It was a two-hour drive from the wolves' House to the vampires, but it felt like it lasted two years.
For the most part, we were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, so Nicholas took the opportunity to ask about everything last thing that had happened to me in the 200 years since he had last seen me. I glossed over most of it.
Well, a lot of it.
I concentrated instead on all the good things that had happened, but even then, there wasn't much to talk about.
And I was still a little too self-conscious about my position.
Finally, Mathew pulled up in front of a giant mansion that looked like it should have had its own zip code. I leaned across Levi's lap as I stared out of the window. It didn't look anything like what I thought it would.
"Expecting a more haunted house look?" chucked Mathew as he looked at me from the rearview mirror.
"Do you blame me?" I asked, looking back at him. "I mean, look at all the windows! And the pristine white exterior."
"Probably has a swimming pool, too," nodded Levi as if he was understanding what I was freaking out again.
I might be a monster, but I had never really interacted with any of the other Houses until I met Viktor. Most of my knowledge came from human myths and legends. Laugh if you want. But I was pretty sure that vampires couldn't handle the sun.
I blinked rapidly at my thoughts. Did that mean that they sparkled then? Because I would fully admit that I would be incredibly disappointed.
Wait, I had seen Vlad in the sunlight, and he didn't sparkle.
Dodged a bullet there.
But still, nothing about this place screamed vampires.
"Let's get this over and done with," groaned Greyson as he opened his door and got out of the car. "We'll deal with the bloodsuckers and then get back to our place."
"Our place here or in New York?" I asked as I shifted enough so that Levi could get out first before I followed. "Because I am pretty sure that I want to go home home."
"Then that's what we'll do," assured Nicholas, getting out after me. He gave me a brief kiss to my forehead before taking out his phone. "It'll be easier if I get the private jet ready. That way, we don't have to worry about a schedule."
Mathew made a face, causing me to giggle. But if we could have a private plane, that would make things so much simpler. Well, that and the fact that I really wanted to fly in one at least once.
We walked up the long driveway, but I could appreciate Mathew choosing to park on the street instead. It would be much too easy for the vampires to block us in otherwise.
By the time we got to the front door, there were already two vamps standing in front of it; their arms crossed over their chest as if they were bouncers at a nightclub.
"What do you want?" demanded the one to my right. I studied him, not seeing anything in his thread that screamed a warning. His friend, on the other hand, would probably end up dead by the end of the day.
"To speak to your Beta," I answered, my men standing behind me. The vampire that had asked the question simply raised an eyebrow.
"Why the Beta? Why not the Alpha?"
"Fine," I answered with a sigh. "May I please speak to your Alpha then?"
"No," said the soon-to-be-dead dude. His friend, the good witch, shot him a look before turning his attention back to me.
"May I get your name?" he asked politely. For a vamp, he was half decent.
"I have a lot of names," I replied with a smile, "But if you could let him know that Natalia Tesalor, The Head of House Tesalor and The Head of House Gypsy, requests a meeting."
The good witch stiffened when he heard my name, but the idiot didn't seem to recognize just who I was.
It looked like House Vampyre needed to be cleaned and those left brought up to date.
"Go," nodded the good witch. The other one made a face but slipped inside to follow orders. "Sorry," continued the one left behind. He bowed his head to me. "He is newly changed and doesn't understand the old ways."
"And you do?" I asked, cocking my head to the side to study him. "You'll have to forgive me. The only vampire I have interacted with was Vlad; I am unaware of many things."
"We don't combust in the sun or sparkle," replied the vampire, chuckling.
"Well, way to ruin a girl's day," I answered, pretending like I was upset. The vampire's smile remained on his face as he shrugged his shoulders.
"It has been a huge disappointment to many of the newly turned, I can assure you. Edward did not help the vampire community at all."
I chuckled. "What do you think of wolves?" I asked him.
However, before he could answer, the door behind him was flung open, and two vampires stood on the other side. I only recognized one of them as the idiot.
"Nothing but flea bags," sneered the new male, his upper lip peeling back to reveal his teeth. He stared at Mathew, and I could feel the Alpha's compulsion coming out of him as he tried to get my male to submit.
Welp, he was going to die.
Trying to press down my new need to kill everyone who pissed me off, I smiled at the Alpha as I stepped between him and Mathew, cutting off the compulsion. I had to smile over the face that Mathew didn't so much as frown during that onslaught, letting me know just how strong he was.
Or that the Alpha was just that weak.
"That's too bad," I said, pushing past the good witch until I stood right in front of the vampire. "I am looking for an Alpha that would be willing to work with them. I guess that isn't you."