A Queen Among Snakes

Chapter Five: Mei POV

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 i***t,” 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 c**k 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.

We step into the suite, Chris closing the door behind us as Setia takes in the room.

“May I get you something to eat her drink?” I ask.

“No thank you, I’m fine,” she smiles walking over and taking a seat on the couch. Chris and I also take our seats on the couch, but Chris sits between Setia and I, angling his body as if to shield me. I smile at his protectiveness.

“I could always shift and stand by as your guard wolf,” Axel offers.

I try not to laugh, “Don’t be silly.”

“Who’s being silly? I’m serious. I don’t care who or what she is, I don’t want her making you uncomfortable.” I can tell he’s serious and even hear the anxiousness in his voice.

“I promise I’ll be fine, but thank you for looking after me, Axel,” I say sweetly.

“Anything for you, my Sweet One,” he coos.

“Amelia told us you have a lot of experience with nagatas,” Chris starts off.

“To be fair I have experience with all supernatural beings, but yes I have spent a great deal of time interacting with nagatas, but not for the last…” she looks up as if counting in her head. “Must be twenty or so years now, and I’ve certainly never seen one initiated into a pack, so that’s new,” she says with enthusiasm.

“Never?” I ask surprised.

“Not a single one. I have known nagatas in the past to be fated to a mutolupus every now and then, but they never stayed with the pack,” she explains. That’s odd since I know my mother was a nagata and was part of a pack, but then again I don’t think anyone knew what she was. “I am very sorry for the horrors you faced at the hands of the Albus Mons Pack, as I understand it you were only five when they abducted you,” she says in a careful and calming voice. Chris wraps his arm protectively around me and I focus on my breathing.

I nod, “Yes, that’s correct.”

“And you have no knowledge of your kind?” She asks sympathetically.

“Bits and pieces, but not much. Chris and Amelia have done their best to help me based on books they’ve read, but that’s only gotten them so far,” I tell her as I gently squeeze Chris’ knee to let him know I’m doing okay.

“Well, I plan to be here for some time so we can leave the history lesson for tomorrow if you wish. We shall do this at your pace, Mei. I want to ensure you are comfortable,” she says compassionately.

“I’d like to start now if that’s alright. I’ve spent all these years not understanding who I am and where I come from; I need answers,” I tell her and even I can hear the desperation in my voice.

It’s not that I don’t feel at home here, I do, but I had a different life once. I want to know what that life was supposed to be, I want to understand the heritage my mother never had the chance to share with me.

“Very well, let us begin,” she announces sitting back, getting comfortable. “You possess the gift of healing I was told.”

I hesitantly nod. I know they were informed of this because of how I healed Chris when he was hurt and then with how I healed pack members during the attack, but it still makes me uneasy having strangers know this.

“Is that a problem?” Chris asks and even though he’s not showing it, I can feel his nervousness through our bond.

“Not at all. Allow me to start from the beginning. Now all supernatural species have been around for thousands if not tens of thousands of years, myself included,” she says casually making my eyes nearly fall out of my head.

“You… you’re that old?” I ask in quiet disbelief.

She lets out an airy, delicate laugh, “I’m so old I can’t even give you a number, but yes, it would be in the tens of thousands,” she says with amusement.

I take a moment to process this information.

“You look incredible for your age,” I tell her. This makes her laugh some more.

“You’re very sweet, thank you, Mei. Now nagatas pre-date what is considered ancient China, but that is where your kind originated from, though it wasn’t called that back then. Your kind were created by the God Oshmin,” she explains.

Oshmin.

All the nights and days in that torment and I never had a name for the creator I prayed to and now I finally know. Oshmin. I like that name.

“I used to pray to my maker to save me,” I whisper. Chris tightens his hold and kisses my temple as Axel whimpers sadly in my mind. “Pray to any God who would hear me, really. I never knew my maker’s name, so I was never sure they even heard me.”

Setia’s eyes soften, “I can’t say if he heard you or not I’m afraid. Oshmin disappeared thousands of years ago, and no one has seen or heard from him since. Not even our mother as far as I know,” she says solemnly.

“How does a God just disappear?” Chris asks sceptically.

“They are not of this world, not of this earth or even this cosmos. They are celestial beings beyond our comprehension. Even their true celestial forms are so beyond us that to see them would cause us to implode,” she explains. “Oshmin may have gone about his life or gone to another cosmos, though I personally doubt that. He’s definitely not dead though.”

“Gods can die?” I ask in shock.

“Not by natural means, but yes, they can die. I know of two who are no longer in existence, their names were Apaki and Fretez, but Oshmin is definitely not dead,” she says confidently.

“How are you so sure?” Chris wonders aloud.

“Because Mei would not exist if he was.”

“I don’t follow,” he says confused.

“When a God dies, all their power dies with them, meaning everything they ever created; everything their magic touched, reverts to its original state. Basically, if Oshmin was dead all nagata would cease to exist.”

Chris gulps and Axel howls as a shudder rocks through me. The thought that my very existence is held in someone else’s hands is terrifying, mostly because it’s something I experienced for most of my life, and I don’t like feeling that way.

“Okay, so Oshmin created the nagata,” Chris says, trying to get us back on track.

“Oshmin was very fond of humans. As the God of life and death, he appreciated their mortality, so he spent a great deal of time amongst them to the point he befriended an emperor of a small kingdom. Emperor Sheng was a benevolent ruler of a small and humble kingdom known as Longsang. He was content with the power he had and the size of his kingdom but his ministers were not so content and so they formed a coup. They assembled an army – including Emperor Sheng’s own army – to kill him and take over the kingdom,” she says, almost speaking as if she was there.

“That’s horrible. All for power?” I ask sadly.

“Some people are full of so much greed nothing can satisfy them, it’s sad but true,” Chris says with an apologetic look on his face.

“The Gods love to meddle in human affairs but for the sake of balance they agreed to never revive the dead, but they find loopholes that allow them to save people. Oshmin couldn’t bear to see his good friend die – he was already old as it was – so he blessed Sheng’s children. They were turned into the first nagatas; magnificent snake-like beings with the power to protect their father and their kingdom,” she says proudly.

“Why a snake?” I ask.

“A snake was their family seal back then.”

“Oh. That makes sense I suppose,” I say nodding.

“The Emperor’s son – and next in line – Wei, was an onyx snake and was given the gift of death, his venom was lethal to any and all it came into contact with. On the flip side his sister Jing was a gold snake and given the gift of healing,” she says smiling at me knowingly.

Healing? Did she say healing? Both Chris and I perk up leaning forward.

“So the siblings were gifted Oshmin’s gift for life and death,” Chris summarises.

“Half-siblings, they were each born to one of Sheng’s concubines,” she corrects.

“What’s a concubine?” I ask in confusion.

I can feel Chris getting a little embarrassed through our bond. “Um, well, a concubine is a type of mistress. In the old days, many leaders in different cultures had many mistresses,” Chris delicately explains. I wrinkle my nose not liking that one bit. That sounds cruel and selfish. “I know, I don’t like the sound of it either, my love,” he says as he plants a chaste kiss on my lips, the sensation instantly perking me up.

“Now of course Wei and Jing had children and their children had children and so over time nagatas grew in numbers. But to maintain balance, Oshmin’s magic ensured that the onyx and gold snakes would always exist. To every generation, the first born male of Wei’s line would be born with the Onyx Snake of Death and every first born female of Jing’s line would be born with the Gold Snake of Healing,” she says with a large grin on her face.

“But… I have the gift of healing…” I say as if she presented me with a difficult math equation.

“Precisely. I felt it immediately in your energy, Mei. You are a descendent of Jing. You are a nagata Empress,” she says with excitement.

Chris’ shock catapults through me and I’m sure he can feel my own as I try to process this.

An empress? I can’t be an empress, but then again, my mother’s snake was indeed gold, and she did possess the gift of healing, but I’m not gold so she must be wrong. Even if I was, I can’t possibly be an empress. I was born in a wolf pack and I’m not strong enough to be an empress. I can barely even be a Delta.

“Forgive me, Setia, but I think you’ve made a mistake,” I say softly.

“Why would you say that?” She asks curiously.

“You said the gold snake is her descendent, but my snake isn’t gold.”

“Mei’s right, her snake is black and gold,” Chris says, backing me up.

Setia looks like a dear caught in headlights as she slowly sits back, she seems… unnerved? “Are you certain about this?” She quietly asks.

I thought irshiusts could detect the truth, shouldn’t she know we’re being honest?

“Positive. I’ve seen her snake myself, as has half the pack. They can all confirm it. Even my mark is black and gold,” Chris says with a hint of pride in his voice. He always sounds like that when he speaks about his mark.

Setia reaches out moving his collar aside looking at the two small scales with a black and gold shift in the junction of his neck and shoulder, and I can see the confusion all over her face. She went from so happy and confident, to somewhat rattled.

“Mei, what is your last name?” She asks.

“Liu, why?”

“And your mother’s name?”

I take in a deep breath. I didn’t fight as hard to remember my own name over the years, but I did my best to remember my parents’ names. Their names were all I had left of them; I couldn’t just let them slip away.

“Xiuying. My mother’s name was Xiuying,” I tell her with a shaky breath while Chris rubs my back.

Setia exhales sharply like she was punched in the gut. “And your father?”

“Huizhong. My father was a mutolupus,” I inform her.

Her head whips to me so fast I thought it might snap, “A mutolupus? Are you certain?” She asks in a rush.

Again, can she not feel my honesty?

“I’m completely certain. I’d seen his wolf many times.”

Setia gets up and starts pacing the living room, her brows furrowed in confusion. I look up at Chris but he merely shrugs, just as confused as I am.

“Mei, have you ever had a blood test?” She asks.

“Yes, when I came to the pack.”

“Do you know what the report said? Is there a chance I could see it?” She quickly asks.

“Our head doctor couldn’t identify her blood type because he’d never seen nagata blood before. But he did find it odd that even though her father was a mutolupus, she had no mutolupus DNA,” Chris tells her.

Setia stops pacing and stares at me, her gold eyes burning into my very soul.

“Is something wrong?” I ask her.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I know for a fact your mother was a daughter of Jing,” she says with clear certainty.

“How do you know?” I ask curiously.

“Because I knew your mother. Last I saw her was before she ever conceived you,” she says gently, but with a deep frown on her face.

More shock hits me.

How is that possible? The very irshiust training me now was the same one my mother knew so many years ago? Is that a coincidence or fate? I don’t have to look at Chris to know he is reeling from the shock as well.

“But I knew her well enough to know she would never abandon her child. Never. She was a pure-hearted woman, but she was fierce; an incredible fighter worthy of her gifts,” Setia says adamantly.

“My mother didn’t abandon me. I watched my mother be killed by the Alpha of our pack,” I choke out the words as images of that night flash in my head.

I swear all the colour drained from Setia’s face, “…What did you just say?” She whispers.

Now I think she’s the one in shock.

I try to remember the night she was killed, but all I have are broken pieces of a picture I can’t put together. I remember the Alpha with glowing bright brown eyes and the smell of iron. I remember my father crying and shifting into his wolf and putting me on his back as we fled our home. He said we weren’t safe; he said I wasn’t safe, but we weren’t safe here either.

“We lived in my father’s pack. When the Alpha killed my mother, my father fled with me all the way to the United States. He was seeking a new pack for us when he came across Albus Mons, but they attacked and killed him while he fought to protect me,” I say as my body starts to shake, and I can feel the tears spilling from my eyes.

I lost the two most important people in my world so close together and both in horrific ways. It’s not fair.

“Sh, it’s okay, I’m right here,” Chris consoles me as he pulls me into his chest, while I feel Axel comforting me through our bond. I quietly sob against Chris; the loss of my parents hitting me hard. It was so long ago, but some days it feels as though it was just yesterday.

While my father was looking for a pack to take us in we stumbled onto Albus Mons territory. They thought my father was a cur – a packless wolf – which I suppose he was and so they attacked him. I watched him bleed to death with a sad and guilty look on his face; I’ll never forget it. He told me to run. Told me no matter what, don’t let them know what I am. I tried to run, but I was scared and didn’t know where I was and was quickly caught.

From that moment on I was a slave. A beaten, abused slave whose very life hung on the precipice waiting for someone to push it over the edge. My life went from bad to worse in the blink of an eye.

“What was the name of this pack?” Setia asks, pulling me from my painful memories.

“Tian,” Chris answers for me. “Please, no more questions right now, this is too much for her. Give her a chance to breathe,” he implores. If she wasn’t a member of the Delegation he wouldn’t bother with formalities, he’d just kick her out.

“Of course, I understand. I’ll give you two a minute, I have to go speak to my sisters anyway. I’m deeply and truly sorry for your loss, Mei,” she says, and I hear her leave the suite.

We stay in silence for I don’t know how long. Chris gently rubbing my back to soothe me until my sobs eventually ease off. Now my nose is all stuffy, my eyes feel like I haven’t blinked in a year, and I have a headache. Why does crying feel so terrible?

“Feel a bit better?” He asks as he kisses my cheek. I nod but don’t pull away from him. “I know that was a lot to take in, and I’m still reeling myself. Setia seemed confused as well, but I’m sure whatever is going on, she’ll find out and explain soon,” he says in a soothing tone.

I breathe in his candy scent and let it relax me. “I can’t believe she knew my mother.”

“Isn’t that a good thing though? I know you have so few memories of her, maybe getting to share Setia’s memories of her will help you connect with her.”

“That would be nice. I would like to know more about what kind of a person she was,” I say wistfully.

“If she was anything like you then she was a magnificent woman,” he tells me, making me smile. He always knows what to say.

“It just doesn’t make any sense. I have the gift of healing, so why is my snake form so different?” I ask as I look up at him.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon.” He pecks my lips and I gladly peck him back.

My life seems to be one rollercoaster ride after another. Maybe I should have started training first, the history lesson seems to have exhausted me more than sparring would have.