Valentina

The train pulled into the next station: our destination. From the train car, we stepped into the thick snow. Beneath my feet, I could feel the paved pathway beneath the cloud of white as I trudged forward. With every step, I breathed deeply as Yuma hastily led my father and me on a walk to the Hidden Spear Alpha’s residence.

The air was thin, I shivered hard, and I hoped that along with my new pack my future would hold thicker clothes to withstand the weather. Silver Ash’s winter wear wasn’t enough to keep the cold out. My breath puffed in front of me in a thick cloud while I took in my surroundings. Hidden Spear territory was downright rural compared to the relatively bustling community of Silver Ash.

Everything is white … or gray… or black…

Silver Ash territory was colorful, and what surrounded me was a grim contrast to that. The buildings stood in a similar shape—square, slant roofed, and boring. I couldn't help but feel like an outsider looking out across the stark monochrome of Hidden Spear’s landscape, missing the vibrant tapestry of Silver Ash more with each passing moment.

We closed in on an imposing stone structure surrounded by a high metal gate. Yuma came to a stop, as if waiting to be addressed. A sentry, tall and broad, appeared from the left side of us.

“Good morning and good day,” the sentry said as he escorted us beyond the entry. Yuma, always respectful and poised, responded with the same greeting. My father and I bowed before we stepped inside of Sunya’s personal lands. As the heavy gates sealed shut behind us with a resounding thud, another shiver traveled down my spine. It wasn't just the relentless cold that made me tremble, but the overwhelming sense of being shut in.

This was a prison.

***

My heart pounded as we moved further into the Hidden Spear domain, and an unsettling feeling of confinement enveloped me. I tried shaking off the feeling while Yuma led us inside and away from the elements. Before long, we entered a study. Shelves lined the walls and books were arranged on them from floor to ceiling. It reminded me of Silver Ash’s community libraries, both the public and private one—but not even my father had a study this extensive.

Yuma turned to Cassius and addressed only him.

“Sunya will join you soon.” Then he turned to me and pointed to the door beyond the study. I swallowed and looked between the door and my father. I hated taking orders and leaving my father behind, but without a fight, I continued behind Yuma.

We walked in silence, me with my heart in my stomach, and Yuma simply maintaining decorum in front of the future Alpha’s bride. We moved through the estate until we arrived at another door. This was one white and had intricate patterns carved into it. The swirls moved in and out, from one to the next, as if its maker had crafted it with the utmost care. Twisting the handle, Yuma swiftly opened it, revealing a bedroom suite. My gaze landed upon the gray minimalist furniture and the black-and-white paintings on the wall. A bed sat in the room’s center, covered in black sheets. I wondered how heavy they were, and how helpful they’d be to keep out the cold. On the other side of the room was a simple vanity and matching wardrobe.

“This will be your living quarters,” Yuma said plainly.

Does he have to sound so austere? The whole thing felt like a business transaction—and though I knew it was, I wasn’t at all comforted by his tone. With a sigh, I resigned myself to my new reality as a new thought dawned on me.

Wait … if I’m going to be living here, it must be where my future groom will be, too.

“When will Kenji arrive?” I asked, letting my thoughts become words. I wanted to stop beating around the bush and get to know him sooner rather than later.

Yuma’s eyes oversized as if I’d grown another head. “You won’t meet him until the wedding ceremony.”

His words sent my world spiraling to a screeching halt. His words, this truth, meant that I’d be reciting wedding vows to someone I’d never even laid eyes on.

“I can introduce you to the people who will help prepare you for the wedding.” As if someone had been waiting at the door for a cue, it opened and a petite woman stepped inside. “This is Hanna, your lady-in-waiting,” he said.

“Good morning and good day,” Hanna said, soft-spoken and small. She looked to be in her early twenties, and she wore a simple black cotton garment.

Lady-in-waiting…

I’d never had a servant before. “I’m not sure what I’d need one for,” I said, still hanging onto Yuma’s words.

Hanna spoke up instead of Yuma. “I’ll take care of all your needs and keep your quarters clean. I’ll help you dress, too, Miss.” She continued describing her responsibilities, making me more uncomfortable with the idea of being waited on. In my whole life at Silver Ash and experience being my father's consigliere, I had never had someone serve me. It’d been my freedom to serve myself! But despite my discomfort, I knew it would be disrespectful to turn her away.

“I … I’m pleased to meet you.” This lady's got the easiest job ever because I won't let her do a thing.

Just when I thought the torture was over, the door opened again to reveal an imposing woman, likely in her forties. Gray streaked the hair along her hairline and adorned the sides of her face. She stood tall, her breasts and hips round. Hanna curtseyed, and Yuma greeted the woman with a bow. He called her Akiko.

Akiko shot me an expectant look, and I quickly realized that I should have done the same—either bowed or curtseyed.

“Uhhh, good day and morning,” I said, stumbling between a bow and a curtsey while trying to remember Hidden Spear’s morning greeting.

“I am Kenji’s mother,” Akiko said, her tone making her displeasure for me quite obvious. “And you are clearly not one of us.” With her nose upturned, she looked down on me, first starting at my feet, stopping at my hips and returning to my face. The implication was clear: I was an outsider.

The insult struck me, and her words weighed on me.

I’d always be an outsider.

“I expect that my daughter-in-law adheres to the proper etiquette that you haven’t had an opportunity to learn, living in such an uncivilized pack.” Her words stung bitterly, and my hands balled into fists at my sides. Silver Ash was an honorable pack. Sure, it wasn’t as old-fashioned as Hidden Spear, but that didn’t make us savages!

“I’m going to take it upon myself to teach you,” Akiko finished.

My insides shook. Calm down Valentina. This woman doesn’t even know you or anything about Silver Ash. Still, I had always imagined meeting my future mother-in-law with a smile and a gift for her home. Not standing in the middle of my new living quarters with anger roiling in my gut.

Akiko flagged her hand. “Come.”

It wasn’t over. The torture wasn’t over.

Without a word, I followed her through a long, servant-lined corridor to what appeared to be a dining room. An elaborate table setting with a wide variety of silverware pieces and dishes stretched before me. Above me was a candle-lit chandelier that twinkled like captured stars.

“The formal meal is at the heart of all our ceremonies here, including weddings,” Akiko said.

Is she even going to let me get settled before she goes over this? I hadn’t even changed out of my travel clothes yet. I hadn’t showered or slept at all during the night. Akiko went on, going over the order of the ten courses that would be served at the wedding dinner and instructing me on which silverware and dishes be used for each one. I studied her closely, well, as much as I could, considering my state of exhaustion.

“Now, recite back what I said,” she demanded after giving me guidance for no less than thirty minutes straight.

“Uh…” I stumbled before meeting her challenge. Upon completion, I saved the knives for last since they looked so much alike. “The soup spoon is to the right of the dinner knife.” I picked up a knife with dull edges and stumbled between that one and another. Is this for bread or dinner?!

“That’s wrong,” Akiko confirmed, her tone tight. “Start all over again.”

She said we’d keep at it until my performance was perfect. “You will be the wife of a future Alpha. You must achieve perfection in all things.”

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered under my breath. I turned to Akiko, and it was clear she’d heard me. It became even clearer as she started scolding me.

“How disrespectful! You are speaking to the mother of the future Alpha, and if you were my child, I would wash your mouth out with soap before you fix your tongue to disrespect someone else!”

“Valentina is right,” a calm male voice said from behind us, breaking the thick tension. I turned to see a rather handsome man, likely in his twenties, who stood in the doorway.

“How long have you been standing there?” Akiko replied curtly.

“Long enough,” the man replied before confidently strolling into the room. He carried himself with regal grace even as his lopsided smile evaporated the room’s tension. “And Valentina is right,” he said again. “In case you didn’t hear me the first time.”