“Here we go,” Theo muttered, then pushed the front door open.
Something small and dark flew out and began screeching at Theo. I recognized it as one of the many bats that lived in the mansion. The bats and vampires had some kind of kindred relationship where they could understand each other’s speech, and at times the bats even acted as fairytale-esque servants.
Now was definitely not one of those times. The bat was clearly pissed at Theo.
“Okay, okay,” he grumbled, swatting it away. “I’m going.”
“What’s it saying?” I asked.
Theo rolled his eyes. “She said that my brothers are waiting for me in the dining hall. Yay.”
Inside the front foyer, the mansion looked the same as ever. Grand, dark, and lit by flickering candlelight. Intricate decorative wallpaper spanned the floors to the high ceilings, and antique crystal chandeliers hung above our heads.
I followed Theo to the dining hall. The faint smell of roast meat hung in the air, no doubt tonight’s meal for the human omegas and for the dhampir girls, who were able to eat both human food and blood.
At the head of the table sat Pierce and Adriel, the oldest two Tenebrae brothers. Next to them were their mates, Benji and Caleb--who were also brothers--and their daughters. Once again, I was acutely aware of being the only outsider. I didn’t have a vampire mate, a dhampir baby, and I wasn’t related to anybody in the mansion. I was just an outlier in the grand scheme of things, and now that they didn’t need a doctor on-hand all the time, I had been released back into the wild.
Being back in the mansion felt almost nostalgic. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it until now. Hell, I wasn’t even nostalgic for my hometown like this. What was wrong with me?
“Maxwell!” Benji cried. He and Caleb leapt from their seats to greet me.
“Dude, how have you been?” Caleb asked, grinning ear to ear. He held Luna in his arms like a loaf of bread. She was passed out, probably from eating too much.
I smiled despite being overwhelmed by the attention. “Good, I guess.”
“What are you doing here?” Benji asked. His daughter, Lark, giggled in his arms and reached for me. I held up a finger so she could grab it, like a robin yanking a worm out of the ground.
“Well, uh…” I cast Theo a glance. “Stuff.”
Pierce quirked a brow. “Is everything all right?”
Only Adriel seemed to notice Theo’s downtrodden expression. He narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. “Maybe we should listen to what Theo has to say.”
At the sound of his tone, the others looked to Theo as well, noticing something was wrong for the first time. Theo being quiet was like a dog learning how to talk. It just didn’t happen.
“We noticed you snuck out on your own after eavesdropping on us,” Pierce commented.
Theo winced. “You knew about that?”
“The bats did.”
Theo glared up at the bat who had ushered him inside as if to saythanks a lot.
“I’m an adult,” Theo mumbled. “I don’t need your permission to go anywhere.”
“Certainly not,” Pierce replied. “But it’s nice to let us know beforehand, especially since we figured you meant to meet up with Maxwell. Perhaps Benji or Caleb would’ve liked to go with you.”
“I’m not a kid,” Theo said. “I don’t need to be babysat.”
Benji and Caleb’s eyes widened, hurt.
“Theodore,” Adriel said sharply.
Uh oh,I thought.His full name.
“What?”
“What happened?” Adriel demanded. “Tell us the truth. I know that guilty look on your face.”
