IT was another mansion.
Timothy wasn't shocked by what he was seeing because he'd already gotten the info on how rich the Vanitys were from the life Sapphire was living.
It was bigger than the Mavericks own though. And prettier. There were nothing but trees which led to the house. That was one thing that was similar with the one at the werewolves side.
"Bigger than the Mavericks', right?"
Timothy smiled at the expression on Sapphire's place. She looked so proud, it was cute.
"Yeah. But I never entered the place, so I wouldn't know if it were prettier inside than theirs when we get in."
Sapphire raised a brow. "Really?"
He nodded.
Diane was on her phone, walking quietly behind them as they were led into the house. It took a minute for Timothy to realize that his sister was actually taking pictures. She seemed happy, so he didn't say anything.
"Miss Vanity and her guests."
The trio stopped as tall and an older-looking woman with braided gray hair that reached her shoulders stopped in front of them. She was dressed a white top and a black long skirt, eyes bright but face showing no single expression. Her hands were folded in front of her, the same as the maids who stood behind her.
"Madam Lia," Sapphire greeted.
Madam Lia nodded. "You seem to be doing quite alright, seeing as you've made some new friends."
"Of course."
Timothy and Diane began to feel a little nervous at the formality. He didn't expect what happened at the next minute though.
Sapphire suddenly squealed threw herself into Madam Lia's arms, with the other woman laughing out loud.
Timothy and his sister breathed out in relief at the laughter. Thank God there were no problems. All was next was their interrogation.
"This is Timothy Bishop," Sapphire said. "And his sister."
Timothy was a bit startled when Sapphire grabbed his arm and pressed against him. "Timothy is also my mate."
Timothy sighed internally. He'd really wanted to keep a distance between them when it came to their bodies because of how crazy she made him. His plan will probably never work out.
"Hm." Madam Lia offered a smile and a greeting at him and his sister, then her eyes focused on Timothy again. "You're the hybrid."
Timothy wanted to groan out. It's not like no one will ever know but, she could at least pretend not to know for a few seconds.
"How do you know?" Diane asked.
"Her uncle told me," she answered. "It shouldn't shock you if almost every supernatural in town know now. It's interesting news." Madam Lia smiled. "And you're a werewolf. I'm aware that all the people in the Bishops bloodlines are werewolves, so if you were a hybrid it'd be a double--"
"You're right, I'm a werewolf," Diane said.
Madam Lia nodded. "Well, welcome to the Vanity mansion. Maybe if you stay long I could give you some history lessons about this place."
"Yeah, well, we don't need that now, auntie," Sapphire grumbled. "Take us to Uncle Eli first."
Madam Lia laughed. "Of course, my darling."
Timothy took a glance at his sister and became thoughtful. Since she was a werewolf, how come he'd never seen her turn? How did she suppress the whole wolf thing? He really needed to question her when he could. She wasn't a stranger, she was his sister, he should show that he cared.
They used an elevator to get to Master Eli Vanity's study. He was one of Sapphire's uncles and seeing as he was the first child, the job to take care of the mansion was automatically his. He was the eldest of five...now four, since his brother was dead. He was older than Sapphire's dad and he was not a very fun guy most of the time, in Sapphire's words. But he was very family oriented and kind when the time called for it.
He was also very, very powerful. Timothy could tell because standing in his presence made him want to fall to the ground. His height and the angry look on his face was so intimidating too. Turns out the angry look was just how the man usually looked.
They'd been offered seats in the man's study with coffee and tea to drink to make them feel comfortable. Timothy didn't know how they wanted him to feel comfortable in front of such an intimidating personality.
The person who talked was Diane. She didn't seem bothered by the man and offered to tell him everything they'd all thought about and planned.
Timothy watched the man throughout the whole thing. He was much darker than Sapphire, more darker than Rowen, too...but if you'd put Sapphire and him side-by-side you'd be able to tell that they were related somehow. Another difference was the brightness of his eyes, the fact that he had dreadlocks, the nose, the full beard...the fact that he was a man...
"Vampires are dangerous."
Duh, Timothy thought.
The man's voice was as intimidating as his presence. But so far, Timothy seemed to be the only person intimidated. Maybe he was better off keeping it to himself.
"Do you have anything to say, boy?" Master Vanity asked, eyes fixated on him.
Timothy wasn't paying attention from the beginning, so he thought it better to ask, "Anything to say like what?"
"Just anything."
"Well," Timothy started to say, aware that he had the full attention of the other three. "Just recently, I've discovered that I'm a rare creature or whatever; a hybrid. I've been given barely any information about my bloodline and my parents, especially. I almost joined forces with people who definitely don't want to help me. My friend is hurting because he's choosing to protect me. All these have happened without me having anytime to properly process it all." He stared at the table in front of him. "I'd very much like to have a break. And if getting the help of beings that are as dangerous as the werewolves will get me that, then I don't mind."
The full beared man nodded. "Fair enough. It's a dangerous decision but I understand. Defeating the Mavericks will actually benefit us witches too, if I'm being honest." He stood up. "I'll let my contact know of your decision to meet the vampires. But... I don't think I can guarantee you that break though."
Unfortunately, I already know that, Timothy thought.
***
They were to stay over. Timothy didn't really want to, but the girls did. He never voiced any complaints though, and just went along with whatever they wanted.
He'd been told that there was a library in the house and he wanted to check it out, but first, he had to put the few things he had in his designated room.
He was sharing a room with Sapphire. It was actually her room in the mansion, but she wanted to share it with Timothy and so, there were no objections. Timothy didn't mind being around her. Heck, he already had a space in her house. They probably wouldn't do anything because they were in her family house anyway. And she'd been really nice to him. He didn't mind if they used the free time they had to get to know each other a bit better. Somehow. Only if she wanted, of course.
Timothy stood up from the bed the moment he heard a knock. Sapphire said she was going to show Diane around, and maybe they could even call Rowen while at it. So he was surprised to hear a knock. Maybe it was Madam Lia...
It was Master Vanity. Standing in all his glory in a different fit from before. He had on simple top and pants that were all gray in color. Somehow, simple wear didn't fit him.
"Since we're going to be family and the ladies aren't here...don't you think we should take sometime hangout?"
Timothy didn't know what to say. He never expected such a serious-looking man to say such a simple word like 'hangout'. And to offer such to anyone.
But he didn't protest. Not that he could. He was in the man's house. "Sure. Let's...hangout."
He was probably going to interrogate him. Timothy didn't mind. He wasn't as intimidated as he was in the beginning. He should be able to handle it.
They made their way silently towards the library. Timothy briefly wondered if the man knew that that was where he was about to start his walk to.
The library was the largest one he'd ever seen. Sure, it wasn't some national library, but it was definitely bigger than the one in his highschool and bigger than the personal libraries of rich people he'd seen online. It was some high-class shit. The shelves were really high that Timothy thought it would be such a stress to go up there with a ladder just to look for some book.
"You like?"
Timothy nodded. "It's pretty cool."
"What about my niece? You like her?"
Timothy was taken aback by the question. He expected some questioning, but he didn't expect it all to start so soon.
"Well?" The man probbed as they sat down at a table.
He thought about the question. He liked Sapphire at the short time they knew each other. She was caring and she never once tried to use the mate thing to her advantage at all. She didn't pretend like she wasn't interested in him, but she didn't push it. Honestly, she didn't need to do anything but smile and he would lose his mind. He was really attracted to her, she knew that and she was letting him take his time and even offered to help him if he had any problems with anything.
"Yes," he answered. "I do."
They were immediately served some cookies and tea by two maids. Timothy wondered how they even knew they were in the library.
The older man seemed surprised. "Really?"
"Yes. We haven't known each other long and even though we met..." He was one hundred percent sure that Sapphire didn't tell him that the first day they met they'd slept together, so he wasn't going to tell him either. "...in unexpected circumstances, I don't hate the fact that we're mates. She's a wonderful person and I'd like to get to know her better. Because I don't think we know enough about each other yet."
Master Vanity sighed. "That was unexpected."
"Your question? Yes."
The man laughed a bit. Timothy didn't know whether to pat himself on the back or smack his head at the sudden confidence he'd gotten to talk to the man like that.
"I really want my niece to be loved and appreciated by someone, especially if that someone is her mate," Master Vanity let out after taking a bite out of a cookie. "I know love is a bit too soon to feel, but I hope you eventually do love her. She deserves it. And so do you, from what I've seen."
"I'll tell you something about Sapphire," he continued. "Our family loves and treasures her so much, and that's one of the reasons her name is Sapphire. She is so special, something more, just like you in a way. And her losing her brother and most especially her parents is something that broke her. She lost friends, family, to terrible hands."
Timothy waited patiently for him to continue.
"The Mavericks--well, werewolves in general, are known for taking territories. They kill whoever gets in their way, and once they realize that you're powerful, they back off... that's why they could never get the best of the vampires. They want to get control of the entire town, then city. But that can't happen since the vampires and witches run the place." He took a deep breath. "Sapphire's parents got married and wanted to live in a whole nother place. They built a mansion with all they had, and because Willow, her mother was always selfless, she built other houses beside the mansion because there were no more rooms available for the witches whom she discovered were helpless and homeless."
The mansion and small houses beside it sounded familiar, but Timothy didn't say anything. His guess was right, he knew.
"The land was large and there were woods nearby...it was free and open, and blessed, wonderful for one, big and happy family. I was so happy for them. That was where Sapphire and her brother were born even. But the whole family was put in turmoil when they'd received a letter of invasion from the werewolves. They had to vacate the land or they'd all die."
"How do all of these things work though? I mean, there's government officials that can--"
"I think you're forgetting that the people in charge are the vampires and witches. The vampires are more, of course, because they have power over the humans. And they don't care what happens to anyone as long as it's not their own kind or their subordinates; humans. Plus, you can't do anything because it's in the supernatural law...anyone can kill anyone for land. As long as you don't cross certain boundaries."
"That's a shitty law," Timothy declared.
"Yeah, I know," Master Vanity admitted. "Also, humans in general must not know anything about such conflicts. Unless rumors can spread that there's a serial killer or whatever...that's not good either way."
"Wow."
"So my brother and his wife, as the leaders, refused and decided that they'd fight back for their home. They were attacked the very next day, without warning or anything. When they were all asleep. And it was during a full moon."
"Did they tell you that they were in trouble?"
"They did," he said sadly. "But I was too late to respond."
"Why did nothing happen to Sapphire though?"
"She's always been a powerful and special child. She could always protect herself, even when she wasn't trying. So she escaped somehow, but not without seeing her people die."
Timothy nodded. "So they're all dead."
Master Vanity shook his head. "There're survivors. They had nowhere to go, so they begged for their lives. Now they're simply the subordinates of those wolves." He laughed bitterly. "They're making it look like they're all a happy family when it's just a farce."
Timothy never knew werewolves were like that. No one's perfect but what they did was terrible. And Sapphire witnessed it all.
"Why haven't you done anything?" Timothy asked, curious.
Witches were very powerful and they could have revenge on the wolves.
"Getting the witches at that mansion on our side is the issue."
Timothy thought back to his friend Rowen. He didn't look like he wanted to be a slave to the werewolves at all. No one who pleads for their lives at the sight of danger wants to be under their 'savior' or 'family' forever. The man's response didn't make enough sense to Timothy.
"That's why you being here and taking interest in getting the vampires to help you is such a big thing, you know."
Huh.
Timothy felt like this man was a coward. He probably shouldn't judge, but he couldn't help himself. His excuse didn't make any sense. Timothy was the one indirectly taking the lead and doing what he should've done, or attempted to do a while ago.
Timothy remained silent with his thoughts though. He only felt sad for Sapphire and the people she'd lost.