Nicole
I stepped out of the car to find a woman staring at us, hands on her hips with mock indignation. Her expression quickly shifted to warmth as she approached.
"You must be Nicole!" The older woman who'd been scolding Alpha Damien now gripped my hands with maternal enthusiasm.
She had the same sharp black eyes as Damien, though hers sparkled with warmth his rarely showed. "I'm Xandra, Damien's mother. Are you hungry, dear?"
"I'm fine,Luna Xandra. I had something this afternoon," I replied nervously, steadying myself against her eager grip.
Two elegantly dressed middle-aged women emerged from what I assumed was the kitchen, both wearing aprons.
One carried a spatula while the other held half a cucumber.
The domestic scene seemed at odds with the grandeur of the pa
