Chapter 18: Guests

Maeve

The Alpha of Greenbriar was not what I was expecting.

I was standing on the platform at the train station, a red cotton frock with puffy shoulder straps draped over my figure and my hair loose and tumbling down my back. It was the only thing I could find in my closet that would be appropriate for the occasion and not shrivel in the intense, muggy heat.

But the Alpha of Greenbriar and his sister stepped off the train in incredibly formal attire, the man himself dressed in a jet- black evening suit with emerald green embroidery along the stitching of his jacket, and his sister wore a matching black dress with heels that made her nearly as tall as myself. I swallowed, feeling suddenly naked in my simple dress. My only solace was the fact that they were both sweating and were visibly uncomfortable in the sweltering heat.

The Alpha stepped forward, and I extended my hand, expecting a handshake. He took my hands and kissed my knuckles, lingering a few seconds too long for it to be an appropriate gesture. I felt a shiver of unease shoot up from the base of my spine, and I stole a glance at the woman behind him, who rolled her eyes and looked away as she reached up to dab a handkerchief along her glistening brow.

"Alpha Julian," he said as he straightened, his icy blond hair cut short and immaculately styled. His gray eyes flitted to the side toward the woman behind him. "My wife and Luna, Opaline.”

Opaline was aptly named, I thought, as I looked at her and nodded in greeting. She looked like an opal with her milky white skin. She had the same icy blonde hair and gray eyes, which gave me a bit of a start as I looked from the Alpha to the Luna. They could've been identical twins with their matching, delicate bone structure and thin, sharp mouths. Had Alpha Julian really said she was his wife and not his sister? I bit the inside of my lip, thankful that Aaron wasn't here. He most definitely would have said something inappropriate. I would, however, tell him all about it later.

The tour itself was easy enough. All I had to do was point to things as the sleek but small convertible town car made its way slowly up the street. Villagers had stopped to stare at us as we drove past them at an uncomfortable crawl.

Opaline was uninterested in everything, keeping her eyes forward. Alpha Julian, on the other hand, was more interested in the vehicle than the old buildings leading up to the castle, his long, white fingers touching everything from the fabric of the seats to the red finish of the outside of the car.

"Are there many vehicles here and in Mirage?" he asked, a strange lilt to his voice I wasn't familiar with. Greenbriar was a southern pack, and relatively new, one of those packs that formed shortly after the war over two decades ago. Julian himself was young, probably no older than Rowan and Ernest. He had probably just inherited the title of Alpha.

"No, not really many at all. Fuel is still hard to come by."

"Ah, I see. A shame. I would love one of these," he replied as he ran his fingers over the dash. I was sitting in the back with Opaline while he sat up front with the driver.

"What would we do with it, Julian?" Opaline said with sneer, rolling her eyes again.

"I'd just look at it, dear," he said dreamily, tilting his head back as the car picked up speed as we exited the village and drove up the long, winding road leading up to the castle's ground.

I looked around, seeing the castle in the distance as though for the first time. I never took the road into the village, always the small pathway that led through the greenbelt.

The car rolled to a stop at the entrance to the castle's grounds. Lance was waiting, his tawny brown hair pulled back into a bun at the nape of his neck. I had only met Lance a few times since arriving in Valoria. He was a cousin of Ernest, a nephew of Talon. I could see the resemblance to both Talon and Ernest as he stepped forward and opened the door for the Alpha.

I stepped out, helping Opaline out of the car and holding her elbow as she steadied herself and smoothed the fabric of her dress.

Lance pulled me aside as the strange couple started up the pathway into the front gardens.

"They have to be brother and sister-"

"Probably just... distant cousins, I hope. Greenbriar is secluded, to say the least," Lance breathed, glancing over at them and wincing. “Don't dwell on it. Thank you for fetching them from the station, Maeve.copy right hot novel pub