Beta's Bride (Shadow Pack II)

Chapter 3: The Sister

'Stella' His wolf purred at the name.

"Uh-huh. Like I would believe you for one second. You're just like your sister. Always keeping a secret from me," his mother said before she stood up and patted his cheek.

"You should shower and we can have lunch. You hardly home these days and to think that today might as well you will be sleeping here since your sister has vanished," his mother said before she was humming a lullaby that she knows when she was a little girl.

Mrs. Marchand was not a local but a naturalized citizen of Cyprus. She married the late Beta and became his wife and left France to be with her husband. Xavier and Diana were taught her mother's language as well as their father's which were French and Greek as well as the universal language that they were taught in school, English.

So, the Marchands can speak three languages which was an advantage in and of itself.

Xavier sighed before he chuckled. He cannot believe that his mother was making him come home a lot earlier than he was supposed to but Zack was taking care of everything. This will be okay and everything will be back to normal.

But first, he needed to shower before he can find out who the fuck was true mate his sister and he has a few words to tell him.

*****

After finishing her brunch, Stella went out to go sightseeing in most of the town square with the farmers' market that was just around the corner. She always wanted to experience it and it was the best thing that she has ever done.

Then, she was going around, taking a good picture of herself and the monuments that people don't think valuable. Later she will show it to her best friend, Laura, and perhaps this will be the best thing ever for her to see Stella's adventure.

At 3 PM, Stella went back to meet the waitress named Sam and she was happy to see her. Sam or her full name Samantha Lykos, was the childhood friend of Xavier and his sister, Diana as well as her brother, Sebastian. Stella thought it was too much information but Sam was happy to get to know her that she just let it go.

"I never see you around and you are not like the rest of the locals. Let me guess, you're from Scandinavia, aren't you?" Sam asked Stella after they bought some blended coffees and took a seat at the table outside the shop. It was family-owned and it was delicious, despite not being popular.

Stella would make a recommendation to the people that saw her Instagram stories later on.

"Well, no. My father was from Scandinavia and my mother's Italian. We settled in Roma, Italy so not many people would think I was Italian, despite my appearance telling you otherwise," Stella said before she was smiling at Sam. She nodded in agreement before something itched her to ask about Xavier.

Would she dare? Just go for it!

"Um, if you don't mind me asking," Stella said before she was looking at Sam, who was sipping on her coffee, "is Xavier with anyone? Like have a girlfriend or something?" she mumbled before Stella felt the warmth of her cheeks. She blushed even when she was asking a regular question.

Sam took her time to answer it before putting her coffee down. She looked at Stella and suddenly, she felt conscious of her appearance. Was she looked like a broke person? She hoped not when she was an heiress to a fucking company.

"Well, it was not something usual to see Xavier bringing a woman to the café and paying for her meal," Sam said to her as Stella was looking at her face. Sam smirked.

"Maybe he has some intention of pursuing later on but don't get your hopes up. It was not... always normal for Xavier to show his interest in someone. Especially a woman, much less a foreigner," Sam said as Stella was furrowing her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" she asked before Sam was sipping on her coffee again. Then, she took a box for her as Stella took it from her hands.

"Those are the brunch from earlier. I have reheated it for you it should be good for an hour before it went cold again," Sam said, avoiding the question that Stella asked her.

"Sam," she warned her before Sam was sighing at her.

"Okay, I don't usually tell people about this but Xavier can be... wary of a woman. His mother has been going through a rough patch with his father and lately, he has been taking care of her since his father died a month ago," she said as Stella was looking at Sam. She nodded at her as if she was trying to understand the situation. Suddenly, Sam stood up as she was looking at the watch.

"Shoot, I have to go and people of Paphos don't usually stay late outside at night. You should get to your hotel and perhaps eat those before it goes cold, okay?" Sam said that as she was taking her coat and handbag before was taking a piece of napkin and wrote something on it.

"And this is for you since you have been a good friend. I think we will be spending some time together in the future," Sam said before she was smiling at her. Then, she did something unexpected.

Sam hugged her.

"Stay safe, bye. See you later," Sam said before she was running toward her house which was on the north side of the town. Stella looked at the napkin and it was revealed that it was a phone number.

What's worse, it was Xavier's phone number.