Chapter 49
A very regal-looking couple who appeared to be no older than in their late forties got out of a top-of-the-line luxury sedan. I looked at Daniel questioningly.
“Lycans live a little longer than humans and age slower.” As he said it, it dawned on me that all three of them looked good for their ages too, I just hadn’t thought about it too much. I took a steadying breath as I watched the couple walk up the path. Maria ran to the door, a fake smile plastered on her face.
“Richard! Miranda, come in!” She was a little louder and more enthusiastic than was needed, and I realised I wasn’t the only one who was nervous. A very good-looking man with a few silver streaks through his incredibly dark hair stepped through the door first. He was wearing a beautifully tailored three-piece suit in charcoal grey. With a royal blue tie and expensive-looking leather dress shoes, everything about him screamed wealth and power. Even through the suit I could tell he was muscular and took great care of himself. Following behind him was a woman who wouldn’t have looked out of place on the society pages in the forties or fifties. She was tall and slim, but I could tell she was also athletic, dressed in what I believed to be a white Dior pants suit and white Louis Vuitton stilettoes. Her auburn hair was pulled into an elaborate chignon updo and with diamond earrings and an enormous princess-cut diamond ring, it must have been five carats. I immediately felt underdressed and unworthy, which I was beginning to think was her plan.
“So where is my new daughter-in-law?” Bellowed the man, he kissed Maria on the cheek as he took a confident stride into the room. Daniel and I got up from the table, he took my hand and led me over to him.
“Dad, this is Charlie, Charlie, this is my father, Richard.” He introduced us with a smile that was a mirror image of his father’s.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” I said offering him my hand. He scoffed, batted my hand away gently and embraced me in a warm hug, sniffing me loudly.
“Please call me Richard, you’re human then?” He asked somewhat rhetorically. I stammered slightly unsure of what to say. “This must have come as quite a shock to you.” He examined my face closely, frowning slightly. “But you seem to be handling it well.” He smiled again and I couldn’t help but return it. “Congratulation’s son, you’ve been blessed by the goddess with a real beauty!” He said as he slapped Daniel on the shoulder. My cheeks flushed at the compliment and Daniel put his arm around me. “Humble too, that’s not a bad quality for a Luna!” He commented on my blush. He moved passed, us and took a seat at the opposite end to where Daniel had been seated, his back to the kitchen. The woman who had been standing by the door was examining the room with a distasteful look on her face.
“I see you didn’t take any of my decorating tips.” She commented to Maria who had made her way to the kitchen and was filling a teapot with boiling water.
“No, Miranda, I understand you don’t like my style, but that’s alright, I like it, and Ben likes it. And this is our home, not yours, so respectfully, no I didn’t take your decorating tips.” Maria said with a smile that turned to a grimace and an eye roll when Miranda’s back was turned. She took a few purposeful strides towards me and gripped my chin with her thumb and forefinger.
“Hmm.” Was all she said, before she released me and sat at the table on her husband's right, she suddenly leaned on the back of her chair and put her hand over her eyes. “Where did I go wrong?” She lamented. “One son married to an omega, the other mated to a human!? My great-grandmother would be so ashamed!” She wailed as Maria put the teapot on the table, Daniel's arm around me stiffened as he tried to remain calm.
“Tea, coffee? What does everyone want?” Maria asked as she placed the warm pastries down next to the first dish. She picked up a plate and used a tiny pair of tongs to pick up something with raspberries on it placing it in front of her mother-in-law, then a larger cinnamon roll-like pastry on a second plate and gave it to Richard. He smiled his thanks, obviously used to his wife’s reactions and ignoring her as Daniel and I retook our seats. “Coffee for you Richard?” Maria asked him.
“Yes, that would be lovely dear.” He replied. Maria pushed the plunger down on the French press, and poured some coffee into a cup, she added the steamed milk and sugar and handed it to Richard, who accepted it with a smile. She then strained some tea into a second cup and added sugar, and placed it on a third plate, she placed a few mint leaves and a lemon slice on the plate putting it in front of Miranda.
“Your tea is ready Miranda,” Maria said with fake enthusiasm. Daniel and I retook our seats, I sat on the opposite side to Miranda. Daniel squeezed my hand gently. “Coffee for both of you?” Maria asked us. My mouth was too dry to say anything, so I nodded my reply.
“Yes, thank you, Maria.” Daniel smiled warmly at her. Once everyone’s drink had been poured and we were all seated, Daniel cleared his throat and stood. “I’m glad you could all be here to meet my mate and future Luna of our pack, but we do have some other more pressing matters to discuss too.” He began.
“What matters?” Richard asked concerned. Miranda slammed her hand down on the table.
“It doesn’t matter! Nothing else matters! Our sons have completely inappropriate mates and rather than doing something about it you are accepting them with open arms!” She screamed; Daniel growled menacingly.
“You will be civil to my mate or mother of mine or not I will punish you like any other member of this pack.” He snarled at her.
“I’m starting to believe your father should have never handed the pack over to you! You clearly don’t have what it takes to be an Alpha.” She snapped back at him, her chin raised defiantly. Both Richard and I jumped up at the same time, but while I was attempting to calm Daniel down, he looked like he might attack his wife himself.
“You will respect your Alpha and our son in my presence! I have had enough of your spoiled, entitled behaviour! You are not the Luna anymore!” Richard roared, while I gently pushed Daniel back onto his seat. I heard Miranda scoff and knew Daniel was about to lose his temper.
“I will always be the Luna; these two ill-bred females will never replace me. I am part of the greatest Lycan dynasty the world has ever seen! My family runs every pack in North America! Their families are nothing! She’s just a human for goddess’s sake!” She screeched. I saw Daniel’s eyes start to flicker to that of his wolf, and I heard Ben growl warningly behind me.
“One more word out of you and I will have you thrown in the cells until you can respect those ranked above you!” Daniel’s gravelly wolf voice threatened. I gently pulled his face towards me, to make him look at me, I kept my own face calm. She couldn’t hurt me with her words, and he needed to see that.
“She’s not just human. That’s part of the reason you are here.” Maria stated calmly. “If you had let anyone else speak for once.” She added quietly, but I knew if I heard it everyone else did too.
“Then what is she?” Asked Richard, Miranda had perked up too, her eyes studying me intently.
“She has a name and is sitting right here! Do not talk about my mate as if she were not your rightful Luna!” Daniel spat, his eyes flickering as he struggled to reign in his wolf. Richard smiled apologetically at me.
“You are right son. What is your lineage, my dear?” He asked me softly.
“Well, it’s not Fae, look at her hair!” Miranda spat, and then she got up and sniffed me. “Nymph, perhaps?”
“I don’t know,” I said trying to keep my temper at bay. “My mother is human; I have no memories of my father he left when I was a baby,” I stated, glaring at Miranda.
“Hmm, sounds like a nymph. Not vampire, thank the goddess... but there is something in her scent, I feel like I should know but can’t place it! That could indicate power at the very least.” Miranda exclaimed as she walked towards the kitchen, she picked up her tea along the way and took a sip, as she paced. “We must find out who the father is. If he came from a powerful family, all might not be lost!” She said excitedly, that’s when I lost it.
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