ELLA'S POV
I follow the palace servant, attempting to walk with a bit more grace despite my humble appearance. Several servants on night shift turn to stare as we pass. I am sure they are wondering what a wretched servant like me is doing in the Alpha King's main palace at such a late hour, without the company of her mistress.
I am still dressed in my usual simple servant attire. I saw no reason to change into something more presentable to impress my three mates who hold such disdain for me. I am also yet to know why they sent me flowers or invited me to dine with them after they had coldly rejected me as their mate not long ago. Or maybe they realized I can heal them and want to make a bargain.

The servant guides me straight to the grand royal dining room, the same room that princess Hellen was invited to eat with the kings after she failed to lift the curse the first time.
"Please, Go on in." the servant ushers me into the spacious room.
My powerful mates sit comfortably at the nicely crafted table set with the most luxurious tableware, crystal goblets wine and trays of various foods. Three servants stand in a line a few steps from the table, ready to be of service to them.
To my biggest surprise, all the three kings turn and flash warm smiles as I approach the table, a stark contrast to the usual disdainful looks they always give me.
"Welcome, Ella. We are pleased to see that you accepted our invitation." King Reagan says. I am slowly learning ways to telling them apart, King Reagan's longer hair sets him apart from his brothers, and King Kian prefers darker clothes, often in black.
"Th-thank you, Your Majesties." I say and bow. I must still show them respect since they are the kings.

"No need for formalities, Ella. You are our mate, after all." king Aleric says sweetly and my eyes widen in confusion at his words. I had not expected such a statement after the way they had treated me before.
"Don't just stand, come sit with us." King kian urges and gestures at a seat close to his brothers, king Aleric. I hesitate my eyes darting between the three kings who are watching me.
"Have a seat, don't be scared." king Aleric urges and I approach the table and take a seat as instructed.
One of the maids approaches fills a large dinner plate with a variety of delectable dishes and gently places it infront of me which I accept gratefully.

Being in here around them should feel good and bring comfort, but it doesn't. Instead, I feel confused and my heart races in my chest.
I take a deep breath, mustering up the courage to speak.
"Thank you, Your Majesties, for the flowers and everything, but... why did you invite me here? Especially after what happened before..." I ask nervously.
"Ella, we asked you to come tonight because we realized we were wrong to reject you as our mate. We made a mistake and didn't see your true worth," King Reagan says, surprising me again.
Does that mean they don't mind that I am a lowly human Servant, anymore?
"I don't get it," I say. "Why the sudden change? You made it clear before that I wasn't good enough for you."
"Ella, we were too quick to judge you. We now see that you have the qualities we are looking for." King kian says his hand reaching out to lightly brush against mine. I shiver at the contact. "We want to spend more time with you so that you can see our good side."
I am taken aback by their sudden change of heart. I had never imagined that there is a day they would come to me and ask for forgiveness after treating me like a worthless dog that night.
King Aleric leans in closer, his deep blue eyes locking onto my hesitant gaze. "We want you to know how much we now care for you, Ella. We want to show you how much you mean to us."
"We understand if you have doubts. But we promise to make you feel cherished and adored from today onwards. You are our mate, and we will do anything to earn your forgiveness." King Reagan adds to his brothers statement.
My heart race as I look into their mesmerizing eyes, feeling the pull of our mate bond. But a small voice in the back of my mind questions their motives. They have previously been treating me like I am some gross thing that nauseated them and now all over a sudden I am all that they want! Not to talk of how they have been sending princess Hellen alot of expensive gifts.
"What about Princess Hellen? Do you love her as well?" I ask hesitantly."You have been sending her gifts and..."
Aleric's grip on my hand tightens as he stares deeply into my eyes. "Princess Hellen means nothing to us, she is just here to lift the curse, Ella. You are our mate, the only one we want. We will do anything to make you happy, to show you how much we love you."
I feel a wave of desire wash over me as King Aleric's words seem to penetrate into my soul. My doubts immediately begin to fade as I look into his intense gaze.
"Give us another chance!" He pleads and I nod slowly. Maybe, just maybe, this dinner is not about them wanting something from me as I had thought, but about them wanting to make things right and start anew. I really hope I am not making a mistake.
He smiles at me before leaning back on his seat, his eyes filled with relief. He doesn't let go of my hand.
KING ALERIC'S POV
"Allow me to help," I offer flirtously to our human mate while leaning in to show her how to use the cutlery to cut into the roasted meat on her plate. She surprisingly is not easy to fool as I had previously thought.
Despite our efforts to apologize and convince her that we like her she still seemed unsure, like she didn't trust us at all.
I could see that the only thing that really affected her was our special connection as mates. Her heart raced whenever I touched or leaned close, and I decided to use this to get closer to her.
"Thank you," she murmurs softly once I am done slicing her meal. Her innocent big eyes are so captivating, making her look beautiful despite her old, messy clothes. I may not be a fun of girls that look messy like she does but she is not as filthy as we had made her sound.
I have bullied her several times and made rude comments about her, which is strange because I never bully anyone, expecially not the weak. I keep telling myself it's because I hate that we were mated to such a lowly servant girl. But the truth is I love the expression on her face when she is embarrassed or scared, like the one she's showing now as I subtly touch her thigh under the table.
"Let's plan a ride tomorrow, and spend time together as mates should. How does that sound?" My brother Reagan suggests to her with a grin. Her attention immediately shifts to him.
"You want to hang out with me?" she questions, sounding uncertain.
"Of course, we want to spend time with our mate, unless you don't want to..." Kian says, but she interrupts him quickly.
"Of course, I want to... it's just that I have duties to attend to my mistress, and the only free time I have is always at night," she explains, a tinge of sadness in her voice.
"Night works for us," Reagan responds, prompting a smile from her.
"I'll have a word with Princess Hellen to reduce your duties so we can spend more time together," Kian suggests, but she politely declines with a restrained smile.
"You don't need to do that," she replies, a response that most servants wouldn't give. Any other servant would have immediately accepted such an offer.
"I must go prepare my mistress's bath for the night," she suddenly excuses herself, rising from her seat.
"I'll have a guard accompany you," I offer, standing up. She smiles gratefully. She is human and doesn't see in the dark. Not that I think anyone would hurt her while she is in the palace grounds but the distance between the main palace and the guest quarters is big. I guide her towards the door and instruct one of the guards to make sure she reaches her room safely.
We wait until she is out of earshot before speaking.
"She's falling right into our trap. Soon, she will willingly give us her blood, and we will be free from this curse once and for all." Kian says motioning to one of the servants to refill our wine glasses.
"It's almost too easy. She doesn't suspect a thing." Reagan adds.
I take back my seat and we click our glasses together in celebration.