“So, this is the kitchens,” Gold says as she opens one of the big glass doors at the end of the corridor, which opens into a large modern kitchen. It has dozens of cabinets, two large fridges and freezers, and a large double oven. All of the house is quite modern and clean; very clean for the number of people that live in it. I’ve seen several people walking around who have waved at us. They all have thick Irish accents, much like Tam has. Nikoli has a little accent, but it's not there that much, just the way he says certain words. I keep my eyes on the doors, seeing there’s one in the kitchen, and one at the end of the corridor that leads outside.
“The pack always eats together, so we need a big kitchen. Come on.” She gestures for me to follow her and walks back out the door. I follow her down the incredibly long corridor, and she opens a wooden door halfway down.
“How is everything so clean?”
“We have a rota for everything and a WhatsApp group chat, and everyone is on it. You will be added to help. It works well,” she tells me. That’s the strangest group chat I could ever think of.
“This is the living room,” she says and walks in. I follow her, and the first thing I see are the four young women seated on two sofas in the room, watching a movie. One with long black hair pauses the film, and all of them turn to stare.
“Everyone, this is Harper, your new pack member,” Gold says, introducing us. The one with black hair and bright blue eyes stands up, walking over. She is stunning – like, supermodel stunning – and I find myself staring. She also looks slightly familiar. She offers me a hand, and I shake it as she speaks.
“Nice to meet you, Harper. I’m Snow,” she says. I ignore the strange names they all have and simply nod. This is just like a damn twisted fairy tale.
“That’s Sarah, Phoebe, and Daisy,” Snow introduces the other women in the room and I wave, feeling awkward as Snow pulls Gold into a hug.
“How is my niece?” Gold asks her as she pulls away.
“Out at dancing class with the humans. I’m picking her up in an hour,” Snow says gently.
“I can’t wait to see her,” Gold says, with genuine excitement in her eyes.
“It’s good to see you, and she will be so happy. Is Erik back?” she asks Gold, who nods. A brief look of sadness drifts over Snow’s face before she hides it with a big smile.
“See you later. I’m showing Harper around,” Gold says, giving Snow a sympathetic look. I don’t get what is going on there, but the girls on the sofa all give each other and Snow sad smiles.
“Every Friday, we have girls’ night in here. No boys allowed and you're more than welcome to come. It’s in three days and might be a good way to settle in,” Snow tells me.
“Thanks, I’ll think about it,” I say, leaving out the fact I plan to leave here before then. She smiles, walking back to the sofa, where the other girls are watching me with curious faces. None of them looks unfriendly but growing up in foster care taught me not to judge people on their looks. The most innocent-looking person could be the cruellest, whereas the evilest-looking, could be the kindest.
“So, all down here are different social rooms. There is a game room, two offices, two studies, an art room, and the rest are mainly sofa-filled rooms for the pack,” Gold explains as we walk out the room and into the corridor. I follow her back towards the entrance, stopping to stare when two men walk in through the doors. They stop as well, looking me over.
“Stop staring, it’s not like we don’t get new pack members. Don’t you all have a job to be doing?” Gold says, and they give her an amused look before glancing over at me once more, then turn to leave.
“It will get better,” Gold tells me.
“How many people live here?” I ask as we walk up the stairs.
“Seventy live on the lands. In the house, there are only ten that are invited to live here. The betas, the alpha, and his family. And a few wolves who are needed to be close to the alpha, like Tam,” she says. I guess it makes sense to have the healer in the main house.
“His family?” I ask her. It suddenly hits me that Nikoli might have a girlfriend, and maybe even children. Why does that thought make me want to be sick?
“Yes. Snow is his sister, and she is married to Erik, with a child,” Gold says, and some kind of relief fills me. I don’t want to think about why I’m so relieved, so I settle on looking at the first floor we walk up to. There are many doors randomly placed down the corridor, and it’s kind of empty, other than a cabinet and bookcase that I can see.
“This is my floor, and the others. You’re up here,” Gold says, continuing to walk up another set of stairs to the next floor. I follow her up, stopping to look out a massive window that overlooks the vast forest behind the house. The glass is stained with pinks and yellows, but it’s still easy to see out of.
“We own about two hundred acres around the house. In the woods, are seven houses that we built over the years, and the other members of the pack live in them. When you shift, the woods are good to run and hunt in. The humans in the town have just gotten used to seeing wolves in the woods, and ignoring them,” she tells me.
“When will I shift?” I ask her, wondering how close the movies I watched got to the real deal. I also know I need to shift first before I try and leave. I just hope what they said about my wolf taking over doesn’t come true before I can get to Colton and explain everything. I know I will have to return here, but I can’t leave Colton just wondering where I am.
“Tonight. It’s always the night after you wake up from being bitten. No one knows why again, but sometime tonight, you will shift. Nikoli will take you out to the woods and help you. You need an alpha around,” she says, and I pull my gaze away from the woods to look at her.
“Why can’t you?” I ask, not wanting to be alone with Nikoli.
“I’m not an alpha, and I couldn’t control you if you need help,” she laughs, but stops at my worried expression. “He makes you nervous, and that’s normal. But, come on. Nikoli is one fine-looking guy,” she says, knocking my shoulder, and I laugh.
“He may be a little bit attractive,” I say, and Gold raises her eyebrows at me. I shake my head at her and start thinking of his soft-looking black hair and fantastic body. Attractive is a significant understatement; the man seems like everything a woman could want. I haven’t dated anyone in a year, and even then, it was some stupid guy that only cared about feeling me up, and I ended up slapping him. I met Colton not long after, and no guys would come near me, as they assumed I was dating him. Gold doesn’t reply, only laughs again as she carries on walking up the stairs. I follow her up and at the top is another corridor with three doors. Straight in front are two double doors, and two single ones next to it. Gold walks over to the only door on the left and opens it. I walk in as she holds the door open. The room is lovely and simple, but more than I’ve ever had before. It's way too big and nice.
“I can’t accept this room. It's huge,” I say and Gold chuckles.
“He isn’t going to want his mate sleeping far away from him, and the house is huge,” Gold says, and I suppose she is right.
“Look, get some rest, and Nikoli will come and get you. If you need anything, I’m going to be in the gym, which is at the back of the house.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, and she nods, understanding what I mean.