Now left alone with his little sister, Dart's face darkened dangerously.
"What did you just say about Mrs. Bishop?"
Sophie swallowed nervously.
"N–Nothing," she stuttered, her eyes darting around.
But Dart wasn't buying her lie. He pulled her up to stand.
While walking past her door, he could hear her arguing with someone inside. At first, he wanted to ignore the dispute, but then he heard her threaten the other girl, mentioning how her mother was involved with Mrs. Bishop's disappearance.
"If you're going to lie, you might want to put more effort into convincing me," he said coldly.
"When did you hear me mention that mad woman's name?" Sophie asked, hoping she could brush this off.
"And why did you enter my room without knocking? Let me go," she added, pulling her wrist out of his hold.
"Fine then. I'll just have to tell Father about this," he said. "Maybe you'll feel better telling him about what your mom did to Mrs. Bishop."
He turned to leave, but Sophie immediately grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"You can't…" she begged, her arrogant attitude disappearing, replaced by pure fear.
"Why not?" Dart asked, cocking a brow at her.
"Because he'll hurt her again," she whispered, trembling visibly.
"Do you want him to hurt her?" she asked, deliberately trying to guilt-trip him.
Dart frowned, pulling his hand away from her.
"The only thing I want is to find out where Mrs. Bishop is. If you won't tell me here, then whatever happens is on you."
"So, are you going to talk or what?" he demanded.
After contemplating his words for a moment, Sophie finally gave up on hiding the truth.
"Fine. She's being held somewhere in the woods outside the pack," she said quietly. "I'll show you where."
"Why don't you just tell me where to find her instead?" Dart asked, confused as to why she specifically wanted to take him there herself.
"Mother said something about the whole area being enchanted to keep people out," she explained. "You'd get lost if you don't know the exact part."
"Then let's go," Dart said. "But first, we'll make a quick stop to bring Camelia along."
Sophie's face twisted into a disgusted frown at the mention of Camelia's name.
"I don't want to see that…" she was about to call her an obscene name, but held her tongue.
She sighed heavily.
"Can't the two of us just go alone, maybe at night?" she suggested.
"No," Dart responded simply. "We'll get Camelia and go together now."
Sophie wanted to protest, but sealed her lips, grumbling instead as she and Dart left her room.
When they arrived at the Bishop residence, Sophie waited in the car while Dart went to get Camelia.
He knocked on the door several times, calling her name, but it didn't seem like she was in. After contemplating for a brief moment, he returned to the car to find a paper and a pen to write a note.
He pushed the note under the door for her to find when she got back home before leaving.
.....
The afternoon sun blazed high and hot in the sky, but with cover from the trees, Camelia conveniently made her way to the Draven residence.
She was taking the same path she had taken the previous day, not just for convenience, but in hopes of running into that little girl again.
But she wasn't lucky enough to run into her.
When she reached the Draven residence, she made her way inside, running into the butler immediately.
"Good day," Camelia greeted when she saw him.
The man had a displeased look on his face at seeing her, his crimson eyes staring her up and down with disdain. But his Mistress had given him an order to escort the werewolf girl to her when she came by.
So even though he didn't like the girl one bit, he had to give her the hospitality of a guest.
"Good day," he answered, his voice stiff.
One could almost taste the bitterness in his tone.
Never once had Camelia done anything specific to vex the butler, but for some reason, he had always shown his profound hatred of her.
"Mistress Ayria awaits you in the backyard. This way," he informed, gesturing for her to follow him.
As she followed him, she noticed one of the maids staring at her from the stairs. She was the other one who had been here with Gretar when she first started working.
Camelia waved at her, and the girl looked startled for a moment before waving back, her dead-looking eyes immediately peeling away as she returned to her work.
The maid's behavior was strange, leaving Camelia unsure of what to make of it.
They turned a corner, the butler pulling open the door to the backyard and leading her out.
A cool breeze hit her face as she stepped outside. There was a large tree standing tall, providing sufficient shade. Ayria sat under it, a book in one hand and a smoking pipe in the other. A delicately dressed table sat in front of her with tea laid out neatly.
Sensing their presence, she raised her head from her book, smiling when she saw Camelia.
"I was starting to think you wouldn't come," she commented as Camelia took a seat opposite her.
"Good day, Mrs. Draven," Camelia greeted politely.
"Please drop the formalities. Just call me Ayria," she said sweetly.
Camelia nodded, glancing toward the house with curiosity.
"You said I could see him today, Ian I mean," she said nervously.
Despite the warm and welcoming air around Ayria, Camelia still found herself nervous around her. Maybe it was because she seemed too nice.
"Ah yes. How could I forget?" Ayria said.
She glanced at the butler, who remained standing at the door like a statue.
"Flemming," she called.
He moved closer.
"Check if Ian has awoken from his slumber. If he has, tell him he has a guest. But don't disturb him if he's still sleeping," she instructed.
"But before that, ask someone to bring biscuits for my guest," she added.
"Yes, Mistress Ayria," the butler bowed before leaving.
Camelia wanted to object to the biscuits, but she didn't want to seem rude.
"Forgive his behavior," Ayria said after he left.
"Oh no, I don't mind at all," Camelia replied.
In truth, she felt he was always that grumpy toward everyone. It wasn't like his glares were hurting her physically.
Ayria glanced her way.
"His entire family was killed by werewolves. My husband found him on the verge of dying and offered him a choice, to die or to be turned. Guess which choice he made?" she asked, puffing her pipe.
"He chose to live," Camelia responded softly.
Cloudy smoke escaped Ayria's lips.
"Wrong. The man chose to die. It was a foolish decision, so my husband turned him anyway," she said casually, as if it meant nothing.
Camelia was slightly shocked, not expecting that reply.
Having someone's consent was important before making a life-changing decision, at least that was how she felt.
This family probably thought differently.
They were no angels after all, but pure-blooded vampires who had been around for far longer than she could imagine. She was sure they had done many awful things throughout the years.
"Camelia," Ayria called, drawing her from her thoughts.
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you for a favor…"
.....
After hours of walking through the thick woods, the quagmire of their situation was starting to take its toll on both of them. Dust crept in as their shadows stretched further.
"Stop," Dart said, and Sophie halted in her steps.
"I've been through here six times already. You have no idea where we're going," he stated, pointing toward a tree he had marked. "We're either lost or you've been taking us in circles on purpose."
"That is ridiculous," Sophie retorted.
"Do you think I wanted to spend my day stuck out here with you of all people?" she fired back, her voice rising with frustration.
"Then find the path to the bloody cave you mentioned," Dart snapped.
"Don't order me around like that!" she snapped back.
The air around them tensed, heavy and dangerous, as if they would break into a real fight at any moment.