Free Web NovelChapter 137: The Old Mansion I
"Oh, stop being so dramatic," I said, rolling my eyes. "Damon is hardly going to kill you for that."
If anything, Damon would kill him for trespassing, after he punished me for not informing him about Gus’s presence on Fangborne’s territory. Werewolf or not, a rogue was still a rogue. Gus could’ve been working for an enemy pack that could be of harm to Fangborne. Damon would not take kindly to that.
"I’ll put in a good word for you if you manage to bring me to the place in the woods and back before sundown," I added.
"You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?" Gus asked mournfully. "If you want to get back in time, I’ll have to drive like a racecar driver. Unfortunately for us both, I drive a pickup truck, not a Ferrari."
"Then we’d best be on our way," I said, grabbing Gus by his arm. His skin was strangely cool to the touch― I guessed the shock of finding out I was Damon’s fated mate was a little too much for a rogue like him, especially when I was a slave when we first met.
Nothing odd about that. I would be too, if I were in his position. That was a plot twist that no bystander would predict.
"Where did you park your truck?" I asked. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Gus shot me a look of abject dismay, but he pointed north, and off we went.
***
The house that Gus had talked about — and robbed — was indeed settled deep within the woods as he predicted. It wasn’t too far away from Fangborne, in fact, just right outside the borders of Fangborne’s forested territory. It would be easy for me to keep to Damon’s promise and return by sundown as long as I didn’t take too much time.
Since this was private property and we would technically be trespassing, Gus had to park his truck a safe distance away, hidden by the forestry. When he killed the engine, I immediately hopped out of the vehicle to have a closer look.
"Becareful," Gus hissed. "The owners might be home."
"The house looks dead," I commented, frowning.
My eyebrows knitted together as I bit the inside of my cheek, hurriedly closing the distance between me and the mansion. There was something eerily off about this place― it might look grand and luxurious but it looked abandoned at the same time. There weren’t any overgrowth nor broken panels, but it didn’t look like anyone had been around for at least a couple of days at the minimum.
"Why were you here in the woods again?" I questioned, not bothering to turn back since I could hear Gus’s footsteps as he followed me.
"Running, obviously," Gus said with a snort. "I didn’t exactly have a place to call home until I settled into Everhaven. And even after that, there’s only so much space for me to stretch my legs in that small human town. It can never compare to the woods."
"Uh-huh."
Doubt churned in my stomach. I hadn’t originally wanted Gus to follow me, but with the strict time schedule Damon had imposed, I needed Gus’s truck to fetch me to and fro so that Damon wouldn’t hunt me down.
Now that I was actually here at the mansion, I finally remembered why I didn’t want Gus to tag along― there was something off about his story. I just couldn’t place my finger on what.
Instinctively, my hand reached for my pocket, feeling around for my staff, only to remember that I had left it back in House Sirius. Immediately, I cursed. This was a mistake.
"Something wrong?" Gus asked.
"No," I immediately answered. "Just spooked out. It seems like no one’s home."
"How strange," Gus commented. "It was awfully lively the last time I was here."
The closer we got to the building, the more I realized my initial observations were true― there wasn’t anyone in the house. However, it definitely wasn’t an abandoned building. There wasn’t much dust here, meaning someone had been around to clean it within the last few days. The lawn was also fairly well maintained, other than the bit of leaves that had fallen over the grass and fountains.
Perhaps the housekeeping staff and owners were all gone for a holiday. But it was also strange for the wealthy to not have a security team of some sort to guard their property while they were gone.
"I’ll wait outside," Gus suggested. "I’ll let you know if I see someone headed our way. We’re not supposed to be here."
"Perfect," I said with a nod. I didn’t want him in there with me either.
While Doctor Thomas seemed awfully friendly with Gus, I just realized that I knew nothing about this man other than the fact that he was a rogue and I had met him before for a brief amount of time. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to slap myself for the moment of idiocy.
However, Gus was also the only lead I had to my mother and her necklace. Idiot or not, I needed to know how this necklace resurfaced after my mother was dead and buried for so many years.
I snuck into the house with a fair amount of ease. The backdoor was left unlocked, probably how Gus managed to break into the mansion the first time. It led directly into the kitchens which had a pantry stocked full of fresh groceries.
However, while I didn’t catch any movement in the house, I was also careful not to make too much noise. I wouldn’t immediately dismiss the probability of the owners simply being asleep.
For starters, I needed to find out who this owner was. The best way to do that would be from the photographs littered around the house. There wouldn’t be a better place to start than the living room.
With that goal in mind, I quickly turned down the corridors. Even though the estate was huge, the layout was fairly simple. It didn’t take long for me to find the sitting area, equipped with plush furniture and even fresh flowers. I made my way over to the fireplace, picking up the photo frames one by one.
Old photographs of random men and women filled the frames. I realized, however, that all of the photos were all either in sepia or black and white. There were even portraits of people hanging on the walls, the paint a little dull; it was as though the art piece was made decades or maybe even centuries ago.
Suddenly, a chilling thought entered my mind, along with Damon’s words of warning just hours prior.
There were vampires in Everhaven. This mansion was huge, filled with riches and antiques. The photographs and paintings looked like they were from a bygone era.
I gulped. Oh fuck. This couldn’t possibly be a mansion inhabited by vampires, could it?
