My Soulmate is a Big Bad Wolf

My Soulmate is a Big Bad Wolf [6]

Chapter 6

Meet the Mother

I followed Xander like a lost puppy around the mansion.

Seriously, this place could pass for those five-star hotels in Hawaii or even those palaces in Britain.

I was gaping like a pathetic fish as we passed through six gorgeous hallways and stopped in front of an elevator.

Oh, I just happen to be in a house with an elevator in it. Great.

The familiar 'ding!' sounded off and we entered silently as though we were complete strangers. Xander pressed 4, while I hummed with the song that was playing through the elevator's speakers (which is Raise Your Glass by Pink, by the way).

We reached fourth floor, and the elevator opened another breath-taking hallway in front of us. The large windows were draped with beautiful royal-blue and silver curtains while the pale yellow walls were decorated with portraits of people from the Renaissance Period.

I followed Xander, still singing Raise Your Glass in the lowest voice that I could possibly muster, but I could feel that the guy can hear me. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a portrait with a familiar face.

Wait, is that Thalia?

I stopped dead in my tracks as I drooled over the beautiful portrait of the red-haired girl. She was wearing an olive-green gown, 16th century style, and it really complimented her hair.

"Stop staring at the portraits, will you? My mother doesn't have all the time in the world", Xander spoke coldly. He was suddenly standing two inches away from me, his face making a grim expression.

"I -I..uhm, I'm sorry", I muttered while staring at my feet nervously. He glared at me and continued walking down the hall.

I stuck my tongue at him while his back was turned towards me.

What an ass.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of an enormous mahogany door. Xander knocked twice and turned the door knob, motioning for me to enter first.

I gasped loudly when I saw the room inside.

This room was no match for Cassandra's room. It was a lot bigger, but it was more like a sitting room and an office mixed into one. Everything was in scarlet and gold...the walls, the curtains, the couch, the carpet, and it honestly reminded me of the Gryffindor room in Harry Potter.

But my heart almost stopped beating when I laid eyes on the lady at the far end of the room. Her back was turned towards us, she was facing the enormous glass window that opened to a beautiful view outside.

Her ebony-black hair curled down to her waist. She had a slender body, not the skinny type, but the type that any middle-aged mother would kill for.

Suddenly, she turned towards us and smiled. I swear everything around us went blurry. Her smile was intoxicating.

Words won't give her beauty justice. She looked like she was Thalia's twin, except that she was older and her hair was pitch-black. Her smile reminded me of Caleb, but her eyes...those seductive, blue-green that I had only seen once...

Xander's eyes.

Xander suddenly bowed in front of her, acknowledging his mother like she was royalty or something.

"Mother..." he spoke with pure respect and kissed her hand. The woman hugged her son lovingly the moment he stood up. She kissed him on the cheek and muttered a small, "Thank you, son".

I gulped loudly as she walked gracefully towards me.

"Ivory Bennett..."she spoke in a gentle voice. She kinda reminded me of the queens that I see in movies: beautiful, intelligent, graceful, fearless...perfect.

"Bow, you fool! Show some respect!" Xander said to me ruthlessly, pushing my body unexpectedly to the floor. I stumbled clumsily on my knees towards the ground, a few inches from the woman.

Ouch.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who didn't expect Xander to do something like that. The woman's eyes widened in disbelief and she immediately helped me on my feet.

"Xander! How could you treat her like that!" her voice was still as gentle as mother would scold at her toddler, but I could tell that she was definitely angry.

"She was disrespecting you, Mother! She didn't even acknowledge you!" Xander exclaimed, his voice raising a few decibels.

"Ivory certainly wasn't aware of our status, don't you even have little understanding about that?!" she spoke at her son angrily. "All these years...I understood your pain, of what you've put through...but to treat your soulmate like this, is very unforgivi -"

"Mother, how many times do I have to tell you that that girl -", he pointed ruthlessly at me,

"IS NOT MY SOULMATE!" Xander almost roared. He was breathing deeply and his black eyes changed a slight shade of red before returning to black again.

The woman stared at her son with wide eyes. She remained calm, but her breathing was becoming a little irregular.

"Xander", she spoke authoritatively. "No matter how many times you deny it, you can't run away from the truth. This young lady is Cassandra Van der Keuren, died selflessly for everyone in this kingdom, reborn in the flesh and blood of humbleness...future queen...you're fiancé - "

"Stop", he said, cutting her off while shaking his head firmly.

"You have to face the truth Xander, this girl - "

"Is not Cassandra", I spoke, finishing the sentence for her. Both of them stopped and looked at me in shock. I'm not really scared, but I still can't help but feel nervous and intimidated from the mother and son.

Honestly, I feel like a minion compared to their looks and gracefulness.

"Your son is right, Madam. I think we have made a mistake. I know that you've been looking for this girl for some years now, but I'm pretty sure that I'm not her. I mean - I was certain that I've never met anyone in your...uhm, kind before, well - not until two months ago", I said in a shaky voice.

Xander just glared at me but I chose to ignore him. The woman smiled kindly and hugged me. I hugged her back hesitantly and stared at her in confusion.

"You heard her, Mother. She herself admits it...She is not Cassan -"

The woman held out her hand to silence her son. She brushed my hair away from my shoulder and there revealed my birth/bite mark. Her eyes widened and she grinned as though she had just won the lottery.

"Mother, that mark is just a coincidence! Maybe she got bitten by an animal or something!" Xander exclaimed.

Okay, what the fuck is wrong with this guy?

Last night, he came crying to me, telling me that I'm Cassandra, blah, blah, blah, and now he's telling his mother the opposite! Is he bipolar or something?

And what happened to the moment between us last night? He's acting like it never happened at all.

The woman ignored her son and continued to look at me, her eyes penetrating deeply into mine.

"Ivory...this mark, is this with you ever since when you were born?" she asked in a gentle, soothing voice. I wanted to lie, I wanted to tell them that it was an animal bite that I got from grade school or something, but something inside is pushing me to be honest and tell them the truth.

"Yes", I said, sighing. "It was my birth mark", I said truthfully.

Then I gulped back all my fears and asked them the question I've been dying to ask hours ago.

"I'm really thankful for everything you have done for me, but I wanted to ask...when will I be able to go home?" I asked nervously. Xander, too, stared at his mother as if asking the same question at her. His mother, however looked at me sympathetically and shook her head.

Looks like I'm going to stay here for a very long time.

Shit.