"If I am going to be honest with you, I do not like the idea that I do not get to choose my marriage partner." Angus said as he buckled his seatbelt. "I never planned on getting engaged, and being a Viper is not good for having a family."
"I get that." Claudia replied, repeating the action. "But I don't have much of a choice. I wouldn't put it past your father to try and kill me for refusing. That is given that I survive the beating that my own father is likely to give."
"Is it really that bad?" He asked as he pulled into the parking lot of a jewelry store.
"Yea, it is." She said as she unbuckled her seat belt. "Right, let's go and get this jewelry."
"Can I help you?" A salesperson asked, noticing the pair looking at the display of wedding rings.
"Yes," Claudia replied. "We need some wedding jewelry."
"I have a confession." Hunter said as he and Esmee were back in his red Mercedes-Benz. "None of those who live in the village of Hulter is completely human."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"We are all werewolves."
"Werewolves?" She asked, not believing her ears. "As in, like, teen wolf werewolves?"
"A crude portrayal, but yes." He replied as Esmee took a deep breath. "Please don't tell anyone, not even your sisters."
"Okay," She replied as he turned into the parking lot of a bridal salon. "I won't. Do you have a theme in mind for our wedding?"
"I was thinking of something that would go well with being out in the woods." He replied, parking the car. "What about you?"
"I thought so too, but wanted to get your opinion."
"What do you mean, you aren't human?" Savannah asked, scared of the answer she would get.
"This, that is in my glass," Fletcher said, picking up the glass of mystery crimson liquid. "This is not tomato juice, it is pig's blood."
"Blood?!" She asked, incredulously disgusted. "Seriously? Wait," Her face turned an ashen shade of grey. "You wouldn't happen to be a vampire, would you?" She asked, her voice shaking.
"I am. I choose to remain 'vegetarian' in that I only drink the blood of animals," He explained as he tried to take Savannah's hand. "But many of my people do not share the same lifestyle, nor do they particularly like humans. Hence, I will not let you see many of my social networks, at least for as long as you choose to remain human."
"Do my parents know about your, umm, condition?" She asked, unsure whether or not to trust Fletcher.
"No, they don't." He replied. "And I don't want them to know, if you wouldn't mind. Tell your sisters if you must, but please not your parents. I don't need people coming after me with iron stakes."
"Okay, I won't." Savannah replied, as the waitress came back into the dining room.
"Are you ready to order, miss?"
"What are you interested in?" Jeremy asked after he and Peia had ordered. "I mean, what are your hobbies?"
"That isn't singing? I like to draw." She replied.
"What kind of things do you like to draw?"
"Dresses, tops, other pieces of clothing." She replied as the waitress came back with the drinks. "If I wasn't working in music, I definitely would have pursued it as a career."
"Really?" Jeremy replied, surprised. "One of my favorite hobbies is making clothes."
"That's awesome." She replied. "Are you any good?"
"You tell me, you saw the dresses Esmee, Savannah and Claudia were wearing at the barbeque."
"Wait, you made those? They were so beautiful!" Peia said as breakfast was brought out. "I wish my stylist was half as talented as you. Unfortunately, he can't tell red from green."
"That bad, huh?"
"Yeah." She replied as she picked up her knife and fork. "To be honest with you, I knew about the arranged marriage thing, even before the barbeque."
"I would be more surprised if you didn't." Jeremy replied. "And if I am completely honest with you, this marriage might be the only way to get out of my mother's tyrannical rule alive."
"Is it bad?"
"Let's just say that there is a reason we call our parents their majesties."
"Thank you for the lovely breakfast, Bella." Joshua said as he helped clear the table.
"You are most welcome. Genifer, do you still have chores to do?" Bella asked her little sister.
"Yes, I still need to clean the horses and milk the cow." Genifer replied, scrubbing a plate and putting it on the dish rack. "Would you like to come and help me?"
"Certainly, and maybe after that we could start making some decisions about our upcoming nuptials?" He suggested. Bella and Genifer exchanged nervous glances.
"Yes, we certainly have a lot to talk about." Genifer replied as she placed the last plate on the dishrack and dried her hands. "Now, shall we go out and see the horses?"
"Have you ever been around horses?" Genifer asked as she and Joshua made their way to the stables.
"No, I haven't had a chance to."
"Okay, first rule of safety around horses: Do not, under any circumstances, go behind a horse that is in its stable." She said as she unlocked the tack room. "If a horse is startled, particularly from behind, it will kick and it will hurt. A lot. You may even end up dead."
"Okay, do not go behind a horse. Got it." He confirmed as he took the armful of gear that she handed him. "So, do you like living here?"
"I do," She replied. "I don't know if I will be able to stay here much longer, but I do enjoy living here. You can set the tack down here."
"Why do you think you won't be able to stay here much longer?" He asked, as he put what he was holding down where she indicated.
"One, once we get married, won't we have to move in together? Two, I want to pursue a career, which is likely to mean that I would have to live in a city. And three," She said, taking the blanket off a particularly stunning mare. "Both my sister and I are related to an obscure monarchy, one that doesn't like that we are alive."
"Really? How interesting."
"Don't get too excited. It gets pretty tiring after a while." She replied, grabbing a brush from what looked to be a tool chest. "Now, come and stand here." She commanded. He did what he was told. "I want you to run this brush over Ellie's entire back and shoulders, like so."
"If you are so old, why do you still go to high school?" James asked, intrigued by Skylar's revelation.
"I find that people misjudge my appearance as being 'too young' for most of the jobs I have applied for, in spite of my impressive resume." She explained. "Plus, it's more interesting to have conversations with people who appear to be the same age as you, than it is to be holed up in an apartment all day."
"So what are you, exactly?" He asked.
"Do you mean what human ethnicity I appear to be? Or what genetics tells me I am?"
"The latter."
"I am, well, I was, an angel." She stated.
"An angel?!" James asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, an angel."
"So, why are you here?" He asked.
"My parents got in a fight, and my dad and I were kicked out of the house." She explained, as breakfast was brought to the table. "He then decided that it was best for me for him to follow the angel Samael, who would later be referred to as Lucifer or The Devil, and thus we were cast out."
"Do you miss Heaven?"
"I miss my friends, but not my mother."
"And what about the place?" James asked, cutting into his egg.
"Meh, the gardens are pretty but there isn't a whole lot of variation, unlike here on earth."