I have an alarm set on my phone so I can get Callum out of the house before anyone in my family potentially finds out and I find myself grounded for even longer. Last night, Callum told me that because he was a human for so much longer than he's been a vampire, he still sleeps through the night. It's not necessary for him, but he likes to stay connected with the human he was before.

Callum offered to sleep on the floor or leave last night, but I told him that I didn't mind sharing the bed. He's my mate, so naturally I want him around. Plus, he seems to like being around me and I've learned that while I'm attracted to him because he's my mate, he's also a lot of fun to be around.

Late last night, we played card games for hours because I don't have a TV in my room or any kinds of video games. We played Phase 10, Uno, and Speed, and both of us were aggressively competitive but I still had a lot of fun.

"Wake up and get out of my house," I say, shaking Callum's shoulder.

His eyes flutter open, the red wine color dull at the moment because he's still waking up. Callum smiles as soon as he makes eye contact with me and pokes my nose, which makes me growl in annoyance. He doesn't seem fazed at all by my growls, which I suppose is a good thing.

"Good morning to you, too," he says, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. "Sleep okay?"

I smile. "Yeah, how about you?"

"I mean there was a clingy werewolf breathing on my neck all night, but other than that, it was good."

My cheeks heat up and I'm sure that I'm visibly red. I elbow him and get out of bed, opening my drawers to get dressed. I'm not allowed to go out and go on a run, but I can still go work out in our basement gym. Honestly, saying "gym" is a bit of an exaggeration; there's a machine for weight lifting, a treadmill, and a stair-stepper.

"I was kidding," Callum whispers, wrapping his arms around me from behind, which makes a chill run down my spine. "You're cute when you sleep."

"That's such a creepy sentence," I respond, turning around to face him. "I wish you could stay here all day."

Callum shrugs. "It's okay, I'll do the forbidden Romeo and Juliet trope."

"Don't they both die in the end? I've never read the book."

"You've never read Romeo and Juliet? It's a classic!"

"I mean, I've heard of it but I just never got a copy of it or really had an interest in it. I've read The Great Gatsby, 1984, and The Catcher in the Rye, but I'm more interested in supernatural books or fantasy type books."

Callum still seems shocked by the revelation, but he regains his usual composed expression. "Can I come back tonight?" he asks.

I nod eagerly. "Yeah, but I have to leave my room today and act normal so come a little later."

There's a knock at my bedroom door and my eyes widen. Both Callum and I tiptoe to the window, trying to make sure that supernatural hearing won't ruin either of our days. He slips out, winking at me before climbing the branch back to the main tree.

"Lennox?" Dad calls through the closed door. "Are you up?"

I rub my eyes so I look a little more tired and open the door. It's easy to look annoyed because I still am really irritated with him. "It's, like, six in the morning."

"You usually get up early," Dad says, leaning against the doorframe. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Peachy."

Dad sighs as I put on my workout clothes and brush past him to head downstairs. "Lennox-"

"I'm just going to the basement, not outside. Since, you know, I'm grounded."

I say the last part sarcastically, since Dad has made it clear over and over that I'm grounded. I'm sure he has more to say and wants to have a conversation, but I'm annoyed. The mistake Ramsay and I made was not extreme and we were safe. We were among vampires in a welcoming place, so I don't get his tirade about us putting ourselves in danger.

Dad sighs as I walk away and down to the basement, but he doesn't try to push for more conversation. His footsteps echo in the house as I turn on the treadmill, but I don't really pay much mind to wherever he's walking. Sometimes I pay close attention just to figure out who is where in the house because all footsteps are different.

I run on the treadmill for an hour before I get bored. In the woods I can run for two or three, but the scenery changes are more exciting and keep me entertained. Plus, I can hunt in the woods. It's rare for me to do because it grosses Dad out when I catch anything, but since supernaturals can identify the difference between a shifter and a normal animal, it's not wrong in our community.

Since Dad and my siblings drink blood from hospitals and don't attack their own victims, I think he sees it as wrong that I like to hunt. I don't hunt for sport; I always eat what I catch or just chase and then let them escape. I only ever catch birds or small animals, never anything big that would be wasted.

When I finish working out, I'm starving so I jog up the stairs and into the kitchen. It's getting light out but the sky is gray and cloudy so the sun isn't shining all that bright. Joseph is in the kitchen and he looks exhausted, which is kind of weird since vampires don't need to sleep. He smiles and waves at me before turning back to his book.

I open the fridge and take out a pack of bacon and a carton of eggs. I turn on the stove and let the pan heat up, stretching my arms above my head while I wait.

"You need a shower," Joseph says, wrinkling his nose.

"You need to sleep," I quip back. "Why do you look so tired?"

Joseph yawns, confirming that he's genuinely tired. "Sixteen hour call-in shift at the hospital and they had me in a different section than my usual one, so I couldn't sneak a blood bag. I just need to sleep for a couple of hours."

"I wish I only needed a couple of hours of sleep," I say, laying pieces of bacon in the pan and listening to them sizzle.

Joseph rolls his eyes. "Keep wallowing in self pity," he says, yawning once more. "Shit, I really do need some rest. Have you talked to Dad?"

"He tried to talk to me."

"I figured you'd shut him down." Joseph stands up and shuts his book. "He feels bad, Lennox. He was upset yesterday and apologized to Ramsay."

Dad is proud and I know he thinks he was in the right with his decision, so I'm kind of surprised he apologized to Ramsay. If he was willing to do that, maybe he thinks he overreacted... if that's the case, I feel a tiny bit bad for ignoring him. Only a tiny bit, though.

I hear footsteps and Raina comes downstairs, already fully dressed. She bids myself and Joseph a good morning before quickly heading out of the front door. I shrug and turn back to my breakfast as Joseph vanishes up the stairs and Ramsay comes into the kitchen.

"Ew. You smell like shit." He opens the fridge and takes out a blood bag. "And I know it's bad because the vampire sense of smell is nowhere near as strong as a werewolf's. How do you live with that?"

"I'm not as sensitive as you."

I crack my eggs into the pan once I get the bacon out. They're going to cook way too quickly because of how hot the pan is, but I don't want to wait and cool down the pan. As they finish cooking, I pop a bagel into the toaster and pour myself a glass of orange juice.

Ramsay waits to drink his blood bag so we can eat breakfast together, but out of respect for me, he pours it into a glass. At least I can pretend it's cranberry juice and that he's on a juice cleanse or something of that nature.

I open the medicine cabinet and take my vitamin before I dig into my food. As I begin to eat, Dad enters the kitchen and sits down at the table. I glance at him before continuing to eat and mostly ignoring his presence. It's petty and stubborn, but until he stops treating me like an idiot and acts like Ramsay and I are incapable of keeping ourselves safe, I'll continue to act in this way.

"Lennox, would you please acknowledge me?" Dad asks, sounding frustrated with me.

I continue to eat but I make eye contact with him.

"I want to apologize. I understand you are eighteen and that is an adult as far as humans are concerned, and we do follow a lot of their laws since we live in their world. However, within the supernatural community, there are other dangers and as your father, I want to keep you and your siblings safe. I know I reacted poorly and was severe with your punishment, especially since you have just met your mate and I know werewolf mate connections are much different than the connection between vampires."

Dad pauses, and I think he's making sure that I'm taking in his words. To show I'm paying attention, I nod in response, continuing to eat while maintaining eye contact.

"I don't want either of you two to hide things from me, and considering that you tried to hide that your mate spent the night, you're already on that path."

My cheeks heat up and I have no way to hide that I did that last night because I'm sure my expression is giving me away.

"I'm not going to ground you two, but there are conditions you have to follow. I want you two to stay within the part of the city claimed by the vampires. I want you both to be home by eleven at the latest and I want you to stay here until the sun rises. Lennox, if you want to spend the night with your mate, I want it to be here. Finally, I want you two to text me when you go out and there will be no going to clubs or bars until you are twenty one. Understood?"

Dad has never changed his mind on a punishment, so this is a huge deal. He must not have told Ramsay yet because Ramsay looks as shocked as I feel. Besides, the location we have to stay in is part of the rule we've had to follow for most of our lives anyway. The only change is the curfew, but if it means I'm not grounded, I'll deal with it for the next few years.

"Understood," I say with little hesitation. "Why a curfew, though? I'm not complaining, but that's... new. Especially since Ramsay doesn't sleep much anymore."

Dad sighs. "This is information that only myself and a few other vampires know of and we are trying to keep it quiet. There have been human bodies found in the forest, completely drained of blood. We are trying to find which vampire is responsible, but we worry that if it is revealed, the vampires who keep human slaves will feel validated in their actions and may join in with the hunting. We have been disposing of the bodies so the humans don't suspect our existence, but since it is a vampire who is responsible for the murders, I don't want you two in danger."

My blood runs cold; it's been a while since I've heard of a vampire actually killing a human. Slavery is one thing, since those humans are kept alive and used as blood banks. It's cruel and distasteful, but at least their lives are spared. Killing humans, though? That's not as common, especially since those with that kind of bloodlust were chased out a while ago.

"You don't have any leads on who it could be?" Ramsay asks.

"That's why Raina, Joseph, and I have been going to so many of those meetings lately. We're trying to see if anything of the sort is brought up or if anyone has suddenly gotten rid of their human slave without reason."

That makes sense; I thought Dad was just going to those to try to dissuade people from taking human slaves, but they've been going a lot lately. It makes a lot more sense now that we're considering the fact that there's a serial killer on the loose.

"We'll make sure we're home by eleven, then," Ramsay says, and I can tell the news is overwhelming to him and grosses him out.

"Thanks, Dad," I say, referring to him lifting our punishment and hoping he doesn't bring up that I let Callum in last night again.

Dad nods. "Be home by six tonight, though. We're going to have a makeup birthday dinner. Your mate is invited since I don't think you'll be able to keep him away," he says, smirking as he stands up. "Now, I have some work to do, so I'll see you both tonight."

He leaves Ramsay and I, and both of us finish our breakfast. We sit in silence, and I'm sure Ramsay is as shocked as I am that Dad chose to un-ground us. I'm not upset about it, but I am confused by the decision.

"I can drop you off at Callum's," Ramsay offers, rinsing out his cup. "I kind of want to go into the city and watching you two suck face isn't really my idea of a good time."

I take my plate to the sink and try to ignore how hot my face feels. "We haven't kissed. Werewolf or not, I don't want to rush this."

Ramsay smirks. "Okay, baby brother," he coos, ruffling my hair while I growl at him.

"Two fucking months apart," I grumble. "But, yeah, drop me off at his house."

Ramsay grabs the keys while I load my dishes into the dishwasher. He rolls his eyes when I tell him that I need to shower and grumbles something about how I don't bother showering when hanging out with him- which is partially true.

I'll shower if we're going out in public. If I'm going to eat breakfast after a run, I'll wait for a shower, but I'm not, like, gross and unhygienic. I shower really regularly, but I don't think it's a requirement right after a run when I'm starving and plan on showering right after.

Once I'm clean and my hair isn't dripping, I put on the first clean shirt and pants I can find before jogging down the stairs and right out through the front door. Ramsay follows me to the truck and starts it, fumbling with the Bluetooth on his phone so he can cue his music before I get the chance to play mine.

We have similar tastes in music, but I still like to choose mine. Especially since I'm in the passenger seat, so don't I get to make the music decisions? I choose not to comment on it, since Ramsay is kind of sensitive about his music choices and we ride in a comfortable silence.

Callum's house looks different in the day and when I'm fully sober. Hopefully he's home and wants to give me all of his attention because I could use that right now. Well, I think I'll want it all of the time but we're still early in this relationship/mateship/situationship so I don't want to scare him off.

"Thanks for driving me," I say, opening the door.

"Do you need me to pick you two up for dinner tonight?" Ramsay asks.

I shrug. "I'll text you."

"Okay, have fun! Use protection and don't get pregnant!" he says cheerfully.

I scowl. "I'm a top."

"Not with him."

Before I can say anything else, Ramsay dives over the console and closes my door before turning the truck around and leaving. I flip him off from the driveway and knock on the front door.