Page 86 of Fake Fae-Ancée

"Who?" I looked around. The car — a rental we had taken due to incognito reasons — had stopped in a vast driveway, surrounded by lush, green trees. In front of us, a broad mansion loomed, white like snow, with a large front porch, a bright red roof and several little towers on each side.

"Where the hell are we?" I massaged my neck. This didn't look like downtown Helsinki at all.

"A safe-house."

"And this is bad....why?"

Before Yuri could answer, the front door flew open and a petite woman with white blonde hair and murder in her eyes marched down the stairs.

"I'm sorry!" Yuri whispered with a glint of panic in his eyes and hurriedly got out of the car. I followed, just in time to see the woman plant herself in front of Yuri with her hands on her hips.

She stabbed an angry finger at him and began scolding him at a frantic pace. I didn't understand a single word, since she used their native tongue, while Yuri visibly shrank into himself and mumbled something that sounded like an apology.

The lady, clearly not impressed, continued her rant.

My gaze flicked to the wide porch in front of the house. Two broad figures had appeared there. Yuri's brothers. Nicolai was wearing a three-piece suit and his usual scowl. Kostya, in jeans and sweatshirt, waved at me, grinning happily.

A girl had also appeared next to them, of about the same physique as the woman who was currently screaming her head off at Yuri. But much younger. She also had light blond hair that fell over her shoulders in a thick braid. She looked at me with a mix of shyness and curiosity.

The woman in front of Yuri reached the pinnacle of her lecture, and just when I thought she was going to smack him after all, she grabbed his broad shoulders and pulled him into a fierce embrace.

There was a stab in my heart as I watched Yuri soften and hug the woman back just as fiercely. She literally disappeared into his massive arms. My throat grew thick and I had to quickly look elsewhere. God, what was I doing here? This was obviously a family reunion I had no business being at.

The two broke away from each other and the woman turned to me, amber eyes glistened sharply.

"I'm sorry, my dear," the woman said with almost no accent. "I have completely forgotten my manners."

"Oh, uh, that's okay," I stammered. Oh my God. Right now, I'd really rather be anywhere but here.

"No, it's not okay."

The woman stepped toward me and offered her hand. "I’m Elisaveta Kalinina, former queen to the Bears and mother of that gigantic chump over there. You must be Kayleen. I’ve heard so much about you."

A silly grin froze on my face as the woman grabbed my hand and shook it.

"Have you?"

She nodded warmly. Then, with surprising strength, she pulled me to her and into an equally surprising bone-shattering hug.

"Welcome to the Kalinin family."

* * *

During tea,Elisaveta told me that this house had been their safe haven after they escaped from the Yegor’s captivity.

"This used to be our summer residence. This place is full of memories." She smiled a little sadly and stirred her tea. "Then it became our place of refuge. The whole estate is sealed with magic. Heavily warded. At least we hope it is undetectable to anyone outside the family."

Her last word made me tremble inside.

All these people really believed I was Yuri's fiancée. And their future queen. His brothers — one scowling, the other grinning as he munched tiny pancakes from a plate — his little sister Marina, former princess of Bears, and the dowager queen beaming in her chair opposite me. And the staff present. Except for Bates, hovering silently in the background, overlooking the supply of tea and cakes.

I sat next to Yuri on one of the sofas, clutching my teacup, afraid to break the fragile thing with one wrong move. His hand rested on my knee. Completely casual. A normal gesture of affection. A pleasant warmth seeped through to my skin.

"It must have been hard when he went into Svalbard and you never heard from him," Elisaveta said.

"Yeah," I mumbled into my cup, hurrying to take a sip of tea, not daring to look at anyone.

"Why didn't you marry as soon as he came back?" Nicolai's sharp question made me wince. All eyes were suddenly on the second oldest Kalinin brother. He stared at me with undisguised suspicion. Yuri beside me tensed.

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