Chapter 50

50 Puerto Rico MARIA Just over an eight-hour flight later, we had landed in Puerto Rico. The moment we stepped out onto the steps, I was hit by how humid it was. The weather was rather warm and I waved my hand, fanning my face.

“It is really hot.” Liam murmured. Dressed in three-quarter pants and a white short-sleeved shirt with sunglasses, he was prepared for the weather.

I was too, wearing tan pants and a chiffon white blouse, with a large tan-coloured sun hat and sunglasses.

“It is, it’s nice.” Marcel replied, he was dressed the most casual in a t-shirt and jeans, unlike both Liam and I, who looked like tourists.

His similarities to Rafael were always a painful reminder of the man I had lost, but they were moons apart. My Rafael was one of a kind, no matter how similar one looked.

We made our way down the steps, I could hear music in the distance, and as we made our way through the airport to collect our luggage, I could tell that the locals all seemed rather friendly. Smiling as they walked past or from behind the counters. “Would you like a drink?” Marcel asked me. Once again, the similarity to Rafael, caused a stinging pain in my chest. “Yes, I wouldn’t mind one.” I replied smoothly with a small smile. “Are you ok?” Liam asked, taking off his glasses to reveal his dark magnetic blue eyes.

I nodded.

“Of course, you should let them know that we have landed.” I advised.

We were posing as a family; Marcel and I were meant to be married, and Liam was meant to be my stepson. I glanced at his dyed dark brown hair. Although it was strange to see Liam with anything but strawberry blond hair, it did suit him and did tie him in a little with Marcel, who had his hair pulled back in a bun and had trimmed his beard, which made him look a little neater. He had also donned some glasses to make him look older. Being werewolves, we looked to be in our thirties, not forties. My fake passport age was thirty-five, whilst Marcel’s was his real age. “I’ve texted her.” He smiled, and I knew he was referring to Raven. He grabbed one of our suitcases from the luggage belt. I looked down at my plain black suitcase. It was a shame I couldn’t bring my designer luggage set, but we were meant to blend in. I wasn’t sure we were doing a good job, as several young women and a few older women admired Liam.

It was obvious he didn’t realise that half of the looks he was getting were suggestive smiles, as he innocently smiled back. He was very different from his parents.

I remember when I found out Kiara was mated to Alejandro and not Rayhan, I had been very disappointed. I am glad now, because they each have the perfect mate, I cannot imagine anyone but Delsanra for Rayhan now. However, after that time, I remember hoping Liam and Raihana would be mated, but it wouldn’t have worked. They are far too different, and Raihana would have transformed poor Liam into a slave.

If reincarnation is real, I’m sure Raihana was an empress in a past life. I shuddered at the thought. The moon goddess always knew what she was doing and created us in pairs that worked well together. Most of the time, she was right. There were cases where things were far from perfect. “Here you go.” Marcel said, holding out a cold bottle of juice. “Oh, thank you.” I took it gratefully, unscrewing it and taking a few sips.

“This is the last one, are we getting a taxi, Dad?” Liam grinned, grabbing the last suitcase.

We had to be careful, Puerto Rico wasn’t big and only one pack ruled over it. The fact we were actually going to be digging up information about the pack, it was bound to get people’s attention, so we needed to stay low for as long as possible. It was a short visit to try to find out what exactly the history of the Escarra family was.

“Alright, let’s check in to our hotel, it’s not far from here. Then we get something to eat before we begin exploring.” Marcel said, picking up two suitcases, whilst Liam grabbed the other two.

Exploring. Meaning get to work.

I nodded. I was fluent in the language, and I would be the one doing most of the digging, with both men acting more as bodyguards. Their huge sizes weren’t easy to miss, and as I walked between the two men, it was obvious they were drawing attention.

It felt long since I was of some use to my family and our packs. I don’t like to fail, I hoped we found the answers we needed and I would do my best, I thought as we stepped out into the sun —-

It was a while later and we had checked into our hotel suite, which had two rooms, I had my own and the men were sharing the other. We had showered and headed out to find something to eat. We were now down by the beach where there were a variety of restaurants and kiosks, Marcel and Liam were happily trying out several different dishes.

I had settled on a deep-fried dish called Alcapurrias. It was made up of a plantain-based dough roll filled with crab. I had to admit it was rather tasty, despite the warm weather. I was enjoying sitting out here in the sun.

Music was playing loudly, and the atmosphere around us was a very happy one. It was hard to believe that this was the home of the Crimson King.

“You can tell you are Ri’s mother right now.” Marcel remarked quietly, making me look at him sharply.

“What do you mean?”

He smirked slightly, “Nothing at all.”

I frowned slightly. I had a good idea of what he meant, but I was not complaining despite how hot I was feeling I bit into my roll, looking around. From behind my glasses, I could see there were a few werewolves amongst the humans. Seeing one who looked just a little younger than me at a kiosk, I decided to make myself busy. “I’ll be back, I’m going to go get myself something else.” I said, removing my sunglasses and motioning with my eyes. “Sure love.” Marcel replied, trying to play the part. I turned, walking away.

Even with the sun shining, the gloomy weight of sadness washed over me, threatening to pull me into the abyss of darkness once more. I took a deep breath, trying to focus on the present. “Can I get an iced lemonade, please.” I asked the man behind the counter. “Right away!” I fanned my face and, as expected, the werewolf glanced at me, his eyes skimming over me. “New here?” He asked in accented English. I smiled charmingly, taking a seat on the stool and crossing my legs. “Yes, just having a small family holiday.” I said, making sure to look tired, and sighed softly. “Oh? It doesn’t seem like you are as happy as one should be when visiting here.” The man behind the counter placed my iced drink before me and I smiled slightly, running my finger along the rim of my glass. As expected, his gaze fell to my perfectly manicured long nails.

“Trying to be.” I replied, looking him over, hoping this worked. The only man I ever tried to seduce was Rafael, and it didn’t require much work. In fact, he had been the shameless one, trying to sneak into my bedroom when he wasn’t meant to until we were married. I blushed, remembering his shameless tactics.

One wouldn’t think that Rafael Rossi, who was always so charming, had another incredibly s**y side to him. One that was reserved for me.

My king, how I yearned to be with him…

“You know, if you want, and of course, if you can get away from your family, I could show you the true magic of Puerto Rico.” He suggested, ordering himself a drink.

“That actually sounds great, but I don’t know, I don’t even know you.” I said hesitantly, I couldn’t pretend to be that easy.

I knew the men could hear me but we didn’t really have time to waste, and if flirting was the way to go, then so be it. Even if it left a sour taste in my mouth.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to abduct you and take you far away.” He chuckled. “We’ll remain in public places if that’s what you prefer.” “Well…” I hesitated, until he reached over, picking up a napkin and grabbing a pen behind the vendor.

“If you change your mind, senorita.” He held the napkin out and I took it smoothly. “Thank you.” I smiled, letting him notice me looking him over.

He smirked, flashing me a wink before walking off. Werewolves.

Humans would fall for them with ease, so he was probably thinking I was up for it. I resisted the urge to run my fingers over my mark that was hidden by a layer of makeup and Raihana’s spell. We were taking extra precautions just in case. “She’s s**y.” I heard another man say quietly to the man who had spoken to me. “She is, I think if I’m lucky I’ll have some fun.” The man chuckled, speaking Spanish. “You know, I like foreign women.”

I took out some money to pay for my drink, not even turning toward them, after all, they didn’t know I could understand and hear every single word. The man behind the counter smiled.

“It’s paid for by the kind sir.” He replied sunnily. “Oh, thank you.” I replied, turning to see if he was still around, but he had vanished.

Taking out my new phone I quickly typed in his number and sent the message, ‘Thank you for the drink.’

Hitting send, I walked over to the table and sat down. “That was smooth.” Liam complimented quietly.

“Hmm.” I responded, looking up at the sky. I just hoped I got some answers out of him. I had a few things in my possession that would get him to speak, and if not him, then I’d find someone who would give me the answers that we needed Trending Novels