The papers which mysteriously appeared on his desk, helped Dimitri out a lot during his investigations. After sending off the bodies to be buried, he had to face the reality of things. There was no other person who would drop those things for him apart from Yvaine.
Trudging his feet back to his house, he heard it long before he saw it, the sound of laughter and mirth coming from his abode.
Deliberately slowing down so he wouldn't rush over and kick them out of his house, he tried to stall the inevitable. Unfortunately, he couldn't run far before he was caught.
The door was opened by Gunther, who saw him further down the hill and beckoned at him. He glared, hoping his thick-headed brother would get the message but he underestimated how thick-headed his brother was.
"Look who I dragged back in~~" he said in a sing-song voice, his hands clamped around in a vice grip over Dimitri's upper arm.
"Let me go!" Dimitri hissed, trying to pry his hands off. Unfortunately, once Gunther latched on, it would take a magically enhanced crowbar to pry his hands off.
His family stared back at him. They filled his house, drinking tea and eating cookies and meat pies. Yvaine was placed in the middle, leisurely drinking tea, not even looking like a stranger.
How DARE they feel so comfortable in his house?! It was his HOUSE! What were they doing there?!
Stewing in anger, he was close at barking at them to get out but he was engulfed in a hug from behind by his mother. Gunther has long let go of his arm and was now back beside Alexei, talking with Yvaine.
"Mother..." he choked on the words he was about to say and stood there rigidly.
"I'm sorry we intruded on your space but when she invited us all for lunch, we couldn't say no"
"She...did?"
The anger that calmed rose back up from the pit of his stomach, his pupils changing color.
"Calm down. You are bonded with her, whether you like it or not. It is rude that you haven't introduced her to your family"
"She is not my mate. I don't owe her anything"
"True. However, you are expected by both me and the Father to show her proper respect. I will not have you disrespect decorum for your temper"
"Don't lecture me on decorum while I am stuck like this against my will!"
Carrie chuckled and released him. She stared at him with amusement.
"You know, this is kind of your fault"
"What?!"
"If you had just stayed put with the delegation and not rush off because of your impatience, you wouldn't be stuck with this bond"
Dimitri couldn't muster a retort. She was right. It was painful when the truth was presented to him because he preferred to blame the vampires and their strange tradition for his folly. He would never admit his mistake.
However, the sight of a comfortable Yvaine, not looking uncomfortable with the way they turned out and even enjoying the company of his annoying family, made him boil. He made his way for his room and slammed the door loud enough for the house to be rattled on its very foundations.
"He keeps doing that everyday. I'm afraid the house is going to break down one day from his repeated assault" Yvaine sighed wearily. She looked like a concerned wife with the way she hunched over her tea with a weary expression.
It would've made a perfect picture except for the fact that her eyes were a glowing scarlet that still dredged up painful memories for them and her whole existence was out of place. Alexei, sensing the cooling atmosphere, coughed to get their attention.
"Now everybody, I'm going to do a formal introduction. For some reason, my parents decided to give birth every century and have their other children raise them so they can be eternal love birds. Can someone tell them that's annoying already?!" The frustration in his voice was evident.
He narrowly avoided a shoe chucked at his head by his mother and nervously chuckled. It was no news that Dimitri got his terrible temper from their mother.
"First, guys, this is Yvaine. She's a vampire but she's really nice and I love her vibes. She's really interesting to talk to and let's not even talk about her spells. They're simply beautiful to look at"
"Thanks Alexei. I appreciate your comment"
"It you'd teach me that spell then..."
"Forget about it already Alexei" she gave a gentle smile but he could see the intimidation hidden in it.
"Fine, be selfish. I'll learn it anyway"
Gunther, the gossiper was already moving closer to find out which spell he spoke of. Shoving his brother's face away, he continued.
"Yvaine, this is our family. Our dad, Caine, is rarely around because of this wanderlust he recently developed and he's traveling around with a human. You'll get to meet him soon"
Yvaine nodded to acknowledge his words.
"You seem to know our mother already but her function as Elder Luna is to provide assistance to the Father. She is also his younger sister. She's really strong but she has lost several duels to that brat in there, making him the protector. We've never seen a duel between our father and Dimitri because our father is too lazy to fight him. So, he's the strongest in the family"
"Right"
Inside the house where Dimitri sat, he suddenly sneezed.