Surprise! I'm Feeling generous have another chapter
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The truck coming to a stop disturbed me from my sleep and I rolled my head away from the window to search our surroundings. Asra shut the car off, the vibration of the engine drifting off to sleep. His eyes drifted to me when I sat up, a soft smile on his lips.
"Hello." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"Hello, Snorey."
"Snorey?" I frowned. "How mean. I just woke up and you offend me. Start the truck up. I want a do-over."
He grinned, giving into my stupid game and starting the car up. Despite the confused shouts of our fellow road-trip mates, he spun the car halfway down the lane. I giggled, going back to my normal position as he made his way back to the house. Once again, the car cut off, and I sat up, looking toward him.
Faux, yawning, I smiled. "Hello."
"Hello beautiful." He leaned over to peck my lips.
I laughed softly. "Much better."
"Come, we are confusing the others too much and your sister has been awake this entire time."
Realisation washed over me and I spun in my seat to find Arabella staring at me through narrowed eyes. I grinned, greeting her softly.
One thing about us, we did not like our sleep disturbed. That was probably one thing we got from our mother. Dad loved mornings, always up at sunrise and going out for walks. He was a real-life garden fairy when he wanted to be.
My door opened, and cold air washed over me. Glancing down, I saw Caleb gesturing for me to get out. Undoing my seatbelt, I thanked him and climbed out of the open door. I noticed Everett was doing the same for Arabella, who scowled as she climbed out, pulling my coat tighter.
It wasn't that cold, but you were always warm in sleep. It's like when someone rips the covers off you to wake you up; evil.
"Come, we shall show you where you are staying and in the morning, Ailia can show you the house if you'd like." Asra explained, gesturing to the house.
She turned, looking up at the magnificence of the hotel-like building. Her eyes grew ten times the size, her lips parting with shock.
"House?" She whispered.
"Pack house." I answered. "Hundreds of en-suite rooms, like a hotel."
"It's huge."
"Wolves are huge." I snorted. "How else are they going to fit their fat asses through the doorways?"
There were a few growls at my joke, but I only grinned, knowing they were not being serious.
Sneaking a glance at my sister, I found her expression had changed to one of uncertainty. Smiling softly at her, I took her hand, squeezing it gently. Her brown eyes darted to me and I watched as her throat bobbed with nerves. When she gave my hand a firm squeeze back, I knew it was my cue.
Leading her up to the front porch. My lips quirked when she eyed the decorations surrounding it. Asra stepped before us, opening the wide door and gesturing us inside. The hall was significantly warmer than outside, but I knew the bedroom would be the best part of the house.
"What floor is she on?" I wondered, pulling her to the death trap box.
"Twelve." He answered.
The doors dinged open, echoing the quiet of the night. I pulled her inside, placing her against the far wall beside me and the mirror.
"What is this?"
"An elevator." I replied, my fingers wrapping around the chrome bar.
"What does it do?"
My nose twitched as the doors shut, noticing the other three wolves did not join us. I assumed they would be too large to fit into such a small space. You think considering the size of the house, they could make the death trap a little bigger.
The elevator lurched, and I swallowed down the bile. Arabella squeaked from beside me, her hands darting to grip the bar, much like I did.
"Why does it feel like I am falling?" She gasped.
"We're going up four flights of stairs." I mumbled. "Fast."
It slowly came to a stop, and I braced for the stomach flip that came with it. Grimacing when it came, I eagerly moved to get out of the doors. Once on flat land, I exhaled loudly.
"One day, I will get used to that." I gulped.
"That was a unique experience." Arabella whispered. "I am not sure if I liked it."
"It's unusual, for sure." I laughed. "But saves walking."
"Come, I will show you your room." Asra interrupted, his hand falling to my lower back.
Walking beside me, I kept my attention on both Arabella behind us and which door he had chosen. It was hard to concentrate when Asra's hand was so warm and inviting on my back. It sent shockwaves of fire up my spine, the mate bond bristling with his touch.
We came to a stop at room six-oh-three, the door plain white.
Asra cleared his throat, grabbing her attention. "You can decorate it however you want. Most people here even decorate their doors."
"Thank you." She whispered.
"You will need to set up a passcode. No one has occupied it before."
"Passcode?"
"A sequence of four numbers. Instead of a key, we use codes." Asra lifted the lid to the keypad, pointing to it. "Keeps everything private that way."
"Oh." Arabella frowned.
I knew what she was thinking about. Privacy. It was such a luxury to have privacy. In the small town, in the small houses of Evermore, there seemed to be no such thing. Everyone knew everything, and everyone in your family saw everything. Anything you had, you shared, and most of the stuff were hand-me-down's.
"Choose your code and we can go inside." I yawned.
"Type it in, press yellow, then type it again, press green." Asra instructed.
Arabella nodded, hesitantly stepping before Asra to type in her numbers. I didn't even bother to look away, noting that she used her birthday; twelfth of May. How cliché Arabella.
The door softly buzzed, letting us know we could enter, and Arabella's hand wrapped around the silver handle before hesitantly pushing it open. Considering the room was unused, it did not smell stale and dusty. There was a fresh scent of linen, alerting me to the large double bed full of plump pillows and sheets. I assumed it was a brand new duvet, because it looked full of life and less of clumps and loose ends in the cover.
The bed was to the right, hiding behind a wall that held the en-suite. It was like my original room, with a soft grey rug at the opposite end that sat beneath a chrome and glass coffee table. On top was a fresh set of books that I had asked someone to bring to her room and I grinned when I saw them. The windows were blind-less, with soft grey curtains free of creases that let light flow onto the soft grey loveseat.
There was also a sideboard across the opposing wall, and on top held a tea kettle and some cups and jars. Opposite the en-suite door to the right of the entry way was a three door white wardrobe, and I peaked inside to find some feminine clothes.
It was simple and just what Arabella needed to settle in. The entire room was bigger than the living space back home, so it was good to not overwhelm her.
"There's a bath!" I heard her gasp.
Too absorbed in looking around her room, I didn't realise she had wandered around herself. I retraced my steps, peeking my head into the bathroom to find her arms full of toiletries as she raided the cupboards.
We didn't have a bath back home, so I understood her excitement.
"The water is hot here, too." I mused.
Her eyebrows rose, and carefully she placed all the products back before staring down at the sink. Delicately, she turned on the hot tap and ran her fingers through the stream. Staring in wonder, I knew it had turned hot when she grinned.
"This place is amazing."
"It's all yours." Asra chuckled softly. "The clothes, the furniture, the products... It is everything you need to get settled, and when you need more, just speak to myself, Ailia or my cousin Eve. You will meet her tomorrow."
Arabella's eyes widened. "Everything?"
"This is your home now." I told her, taking her hand. "I told you it would be worth it."
She smiled through watery eyes, dipping her chin. "Thank you."
I noticed the look she cast toward Asra, and his lips lifted just slightly in the corner. Warmth blossomed in my chest and I squeezed her palm before taking my hand back.
"We are just on the floor above you. There are only two rooms up there, so it won't be hard to find us." I told her. "Do you need me? Or would you like to be alone?"
I just wanted to sleep, but whatever she wanted, I wouldn't do the opposite.
She hesitantly looked at Asra, then back at me. "I... I don't want..."
I nodded, sighing softly. "Why don't you freshen up and I will go get changed into some pyjamas and be right back?"
"Okay." She whispered, wringing her fingers together. "Don't be long."
"Five minutes, tops." I nudged her. "I am way too tired to take too long."
Her smile didn't reach her eyes and with a last glance at her out-of-place figure, I left the room with Asra behind me. The door shut softly, and I sighed, exhaling the pressure I felt on my chest. Asra's arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me upright, so I had no choice but to wrap my legs around his middle. I hummed, dipping my face into his neck as he carried me up the last flight of stairs.
Entering our room, he set me on the edge of the bed before moving toward the closet. I yawned and undressed, stripping off my clothes until I wore nothing but socks. Asra returned, his eyes dilating as he caught sight of me. I laughed him off, warning him he would have nothing from me tonight. He chuckled, bending down to kiss my forehead.
"I wasn't expecting any." He mused. "I just cannot help my reactions to you whenever I see you. So perfect, so naked..."
A shiver rolled down my spine, my body burning in tune to his teasing. I forced the thoughts away, shaking my head.
"Stop. Stop it!" I huffed.
"I am not doing anything."
"You are. You are being seductive."
He grinned, that stupid cocky grin. "I am doing no such thing."
Rolling my eyes, I took the clothes from him and began to dress. It was one of his shirts, accompanied by some of my pyjama bottoms. Asra watched me until I rose from the bed and wrapped my arms around him.
"Thank you."
"I sense you mean more than clothes."
I chuckled, nodding. "You got us out of there. You brought my sister here with no protest. Got her clothes, a room, warmth, comfort... Things we never had."
He tightened his grip on me. "You don't need to thank me. She is your family."
"But you risked your life and your pack mates. We went head to head with some random vampire, who, by the way, I want details about tomorrow."
He chuckled at my narrowed eyes, rubbing my back. "I know. But Tulip, I... I would do anything for you."
My heart soared, butterflies erupting in my stomach. "You would?"
"Of course, I would." He grunted.
I grinned. "Anything? Even dressing up?"
"I thought you were tired?" He growled softly, nipping my earlobe.
Swatting him away, I frowned. "I better get back to her. I don't want her worrying. It's surreal coming here."
He leaned down to capture my lips, mumbling into the kiss. "I will miss you."
Grinning, I pulled away. "Hopefully not too much."
He growled softly when I patted his back to move away. I walked toward the door, pulling on my slippers. Opening the door, I peered up at his looming figure.
"Get some sleep." He muttered, rubbing beneath my eye with his thumb. "Don't worry about waking for breakfast. Sleep as long as you'd like. I will sort everything."
"I have work tomorrow." I raised an eyebrow.
"No, you don't. I already told them your sister is coming. They won't let you in the room."
Huffing, I stepped into the hallway with a pout. "Good move, wolf."
He grinned, flashing canines. "Goodnight, Tulip."
"Goodnight, Butterscotch."
His eyes dropped into a scowl, but I was already high-tailing it out of there. He muttered something, and just as I rounded the corner, I glanced back to see him watching me. My lips quirked, waving goodbye, and he rolled his eyes, winking before shutting his door.
Hopefully tomorrow the whole situation would settle in. It would soon be the morning, and Arabella may need all the help she can get. It's a surreal world being here, I just hoped Darius didn't come looking for her.
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