Beta's Bride [ShadowPack #2]

Stella's heart galloped when she saw that Xavier was holding the hand of the beautiful woman that was talking to her earlier. She knew that she cannot compete with her. Not with her looks and certainly not with her identity who was a tourist here.

She will be gone from here soon enough.

She felt her face was heated up when she was entering the café that she knew Sam would be there. She was looking around before Sam was waving at her. Stella smiled before she went to the counter to order her food as Sam was smirking at her.

"Well, look who's came back. I knew The Special Brunch was something else," Sam said before Stella smiled weakly at her. Instantly, Sam knew what was playing on her mind. And they just met 2 days ago but Stella felt like she has known that woman for years.

"Oh no, what happens now?" Sam asked her before Stella shook her head. She doesn't want to think about a certain man with grey orbs and brunette hair. All she wanted to do right now was to be buried in misery.

But of course, this was not the right join to drown oneself in cups. So, Stella will have to improvise with the brunch then.

"I don't...I don't want to talk about it," she said before Sam nodded then asked her to get the same meal as before. Stella shook her head before she asked Sam to recommend something else.

"I got you," she said before Sam went into the kitchen, leaving Stella to her own, deep and monstrous thoughts about Xavier and the grey-eyed woman.

*****

Sam reached out to Xavier as she was furious to see the woman that she just started to know and like was suffering because of his insensitive issue with humans. Sam clicked her tongue before she was trying to connect through the mind link with Xavier. Instantly, he opened up.

'What the hell did you do to her?!' Sam shouted in the mind link, knowing that the Beta would be wincing as she just shouted at him with full force. She can sense that Xavier sighed through his mouth.

'I don't know what you're talking about, Sam,' he said as Sam was rolling her eyes before she was smiling at the cook and took the food for Stella outside.

'Oh, stop with the dumb act. You know it never works with me. With my brother, sure, but this time, I know you knew that I was talking about the woman that you seriously bailed your eyes out until you cannot breathe,' Sam said before she was taking a glass for the water. She filled it with lemonade, today's special.

Stella deserved to be treated like the queen she was. Sam just hoped Xavier saw that before it was too late.

'Where is she?' Xavier asked before Sam was blocking her mind, not wanting him to find Stella here. After all, he needed to be taught a lesson. But of course, there was something else brushing through her mind just for a moment.

But she caught it and it was much more than she anticipated.

It was not Xavier, for it was foreign to her and nothing like she ever felt before.

'Samantha...' the calling of her name was sensual, husky even. She shivered before she was shielding herself as she made her way to Stella and trying to forget the next thing that came through her mind link.

A whisper that sounded like 'Mine'.

*****

After the meal and the lemonade that Sam brought out for her, Stella felt energized as she was looking around the small town that was the town square. It was 3 PM or so as Sam was off her shift and she was walking beside Stella.

Sam was happy to walk with Stella around town before she spotted something that looked like a flyer for some kind of even. She held her breath before Stella was reading the pamphlet.

It was the Folk Festival and it will be happening tomorrow night.

"Wow, that was wonderful. You can come tomorrow night, can you? You're not having anything else plan, right?" Sam asked her before she was nodding at her. Sam was excited to tell her that she and her friend, a daughter of the carpenter named Karisa Papadopoulos, will be attending them as well. But Sam did not know if she would make it on time for her father was a strict old man.

"Just like someone, I knew too well," Stella mumbled before Sam was turning to look at her.

"Did you say something?"

"It will be magnificent. I can hardly wait for tomorrow," she said as Sam was smiling weakly at her. Stella was looking around before she noted there were some people who started to decorate the streets for tomorrow's event.

"Well, this was going fast," Stella said before Sam sighed.

"Yeah, all the townspeople loved to have this kind of festival. It was the only time where the locals and tourists mingled around, getting their business booming and gain some profit. I guess it was a good thing for the locals," Sam said before Stella remembered the accident that was happening last month.

"But last month's event has been dreadful. There was an attack of some sort, right?" Stella asked Sam before they were settling on an iron-wrought bench that was situated in the town square. They have bought their coffees as Sam was sipping hers before she turned to look at Stella with her red orbs.

It was more prominent in the evening sun.

"What do you know about Cyprus, Stella? Most importantly, here, Paphos?" Sam asked her before Stella sipped on her iced coffee. She had to admit that history was never her passion, that was her best friend's, Laura, passion after all. But she knew enough before she came here to get the vibe of the place that she will be spending a week here.

"Hmm, I know that the Folk Festival was to appease to your ancestors who have been discovering this island that was out of reach from Alexander the Great, isn't it?" she said before Sam nodded. At least she got that fact right.

"But of course, there was more to it than that," Sam added before Stella was turning to look at her friend. Sam was taking her time to tell her the things that she did not know and the suspense was killing her inside out.

"Well, all I know was that. If you're going to tell me the rest, I suggest you did that right away before I lost interest, Sam," Stella said before Sam smirked at her. Then, she cleared her throat and she was clearing her throat.

"Well, the truth was that the Greeks that were running to this island was considered Specials. They have been blessed with something from their gods and goddesses that they were worshipping at the time.

"Alexander the Great found out about them being blessed from the Gods and so, he felt threatened by them. With that, he drove them away, killing and slaughtering the Special Greeks as if they were animals. In some cases, Alexander was making a show of the children that were being killed because of that. It was a tragic history for our ancestors. It was tragic indeed," Sam said before Stella was arching her eyebrows.

"Our?" she asked before Sam was smiling at her.

"Xavier and I shared the same ancestors. He was like my distant cousins or something," Sam explained before Stella nodded at her. Then, she continued.

"And the humans were afraid of them when their greatest hero did that to them. They were shown the other side of the blessing which the humans might consider as a curse. But it was not what it seems. They were afraid because the Specials were looking like animals," Sam said before Stella was blinking her eyes at her.

"I'm sorry, animals? What kind of monsters were—"

"I'm sorry. I think I have spoken out too much," Sam said before she was standing up from the bench, suddenly her face was drained of blood.

"Sam, are you alright?" she asked as she was standing as well. Sam turned to look at her before she smiled as she was itching to get away from her, away from their conversation.

"Forget all the things that I said and I hope you will consider coming to the Folk Festival tomorrow evening. I will see you then," she said before Sam was making her way to the end of the road before she turned around the corner. She did not say anything like a goodbye or the usual pleasantry.

No, she just took off as if something was coming after her. and maybe she was right, for Stella felt something was watching her from behind but when she turned around, there was nothing. but she did not dismiss the feeling that she was being watched.

Constantly.

Stella shrugged before she dumped her iced coffee in the dustbin and went out of the town square to be in her hotel room, taking a bubble bath before she decided to come to the Folk Festival or not tomorrow evening.

But one thing for sure, she will not be coming with Xavier, that was certain.