Chapter 1

Evelyn woke up due to the incessant knock on the door. Not fully awake, she reached for her partner by the bedside to ask him to check who was by the door, but he wasn't on the bed.

She stood up and let out a small groan." Who the hell is that at this time?"

Evelyn and her husband had just gotten back from their honeymoon last night. Immediately after their wedding, they both traveled to Europe and had several adventures together. When they got back, he decided for them to lodge in a hotel suite and rest for a while before spreading the news of their return.

She staggered a little out of her room only to find her husband working on his laptop by the sofa.

"Honey, I thought I heard a knock on the door," she told him.

He stood up to embrace her, carried her, and sat her by his side.

"Good morning my love, how was your night?" He asked her, trying to avoid answering her question.

"Fine... I" Before she could continue, there was another knock on the door.

She tried to stand up to check who was by the door but was stopped by her husband.

" Michael, there's someone by the door. Why haven't you gone to check?"

" There's no need. I know who it is". Her husband said, holding her hand.

"Well, then tell me. I am very sure it's not room service because we told them not to disturb us when we got here yesterday"

"It's not room service. It is my sister", Michael answered.

"Your sister? What is Joyce doing here?" She asked.

"I don't know but do not open the door. I don't want to see her right now."

"But it could be a family emergency."

Michael chuckled. " Family emergency? If there was any family emergency. It would have been on the news by now"

"Well, I can't just ignore it when I know it is your sister?"

"Okay. Fine, let her in". Michael agreed.

Evelyn reached the door and looked through the peephole. She saw that her husband was right. It was his sister by the door. She looked back at her husband and breathed in and out a little before opening the door.

"Hey, Mrs Wolf. Welcome to the family". The woman hugged her sister-in-law

"Thank you very much, Jocelyn, please come in."

Jocelyn went inside holding a lot of shopping bags and placed them beside her brother.

"What the hell are those bags for?" Michael asked his sister.

" I'll deal with you later", Jocelyn told him and went over to her sister-in-law. She held Evelyn and pulled her over to where those bags were.

Evelyn was shocked to see a lot of bags, shoes, and clothes being pulled out by her husband's sister.

"I got all these for you, Evelyn. Try them on. Let's see if they fit."

"You got all these for me? That's so sweet"

" She's not a sweet person, babe. Everybody knows that there's a reason for everything she does. She's not selfless", Michael interrupted.

"Look at who is talking. You were worse than I was before Evelyn came along and corrected some of your faults."

"Yeah. Right," he replied sarcastically.

"You guys are like cats and rats". Evelyn told them "Let me go and try this one."

She went to the room to try on the dress and came back to ask what they thought about it

"Hmm... I don't like this one. It's too flashy", Jocelyn said.

"Did you not notice that before getting the dress for her?" Michael asked.

"I never said that I went to buy the clothes, shoes, and bags myself..."

" It's fine. I will go change again", Evelyn interrupted. "But what is the occasion for anyway?"

"Did Michael not tell you anything?"

"About what?" Evelyn wondered.

" Okay. So there's this ritual that new members married into our family must go through to become fully recognized as a part of us", Jocelyn continued, " And for the newly wedded bride, a simple white dress would suffice for the ceremony."

"Wow. I can't believe that I am just hearing about this for the first time", Evelyn looked over at her husband, who had a frustrated look on his face after listening to what his sister was saying.

"I don't know the full gist of it, but I am sure my father would tell you when you come for dinner this..."

"She is not going anywhere". Michael shouted.

He looked over at his wife and said softly"Honey, you should go try on the other dresses."

"Okay," Evelyn answered.

She went inside thinking it was the first time she would see Michael shout like that over the years that they had been together. She saw nothing wrong with going to his family's house for dinner to see his parents again. She particularly loved his father's war stories and would give anything to listen to him again about his life experiences.

She took her time dressing up to give them a little time to discuss and hopefully sort out whatever it was that was bothering them. After a while, she was ready to show them the new dress and walked towards the door that led to the other room. She heard them still talking and decided to listen in on their conversations.

"I still can't believe that you haven't told her about any of this. Father would be disappointed ", Jocelyn said.

" I don't know how to tell her about it. I don't want her to go through the ritual.

"Michael, you know our family has a lot of enemies and this is the only way she would be safe."

"I can protect her"

" You know you can't be with her 24 hours in a day. She has her profession. You have yours. This is the only way", Jocelyn told him.

" But what if she doesn't... You know pass the test"

Jocelyn paused for a minute. " Well, that would be more peaceful than having to be targeted by our enemies."

" I don't know about that... I will talk to Dad. We could travel back to Europe", Michael told her.

"Father would never agree, you know that, and besides, they could find you if they wanted to. It didn't take much for me to find out that you were in this hotel. Your staying here is risky and you know that. We are a family, and we are stronger together."

Michael let out a deep sigh " We will talk about this later. Go check in on Evelyn, she is taking a bit long in there."

"Mrs Wolf, why is it taking so long!" Jocelyn shouted.

Almost immediately, Evelyn sprang out from where she was. " Is this okay?" She asked.

"Goodness gracious, you look lovely, doesn't she, Michael?"

"Yeah, of course," he said after looking at her dress, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Is everything okay?" Evelyn asked her husband after noticing his sad face " ... Or don't you like the dress? I can get it changed if you want."

"No, that's not it. I love the dress. It is just... Nevermind"

"It is decided then. Evelyn, that's the dress that you will be wearing at the ritual. I will let you know the time and date" she continued, "Well, I think I have to get going now. As you both know, I am a very busy woman."

Jocelyn hugged her sister-in-law and gave her a goodbye kiss before heading for the door.

"...and Michael before I forget. Father wants to see you as soon as possible". Jocelyn looked back at her brother.

"I will see him when I am less busy."

"Whatever, it's your problem," she said before leaving.

Evelyn now had a moment alone with her husband and she deliberated on how to ask about what she overheard in his conversation with Jocelyn.

" My love, what exactly is the ritual about? " She asked softly after sitting next to him.

" It's nothing, Evelyn."

" Look into my eyes and tell me that it's nothing". She held his chin and raised it until his eyes were meeting hers

Michael pulled away from her. "I need to clear my head," he said and went out the door.