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Chapter 17: Welcome Aboard

Thelma

The car drives down a dimly lit curved driveway. Artificial lights shine on the battered roof of what looks like a renovated nineteenth-century mansion. My breath catches at the sheer size and magnificence of the residence.

As the car slows down and eventually comes to a stop, I marvel at the beautiful green ivy crawling across the stone facade of the mansion. Sterling silver buttresses line a wide porch where Rhia stands with the other man from earlier, and a young girl who looks almost my age. Chic surface designs hint at wealth. The well-manicured garden around the manor looks very well-kempt.

“Show Thelma to her room,” Kyle barks as he throws the car keys at a young man that comes running toward us.

The young girl steps forward with a wide smile on her elegant youthful face.

“Hi. Where are your bags?” the girl asks in an overly cheery voice.

I point at my small satchel. She seems perplexed at my lack of actual luggage. Kyle hadn’t given me enough time to pack much of anything.

She nods, smiles and stretches her hand forward to retrieve my bag. I can’t help but stare at the girl. She has long, silver blonde hair that is fastened into a loose side plait. Her eyes remind me of the calm blue ocean waters, and the sprinkle of freckles along the bridge of her nose contributes to her pretty face.

She motions with her head for me to follow her. As I walk past Rhea, she smiles and bows slightly at me. I wonder how she got here before us. She has even changed the outfit she had on earlier and now stands in a more loose fitting, long, silver dress that seems to shimmer in the night. Looking at Rhea, I can’t help but think she can’t be that much older than me. Her red hair hangs loose and rests just above her hips. She has exquisite features that remind me of a model or famous actress.

I follow the girl up a spiraling set of stairs with gold-coated railings. We pass many doors before she stands in front of one of the rooms.

“This will be your room. Alpha Kyle made it clear that we prepared a room for you right next to his,” she says.

I nod as I follow her in. The room we walk into looks like it came straight out of a fairytale. It is gigantic with a poster bed on one end, and a sitting area with baroque sofas that have gold finishing on the other end.

It makes me wonder, what else was Kyle into? Judging from everything I am seeing, it’s clear that he isn’t short of wealth.

Finally the girl introduces herself. “My name is Kim, by the way. Mum tried her best to prepare this room before your arrival. I hope you aren’t allergic to calla lilies. Mum loves flowers, and she says it’s always good to have a living plant in a room. They’re great for keeping the aura vibrant. We only had white calla lilies, so mum used a spell to turn them into different colors of the rainbow. I think they make a nice bouquet, right? I personally prefer night-blooming cereus. They are not that common but mum always says I am her little night bloomer. No matter how dark things are, mum says I always have a way of shining.”

Dang. Kim surely could talk one’s ear off, and she speaks quite fast too.

“My name is Thelma,” I say.

She giggles as she places my satchel on the huge bed.

“I know who you are, silly. Everyone here knows who you are. I am so glad you agreed to save Alpha Kyle. You don’t know how much it means to our pack,” she says as she steps close to me and embraces me tightly.

Nice. She wasn’t just a talker but a hugger.

“Save him?” I repeat. I had been under the impression that he was the one saving me.

“Yeah. From the demon inside him. I bet you will give him a beautiful baby. Mum said when she saw you she thought you were too pretty for Alpha Kyle; I think she was right. You are stunning. Your hair is so thick and long….What’s your secret?”

I frown. Who was her mother and when had she seen me and had this conversation with Kim?

“Your mum?” I repeat, sounding like a broken record.

“Yeah. You met my mum, right? The pretty red-haired woman?”

What in the crazy rich paranormal family drama is she on about? Her mother isn’t Rhea. It isn’t possible. How could a woman who looks that young be this lady’s mother?

As if interpreting the confused look on my face, Kim says, “Uhh, people always wonder how Rhea can be my mother. She looks young, right? That’s because she is a witch. Just like you. She is actually eighty-nine years old….Yep, she is ancient.”

I feel like my eyes are going to pop out of their sockets. What in the fountain of youth voodoo is all this?

“Rhea is your mother?” I think I am beginning to sound redundant, but I can’t wrap my head around it.

Kim sits down on the bed and motions for me to come sit next to her. I stroll over and take a seat by her side.

“Yes. Rhea is my mother and Beta Mathias is my dad. I know my dad looks older than my mum, but he is actually much younger. She is a witch and he is a shifter, just like me.”

I have so many questions, but I decide not to push. It’s only my first night here. I wonder why she isn’t a half-witch given that her mother is a witch. But then, supposedly, I am a pure-blooded witch, yet both my parents aren’t witches. Weird shit is possible, so her situation and mine could be similar.

“How did your mum and dad get back here before us? I remember leaving them at my house. I didn’t see any cars following us,” I inquire.

“Did you miss the part where I told you that my mum is a witch? Oh, my bad. You don’t know much about that side of yours yet, right? My mother teleported them back. I am sure she will teach you how to do that soon enough. Your lessons with her will start soon.”

“I am going to have lessons?” I ask.

“Yeah. Ain’t Alpha Kyle simply the best? He will arrange for the witches within our pack to train you and help you hone your powers. I hear by the time that all is complete you will be the most powerful witch that us magic kind have ever seen,” Kim says with a hint of excitement in her voice.

Lessons? School? Did I have a say in all this? The reason I celebrated so much when I graduated from high school was because I thought I was done with learning….Now she’s telling me I’m trapped here having sex with a demon and going back to school? What blazing hell had I just walked into?

“Most powerful my petite ass….I can tell by just looking at this ghostly pale girl that she is just a scared little gold digger hoping to make Alpha Kyle fall in love with her by acting like she is a damsel in distress.” A voice from the door makes me shift my gaze toward it.

A tall, skinny girl with short, dirty blonde hair tied in a sleek ponytail stands at the door. Contrary to Kim, her looks are more stern and serious. Her gaze is searching, the tight tilt of her lips doing nothing to mask the look of pure disgust on it.

“That’s Yasmeen,” Kim says to me in hushed tones as the other woman struts toward us.

“Hi. I am Thelma,” I say as I extend my hand to the newcomer.

Yasmeen looks at my extended hand and sneers. “I doubt there is a need to get on a first name basis with you as I doubt you will be here long. You aren’t the first dirty stray that Alpha Kyle has brought into these walls to warm up his sheets. You’ll be like all the stupid women that have come before you, and leave almost as soon as they arrived. I wouldn’t even bother unpacking if I’m being honest.”

My raised arm begins to feel like lead and I let it drop. What did she mean like many others? So Kyle is some kind of womanizer always looking for a new babymama? What had happened to the others who tried before?

“Ignore Yasmeen, she is just exaggerating. None of those so-called women were ever here in the capacity that you are. Neither were they ever as beautiful or powerful like you,” Kim says as she places her hand over mine in a comforting gesture.

So there had been other women? I can’t help but feel a bit jealous. I mean, it wasn’t as if I expected Kyle to be a virgin by any means, but the thought of him kissing other women as he had kissed me causes bile to rise in my chest.

Yasmeen crosses her arms against her chest. She gives me a look over before turning and cat-walking toward the door. When she gets to the entryway, she turns around and glares directly at me.

“Whatever. Just be warned; don’t get too comfortable, witch!”

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