Betrayal & Redemption

Chapter 15

Caroline POV

We climb the stairs towards the big black front door and step inside. It is even more grand inside than outside. White marble floors lead to a dual staircase on either side of the foyer, and a large crystal chandelier hangs overhead. There's a white marble table on gold legs sitting in the middle of the room with an overflowing hurricane vase stuffed with flowers.  Under the table sits an ornate rug in various creams, grays, and deep blues. On either side of the room, before the stairs, there are hallways, I assume for staff. Through the room and under the bridge sits a large room with ice blue walls, large white sofas, a white grand piano, and what look like very expensive paintings. Evelyn catches me staring and comes to link her arm through mine, leading me through the room. 

"Let's allow the men to catch up," she says, leading me to the blue room. 

I giggle and look around the room. There's a round turret ceiling with skylights around the sides, the sunlight perfect trickles in and shines on the paintings in the room. Evelyn sits on the couch and I follow her. A moment later, someone brings us a tray of iced tea, finger sandwiches, and fruit salad. I pick up a glass of tea and take a sip. It tastes amazing- nothing like the goddess awful sweet tea that some of my friends used to try to get me to drink. 

"So. You and Jackson, huh?" Evelyn says, smiling conspiratorially at me. 

"Erm. I uhh. Well. I guess-" I cover my face with my hands as it turns bright red. 

She laughs kindly next to me. 

"You have no idea how many women would kill to be in your place," she tells me. "A few wolves here threw themselves at him as hard as they could- I heard one even snuck into his room one night and climbed into bed with him." 

"Did they...do anything?" I ask her. 

"Oh lord honey, no! He wouldn't touch a woman that threw himself at him. He wrecked a couple beds upstairs- even a wall- with a wolf or two, but it was always a one time thing and he was usually intoxicated," she says, taking a sip of her tea. 

She looks back at the men and when she sees they aren't looking, she removes a flask from her pocket and pours an amber liquid from it into her glass. She catches me watching and winks. 

"You want some?" 

"I've never had alcohol before," I tell her. 

"Oh then this is not the stuff to get you started on. I'll make sure there's some sweet white wine for you at dinner tonight," she says, sipping her glass. 

She sets it down and studies me a moment, then reaches out and brushes my hair away from my neck. I know what she's looking for. 

"He hasn't..marked me yet..." 

"And why the hell not?" 

"Well...I didn't know he was my mate until a little while ago," I say, embarrassed. 

"Ah. I'm sure the wolfsbane was the culprit." 

I simply nod. 

"You don't smell like him, so I didn't expect it. He better get on it tonight. I have a feeling, though, that it's going to be a rough dinner for you both." 

She pulls out the flask again and this time dumps it into my drink and adds 4 packets of sugar. 

"That'll help take some edge off," she winks at me again. 

I like her. A lot. The men come into the room and Carter looks at Evelyn sipping her drink. 

"Are we having tea?" he asks, but the way he looks at her I know what he's asking. 

"But of course, my love. It's your favorite, isn't it?" 

His lips twitch into a smirk and he sits across from us on another couch. Jackson sits at my side and leans over to pick up a glass. 

"Oh that's mine," I tell him. 

He looks at me and takes a sip, and I gulp. He lets out a loud laugh that bounces off the walls of the round room. 

"Damn, Evelyn, that s**t is strong." 

"Well, I know, that's why I added the sugar, sugar" she rolls her eyes and takes a long pull off her glass when Carter hands it back to her. 

I pick up the glass and take a sip. It burns my mouth and throat, leaving a trail of fire to my belly. I sputter and cough, and everyone around me laughs. Jackson slips the glass out of my hand and takes a long drink, handing me the plain tea. I take a big drink and then reach over to get a finger sandwich. 

"Alright, Jackson. Shall we leave the lovely ladies alone to go talk business in my office? I don't trust that the women would be too interested," Carter says, but the way he looks at me, I know he thinks I can't handle recounting my ordeal. 

Jackson's hand tightens around my waist and he whispers in my ear, "I will take care of it unless you think you can go through it all again," he tells me. 

I shake my head no. I have no interest in reliving the past. His finger dips below my chin and he tilts my face up, gifting my lips with a kiss. It's like a fire is ignited in my chest and explodes through my body. I drop my glass and don't even care that it shatters on the floor. I fist my hands in his hair and pull his face closer to mine, moaning into his mouth. He takes the opportunity to sweep his tongue into my mouth and begins his exploration. I completely forgot where we were until someone clears their throat behind us. I break away and try to pull myself off of Jackson but his grip only tightens. I look over at Evelyn and Carter who share bemused, knowing smiles. 

"Later, baby," Jackson promises, whispering in my ear. 

I squeeze his hand and he kisses my forehead before he gets up and follows Alpha Carter out of the room. 

Nobody has ever had an effect like THAT on Jackson before, I can tell you that," Evelyn says and my face goes red again, to which she laughs. 

"Oh don't be so shy dear! We're all family here. After all, this is where Jackson came after he woke up," she says, and I give her a blank look. Her hand goes to her mouth and a worried look crosses her face. "Oh dear..you mean, he didn't tell you?" 

"Tell me what?" 

"Oh no, I am not letting all his secret out with these loose lips. He will tell you when he's ready. He probably just hasn't had the time," she says and then drains her glass. 

She sets it back on the tray and looks at me with a smile. "How about a tour and a swim? Sunlight is great at burning off the effects of wolfsbane. Plus I want to see Jackson's response to you in a teeny bikini." 

Oh lord this woman is going to make me die of embarrassment. She stands and I follow. We go back towards the front door and up the stairs. 

"This will be the easiest way to get to your room without getting lost. It's on the 3rd floor. So find the front door, up the stairs, down the hallway on the right, up the next set of stairs, and your room is the first door on the left. It has the best view aside from ours, and it's completely soundproof," she whispers that last part. We walk through a white hallway with the same marble floors, down to the end and up the next staircase. She opens the doors to our room and I gasp. The room is solid marble. The walls, the floors, the ceiling, the fireplace- everything. There's thick shag carpets covering the floors, and I walk inside. There's a room off to the side with a big white bed, two night stands, and a door that I assume leads to the walk in closet. Off to the left there's a wall that is solid glass. I go to the wall and look out at the landscape. You can see for miles and miles, with a set of twin mountain peaks in the distance. The largest bed I have ever laid eyes on sits in the middle of the room, and there's nightstands on either side with lamps. Our suitcases are sitting on the bed. 

"There are remotes on the nightstands that control the lights, drapes, and the TV pops up out of the end of the bed frame," Evelyn says. "Follow me." 

I follow her into another room and the bathroom is even more stunning than the bedroom. The shower is a giant glassed in octagon done entirely in marble with a long seat. There are more shower heads than I've ever seen in my life including one coming from the ceiling. Next to that is a large jacuzzi tub, and I'm pretty sure you could fit 10 people inside of it. Off to the other side there's a full mirrored wall with twin sinks on either side, and cupboards below. In the center sits a stool with a largely lit mirror. 

"That's a makeup mirror. If you want, I can do your makeup before dinner," Evelyn says. 

I squeal and wrap my arms around her neck. 

"Oh I'm so glad you like it here!" she says and squeezes me. 

"Like it? I love it. I wish I could live here forever," I tell her. 

"Well, from what I understand, Carter had this place re-designed after a trip to Jackson's home. I believe you will be living like this from now on," she tells me. "This was our old pack house but it was pretty decrepit and nobody knew where to even start. When Carter got back from his visit to Jackson's place up north, he went to an architect and had the plans drawn up for all of this. We met about 3 months later, right after my 18th birthday and realized we were mates. When he found out I loved to paint, he made me that room we were in before. Those paintings in that room are all my work." 

"Oh wow. I thought they were from some famous someone!" I say, amazed. 

"Well...they are. My last piece sold for just over three quarters  of a million," she says, and though she has pride in her voice, her cheeks flush. "Alright. Now you know where you're at. Let's go swimmin! Do you have a swim suit?" 

I shake my head no. I didn't think about it when Jackson took me on my shopping spree. 

"We will HAVE to go to the mall tomorrow, then, but for now I should have something that will fit you. You're a bit bustier than I am, but a string bikini will work, it might be a bit small but I'll make sure you're decent," she says and grabs my hand, leading me out of the room. 

We follow the hallway from our room to the other side of the house. She opens the door to a room identical to ours and leads me to a door I didn't notice in our room. She throws it open and turns on the lights, a huge closet appears before us in the light. There's a wall of shoes, dresses, jeans, tops, pants, skirts, and an island in the center with a large jewelry tree glittering with all sorts of shiny things. It reminds me of the movie The Princess Diaries. Sure enough she scoops up a remote and presses a couple buttons and a drawer opens to reveal swimsuits, all organized by color. 

"You can pick whatever you like," Evelyn says, picking out a bright red number. 

I grab a teal swimsuit and look over. She's undressing herself. 

"Oh! Sorry, I'll leave you alone!" I say and turn to leave. 

She laughs, "We're both girls, silly. I ain't got nothin you don't! You don't have to be too shy round these parts." 

I shrug and peel off my clothes, slipping into the bikini. After Evelyn gets dressed, she comes over and ties the strings for me. I pull the top pieces as wide as they will go. I'm a little too big for them but it still isn't too revealing. I wouldn't need to worry about anything popping out unless I was involved in strenuous activities. 

"All done. Let's see," she says. She looks me over from head to toe, "That boy ain't gonna know what him!"

I giggle and we head out of the room. We make our way back down to the main floor and I try to remember my way around. I think I got it- and if not, I can always smell my way back. I notice more of my senses are getting stronger and stronger the more time passes. We pass an industrial sized and equipped kitchen where people in chef's clothes are moving around in a rush. It smells delightful and my mouth waters a bit. 

"Oooh I cannot wait for dinner," I tell Evelyn. 

She just laughs and we head outside to the massive backyard. There's a pool, two slides on either side, and a cave under the slide to the left. There's a huge outdoor cooking area off to one side, a built in fire pit with chairs circling it, and then a cabana off to the side with couches and a TV. Wolves are all over the place, and they all stop and stare when we emerge from the house. I feel a lot of eyes on us and Evelyn hands me a pair of sunglasses. 

"What shall we do first? Swimming or lounging?" she asks. 

When I don't answer she looks around and seems to realize all activity has stopped. 

"Oh brother. Alright everyone! This is Caroline! Her and Jackson will be staying here for the time being. So please make her feel welcome and like part of our little family," Evelyn announces and a few of the male wolves light up. 

"Jackson's here?!" 

"Where is he?!" 

"HE OWES US A JUMP OFF THE ROOF LUNA! Don't forget!" 

They all talk excitedly. I look at them in horror. 

"Oh don't worry. It isn't his first time. The pool surpasses Olympic standards at 13 feet deep. He will be fine," she assures me, patting my arm. 

I look up at the roof. It's a long way down... She pulls my shoulders so that i'm square with her and looks in my eyes. 

"He. Will. Be. Fine." 

"Alright alright... Let's swim quick and then lay out on the chairs over there," I say, pointing to the chairs in the sun where a few other wolves are laying out. 

Evelyn leads the way and lays our towels out on the chairs before slipping off her shoes and her bathing suit cover up. 

"Hiya girls!" she says. 

The girls talking look over and for a moment they look irritated but quickly the looks are replaced with forced smiles. I wonder if Evelyn noticed. The blonde and the brunette are both beautiful and curvy. The brunette stares up at me with a look of disdain. Evelyn pulls me away to the pool before she can say anything. 

"That's Giselle. She's the one who snuck into Jackson's bedroom and was denied," Evelyn says giggling. 

I look back over at the girl and she gives me a dirty look. I smirk at her. 

"Not only that but she went in there and took her clothes off. He kicked her out naked!" Evelyn's laughter rings out. 

"Oh my god, how embarrassing!" I say, giggling along. 

I really really like Evelyn....so I decide to tell her what I saw. 

"They didn't seem to like you very much," I let her know. 

"Oh don't I know it! They've been trying to get their skanky claws into my Carter since he turned 18. He knew I was his mate for years and waited for me. He's 26 and I'm 21, so there was 5 years of his batting these whores away to save himself for me," she says, a big smile on her face. 

"That has to be the sweetest thing I've ever heard." 

"Well you can thank your man for it. He had to give Carter many pep talks about saving himself and reminding him how worth it that it would be." 

We swim for a bit and then head towards the stairs. When we got back, the other girls were nowhere in sight. I lay down, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my skin. Someone comes out and hands us more glasses of iced tea with a little alcohol and I sip it happily. It tastes much better this time around. I must have dozed off after a bit because I was startled to hear a loud growl ring out through the backyard. I sit up to see Jackson making his way towards me, looking pissed as a hornet in box of mirrors. 

Uh-oh.