Grave Sight | A Reverse Harem Romance

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕋𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖

There were thirty seven adult wolves total, not including Jason or Lucian. They ranged from late teens to mid-forties, and there was an even bigger range of emotions across everyone's faces. There were a few faces I knew - like Kyler and Kenna, and the other wolves that came to my house previously with Lucian - but the rest were all strangers.

Kyler stood next to me, like it was his job to protect me if anything went wrong. Lucian was on my other side, but only for the beginning. He told me that once the questions started, he was going to leave me by myself.

"I know some of you aren't fully accepting of this route we've taken to find Jason," Lucian said. "I appreciate all of your cooperation even through that doubt. I've decided it would be best to allow you to ask Nova questions of your own, to ease your mind. As always, you are welcome to speak your mind, but in a way that isn't rude. Nova is a half vampire, but she is willing to help us to the best of her abilities."

"Half or not, she's still a blood sucking leech," an older woman said. "No offense, Alpha, but we don't need her."

Kyler tilted his head slightly. "Last time I checked, you like to eat rabbits raw in your spare time. Let's not speak of her need to drink blood to continue living."

"I'm a wolf," she argued.

"And she's a vampire," he responded coolly.

It took some effort to keep from snorting on a laugh, and even more so to keep my face neutral.

Oh, I liked him. A lot.

"I'm going to reiterate only once more." Lucian's eyes fell on the woman. "Do not be rude. Do I make myself clear?"

The woman lowered her gaze.

"Yes, Alpha," the group chorused.

There was a beat of silence before Lucian stepped away. Then all of the wolves turned their eyes to me, like I was supposed to come in with some sort of speech ready for them. When I only raised an eyebrow in return, a few laughed.

"How often do you drink blood?"

My eyes fell on a man towards the front of the group and sighed. How did I figure it would start out with people asking about vampirism?

"I try to only drink it twice a month," I said. "Unless my other job takes too much out of me and I need more, I stick to drinking it only when I have to."

"From what I've been told," the same lady from earlier spoke up, "vampires have to drink blood three to four times a week to survive."

Cute that she was trying to make me look like a liar, but if she would have listened earlier, she would have realized that I was only half. Thank goodness too, because I think I'd throw up if I had to drink it that often.

"I'm only half," I said. "Meaning I don't have to do everything a full vampire does to survive."

She rolled her eyes, and Kyler mumbled something under his breath. I was sure that if I could have made out what he said, I would have laughed. But it didn't matter if I heard it, because her eyes shot up and she bore her teeth at him.

He only smiled.

Another woman leaned forward. "So...is it true you sleep in coffins? And can't go out in the sun? And have to be invited inside?"

Jeeze. What kinds of books were these people reading? It must be a hay day for some of them, being able to ask a somewhat-vampire questions about vampires.

I smiled even though the questions were ridiculous. "No vampire sleeps in coffins, not even the really old ones. Some of the new ones try it out just to be funny, but coffins are uncomfortable. Vampires can go out in the sun. They just prefer the dark. And yes, they do have to be invited inside. But not in the way you see in movies. If you even hint that they're allowed inside, they take it as an invitation."

"You keep saying they," someone else said.

"Because out of the two races that I am," I shrugged, "I prefer to ignore the vampire side until I can't."

Silence. People shared glances, others kept staring at me like I was some weird anomaly. Both sides of me made me uncomfortable. Raising the dead shouldn't happen. The act of it was gruesome and disgusting, and dead bodies should remain where they were put.

Drinking blood was disgusting as well. The fact that people actively went out to find vampire lovers because of that blood sharing was insane to me. To regular vampires, blood tasted a lot like candy - sweet and addicting. Being half, I tasted what any normal human tasted.

"What else are you?"

I dreaded that question. A part of me wanted to respond by saying the other half of me was human, but the whole point of the meeting was to make them trust me.

"I'm a necromancer." I said it with conviction, like I was proud of what I was. But I guess Kyler felt my emotions slip, because he moved closer until his arm brushed mine.

I didn't usually take comfort from touch, but I appreciated the fact that he was trying.

There were more disgusted looks than anything, and although I expected it, I didn't really enjoy it. People did not like people who dealt with the dead - whether that be necromancers or dark magic users. Something about it was taboo to most, like the dead should remain untouched after they were laid to rest.

"If Jason ends up dying and his spirit doesn't move on," Kyler spoke up, "having her with us will be extremely beneficial. Having her turn against us will only hurt us in the long run, so I'd suggest you all stop staring at her like she's a pest."

I realized then what Kyler was. He wasn't just a part of the pack.

I turned to Lucian, a question in my eyes. He only nodded once, confirming my original thought.

Kyler was Lucian's second in command.

"You sound like a dog in heat," a voice spoke up. "Is that what you were doing in that room with her?"

I found the owner of the voice, and I grinned, which stopped him mid-laugh.

"I can take you guys bashing me and what I am," I said, continuing to smile, "because I understand I'm an outsider. But I didn't realize this pack was so disconnected with one another that you would actively go out of your way to not only disobey your alpha, but also try and bring down someone higher than you in rank. It's pitiful, quite honestly."

The man's mouth dropped open. Everyone else stared at me like I had three heads. I should have stopped there. I knew I should have. But I was ticked off, and I just started.

"You know," I laughed, "I don't think this meeting was all about you all getting to know me, because I feel like I've gotten to know the mindset of each of you just by standing in front of you for ten minutes. All you've learned from me is some vampire facts and that I'm a half-breed. I've learned that the ones who have spoken out against me are some of the most narrow-minded and incompetent people I've ever met. It's a wonder to me how your alpha lets you live unpunished with a mindset that is so ill-mannered and unpleasant towards others."

No one made a move. I felt Lucian's eyes on me, but I didn't turn to look at him in case he was angry. Kyler continued to touch me in some way, maybe to try and calm me down. I couldn't take back what I said, and I wasn't about to stop myself from continuing.

"So with that," I bowed, "I hope you have a good time trying to find Jason on your own. Because I will not be helping."

Everyone started talking all at once, yelling either at me or at Lucian. There were absolutely no apologies thrown my way. It was all negative. However, with Lucian, they begged. Like he could force me to help.

Well, that's just too damn bad for them. They could do it without me.