Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Rhea
11
It’s awfully a warm day today even when it’s the middle of November but I don’t question why as I walk back. The ground is still soggy, from the rain two nights before, so I take a small detour and take another way back to Marcella. I’m not the one in the right state of mind to deal with the scolding if she finds out I was trekking the grounds around the manor without any
shoes.
But that’s the last thing on my mind.
There isn’t anything on my mind, really. It’s oddly very quiet. Very still.
Marcella catches me before I even reach inside. She finds me just by the door near the garden, and when she does, she’s appalled.
“You were meant to be asleep, weren’t you?” Her brows are high, and her voice is accusing. She’s expecting me to answer. “Oh, just come in. You look like a stray.” Her hand tugs me inside.
“I thought it would be alright—” I start but then she stops and glowers at me.
I close my mouth.
She takes me back into the room and forces me into a shower, which I do take. Taking that detour was not something that helped me at all. I smell like wet grass and earth–and then there was that mud on the trail.
Once I’m done, I step outside and still find her in my room, waiting for me.
“I’ll change, don’t worry. Go worry about something else.” I whisper to her while trying to shoo her off towards the doorway.
She doesn’t leave, “You need to change into something better, and your hair-” She moves across the room, grabs something, and then halts before staring at my hair. “When was the last time you brushed it?” It is quite the mess on my head, and when I feel a knot in my hair, I cringe at it. It’s been a few days now, but it’s not that bad.
“I’ll do it. It’s fine.” I tell her, hoping she won’t worry.
But she does and it makes me think that there is something going on.
“Well, wear what I’ve put down for you. I’ll be back in a moment to deal with your hair and–well, the rest of you.”
She rushes back out before I even manage to say a word. My brows furrow at her behavior but I don’t question it, not until she’s back. Quickly, I reach for the clothes that she put down for me. They are new ones, very nice. The pants and top both are soft, and they cling to my skin, fitting over me like they are stitched for my frame only.
When Marcella comes back in, she has things in her hand. Brushes and ribbons and a hairdryer. She sits me down at the dresser and goes at my hair with the hairbrush.
“Ouch.” I squeal and move back, my eyes looking at her through the mirror, giving her a look of disapproval. There are things that I would like her to tell me.
“Just stay still.”
“Why? I’ll do it later.” I insist, but she’s insistent herself.
“You’ve a lot to worry about later.” She says quietly and then runs the comb down again. It still hurts.
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“What’s that supposed to mean? You’ve been weird the whole morning.” I say, trying not to hiss again when she hits another
snag.
“Well, you just need to look presentable for a couple of days.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Well,” she says, not stopping to talk, but she looks like she’s hesitant. “Aron was going to tell you about that, but he left this morning, and I shouldn’t really tell you-
“Oh, just tell me.” I roll my eyes as the curiosity peaks inside of me. “Is he going to take me somewhere now?”
“No, his family is going to arrive in the evening today. And they are going to be here for a couple of days.”
His family?
I pull my hair away from Marcella and turn to her.
“What?” It’s not like I don’t understand. I just want to know more.
“You just need to be well–groomed, that is it.” She starts with the simple. “And be presentable and appropriate, and—*
“I’m presentable and appropriate.
“You can’t go wandering off outside in your pajamas and come back into the manor looking like a feral cat,” Marcella speaks sharply, reminding me of this morning.
“That’s because I just needed a breath of fresh air. And, no one saw me, I don’t see the issue.” I reply quickly.
“Well, you will do no such thing for the days they are here. And you will be dressed properly at all times of the day and-”
“And?” I look up at her. She bites down her lower lips. It’s not easy for her. She’s telling me things like she doesn’t think I would do well in front of Aron’s parents and relatives. But why? What have they heard of me?
“And behave properly, too.” She adds quietly. “They’re traditional.”
Traditional.
“What has Aron told of me to them?” I ask her, raising a brow now. “I’m not his mate–not anymore. Not a werewolf either and practically a nobody. I’m only staying here under the care that Aron’s agreed to, so what has he ever said about me?” This time, my question is a lot harder than before.
This time, she looks away like she cannot meet my gaze. That’s when I realize. “He hasn’t said a single thing, has he?” She only nods at my answer.
Nothing?
Then why would his family be a problem to me?
“I shouldn’t be worrying about this then?” I turn away. “It shouldn’t be a big deal then, no?” If they didn’t know who I was, then I wouldn’t need to be nervous at all. I was not anyone important, so how can I even be judged?
“Well, they are probably here to see if there’s something going on.”
“You know them?” I look at her through the mirror as she continues combing my hair, this time softly.
“I’ve worked here since Aron was a child,” She nods. “His mother is strict, and I believe she’s going to come and find out
what’s happening. You’re the first and the only girl living in this house, they will assume something. But that’s up to Aron to decide if he wants to tell them you were his mate or what happened. There are very few people that know.”
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Chapter 69
“But I’m not a wolf anymore.”
“That is also something only few people know.” She reminds me. “So, keep that to yourself and act appropriately and just be on your best behavior. They’ll leave in a few days time.”
“They?”
“His sister, too.” She informs me.
“Do they not live here? In the pack?” This is the first time I’ve heard anything about a family, but, well, I have never really heard much of him. It is also quite shocking that he even had a sister or parents.
“No, they live out of this country,” Marcella tells me, going for another snag. It pulls at my scalp. It’s annoying and painful, and I’ve never hated the fact more in my life that my hair is naturally wavy and tends to make the most ridiculous tangles after it’s left like that.
“After his father Emilio’s death, the whole D’oro family left the country. It was a long time ago. Aron returned a year later and destroyed the pack responsible for it. Ever since he has lived alone in the house. His family comes often to visit, but they don’t stay for long. Too many painful memories for them.”
“I wasn’t aware.”
“Well, now you are.” Marcella finishes up in the end. She takes me in through the mirror. She looks like she’s at least somewhat impressed. “You look nice.”
I turn my head sideways to look back at myself, and yeah, I look better.
“Okay, I get what you mean now,” I say to her before leaning back against the hair. She smiles at me before putting down ber brush. “Anything else I should do?”
“Behave.”
“That goes without saying,” I point out.
“Well, behave even more now.”
I chuckle and shake my head. It’s not like she needs to be worried. Neither do I. I’ll just remain quiet and shut. I don’t need to say anything or answer anything. Perhaps acting dumb would help.
“Oh, Marcella,” I turn to her on my seat and wait till she looks at me. “How old is Aron?” It’s something I’ve wanted to know for some time.
“Well, he’s twenty–eight. I thought you’d know.”
“No, I didn’t.” I bite my lip, looking away, a little too shocked. It was not like I hadn’t assumed him to be in his mid–twenties, but twenty–eight was quite an exact number I hadn’t expected. “How old was he when he became an Alpha? I mean, when he came back here?” I wonder.
“Fift
No.
AD
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