Song: Rather Be- Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne
Theo led me into the beautiful mansion. When the front door opened, I was awestruck by the alluring glass chandelier hanging over the room, and two white staircases that led to an elegant balcony. The walls were beautifully painted maroon, causing the staircases to reflect well. The hardwood floors were polished to perfection-- so polished, I could almost see my reflection in them-- and soft music echoed through the house.
"They're probably in the living room. Follow me." We walked down a long hallway--also painted maroon-- until we reached another door. Theo opened the door, and I saw a huge living room with a couch and two love seats, two chairs, a flat screen TV, a plethora of movies, a Wii, and an Xbox. Music was playing from the stereo in the corner of the room, and Call of Duty was on the TV.
Sitting on the couch were three guys, all who had dark or light brown hair, and on one of the love seats were four girls, all who looked like they were models out of a magazine. Looking at them made me wonder if I would fit in there. Sure, I had a nice body, but their bodies were every girl's dream. It wasn't like I was skinny, I was slightly chunky; I didn't have a thigh gap, and my stomach wasn't entirely flat. Mom always told me it was because I ate well, and I was healthy, but let's be real. Every girl has an ideal picture in her head of how she should look based on what she's seen in the real world.
"Excuse the children. They tend to be immature idiots at times." The boys glared at Theo, and the girls laughed it off before flashing him their fangs.
"We aren't immature. It's our day off, bro." The guy with dark brown hair (who slightly resembled Theo), replied, and Theo glared back at him.
"There are no days off. You all should be training."
A girl with ombre hair scoffed, pushing her hair over her shoulder. "Train, train, train. I swear that's the only word in your dictionary."
"Whatever. We're off topic." Theo shook his head and motioned towards me. "This is Melody, our newborn."
The girls immediately rushed to me, and the first one to reach me was the one with ombre hair. She had the prettiest brown eyes, and I noticed they were the same as Theo's. She smiled widely, flashing her dazzling white teeth. "I'm Hazel, Theo's amazing little sister."
Theo barked out a laugh and patted her shoulder. "Flattery gets you nowhere, sis."
Hazel glared at him and smiled at me before walking back to the couch.
"I'm Annabelle, and the twins are Bailey and Bambi." Another girl with blonde hair greeted, with two identical girls stood behind her, smiling. She leaned by my ear and whispered, "Don't let Theo push you around too much. He doesn't save just anyone."
I glanced over at Theo, who sent me a questioning look. Annabelle winked at me, and the twins smiled again before walking back to the couch. Theo mumbled something under his breath before he turned towards the boys, who were still playing Call of Duty. With the snap of his fingers, the TV turned off, causing the guys to glare daggers at Theo.
"We have a newborn, which means get off your lazy asses and introduce yourself. Comprende?" The boys rolled their eyes, but complied.
"Hey, I'm Tobias. Theo's younger, hotter, and very single brother." He winked at me, and I chuckled. Theo glared at his brother, and I wondered why he would. Was he threatened by his brother? Of course not, that would be ridiculous because we just met and love at first sight wasn't a real thing. But I would never deny Theo's attractiveness. He had a certain look to him capable of making a girl drool just at the mention of him. "I'd ask you out, but judging by the glare I just received, I'm guessing he's already called dibs. I'll still be available when he's out of the picture, though."
Another wink sent my way, and Theo slapped him upside the head. "Get back to your game, douche bag."
Tobias rubbed his head and walked back over to his controller. The next guy had light brown hair that swooped across his forehead.
"I'm Damon, Theo's cousin. This here is Brett." He motioned to the guy beside him, who had the prettiest icy blue eyes I had ever seen. "He was a newborn last month, so he can help you out with adjusting." They smiled before joining the rest of the boys, and then Theo faced me.
"That's our pack. I have a lot more to explain to you, but I have business to attend first." Theo faced the girls, looking directly at Hazel. "Hazel, complete her transition and give her the tour."
Theo walked out of the room, while Hazel stood and walked to me. We walked out of the living room and down the hall until we reached a bookshelf. Hazel pulled a single book from the shelf, and it turned around to reveal a secret staircase. Hazel walked down first, and I followed until we entered a basement.
"To complete your transition, you have to do one thing." Hazel opened another door, pulling out a guy. He lazily smiled at Hazel. "You have to drink human blood."
My eyes grew wide, and I slowly back away from the two. "No, no, no. I will do anything except drink from an innocent person."
"I know this is terrible, and I hate that it has to be this way. But to complete the transition, you have to drink from him; If you don't, you will die." I glanced from Hazel to the guy. He wasn't fazed nor scared, and it made me wondered what they had done to him.
"How is he not scared?" I questioned, and she shrugged.
"He was compelled not to be. We check every person we use for transition because Theo loathes the idea of using innocent people for our needs. This guy has no one left in his life, and he came to us because he was too far in depression to keep going." I glanced back at the guy, and finally noticed the sadness in his eyes-- a sadness all too familiar. I could hear his heart beating in his chest, and a hunger washed over me.
"I only have to do this once, right?"
"Only once."
I slowly walked to the guy, and he gave me a sad smile. I tilted his head to the side, grabbed his shoulders, and leaned by his neck. His heart was beating fast. His artery vein was thumping wildly, which made me hesitate at first, but then my teeth sunk into his neck. The taste of blood filled my mouth, but I didn't find it disgusting like I did when Theo fed me his. I actually enjoyed it, and I hated it. The guy went limp, and I pulled away. Hazel grabbed him, throwing him into a dumpster.
"All done." She wiped her hands on her jeans. "Let's get to that tour, shall we?"
We left the basement, closed the bookshelf, and turned to the door adjacent to the bookshelf. "The room across from the living room is Theo's office. Nobody is allowed in there unless he says you can."
I nodded, and she led me down the hall. We walked back to the entrance, but instead of going up the stairs, we went to a wide doorway beside the staircase on the right side. Inside of the doorway was a huge kitchen. The walls were a clean white, and the counters were dark marble. The island in the middle of the kitchen was also marble, and there was a double fridge on the left side with two stoves beside it. Above the island was another glass chandelier. Hazel and I walked in, and she smiled before motioning to the kitchen.
"This is our kitchen. It contains all the food you could ever dream of. We have a cook, but if you ever want to cook anything, you're free to. The door over there leads to the dining room."
"This is beautiful." I whispered breathlessly, and Hazel smiled, a sad look sweeping across her face.
"Our parents had this house specially made. It was their dream house, but they never got to enjoy it because Bloodbound killed them before they could see it." I shot her a sad look, and a sad smile crossed her lips.
"I'm sorry. It must be hard to lose your parents. I couldn't imagine what it'd be like to lose mine like that."
"Yeah, I miss them a lot. Theo had to take over everything since they died, and I know he took it the hardest, but he's doing well. He's a great leader, and a great big brother."
I followed Hazel to the door across from the kitchen by the left staircase. Inside was a gym painted yellow with hardwood floors, except for the track outside of the exercise equipment and weights. "This is our gym, and it's where you'll do most of your training with Theo."
We walked out of the gym, and she led me up the staircase. On the left side, there was four doors, and she told me who each bedroom belonged to. We walked to the other side, and there were five rooms.
"These three right here are mine, Tobias's, and Theo's. Yours is beside Theo's." She explained before opening the door to my room. We walked inside, and ironically, it was painted my favorite color-- baby blue. In the middle of the room was a king-size bed covered by a gray floral comforter, with nightstands on each side. On one side of the wall was a dresser, and on the other side was another dresser with a mirror. Beside the door was a vanity, and on the other side was a desk with a laptop and pencils. I walked around the room and looked up, seeing yet another glass chandelier. "The chandelier is adjustable. You can choose how bright or dim it is."
I walked to the door beside the dresser, and when I opened it, I discovered a walk in closet. It was so big, there was even a chair placed in it. We walked out of my closet and opened the door beside it, which led to a bathroom. It was twice the size of my mom and dad's master bathroom back home, and there was a claw tub (I had always wanted one of those), a walk in shower, and two sinks. The whole bathroom was made of stone.
Hazel and I walked out of the bathroom, and she led me to another door that opened up to a balcony. On the balcony was a lounge chair, and below the balcony was a pool and hot tub. I looked out past the pool, and there were fields that went on for miles and miles until it touched the horizon.
"This is amazing." I muttered in awe, and Hazel nodded, leaning against the rail on the balcony.
"I'm guessing you never had these kinds of things back home?"
"I had a nice home, and my parents worked hard to make it nice, but this is more than I could have ever dreamed of. It's beautiful."
A soft smile fell onto Hazel's lips as we gazed at the horizon. "That's nice. My parents were the same way. I know you'll like it here, and I hope we can be best friends. I get along with the other girls, but they have never understood me, you know?"
Nodding, I shot her a sad smile. I knew what it was like to fit in, but I also knew what it was like to have nobody to talk to. Being popular was good at times, but having someone to talk to was better than all the popularity in the world.
"Well, I guess I should get back downstairs. I have to watch the idiot boys when Theo isn't around." We both laughed, and Hazel started walking away. "I'll see you tomorrow, Melody. Take it easy."
"Hazel, wait."
Hazel glanced at me over her shoulder as I sat down on the edge of the lounge chair. "What about my parents? Will they be safe? And my boyfriend?"
"I'm not sure about them since you just got here. But I'll talk to Theo and see what I can find out." She shot me a smile. "They will be protected, Melody. Nothing bad will happen to them as long as you're here."
She walked back out the balcony door and closed it, while I continued looking out at the starry night sky. I wondered if mom and dad were looking for me, or if Blake was out trying to find me. Maybe the news that I was missing hadn't been known yet. Whatever the case, I couldn't do anything for them or go around them, considering I wasn't human anymore. Their safety solely relied on me staying away. A piece of my heart slowly chipped off, and the thought that I would probably never see my family and boyfriend again hurt. Hopefully, I would get along easily with the pack at Noctis, and even though the void of losing my parents and boyfriend wouldn't be filled, I could create a second family with the pack.
As for the house--I could definitely adjust to the place.
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Hey, loves!
How did y'all the introduction to the pack? The house tour?
Teaser: First day of training between Theo and Melody...
Make sure to comment, vote, and spread the word!
Thanks for reading!
Much love,
-Abby