Chapter Seven

Debra leaves me alone in my room, which is actually her son's bedroom.

I tried to play it cool, but the mere scent of him hypnotized me while still in the hallway leading up to it. It is so omnipresent that it captivates me entirely. I almost feel shy about taking my clothes off and heading for a shower.

I decided to seize the chance while alone to roam around the room. Maybe I'll find something interesting hidden away.

I hurry toward the closet, but my reflection in the mirror attached to its door makes me feel like I am being watched.

Oh, stop being silly, my inner wolf awakens. Just open the damn door.

My she-wolf is too damn curious, but I still decide to listen.

Inside there is nothing fascinating to a regular human being, only pairs of sweaters, denim and dark shirts. To me, though, everything is fascinating. This is what my mate wears.

His scent on the clothes is too tempting and I can't resist picking one of the dark blue shirts, then sniffing it as if it meant life.

Okay, there. You should probably put that back.

I force myself to let go of the fabric and leave to inspect the chest of drawers.

Wow.

My mate's belts, socks, underwear... I keep opening drawers. Others contain watches, sunglasses, and undershirts.

I obviously won't find some top secret, so I close them all and head for the bathroom.

Later, when I came downstairs, I find Terry watching TV.

"Keeping up with the Kardashians?" I teased.

He laughs. It's the end of some football match and, by his face, I am guessing his team won. "Finally guess you're ready. You almost let me starve to death. Even Mom was wondering what took you so long," he glances at me quickly and stands up. "At least you could've cleaned up considering the amount of time it took you..."

"Hey!" I shouted glancing at my watch, "It's only been twenty minutes, you little -"

"Careful, there," he cuts me off, "you are talking with your mate's brother," he teases me, insinuating my earlier behavior.

I shook my head in despair. "You're never gonna let that go, are you?"

"Not while I live," he chuckles and leads me into the kitchen.

At the table, there are only five chairs pulled out. When Terry announces our arrival, Debra and another lady enter.

"Hello," I greeted the new face.

She lit up. "It's very nice to meet you, Miss King. I'm Aliana.

"The pleasure's all mine, Aliana," I smiled to the friendly lady. She must be the help.

"Take a seat, dear," Debra shows me to obviously my designated place at the table, so I feel obliged to sit where she placed me, at the head of the table.

Terry sits on my right side, while Debra and Aliana take the left side of the table. The other head seat is empty and I know it is meant for my mate once he arrives. I wonder when that will be. But I will not pose that question. Even though the desire to know is killing me.

"Help yourselves, please," Debra announced, "Darius will be late. He called in to let us know," suddenly she looked at me. "He is very sorry not to be present for your welcome and he is doing his best to hurry."

My cheeks are on fire. I know my hopes it doesn't show are in vain because I haven't put any makeup on. Can this be any more embarrassing?

Then Terry makes his presence known. "Can Luna of the Carter pack help herself or do we have to serve her?"

My mouth drops open.

"Terry!" His mother kicks him under the table with her leg.

And it must have been a good kick because he yelled, laughing. "Just kidding, Mom. Sorry," he lifts his hands up in defense.

She still looks outraged. "Lila, honey, you must get used to life here. The men in our pack... let's just say women need to toughen up."

Terry chuckles. "I'm sure she'll have a problem with that," he says silently, so I can only hear him, which makes me smile.

But he is right. I shouldn't be shy. I get up and get a piece of meat as I normally would in my own house. I shouldn't act afraid. This is my new house after all. And to be honest, so far the people in it are all very pleasant.

We eat and talk, and I find myself enjoying the night, laughing at their jokes and even telling a story or two myself.

Then the entrance door opens.

His scent finds me all the way through the living room and into the dining area. I am not relaxed anymore. There is a burst of anxiety in my stomach. Wasn't it supposed to be all the opposite? These effects are too hard for me to track.

"That must be Darius," Debra smiles and rubs the top of my hand, excited.

I nod, forcing a smile, when I am actually swallowing with great difficulty.

Before I know it, Darius is on the door frame.

"Good evening, everyone," he says immediately and the rest greet him back. I somehow managed to mumble a hello.

He then looks at me.

I quickly broke eye contact and he started walking slowly toward his seat. He is wearing dark denim, a black shirt and a pair of black socks. Classic wolf attire, but he manages to wear it brilliantly.

Stop looking at him!

I quickly occupy myself with the plate in front of me, but I feel his eyes locked on me. And in the corner of my eye, I noticed he was smiling.

No. Not smiling, smirking. Smirking victoriously.

It irritates the hell out of me, but I decide not to make a nasty comment in front of Debra.

"How was the hunt?" Terry asks, "we've left you some salad," he jokes, pointing at the food.

Darius' eyes leave me at last and he looks at his brother now. "As expected. We chased them up to the river and then lost track."

I am suddenly very interested in this conversation.

"I told you right away. No one runs like foxes."

"It wasn't foxes, Terry," said Darius, biting off a piece of bread.

"What was it then?"

I don't want to listen anymore. I lifted my head up and stared at the two men openly. Darius notices and he shifts his eyes back to me. For just a few moments, a corner of his lips slightly stretched. Then he stabs some meat with his fork and replies to his brother.

"A small group of bloodsuckers. Not more than four. Maybe three." He stuffs his mouth with food and I can't stop observing him chew. The jaw movement alone is incomprehensibly sexy to me.

I know he must notice me watching him, but I cannot force myself to look away.

"Those damn creatures," Debra joined the conversation, shaking her head. "What do they want this time?"

Terry seemed distressed. "I hope they only lost their way. It's very uncommon for them to show up in wolf territory. Well, except for the stories of your pack, Lila. Are those stories true? Have you ever seen one?"

I am forced to switch my attention to my mate's brother and am somehow grateful for it. Even though I now feel Darius' eyes on me again. "A few times," I confirmed. "My childhood house is somewhat alienated from the center of our pack's territory, so I guess it's adequate ground for vampires to hunt."

The table doesn't reply at first. They all seem to process the words.

"When you say a few," Darius speaks, "how many times exactly do you mean?"

The fact of him addressing me directly sends shivers down my spine, but I do my best to stay calm. "Three, maybe four," I shrugged, lying. I saw them over a dozen times.

Darius stares at me, this time concern visible on his face. "I'd say that's more than a few." He looks at Terry. "Is there anyone you know that has seen them on so many occasions?" he asks rhetorically.

"Not anyone that's alive," Terry sniffs. "How did you survive?"

I feel like being questioned about a crime. "Well, to be honest, I never felt like I was in danger of them. I was around six the first time I saw one," I gazed swiftly across the table and it is a strange feeling that everyone is listening to me attentively, not even eating anymore.

"I was in the backyard and my mother was in childbirth. Actually, it was right after she passed. My father told me the news of her and the baby's disappearance, so I went outside to..." I didn't feel like sharing the reason, so I changed the subject quickly, "It was still daytime and I heard someone in the woods calling on me.

A little voice kept saying Lily... and my mother was the only one to call me that, so I... somehow thought it was her," I shake my head, "when I approached, I saw a silhouette behind a tree.

A pale skin with hard nails and messy long hair. It was a woman. But nothing like my mother.

So I stopped walking and asked who she was. She said she would tell me if I came closer, but since my father told me I had to look after the boys, I turned her down. I told her I couldn't come.

So I turned around and went back to the house."

Darius' forehead furrows. "And she simply let you walk away?"

I nod.

Debra hums disapprovingly. "It is very unlike them to just let their prayers go."

"Are you sure it was a vampire? It could've been someone-"

"It was," I cut Terry off. "The next I saw her she wasn't as friendly, though. I was thirteen, walking home from a friend's birthday party and she cut our path only a few feet away. She smiled at me," I frowned, still confused about her odd behavior. "My friend told me to run, but I wouldn't. It is then that she started running towards me at extreme speed and... that's when I first shifted."

"You killed her?" Terry asks, uncertain.

"If she didn't, she wouldn't be sitting here with us now," Darius tells him, looking at me. Our eyes meet again and my heart races.

"I didn't. She fled." I lied to avoid them posing questions like why I let her go.

"Damn sure she did," Debra added fiercely" "They ravage the weakest of your pack. That's what they do. They hide and attack the most innocent."

"So you never killed one?" Terry seemed disappointed.

"Well.. I did when they attacked. But all my friends shifted by 15, so it was fairly easy to fight them alongside them."

Darius looked at me, the corner of his lips crooked. His eyes looked worried.

"Well, Lila, you'll be safer here. I assure you Darius will make sure of that," Debra said, and I wish she hadn't brought it up.

"No need to worry, Mrs Carter," I replied. "I can take care of myself." I thought I made that clear, Deb.

This time it is I who looks at my mate and we share a spiteful stare.

"Let's talk about more fun things," Terry leaned into his chair. "Have you two decided what you will do for the ceremony?"

I almost choke on my bread. Wait, what ceremony?