Ants
1: Ants
Celesté’s Pov
My legs were tingly and I could feel my fingers shaking— we were finally entering werewolf territory.
“Sit up, girl.” I heard my mother hiss. Her eyes were twitching in disgust. “If you slouch, you'll spoil your posture.”
I did as she asked, adjusting myself. “And remember not to speak in front of your stepfather unless he addresses you first. Remember what he is.”
Werewolf, Mafia Lord and Infamous Reaper.
That was who he was, the man Mother had married five years ago. My stepfather whom I had never seen before.
There was a hidden warning to her words. I gulped, knowing very well that I had never been in the presence of a werewolf before.
Any mistake could equal death.
Finally, we saw the gates to the mansion.
Many luxury cars were already present and I could hear soft, thrumming music coming from within.
The car stopped and my stomach sank.
A guard led me out the door and towards the grand and looming mansion.
I took a deep breath, following in my mother's steps.
Immediately we arrived at the entrance, the music stopped.
“Now introducing, Madame Noire and Miss Celesté Reine. Wife and daughter to our Alpha, Salvatore Van Cole.”
Daughter.
Such a strange word to bear for a man I had never met.
The tingling feeling started again and my fingers started to tremble. I looked through my periphery to see if mother was as nervous as I was.
She wasn't. Her mouth twitched into a smirk and she walked forward.
“Noire,” a deep voice thrummed and it was as though my world stopped.
“Bonsoir, Monsieur Cole.”
Slowly, I lifted my eyes from the waxed marble floors, my entire body itching like millions of ants were biting at me.
What was this horrid feeling?
My eyes left the floor and trailed up the dark-suited body of a man I'd never met.
His sharp and poisonous amber eyes were the first things I noticed before I froze in absolute horror.
Our gazes connected, his smirk fell.
Mate.
***
A few hours earlier, I had been sleeping peacefully in bed until I heard Madame Noire's shrill voice.
I’ve never known my mother for anything other than what she was— a viper.
It had been a year since I saw her and today, she appeared out of the blue.
Apparently, my stepfather— the overlord of eighty percent of the European mafia— all the way in Milan, had called for a family reunion.
According to the rumors, he was an alpha werewolf; one of those elusive but immensely powerful creatures that appeared two decades ago.
Lord Salvatore Van Cole. The Reaper.
Salvatore was a heartless killer lord with a thirst for blood. He had seen potential in mother's empire and instead of conquering it, he offered a merger.
Of course mother had no choice— she was up against the one thing she could never defeat. A supernatural.
So she caved and the two conglomerates became one. Both had stayed away from each other's paths; it was as if the marriage never even occurred.
Until now.
His pack, BlackMoon, had been attacked. According to Mary, our housekeeper back in Paris, the alpha wanted to watch over us since we were technically family.
That was how I found myself being woken up with a slap from mother earlier.
“Celesté! Mon Cherie! What are you still doing asleep? You've not changed, no? Tsk, tsk. Lazy girl.”
Mother was always disappointed in me; always cursing, always spitting out insults.
As I sat up, eyes squinted from the light pouring through the curtains she opened, I sighed.
“Good morning, madame Noire.”
I wasn't permitted to call her mother— she had screamed many times how it made her feel old.
But she didn't look a day over thirty. Even now, as she stood in her signature all black ensemble; long, heavy locks tumbling down to her voluptuous waist, mother looked heavenly— no, she looked like a demon.
I sighed again.
“But it's well past noon, girl! Stand up and pack your things.”
I had to take a pause.
“Why?” I asked.
A mistake.
Mother hated it when I questioned her orders. When I was little, whenever she came visiting the lonely mansion she left me in, she often taught me lessons in respect.
She'd use a cane over my fingers whenever I questioned her.
As I got older, the punishments grew harsher.
My breath hitched in the present. I stood up from the bed hastily. “I…I didn't mean to, mom. I—”
Another mistake.
Mother stood against the high glass windows, caramel coloured eyes so identical to mine glaring with vicious intent.
The room felt cold.
I watched as she tilted her head and walked towards me. She was tall for a woman— she could even rival men in the tall range.
As she moved towards me, I cowered.
“How many times have I warned you, Celesté dear?”
Mother was now so close to me that if I even moved an inch, I'd step on her ridiculously long hem.
“I-I-”
Smack!
My face flew to the side with such force that my neck bones cracked. I hissed in pain, feeling my face stinging.
My shoulders were shaking, every ounce of sleepiness was far from me now.
“Ooh, my darling girl,” mother cooed and hugged me. She always cooed right after a beating. “Don't cry, my sweet. Discipline makes a girl beautiful! Come now, come here. Let's pack your things.”
Mother did not say a word of where we were going. It was only through the maids I found out. She had them pack all my clothes and latch up my bruised face with makeup.
“Can't have you looking like a beat up w***e now, can we?” She had laughed.
Soon, we boarded our private plane and had a long trip down the coast to the bustling city of Milan.
I'd only been to Italy once, for a birthday party of one of my friends. Now, I was here for a family reunion.
A reunion that I would have never thought to be like this.
In the present, my stepfather's green, snake like eyes pierced down on me.
Every single cell in my body was violently calling out to him, hungry for something I couldn't begin to explain.
I let out a choking sound.
A smirk grew on his face and my entire world halted.
“Hello, Celesté.”
