Destined Part I

Acceptance

The inside of the castle was more magnificent than its exterior. I didn’t believe that was possible when I was outside, but as we stepped through the huge entrance, the spectacle swallowed me whole.

The décor of the interior matched the facade of the outside perfectly. The gleaming marble floors held ornate Louis XV furniture with intricately carved shells and flowers throughout the wood. There were tons of windows in the entryway and hung just above each was a set of crimson velvet curtains that I presumed blocked significant amounts of light, if need be. A winding staircase, which reminded me of Gone With the Wind, led up to the second floor which Haiden explained held the offices. If the second floor was only offices, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how large the bedrooms were that he pointed out were taking up the third and fourth floors.

He led me through the foyer and into the massive Great Room where six other people- vampires- were apparently having a meeting. The room was enormous. Its walls extended up the full four stories, and large windows covered the entire distance. Despite the size, the stone fireplace and soft suede couches made the space feel homey and inviting.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and glanced up at us as we walked in. Embarrassed for interrupting, I felt my face begin to change color, but the look in their eyes did not reflect annoyance. Instead it was acceptance.

A small woman with incredibly captivating ice blue eyes rose and glided over to me, embracing me in a warm hug.

“Oh, you must be Adia,” she exclaimed. “Please come in, make yourself at home!”

She leaned back to study my face, smiling so big I had to smile back so I wouldn’t hurt her feelings. They had to know how nervous I was.

“This is Cain, and Grace over here,” she announced, pointing to the two sitting on the gold loveseat in the corner of the room. The two waved and flashed a friendly smile.

“And Angelina and Marcus there.” The next two she introduced were sitting on the large cranberry colored couch in the middle of the room with a chenille throw covering their legs. Angelina was holding Marcus’s hand, and they both beamed at me with welcoming affection.

The woman danced over to the last man and wrapped her arms around his neck, floating down to sit in his lap as she introduced us.

“And this, my dear, is my heart and soul…Kristopher.” She melted visibly when she spoke about him. Their noticeable devotion to one another made me feel as though I was intruding, so I quickly averted my eyes to look up at Haiden.

The look on Haiden’s face made it clear that he loved these people as if they were his flesh and blood. I smiled at him, my heart swelling with how much he noticeably adored them, and he let a slow grin play on his lips as he swept the hair off my forehead.

Kristopher smiled at the captivating woman and whispered, “What about you my darling? Aren’t you going to introduce yourself to Adia?”

Her gasp surprised me, causing me to jump, but she giggled lightly and dashed over to me, placing her arm around my shoulders once more.

“My name is Giada Browning. Welcome to our family!”

What kind of family was this?

Everyone in the room was so gracious, and so accepting of me. The smiles on their faces seemed so genuine, that all my nerves simply disappeared. Not only that, but they also looked amazing. Like some kind of movie, where all the characters were too beautiful to be a real, live family. Their pale skin matched mine, sure, but I doubted that someone as basic as me looked anything like them, even if I had been changed into one of them. I know I certainly didn’t stop people dead in their tracks when they looked at me, the way I was sure I was staring at them.

“Please excuse us, Adia, we were just having a family meeting,” Kristopher stated, breaking my reverie.

“Haiden, why don’t you show her to her rooms, and we will wrap this up so we can properly welcome our new addition.”

His eyes sparkled at me when he spoke. He was so handsome, I could see how Giada was so in love with him.

Haiden nodded and wrapped his hand in mine. He led me up the winding staircase in the front of the house and down the hallway of offices. The entire way through the second floor he was silent, and I certainly didn’t know what to say, so I stayed quiet as well.

He led me to an elevator at the end of the hall and we stepped on. I watched him turn the dial to the fourth floor, and I searched for something, anything I could say to break the silence.

“Your family is great,” I whispered. I wanted him to know that I liked them, but I couldn’t get my mind off of what had just happened outside.

He loosened at that and smiled so brilliantly, it left me staggered.

“I’m glad you like them. I was the last to come to live with them, and I fell in love with all of them the moment we met. Giada is amazing that way, how she pulls everyone together,” he reflected.

I knew exactly what he meant. As soon as we were introduced, I felt more at home than I had since my parents were still alive. I assumed from the introduction that Kristopher was the head of the house, and Giada was definitely the care-taker.

As the elevator came to a stop, Haiden motioned for me to step into the hallway. He joined me, walking a step ahead of me until we reached the very last door. The room was already open, waiting for me to arrive. My bags were in the entryway, and Haiden lifted all of them again, bringing them inside for me and laying them on the bed.

The room was wide open and much larger than any bedroom I had ever seen. The windows at the end of the room led to a balcony that I could see overlooked the magical waterfall. The four poster bed was already turned down for me, decorated with dozens of silk pillows. The whole room was red and gold, just like the Great Room. A door off to the left, next to an antique desk, looked like it led to a bathroom.

I could get used to this. This was better than anything I had hoped. I had my own bed, my own silk sheets and covers, and even my own balcony. The room alone was bigger than my entire apartment in Austin.

I truly did not deserve the royal treatment I was now receiving. This home was amazing, the scenery even better. And every person in this house was so kind, and so beautiful, too. I only hoped that I could show them my gratitude somehow. They had to know how much this meant to me.

Haiden had begun helping me unpack, so I slipped in beside him, taking the folded clothes and placing them in the dresser in front of the bed. Once the bags were emptied, he turned to me, and began playing with my ends of my hair.

“If you want,” he said, “I’ll go down and give you some privacy so you can clean up. Get ready for your first night as part of our family.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Something was troubling him. I wasn’t sure what it could be, but I smiled back at him, hoping to lighten his mood.

I didn’t know Haiden all that well yet, but I knew one thing. The force of my attraction for him was more overwhelming than anything I had ever experienced. All it took was for him to look at me and I very nearly melted. It had started in the woods, and the few days apart hadn’t stopped it. If anything, it made me long for him more.

He pulled me close to him, pressing me against his side and kissed the top of my head.

“I’ll see you down there?” he asked, one corner of his mouth raised in a crooked grin.

“I’ll hurry,” I said, and Haiden walked out of the room in his typical polished way. 

I had to sit down on the bed for a moment.

My head was reeling with everything that had happened the past few days, and it was all so unbelievable. If you would have asked me two weeks ago if I thought I would be sitting here, in a massive castle in front of this exquisite, picturesque scenery, meeting the family of vampires that I was now going to be living with, I would have laughed hysterically at the ridiculousness of it all.

But it was real. And I was here, about to jump head first into this new beginning, and I had met someone that would surely change my life in the process.

Thinking that this was all too good to be true, I hurried off into the bathroom to clean up for my first night with the Brownings.