Hopelessly Devoted | Hale- TO/TW [6]

5 | Strix Initiation

Lexi and Derek walk into the party after Hayley and Elijah, the girls raising their masks to their faces. Derek wears a small black mask on his face along with his tux as Lexi holds up her gold mask.

"Why are they all staring at Elijah?" Derek whispers, feeling the stares. "And you, for that matter?"

"Remember how Tristan started the Strix? How this society is the world's most powerful and dangerous secret society? They are all from Elijah's sire line," Lexi tells him. "Well, 99% of them."

"They certainly take entertainment here seriously," Derek mutters, seeing women in corsets dancing as well as the acrobatics. Lexi grabs two glasses of champagne and hands one to Derek.

"Let's just forget they are even here?" She suggests, raising her glass. Derek smiles slightly and raises his glass in response. They both down their glasses, grabbing more.

After two more, Lexi starts to sway slightly, her tolerance to alcohol having been diminished after losing her vampire side. "I think that's enough." Derek laughs, catching her hand before she could grab another drink.

"But it's so good." She whines as Derek drags her to the dance floor.

"But this will be even better." He smirks, starting to dance. Lexi follows, swiftly becoming entranced by the green in his eyes. When she realizes her staring, she looks away, slightly embarrassed.

Her eyes meet brown, and she stiffens incredibly. "Lexi?" Derek asks, stopping.

"What are they doing here?" Marcel asks Aya, who is standing by, glancing between the two Originals on the dance floor.

"What the hell is Marcel doing here?" Derek breathes, pulling Lexi closer.

"I should have known." She shakes her head. "This isn't a bloody party, it is an initiation." Derek looks down at her, confused. "For Marcel to join the Strix."

Waitresses in white masks walk in and silence the room. Everyone moves to the sides as Tristan walks in with a glass of champagne. "Distinguished friends. Welcome." He smiles. "It's so rare that we're able to come together like this to revel for one night in the company of true equals. Now, I'd like to take a moment to welcome a very special guest— Marcel Gerard."

Marcel nods in acknowledgment, still blissfully unaware of what's to come. "Thank you, I'm honored."

"You shouldn't be," Lexi mutters as the crowd's applause dies down. Tristan glances in her direction before going back to Marcel.

"Of course, before we tell Marcel all of our secrets, there's one small piece of business to which we must first attend. We must determine his worth," he says, making Marcel frown.

"That's funny... I seem to recall you being the one knocking on my door." Marcel reminds him, causing Tristan to chuckle.

"You'll notice, Mr. Gerard, that over the course of the evening, someone has managed to take something quite dear to you... Your daylight ring." Marcel looks down at his bare hand.

"What the hell is going on?" Hayley asks Elijah, who holds her arm to prevent her from intervening.

"The test is quite simple. First, you need to deduce the identity of the thief. Then, you are simply to take back what is yours... Although, I doubt the prize will be easily relinquished. After all, despite our refinement, we're still a rather violent bunch." Tristan jokes. "In victory, you become one of us. In failure, you meet your death. You have a few hours until dawn. I wish you the best of luck."

—|—|—|—

Lexi and Derek stand near the bar. Derek looks around wearily as Lexi orders more drinks. "These vampires are ancient." Derek shakes his head. "How is Marcel even supposed to beat one of them?"