If Brittany thought Nathan's mansion was big, then the building that stood before her three floors tall was HUGE! He said it was the main of the three pack houses on the land, which made her wonder just how many pack members they had altogether.
After leaving the confines of the house, they had walked for a few minutes down the dark pathway before arriving here, near the huge double-door entrance. On the way, she couldn't even count the amount of small yet beautiful houses she'd passed by. She assumed they did not belong to the common people but to those of rank. It was also how things worked back at Alpha Luke's pack. Aside from him, his Beta (second in command) and his Gamma (third in command), no one was allowed to build houses separate from the pack-residence where everyone stayed. And even in the rare instance where common people were actually given permission, the building could be no larger than a matches box and must absolutely be unsightly compared to the high-ranked.
"Is our house too small for your liking? You seem impressed." Nathan said. He examined the look of awe on her face as she gazed up at the building.
"No." She shook her head. And despite not being out of place, she nervously reached up to fix the thin straps of her dress that hung from her shoulders. She tried not to dwell on his use of the word 'our'. "I've never seen a place this huge before."
"Its nothing much."
Her gaze climbed the greyish walls, stopping at the glass windows where she caught sight of two women staring down at them. They leaned against the window sill, their wine glass in hand and their attention fixated. She was the one who caught them staring, but Brittany was the first to look away. She quickly clutched her dress between her fingers, lifting it off the floor before she picked up her pace and set her feet inline with Nathan's. "I-It must have taken a really long time to finish." She said, as she stuck close to him. "The other two pack houses are just as large?"
"Yes." Nathan's arm went around her waist when they stopped at the top of the steps. Without lifting a finger, the double doors creaked open as soon as his scent swept through the cracks. A man stood to the side, his hands clasped behind his back and his head bowed. She couldn't see his face for he didn't even raise his eyes to meet theirs.
Brittany looked around, letting her eyes drift around the place. The walls had aged and cracked, but she paid no mind to those minor imperfections and instead, admired the elegance of the interior; furniture, potted plants, spotless rugs, antiques and an impressive collection of paintings. There were quite a few scented candles hanging on the wall as well. Was this what it felt like to walk into a luxury hotel?
But the bit that she could see was just a small portion of the bottom floor. Behind the wooden door just ahead of them, where she could smell countless unfamiliar scents, was a huge hall full of people.
The dozens of cars further down hadn't gone unnoticed by her, and she entered under the impression that the party wasn't exclusively for Nathan's pack members alone.
"My father likes things extravagant." He released her waist and stuffed his hands into the pocket of his pants, gesturing towards the door with his chin. A cluster of his black curls slipped down his forehead, falling over his left eye. The back of his head had a neat, low fade while the front was slicked back with a few loose strands. "If you've seen enough, shall we head inside?"
He moved forward but before he could get far, she clutched the back of his shirt. When he turned to look back at her and his eyes fell to her hand, her fingers quickly slipped off as if burned by fire. But just before it could return to her side, he grabbed her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips where he pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
"Hmm?"
Brittany quickly snatched her hand, flushing under his gaze. There were times when Nathan gave her the feeling that she was at the end of his blade, at his mercy…and other times, his eyes seemed to swirl with so much affection, as if he adored her. She was crazy to have such thoughts, wasn't she?
"Why…why am I here exactly?"
He cocked his head.
"I mean…what am I supposed to do? Is it…gonna be dangerous?"
"I would have never brought you here if it was dangerous. Don't stress it. No one's going to bite your head off, I promise." His fingers met her hair, running through the soft strands gently. Whenever he touched her, he was always careful. Perhaps he thought she was a fragile glass that'd break if he squeezed too hard?
"Should anyone strike a conversation, you don't have to utter a word if you don't want to."
"But that's rude." She glanced back at the burly guard by the door, then back at Nathan. She bit into her lip anxiously.
"There's nothing to worry about. Although…" His hand swept by her, picking up a glass vase off the small ceramic table behind her. "…you'll probably need this." Tilting it, he pulled out the silk bouquet and discarded them all across the floor, save for the single flower that he tucked above her ear. He then handed her the empty vase.
"Sorry but…what…am I to do with this?" She examined the glass, confused.
"I told you…we have a few customs that may be different from what you're used to. I hope you're not too repulsed by a corpse."
"A…A what?" Her body flinched away and her glossy lips parted slightly, wobbling. She cradled the vase in her arms, swallowing thickly. "You s-shouldn't joke about something like that."
He smiled from ear to ear, yet she couldn't tell whether it was truly a joke or not. Her left foot pushed back, but his arm grabbed her faster than she could retreat. "Come." He pulled her to his side, "There's no backing out now."
"B-But---"
"Lets head in." He pushed the door open before she could even prepare herself and the scents of the countless wolves huddled together bombarded her nostrils. There were a lot of Alphas in the midst, their scents more nauseating than others.
She instinctively went to dart her eyes to the floor, just as how she'd been taught. However…
"Do not lower your gaze."
She had no choice but to listen, staring back at the people before her. She had never been amongst so many strong wolves before. Their gazes were penetrating, hitting her from all directions. She was immediately uncomfortable. And worse, she couldn't even catch a breath of fresh air.
Aside from their scents, there was a hint of something else, strange and revolting…something that smelled like a mix of blood and rot. Her gaze swerved through the crowd, settling on the large table that stretched across the room.
And there it was on display…the severed head of a man.