Lennox’s POV:

The coven house always has the faint scent of blood drifting through it. Even after living here for seventeen years, the smell always stands out to me and Dad tells me it’s because my natural instinct is to search for a pack scent which doesn’t really exist here. Covens are different from werewolf packs; I don’t know what a pack is like because I’ve never been in one, but since I’m a werewolf, my instincts still seek out what feels natural.

When I was a pup, Dad found me on the edge of a pack’s territory. While werewolves and vampires usually hate each other, Dad always tells me that hate isn’t born, it’s taught. When he discovered an abandoned werewolf pup in the middle of winter, he couldn’t leave me to die. He took me back to the vampire coven, and when he inquired about a missing pup amongst the local packs, no one claimed me.

I grew up as a werewolf in a vampire coven.

They’re my family, even if they aren’t what I am.

Vampires keep to themselves for the most part, so my family is much smaller than a traditional pack, but it’s not like I can compare them too much. I never lived in a pack and unless you’re mated into one, most packs don’t allow random wolves to join. Especially not one like me; I’m close enough to adulthood to be considered a threat, plus I’m an Alpha.

I don’t know why I’d be abandoned, but I don’t think I was the child of a rogue. Even rogues don’t leave their pups behind, much less an Alpha pup. Alphas are valued for our strength and protective instincts, both of which I possess even without living in a pack.

Dad has played the father role in my life. He used to have a mate… well, vampires don’t call their partners “mates” and they don’t work the same way as werewolf mates. Anyway, he had a wife but she passed away when his oldest child was eight. Dad has four kids, including me.

Raina is the oldest of us. She’s twenty six and she doesn’t really like me; ever since we were little and I was adopted we have often avoided each other. We’re civil but I know that she doesn’t like me. Since her mom died  around the time I was taken in, I think she associates my existence with her mom’s death.

Joseph is twenty two and he’s the older brother that everyone deserves. He has always treated me as a blood sibling and has been my protector in a way. Every time we have to attend an event, Joseph stays close to me and makes sure no one comments on a werewolf being in a crowd of vampires.

Ramsay is the youngest of the three, and he’s only a couple of months older than me, but because of our birthdays, he’s already eighteen and I’m still seventeen. He and I are as close as siblings can be; we’ve been inseparable since we were little since we were raised together and, unfortunately for Dad, we have a tendency to get ourselves into trouble.

We have been chased off of werewolf pack grounds countless times since we’ll dare each other to see how close we can get to the center of the grounds without being caught. There’s two packs close to us, but one is way more local than the other and it’s only a thirty minute run to get there. It gives us both an adrenaline rush to escape pack grounds and neither of us dwells on the fact that we’d likely be killed if we were to be caught.

Dad hates that we do that. We have spent a good deal of our younger lives with our noses in opposite corners.

I walk downstairs and open the fridge, debating what I want for breakfast. Even though my siblings and Dad rely on blood to stay healthy, they also enjoy normal food. There’s always plenty of raw meat in the fridge so I can switch up whether or not I want raw or cooked meat. It doesn’t really matter to me most of the time, but during my ruts, I like raw meat as opposed to the cooked stuff.

Meat isn’t the only food I eat, though. I have a sweet tooth and I love to bake, so I take a can of cinnamon rolls out of the fridge and turn on the oven. This doesn’t really count as baking, but I still enjoy it. Well, except for having to pop the can open; I hate that part.

“Good morning,” Joseph says, yawning as he enters the kitchen and opens the fridge and takes out a bag of blood.

He works in a hospital and with his speed and stealth, he can easily steal blood bags and avoid the cameras. He always takes the ones in low demand and if there isn’t an excessive amount, they will rely on animal blood. Dad is very firm on the fact that they should not drink from live humans since it could draw attention to the vampire community.

Other vampires have had to vacate their homes due to their bloodlust and Dad likes where we live. Plus, it’s a bit old fashioned to wreak havoc on humans. Level headed vampires rely on blood not from the source, often blood bags or sometimes animals. Others who see themselves as better than humans will kidnap humans and keep them as slaves in order to feed.

Dad hates that. He doesn’t actively work to protect humans, but he disapproves of vampires who partake in the disgusting habit.

“Good morning,” I respond, putting the cinnamon rolls on a sheet tray and sliding it into the oven. “Did you have a good night?”

Joseph raises an eyebrow. “I guess so. Stared at the wall for a while, went for a jog, came back and read a book… yeah, I think that’s it.”

That’s pretty fair; unless they have used a lot of their energy or haven’t gotten enough blood in their system, vampires don’t usually need to sleep. We all go to our rooms at night because we all need time to ourselves (and I have to sleep) but I don’t usually think about what my siblings or Dad do in their spare time.

When Ramsay and I were younger, we shared a room. He would sleep at the same time I did because vampires do need sleep while they’re young, but once they reach twelve, they no longer need sleep every single night. Once he reached that point, he moved to his own room so I could sleep easier. Ramsay talks to himself when he’s bored.

“Want to go run today?” I ask, sitting at the bar next to Joseph.

I cringe when he pierces the blood bag with his fangs. Even after living with them for my entire life, watching someone drink blood is still kind of strange. It always sends a shiver down my spine, but I always try to cover it up so I don’t upset my siblings.

“I can’t,” Joseph says apologetically. “I have to attend an event at a nearby coven. Dad is going to one of his own, as is Raina. They’re all centered around vampiric slave ownership of weaker shifters and humans, and Dad wants us to observe them so we understand why we don’t take part in it. Not that I would ever consider kidnapping a human or shifter… it’s archaic.”

“Oh… Dad mentioned that a few weeks ago.”

Joseph hums. “Don’t worry, though, we’ll all be back here tomorrow for your birthday!”

I force a smile.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!”

“You are the worst liar, Lennox.”

I sigh, laying my forehead on the counter. “I’m just nervous, I guess. Eighteen is when I should be able to find my mate, but what if they’re a werewolf and don’t want me because my family is all vampires? Or, what if they’re a vampire and don’t want me because they can’t feel the mate bond?”

Joseph finishes his blood bag and gets up to throw it away. “They will love you no matter what. If a werewolf approached me and said I was their mate, I’d give them a chance and go on a date regardless of whether or not they're a werewolf. Obviously, since I wouldn’t be able to feel a mate bond, it wouldn’t be as quick as a werewolf partnership, but it doesn’t mean it couldn’t grow into something deeper.”

“But that’s you,” I emphasize. “You’re the nicest, most accepting person alive. If my mate is an Omega or Beta that belongs to a pack, chances are they’ll be encouraged to reject me.”

“If that happens, won’t you get a second chance mate because you wouldn’t have been the one to reject them?”

I shrug. “I didn’t exactly grow up in a pack so I don’t know all of the details.”

“Don’t think negatively. Think about the potential positives that could come out of this when you meet them!”

“I’m positive that it won’t be a good experience.”

Joseph scowls.

The front door opens and Ramsay saunters in, his hair all wet from the rain. It’s September now, so it’s started to get really rainy where we live and Ramsay loves to run in the rain. I do, too, so we usually go together but I guess he was bored while I was asleep.

“Good morning!” he cheers, hugging me.

His wet clothes slap against my sleep shirt, successfully getting me wet. I don’t really mind, but I see Joseph scowl when Ramsay lets go of me.

“If you try to hug me-”

“Are you gonna cry to daddy?” Ramsay teases, ruffling Joseph’s hair.

“Maybe I will.”

“I’m his favorite, though.”

Both Joseph and I give him incredulous looks. Especially because we all know that Dad’s favorite is Raina; they connect in a different way and she’s the only girl so Dad is protective of her. Raina can definitely handle herself and is powerful, but that doesn’t mean Dad will cast her to the side.

“Okay, no need to openly agree with me,” Ramsay mumbles, opening the oven and smelling the cinnamon roll scented gust of air that comes out. “Pillsbury? Seriously, no homemade rolls?”

I growl. “Last I checked, I actually need to sleep to stay healthy. You could have made homemade cinnamon rolls at any point.”

Ramsay pouts. “But I can’t bake.”

He sits down at the counter and continues to pout, complaining that since he doesn’t technically need to eat real food that he has no reason to learn how to cook. That’s followed by Joseph commenting that if he falls for a werewolf, shifter, or human that he’ll have to learn.

The two continue to bicker until Dad comes downstairs. Raina comes down as well, but she merely bids us all a good morning, grabs a bag of blood, and leaves the house. She rarely hangs around during the day. I think it’s because she doesn’t have to see me at night since I’m sleeping.

“Good morning, boys,” Dad says, taking a blood bag for himself and handing one to Ramsay. “Your eyes are getting pink. Eat.”

The whites of a vampire’s eyes always get a bit pink if they haven’t eaten. Since everyone here is grown, they only need to eat a couple of times a week. Ramsay, if he exerts too much energy, has to eat a bit more since he’s still on the younger side.

Ramsay takes it without complaints. As he drinks, my timer goes off and I take the cinnamon rolls out of the oven and coat them with glaze. The frosting is the best part so when they’re all coated in the glaze, I cut open the back and lick out the rest.

“Have I failed teaching you composure?” Dad asks me, opening the medicine cabinet and handing me one of the multivitamins that he says a werewolf needs to stay healthy. “You have glaze all over your face, Lennox.”

“I’m at home,” I point out, throwing away the bag that the glaze came in and taking the vitamin. “I don’t have to be composed.”

Ramsay finishes his blood bag. “So… everyone gets to go party tonight except me and Lennox?”

“Lennox and I,” Dad corrects. “And they aren’t parties, Ramsay. We’re going to separate meetings and they’re not for our enjoyment. I want you two staying in tonight, do you understand me?”

Ramsay pouts. “But it’s Lennox’s birthday tomorrow.”

“Exactly,” Joseph chimes in. “We’re celebrating tomorrow.”

“Ramsay, Lennox, I’m serious,” Dad says, glancing between the two of us and staring into my soul when he makes eye contact with me. “There has been growing tension between shifters and vampires recently, so anywhere you two go is not safe. You’re both young and I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

“But-”

Dad cuts Ramsay off. “No, Ramsay. This is not up for debate.”

Ramsay scowls and leaves the kitchen, stomping upstairs. He’s being dramatic, but I know this will be brought up again between Ramsay and I once Dad has left. Ramsay is stubborn and I want to go out, too, and we’re not always the smartest duo.