Chapter 64 The Perfumer

(High Elder POV)

"High Priestess Hope, welcome to Stella Foundation Headquarters. I do hope your trip was not a major inconvenience." She went into my outstretched arms and gave me a hug. Hope was like a granddaughter to me and I felt I should be here for her when she arrived.

"Alpha Alexander, I do hope you don't mind me staying here beside your suite." I pointed to the door of my suite which was on the other side of the hallway.

"Of course not, Your Excellency. I know this trip is primarily a business trip. I also have business to attend to while I am here," Alexander said as he shook my hand.

"You do have your keys to your suite, High Priestess Hope?" My eyes twinkled with mischief, knowing the keys were forgotten as being a newly mated couple has its perks.

"Yes, Your Excellency. Right here. Although I can open the door without them." She dangled the keys in her hand and laughed. "Your Excellency, no need for such formalities. You can address me as Hope." She winked at me and without even using her keys, opened the door to their suite.

"I know by the change of hair color, you are the newly anointed High Priestess of Lupa. I also seem to hear three young ladies downstairs. Have you completed the Ring of Lupa?" We walked into their suite and I could see the awe in her eyes. I renovated the suite to match her taste. Modern and trendy yet functional. She had the view of the New York City skyline all around her, fitting for a CEO.

"Not yet, Your Excellency. I have only anointed one other, a Priestess of my mother, Maria. Please High Elder, come sit. Maybe I can offer you a glass of wine if I can find a bottle or better yet, let us all have dinner together." Hope patted an empty space on the sofa for me to sit.

"Maria? The one known as The Scarred Witch? The one your mother struck with lightning?" I couldn't hold back my surprise. I sat down next to her. " Yes, let's have dinner together. I hope you don't mind Alpha Alexander. I want to hear about your trip to Vancouver. When you were delayed, I took the liberty in finding where you were. I was most surprised to hear you made a detour to Canada. Is your Aunt with you here?" Adella when she was alive mentioned her sister wanted the ring which was one of the reasons why she had hidden it. I had my suspicions the meeting at Autumn Moonlight would not be favorable.

"Yes, the same Maria. My Aunt Cecilia unfortunately, has decided to stay with my grandmother." Hope didn't hide her pain in her voice when she spoke of her maternal kin. "Let's all get dressed then and have a nice dinner. I'll make reservations."

"No need, Hope. I have already made reservations. I was supposed to invite the both of you to dinner, however you beat me to it. I will meet the both of you downstairs in let's say 20 minutes?" They both nodded and I took my leave so they could get ready. This was going to be an interesting dinner.

I took the elevator downstairs. I was already dressed and I wanted to see the people from the other two floors as they came out. I already had a car waiting so, I decided to wait in the car.

I saw three girls with two men come out of the elevator. The one girl I knew was Hope's Beta, the two were Alexander's men, the blonde woman was also part of Alexander's pack. The dark haired woman, wearing a tight dress and heels was most probably Maria. She looked to be as old as the other two girls. Obviously, when Hope anointed her, she was given a second chance to experience her youth. How very lucky. Now, she was happily smiling at Alexander's Beta who seemed to be very attentive to her while pressing the key ring to find the car. The lights of a Mercedes Benz blinked and the girls squealed their happiness knowing they would be riding in style.

A few moments later, a limousine pulled to the front of the elevator. Two huge men came off it, one was Alpha Alarick and the other I knew to be a werebear. Usually werebears didn't like the noise of a big city, however this one seemed to enjoy himself, joking around with Alarick. When the elevator came down and opened, out came Hope's human parents and Alexander's mother. All of them dressed to see the sights of New York. They all shook hands and climbed inside the limousine.

Obviously their trip to Vancouver was well planned by Alexander even if it was a detour. He brought with him people he knew he could trust including a werebear who evidently had experience in combat. I should have told Hope about her mother's former pack, but I felt she should find out on her own. Just the same, I knew Alexander would take care of all the details; he is by far the most strategic and cunning of all the Alphas. Seeing all of them here unscathed proves Alexander is worthy of the respect bestowed upon him by the other Alphas of the world.

The elevator doors opened and I saw Hope and Alexander come out and I couldn't help but admire the handsome couple. Hope was wearing a black one shoulder, A-line dress with gold yellow flowers in the front and strappy black sandals to match while Alexander was wearing a casual dinner suit. I opened the door to my Bentley and stepped outside to usher them in.

"Nice car, Your Excellency. I'd ask if I could drive it, but this is first time in New York." Hope eyed the car appreciatively and whistled. "I want one."

"You and your penchant for cars and planes," Alexander said laughingly.

"No need for formalities as we are out as friends. Call me Arthur." I smiled warmly at them. They nodded their heads and entered the car. I went to the front seat so everyone could be comfortable and told the chauffeur our destination.

At the restaurant, my good friend Amelie was already waiting for us at the door.

"Arthur, mon ami!" She kissed me on both cheeks. "It is so good to see you once again. You told me on the phone you have a surprise for me. I did not know I was to meet the daughter of Adella. This is a wonderful surprise!" She went to Hope and lifted her chin so her eyes could catch the light. "Ma cherie, let me take a look at you. The golden eyes and the white hair. You are an identical copy of your mother Adella." She kissed Hope on both cheeks. "Adella was a good friend of mine, she helped me build my empire! As you can see, your mother was a very generous woman." She winked.  Amelie turned her attention to Alexander and kissed him also on both cheeks. She then tried to rub off the lipstick on his cheeks.

"Alexander, mon cher, how are you? You are still devishly handsome I see." She turned to Hope. "This one broke my heart once. He said I was not his type." Amelie laughed. "Now I know what he meant seeing you so beautiful." She took Hope's arm, guided her to the dining area and motioned for the maitre d' to ready our table. "Hurry, we have very important people in our midst."

Amelie took Hope to a table at the center of the dining area. I could see people already taking their phones out to take a picture of Hope. Amelie knew Hope was a celebrity and Hope dining at her restaurant was practically an endorsement.

"Where are my manners? Hope this is Amelie. She owns this restaurant. She is very famous herself. She is known to us as The Perfumer." I saw Hope's eyes light up in understanding. This was going to be an interesting night indeed.

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(Hope POV)

My Aunt Cecilia was wrong, The Perfumer wasn't a he, but a she. Amelie was a beautiful overdecorated French woman in her late 30's. If she had lights on her dress, she would look like a moving Christmas tree. Her blonde hair was in an ornate bun with little gems pinned to the sides to keep her bun in place. She had a huge amount of make-up on, her red lips as well as her long polished red fingernails glistened under the light. She wore an emerald green gown with a matching emerald choker and earrings which matched the color of her eyes. As our host for this evening, she exuded energy and it lingered around us as well as the heavy scent of her perfume.

Our dinner was wonderful. We had Soupe à l'oignon, Salade Nicoise, Confit de Canard and chocolate soufflé. I was allowed a glass of white wine with a napkin wrapped over it to hide its contents. So many people watching me, I had to keep appearances.

"Adella helped me create my business of scents. I was very young when I met Adella...by accident, of course. She was very fond of disguising herself which was strange since she also can make herself unnoticeable to everyone else if need be." Amelie sighed. "I terribly miss Adella. She would always come and visit me here every single time she was in New York. Now, I have her daughter with me. Adella must be smiling at me from heaven." Amelie's voice trailed off, as she reminisced the good times with my mother.

"There was one scent I named after her because it was her favorite scent for her favorite disguise. She loved playing an old woman or an old man and she needed to smell like ointment. I named it Adella's cream. How about you? Do you have a favorite disguise?" She gulped down her wine, waiting for an answer.

"I have only been a Priestess for a short while. However, I would also prefer myself to be an old woman if I were to choose a disguise."

"Ah, I shall give you all my scents I have ever created. No payment. Adella was kind enough to invest in my gift, thus as a gift to her, I will provide her daughter all the scents I have." She suddenly wiped the corner of her eyes with her napkin. She was tearing up while remembering my mother who was a dear, dear friend of hers.

"That's very kind of you. If you ever need anything from me, do not hesitate to ask," I told her.

"Oui! I know what to ask. Not from you though, ma cherie, but from Alexander. A kiss." She tapped a finger on her cheek.

Alexander got up, winked at me and gave her a kiss on both cheeks. She laughed. "Young love. I was in love once upon a time." She sighed dramatically. "That is a story I will tell when we are drunk on red wine."

My phone suddenly began to ring. I took it out of my purse and saw the call was coming from my mother. "It's my mom. Can I take this call here at the table?"

"Your mom?" Amelie asked, clearly confused.

"I was raised by humans." She smiled in understanding.

"Of course. Take the call here. People will be hounding you if you leave." She waved her hand in the air as consent.

"Mom, are you in trouble?" I couldn't hide the concern in my voice.

"No, dear. We just got done shopping and we were wondering if you had dinner already," my mother said.

"We're at a French restaurant. You can come here and have dinner with us. I don't think the owner would mind. I'll send you the name and address via text," I told her.

"Ok dear. We'll see you in a bit then." I sent her the name of Amelie's restaurant and the address and she messaged back telling me she received it.

"Our parents are coming to have dinner here if that's ok?" I asked Amelie.

"Of course. Anything for you. The more the merrier." She motioned for one of the attendants to set up the table next to us.

It wasn't long a wait. They must have been near when they called me. I saw the limousine stop in front of the restaurant and out came our parents and two huge men. The people crowding the entrance, who were curious of whoever the paparazzi was hounding, had to move to let them in.

"Alarick? Is that Alarick I see?" I turned my head to answer, but stopped when I saw the furious look on Amelie's face.

I glanced at the High Elder. He was laughing and clearly enjoying himself.