The Alphas & The Heiress

Chapter 7

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Syble (Magnolia)

The wolves lead us through the woods towards their house. The sun is almost completely set and Incandis is starting to have a hard time seeing, he keeps tripping over roots and rocks, cursing under his breath every time. My big brother is gifted with many talents but blindsight is not one of them. I reach for his hand, clasping it in mine to help him the last few yards until we reach a clearing that opens up to their main dwelling.

The clearing is expansive. There's a large manor on our right, like a log cabin that had a baby with a mansion. It's beautifully crafted with a large wrap around porch equipped with benches, lounge chairs, and patio swings - all wooden, all equally as intricate and beautiful. The outside of the house is well lit with soft glowing lanterns that line the porch, stairs, and walkway leading up to the manor.

In the dark I can faintly make out a large warehouse looking structure in the distance to my left, and several dozen more smaller homes opposite us by the forest's west edge. Their territory is vast, I can't imagine how many people they have living here. And it's just here, out in the open. No fences, no shield, no natural protection against anything.

We're approaching the porch steps when a young girl, I couldn't tell you her age, comes bouncing out of the doors. She looks slightly younger than I do, but then again I'm almost a hundred and fifty. She's extremely curious about our presence. The closer we get the wider her eyes become. Fear and anxiety are slowly replacing her curiosity.

"Kat, did you do as I asked?" Ro barks at her.

"Hmm? Oh right, yes, yup, mhmm, all set." Smooth. I grin at how young she acts, reminds me of home when I'd train the fledglings. The girls are always so consumed by their own thoughts, daydreaming, ruminating. I love listening to their drama, it's so trivial but to them it's the end of the world. Makes for an entertaining class. I've had to ban the guardians from flying by, nothing gets done when the likes of Incandis and Xander show up. The girls puddle at their feet. Much like this Kat girl.

"Good."

Ro dismisses his patrolmen leaving him, his look alike, and the hothead. They escort us into the manor and I'm immediately drawn to it's smell of pine and cedar. The manor is massive. The main entryway and living space has two-story high vaulted ceilings with beautiful exposed wooden beams. The walls are beige and the lights are soft. To the left there's an enormous natural stone fireplace, 6 feet wide and maybe 4 feet tall, with a large U shaped wrap around couch. A flat screen TV is mounted above the mantle. To the right there's a sunken sitting space with a circular fire pit in the middle of the floor. Beyond that there are several pool tables, bar tables, and stools. Everything is so warm, so inviting – so opposite of our interaction in the woods.

We are led further down the hall to an office space, the lodge theme of the main area looks to be pervading every room of the house. All of it is decorated in creams, browns, and reds. This office has a smaller fireplace set between two floor to ceiling windows. In the middle are two couches that face each other. On each side of the room sits an oak desk in front of an entire wall of books.

"Runidar leave us." Ro says to the man that tried to lunge at me in the woods. His lips set in a grim line before acquiescing, shutting the door behind him.

"Please have a seat." He gestures to one of the couches, his eyes shooting down to where my hand is still clasped inside of Incandis'. I break from our hold and remove my blades, resting them against the side of the couch. I sit on the brown leather sofa next to Incandis. He gives me a warm smile and a small nudge. I resist putting my head on his shoulder. I'm overcome with a feeling of peace in this room. The couch is so comfortable, and this room smells more like the woods than the living room did, making me want to nest.