Julian could smell her fear as if she were wearing it like a bad perfume. He exchanged glances with Lukas and Damian, and with a simple look, the two disappeared into the kitchen. Lyra was apprehensive of the situation, and with good reason; she was in a strange house, alone, with boys she had never met before. And now she was beginning to come to terms with the fact that she was utterly helpless to defend herself against them, should they intend to harm her. But his demeanor was soft, showing her that he meant no such thing, and only wished to help her.
"Sure you were," he began before responding to her suspicious inquiring of his purpose at the school. He could smell her lie the instant in left her pretty lips. "Well, I
was on my way to football practice with my brothers, but I found you knocked out on the ground..."
He smirked playfully at her. He could almost read her thoughts, wondering why he hadn't decided to take her to a hospital, as any normal human being would have. And perhaps he mistakenly followed his instincts in bringing her to his home instead of a medical center, which could possibly have harmed his human facade. But he couldn't help it- he was a creature of instinct, and he followed wherever his gut led him. He probably should have been more mindful of the consequences, especially concerning a human girl, but for some reason that went out the window when he looked at her. Maybe it was the fact that he could tell she was not an ordinary teenager.
"Abduction?" he chuckled, his nose wrinkling slightly as a wide, wolfish grin spread over his handsome features. "I suppose if you choose to look at it that way, but if you haven't noticed, you aren't shackled or isolated. You can leave if you want... and I didn't take you to the hospital because I figured you wouldn't appreciate a giant bill just to get checked out for
fainting."
He observed her closely, noticing the instant that her countenance became sad, and assuming it was because of her home situation. But she was resilient, almost immediately returning their gaze, almost as if she were deflecting them. He liked that- she was spunky, perfectly capable of handling her own, and not just a useless damsel in distress. At that moment, Damian entered the room, but he didn't say a word; Julian turned to acknowledge him, as if he had sensed his approach.
"What is it, brother?" Julian asked.
"Grandfather Wolfgang is asking for you," he replied gravely, his eyes on the ground. "He's waiting in the living room."
"Alright. Give me a second," he then turned to Lyra, switching his gaze from the plate of toast she picked at, then back at her. "Excuse me, Lyra. It was a pleasure to meet you- Damian can show you the way out if you wish, but I do suggest you eat something to regain your strength."
Then he got up, strode past Damian, and disappeared into the hallway until he reached the living room. An old man with braided silver hair sat upon a rocking chair, a long tobacco pipe wedged comfortably between his thin lips. The light skin of his age ridden face was leathery and perplexed, and he did not acknowledge Julian when he entered the room. Instead, a plume of smoke spiraled out of his nostrils as he swayed back and forth on the wooden chair.
"You called for me, grandfather?" Julian asked, already knowing the topic was concerning Lyra.
"The girl," he started, his voice monotonous. "Why have you brought a human into our home, Julian?"
"She was hurt, and she needed my help. I wasn't just going to leave her for someone else to find."
"You above all others know the affairs of humans are not our concern."
"Perhaps, but Lyra is different, grandfather."
There was a moment of silence before the old man averted his cold green eyes to stare directly at the young man. More smoke poured from his nostrils and his now parted lips before he said another word, but Julian stood his ground.
"She stinks of evil spirits," the old man said. "We do not welcome such wickedness into our home."
"That's the thing, grandfather- I believe she was
fighting them. She has been weakened immensely. If she had been conjuring them, then she would have been strengthened. She is utterly defenseless, and is no way a threat to us, even if that is what she intended."
"We risk exposure should she decide to tell others."
"She doesn't know what we are. Besides that, she was passed out when I brought her here. She couldn't tell anyone where we were, and I can see to it that she never does."
"Julian, if you are to be alpha, this behavior- interaction with human beings- is not acceptable. You know this, son, so why do you deliberately disobey me?"
Julian cast his gaze to the ground, swallowing a hard lump that had formed in his throne. How could he show his grandfather that Lyra was innocent? He had just met the girl, but every instinct in his body was telling him he could trust her. He sighed, looking over his shoulder down the corridor at the room she was in, then turned back to face the man.
"I will take her home, grandfather."
Selene watched the two star crossed lovers argue and bicker at each other as if they were a married couple. Her aquamarine eyes flashed at the mention of a plan- this made her apprehensive. Isabella was a human, albeit a very special one, but she had no knowledge of the world that was unfurling around her. How could she devise an effective strategy without first knowing her enemy? Selene could hardly trust her now after the stunt she had just pulled with the royals, but when Michael squeezed her hand reassuringly, she decided that it was the only choice she had. The girl would do whatever she pleased; there was nothing anyone could counteract that would stop her.
"She's going to get herself killed," Selene growled. "How can we trust her?"
Isabella eluded Dean's inquiring gaze. She knew he wanted her to tell him, but she also knew that her plan would upset him even further. If she told him everything, he might even try and stop her- in fact, she
knew that he would, and then everything would be ruined. Thankfully, though, he allowed her some time to collect her things and the revelation of her plan would have to be postponed. Before she went inside, she gripped his hand, pulling him toward her so that she could reach his cheek on her tiptoes and plant an affectionate kiss there.
"Thank you," she said, before turning to inspect her destroyed home.
Her emotions began to spin wildly inside of her. She tried her best to ignore the agony that was crushing her heart in its grasp as she entered through the threshold and came across the corpse of her father. She didn't look at it- she strode directly into her room, which had also been torn apart, probably because the vampires were searching for her. She grabbed the large floral travel bag that her father had given her as a gift once, placing some clothes, her grandmother's journal and a few pieces of the antique jewelry she had left her in it. Then she took the photograph that her father had in his hand, tucked it away in her pocket, knelt down to kiss him goodbye, and lit a match.
"I'll see you again one day, papa," she whispered, before tossing the match into the house and turning away as her living room was set ablaze. She stopped beside Dean, though she did not face him. "We have six months."
Then she started toward the road, not waiting for Dean or anyone else to follow.