Chapter 8

While standing in the shower, letting the water rinse away the day, I couldn’t stop my mind from going over all that I had learned, not only about myself but my family and even the world as I knew it. I would never have thought that a family could keep such secrets from each other.

I finally gave up on trying to piece the puzzle which was my life together, and sighed and got out of the shower. I put my robe on and left my hair in a towel, deciding it was best to worry about my unruly mane later. As I was going through my bags, I realized I didn’t have anything suitable to wear. Or at least I didn’t think so. I’d never been to a party with witches, warlocks, vampires, and werewolves.

I was just working up the nerve to go ask about the dress code when someone starts knocking on my door. Without waiting for an invitation, the door opened and my sister poked her head in.

“Jesus, Stevie, I’m not even dressed yet.”

“Oh please, Sissy, we’re identical twins. I see what you have every day when I look in the mirror!” She snorted at my prudishness, and I let out a huff and waved her in.

“I have nothing appropriate to wear to dinner, Stevie. I don’t think I can go in skinny jeans and a T-shirt.”

“No, you probably can’t, but you can wear this,” she said, handing me the most beautiful dress.

It’s a deep blue, with a plunging neckline. It had two slits down the sides that stopped just below your panties. When she turned the dress around, I saw that it had no back, and realized that underwear would not be an option in a dress like that.

“Stevie, there is no way in hell I can wear that. I’m not you. I can’t pull off a dress like that.”

“Shut up, Ryan! I don’t want to hear that shit come out of your mouth. You are beautiful, and you will wear this dress. Don’t knock it until you try it on. I bought it a while ago and never had a chance to wear it, so I want to give it to you.” I knew by the look in her eyes I wasn’t going to win this argument.

Sighing, I got up and took the dress from her, heading into the bathroom to change. Once I finally got the dress on, I refused to look in the mirror, knowing that if I saw what I looked like, I might take it off. When I finally emerged from the bathroom, I looked at my sister, and her mouth was hanging open. A blush started burning its way up my neck. I never wore things like this in real life—only in my dreams.

“Is it really that bad? I told you I couldn’t pull it off, Stevie.” I was about to take the damn thing off when Stevie grabbed my arm.

“Don’t you dare! You look beautiful, Ry, and I mean it. I just can’t believe you don’t see how beautiful you are.” Her words brought tears to my eyes; my mother always said I was hideous. The only time I ever felt truly beautiful was when I was in my dreams with the guys. They made me feel like a goddess. I only started to view myself as something more than trash when I started to have dreams with Kai and Nico in them. They would always tell me I’m beautiful and my beauty shined from within me.

“When you grow up hearing how ugly you are all the time, you start to believe it,” I whispered, my head hung low. Stevie grabbed me by the chin and lifted my head so we were eye to eye.

“You will never look down at yourself again, do you hear me? I will not have it. You are a fucking coven heir, Ryan! You look down to no one. –Tonight you will hold your head high and handle yourself like the royalty you are. Do you hear me? If you don’t, they will see you as weak, and you will become their prey. Always keep eye contact and never let them know how they make you feel.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Stevie.”

“If they know you are scared, they will prey on that weakness. The Knox coven is the strongest in the world, and we cannot be seen as anything other than that. If you have to fake it until you make it, that’s what you will do. Randall may seem harmless, but he is not, and neither is the pack. We must show strength in the eyes of our enemies—you understand?”

It was clear there was a lot more to what she was saying than what I knew, but I was going to try the whole “fake it til you make it” thing, starting now. I gave my sister a tight smile and nodded.

“Okay, now let’s do your hair and makeup!” She said with a clap of her hands. Dear Lord, save me now.

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An hour later, we were walking out of my room to get the boys and be on our way to Randall’s little gathering.

“Yowza! Look at you two. Ryan, you look absolutely beautiful.” Chase was such a charmer, but his words gave me a small boost in confidence. I refused to let my family down. I was going to make them proud tonight.

“You both really do look great, but if we don’t hurry up, we’re going to be late, and that will be a problem,” Alex said while holding the front door open.

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After a forty-five-minute drive through forest and gravel roads, we approach two massive iron gates held up by huge brick pillars. On top of the pillars sat two gargoyles whose grimaces were just plain creepy. Alex pulled up next to an intercom and hit a button. After a moment, a man’s voice came over the speaker.

“Cane Manor.”

“Alex Knox, from the Knox coven. We have been invited here this evening by Mr. Cane.” I can hear the distaste in Alex’s voice when he says Randall’s name.

“Yes, sir, please drive through.” No sooner had the man finished speaking than the gates opened and we drove through. The driveway has trees lining the drive all the way up to the house.

As we get closer, I saw a fountain in front of the house, its presence creating a roundabout for drivers. The fountain itself is a beautiful work of art. It had four horses rearing up, almost like they were fighting. The horses were shooting water from their mouths, spotlights were pointed at the fountain. It was clearly the centerpiece of the front yard.

The house—I mean, it wasn’t even a house, more like an estate— was huge; it reminded me of the White House. It had the same four big pillars out the front, windows were scattered all over the front of the mansion, there was an American flag placed on the roof as well.

The White House seemed more welcoming than Randall’s mansion though. The entrance to the home had guards stationed outside of it. Or at least I assumed they are guards. I was a bit nervous about coming here before, but now I was about to burst out of my skin from nerves. I mean, who has armed guards at the door besides pop stars and presidents?

Alex finally eased the car to a stop, and he and Chase started to climb out. I grabbed Stevie’s hand.

“Why are there guards?” I whispered.

“Because he is the vampire King, not just a king—he is the king.” My face must look like a mask of horror, as she gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.

“We’re here with you, Ry. You are not alone. No one will harm you. If they even look at you wrong, let us know, and they will be taken care of. We may be young, but we are not weak. You are not weak.”