A Queen Among Snakes: Chapter Nine - Mei

If Chris weren’t holding my hand right now I think I would pass out. We’re standing on the front steps of the packhouse; him in black slacks, a grey dress shirt with three buttons open with the sleeves rolled up and a black vest over the top; his hair up in its usual bun. He looks so powerful and handsome that just having him beside me fills me with confidence.

I’m dressed in wine-coloured, high-waisted bootcut culottes with three silver buttons running down the left and right of the waist. I also have a white three-quarter sleeve low scoop-neck top tucked in, black ballet flats and my hair clipped back in a half up-do. I’m so nervous that my palms are sweating.

Chris leans down and kisses the top of my head and inhales my scent, “Your heart sounds like you just ran a sprint, take slow breaths,” he encourages me as he wraps his arm tighter around me. I nod and focus on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. I wipe my hands on my pants to get rid of the sweat.

“What if she doesn’t like me?” I ask nervously.

“I find that utterly impossible,” he snorts. I look up at him quizzically. “Mei, you’re the sweetest thing to ever exist, anyone who finds a reason to not like you is certifiably insane,” he says, and I can tell he’s serious.

“You think too highly of me,” I point out.

“Nope, my thoughts of you are just where they should be,” he says with a goofy grin. I giggle and shake my head. “Ha! I made you laugh, so I win,” he says as his goofy grin gets even wider and now my cheeks hurt from the smile spreading across my own face.

“You’re meant to be the serious one,” I playfully scold him as I lean into my nook.

“Hmm, be serious or make the love of my life smile? Oh, what a torturous decision,” he looks down smirking.

“Vitali says sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.”

“The lowest form of wit is anything that comes out of Vitali’s mouth,” he corrects. I cover my mouth to muffle my laugh.

“What the hell did you just say about me, jerk face?” Sounds Vitali as he pokes his head around the front door of the packhouse.

“I said you’re an idiot,” Chris deadpans.

“Takes one to know one,” Vitali retorts. “Is Setia still not here yet?”

“Does it look like she’s here yet?” Chris points out.

“A simple ‘not yet’ would have been more polite,” Vitali says, rolling his eyes.

“Is Setia the one you slept with?” I ask. Vitali’s jaw pops open and Chris starts howling with laughter. I look between them confused. I wasn’t trying to be funny.

“No, my little dumpling, that was Nuray,” he says tapping my nose as he glares at Chris. “Laugh it up.”

“Oh, I am,” he grins and kisses my cheek. “Thank you, my love, that was truly priceless,” he tells me.

I frown, “I wasn’t making a joke.”

“I know, that’s why it’s so funny,” he grins.

Vitali walks off muttering about getting Chris back for that just as the air in front of us starts to ripple. It looks like when they would turn the gas on when there is a barbeque. The air ripples for a few more seconds until suddenly a woman steps through the rippling making my eyes fly open wide and my jaw to drop. The rippling behind her stops and I take a second to take in her appearance.

She’s so beautiful!

The woman before us looks to be about 5’5” with a platinum blonde pixie hairstyle parted to her right. She’s wearing a knee-length black dress with mesh sleeves and a mesh chest and V-cut at the front. She has gorgeous hazel skin with a golden shimmer to it. Everywhere I see skin is shimmering gold, just like the woman who saved me from that Alpha.

I notice this woman has hypnotic golden eyes. Looking at them it’s almost like liquid gold swirling in her irises. She has an oval face and pouty nude lips with delicate features. Looking at her I’d assume she was maybe Southeast Asian, but Chris said irshiusts have never been human, so not sure what that means. If all irshiusts look this beautiful, I can’t blame Vitali for being swept away by one.

“Ni hao, you must be Delta Chris and Delta Mei,” she greets with a warm voice, stepping forward with her hand out and a smile on her face.

I’m frozen stiff and I feel tears in my eyes. I haven’t heard someone greet me in my native tongue since I was a child. I can feel Chris’ concern as his hold on me tightens.

“Ni hui shuo zhong wen ma?” I ask in a whisper, my lip quivering as I try to keep the tears at bay while I reach out to shake her hand.

A sweet smile spreads across her face while she gently holds my hand in both of hers. “Yes, I speak Mandarin fluently. Actually, I speak all languages fluently,” she says with a soft laugh. I have to bite my lip to stop myself from crying.

They could never possibly understand how it feels to hear my language again. Without warning, I was thrown not only into an abusive situation but surrounded by people speaking a language I didn’t understand. No one taught me to speak English, I managed to learn just so I could survive. It was mental torture on top of the physical torture.

One of the other reasons I stayed silent most of the time was because when I would speak they would become enraged because I wasn’t speaking in English, but it couldn’t be helped. Mandarin was all I knew. Over time I became quite good at English, but I still struggle at times and worst of all, because I was so young I forgot or never learned so much of my own language. It was linguistic purgatory to go with the rest of the hell I was dealing with.

Now here is a beautiful woman greeting me in my native tongue and hearing it is overwhelming me in ways I hadn’t anticipated. That gesture means everything to me.

“Love? Are you okay? Do you need to step away?” Chris gently asks through our link.

“Did she do something to you? I’ll rip her head off!” Follows Axel’s anxious voice.

I take in a slow, deep breath and shake my head, “I will be fine, I was just taken by surprise,” I tell them.

“Remember we’re right here for you,” he reassures me as he gives my arm a light squeeze. I take a moment to breathe in his scent to centre myself.

“You must be Setia,” Chris greets shaking her hand, acting normal for my sake. “It is an honour to meet you, thank you for coming,” he says with genuine gratitude.

“As soon as Yildiz told me Amelia has a nagata living in the pack and fated to her Delta I was instantly fascinated,” she smiles at us. Her overall presence is warm and comforting.

“I’m sure you have many important things you should be doing, but I am grateful you have chosen to give me some of your time. I am eager to learn from you, Miss Setia,” I say with a slight nod.

“Oh, you sweet thing. Coming to meet you was of the utmost importance and based on the energy you’re giving off, Yildiz was right to have sent me here,” she says as she places her hands on my shoulders. I look at her in confusion as I cock my head to the side. “Let’s go inside and talk somewhere private, hmm?”

“Of course, right this way,” Chris guides the three of us inside and up to the Delta suite.

“Where might Amelia be?” Setia asks.

“She’s currently busy meeting with construction workers at the moment. We’ve been expanding and building new homes for our growing pack, but I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to catch up with you after,” he informs her.

“Always hard at work that one. I look forward to catching up with her, I haven’t seen her since she was sixteen,” she says with a nostalgic look in her eyes. Amelia must be really close to the Delegation; they sound like very good friends.