't meet him here. 

But there he was, sitting in the middle of four elders from the de Medicci family. His peculiar smirk grazed his lips. Apparently, nobody was aware of his golden eyes. It seemed to Torak that the other three de Medicci elders were enchanted, somehow. 

"Mr. Donovan." One of the elders stood up, and greeted Torak. Then he was followed by the others, including this particular person.

Torak's eyes glued on him, as his expression turned rigid. 

"Mr. Donovan, I want to introduce our representative of the family." The old man said, as he opened his palm to introduce the man beside him. "This is Reiz de Medicci, he is the fourth grandson and is…"

Torak cut his explanation about the man's status in the family. Because he knew better than them that it was all just a big lie. Thus, he refused to waste his time to hear such crap. "Let's start the meeting." He said callously, as he gestured to them to take their seat. 

That was rude, but those elders from the de Medicci family couldn't complain about it.

Torak's eyes slightly turned a few shades darker during the meeting, even Raphael also felt the tense in the atmosphere.

The meeting ended in half an hour, much faster than they thought.

After both parties signed the memorandum of understanding, they shook hands as a gesture of the beginning of their collaboration. They were ready to leave the room.

"Can I have a moment with Mr. Reiz de Medicci?" Torak said in a cold tone, as he sat back on his seat. 

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