Chapter 18: Ariana, Every Wolf Can Tell

Ariana's POV

I stood there staring at the pretty lady. I don't know why I was silent, but I had no urge to reply to her question.

"You reek of human. Are you human?" she asked me, folding her arms across her chest, but did not attempt to approach me.

I also stood on the staircase staring at her.

"Damien!" she yelled, and I turned to walk away, hearing her calling out to Damien. "Hey, where do you think you are going. Stop right there," she yelled at me, and I stopped in my steps. 

"No need to get mad at me. I am here because I am a prisoner," I said after turning to face her one more time.

Just then, Damien walked in. 

"Sis, you didn't tell me you were coming?" I heard Damien say.

Sis as in Sister? I repeated in my thought, staring at the two still frozen in my spot.

"Dad called me and asked me to come over," I heard the woman say to Damien. "He said something about you needing help with an upcoming event. I was very busy when he called, so I didn't ask questions," she added. "So here I am," she completed her statement, smiling.

"This old man will not give me a break," I heard Damien say. "I am not sure why he sent you here," he said.

"What! There is no important event coming up?" I heard the lady ask, air quoting.

I figured they had both forgotten I was standing there. So I slowly turned and was about to leave when the lady asked a question concerning me. I froze in my steps again with my back facing the two. 

"Your prisoners now roam freely in your mansion?" I heard her ask.

"It's complicated, Eve," I heard Damien say. "Come with me and I will explain things to you," he added, and they both walked away towards Damien's office.

I was about to leave when two men entered carrying two bags. The bags were huge. It does look like Damien's sister was going to stay around for a while. I stepped aside and watched them carry the bags up the staircase. I followed them intending to return to my room. I was surprised to find myself following them and making exact turns.

I recalled that aside from my room and the room opposite mine, which I later found out was Damien's room, there was no door on that floor, indicating there was another room on that stretch.

Well, maybe there is another staircase to a room upstairs. I thought and continued walking. 

My eyes widened when they put the two bags in front of the room I was staying in, and they walked away.

Am I going to share a room with Damien's sister, or will they kick me out? I thought, staring at the two huge, pretty bags sitting in front of my door.

I was not sure how long I was standing there, but I heard voices in the hallway snapping me out of my thoughts. I was not sure what to do, so I turned around and was about to leave, but I came face to face with Damien's sister. She was with Miriam. I stopped briefly and resumed my walking, not sure where I was going.

"Wait," Damien's sister said, smiling. "Your name is Ariana, right?" she asked, still smiling.

She was very welcoming now, unlike the first time she spoke with me a couple of minutes ago. 

"Yes," I replied, not sure what she wanted from me.

I was also wondering what Damien told her. Oh! I am sure he told her, I am the surrogate. I thought and managed a smile.

"I am Eve. Damien's younger sister. I understand you are occupying my room," she said, offering me a handshake.

"Oh!" I said and accepted the handshake. 

"Don't worry, there are plenty of rooms here. My brother has a reason for putting you in that room," she said, after withdrawing her hand from the handshake.

"Anyway, I would like to know more about you," Eve said.

I found her welcoming behaviour to be quite strange. Michael wasn't welcoming. Miriam, standing next to her, looks like she will kill me if given the chance. Damien, well, I don't know what to say about Damien, but Eve seems very nice.

"Have you had lunch?" Eve asked, stared at her watch briefly and returned her gaze to me.

"Not yet," I replied, staring at her, not sure what to make of her behaviour. 

No one cared if I had eaten before, since I was brought in close to 12 hours ago. She is the first to ask if I have eaten. Even Damien, who claimed to have more concern for his pups, did not care if I had eaten or not.

"Miriam, have my bags sent to guest room 4," Eve said to Miriam.

"Ma'am, your bags are already here," Miriam said. "She can move to another guest room," she added.

"Miriam, I want guest room 4. Please have my bags moved to guest room 4," Eve said, pronouncing each word like she was displeased with Miriam's statement, or giving her a warning, or, I am not sure, but her statement had a strong behavioural disapproval evident in it.

"Yes, ma'am," Miriam replied and immediately left.

"Come with me," Eve said, looking all welcoming.

"You are being nice to me, why?" I asked, unable to hide my observations any more.

"The fact that you are human does not make you less of a person," Eve said and held my hand, pulling me towards the direction of the staircase. "Damien told me you are his PA," she added, and I frowned.

More like his errand girl. I thought while Eve continued to talk.

"My brother, I know, does not like humans and aside from that. He is very hard to please. For him to make you his PA, you must be special," Eve explained.

"Special?" I repeated the word like I were hearing it for the first time. 

Oh, I am the baby carrier bag. I thought and inwardly frowned. 

For a split second, I was beginning to feel important. But the question here is, why do I want to be special in the eyes of a man who is rude, ruthless and a nightmare for humans? I thought.

"Ariana?" I heard Eve call out to me.

"Yes," I responded and realised we were at the staircase. 

I am not sure when we got there.

"Are you alright?" Eve asked, her voice laced with genuine concern.

"I am fine," I replied. 

"For close to a minute, you were off," she said to me.

"I was?" I asked, staring at her, realising I didn't hear any other thing she said after telling me I must be special.

"Yes," Eve replied, still staring at me with concern.

"Wait, you are pregnant," Eve said, and my heart skipped multiple beats. "You are pregnant. I can smell the pups," she said.

"You can tell all that just by my scent?" I asked.

"Ariana, every wolf can tell," Eve replied. "That explains the hostility," she added and began to descend the staircase, but paused suddenly, almost making me bump into her because she was right in front of me.

"Wait, is that for my brother?" Eve asked, staring at me with a surprised look in her eyes, and I gulped.

Oh dear, this is where another level of trouble starts? I thought, staring at Eve, whose expression at this moment I was unable to read.