Page 37 of Jared

Jared nodded.

“Hey, how about we go some place quiet after this? Just you and me and some peace.”

Jared looked relieved. “That sounds fabulous. Got anywhere in mind?”

“As a matter of fact I do.”

15

Steve had managed to excuse himself long enough to call the front desk to arrange the unscheduled portal opening. Jared had stared in delight at the garden that was the fifth floor. When the picnic basket that held their dinner was presented and the portal formed, he'd been so overcome with excitement that he hadn't given a single thought as to why he shouldn't step through with Steve. He'd shivered at the cold of the Veil as they passed through it to the other side, causing Steve to curse himself mentally for not warning him about that.

“I'm sorry, I should have told you about the chill.”

“No, it's okay. That was amazing. A bit disconcerting, but amazing.” Jared looked around. “This is the pack land?”

“Yes.” Steve placed an arm around Jared and turned him around. “Just through those gates is the road that lead to Laurie's Coven.” He spun them back about gently, careful to not tip the picnic basket the Fae had presented them. “And over there, that main building there,” he pointed,” is the old home place.”

“Wow. It's big.” Jared wasn't sure what he'd expected,but that wasn't it. “And, uh, interesting.” The building Steve had pointed at was quite large and was probably the strangest hodgepodge of styles Jared had ever seen. He could see a wing with an elegant pagoda roof jutting off what would pass for a ski chalet while another wing made of dry stone walling competed for attention. His brain decided to stop cataloging at that point and just go with the flow.

“bit of a mess is what it is,” Steve replied. “Every time the pack expands past a certain point, a new wing appears. The style of the building seems to be completely random.”

“Appears? Nobody builds it?”

Steve turned his gaze away from the building and looked into Jared's eyes. “Not in the conventional sense. There's deep magic involved, something tied to the land and the creation of our species.The very land and buildings are magic, the same as every other land here beyond the veil. All the other packs have buildings that do the same thing, though I must say ours seems to be the biggest hodgepodge.”

“What about Laurie's coven? Does theirs do the same thing even though they're vampires? And if a pack gets smaller, does the building get smaller?”

“No, the buildings stay the same size. I don't know why that is. And vampires, well, their magical origins are different. Their estate gets bigger, the land part, instead of the main house. I don't know why that is. All the hows and whys for why these things happen are lost to time, if anyone ever knew them to begin with.”

Jared shivered. “So weird. Sorry, but it's creepy in a nice sorta way. And why wasn't this in my book? Your mom didn't mention any of this.”

Steve turned away at that. How to tell him that this is something we could not put at the slightest risk? Even written as fiction, having the knowledge of our true home out in the 'real world', well, that was a step too far.

Jared reached a hand out and touched his arm. “It was to keep this super safe, wasn't it?” Steve gave a short nod. “I guess I get it. Now, you gonna show me around or not? Besides, I'm getting hungry, I hope you've got a place to sit and eat in mind.”

“Actually, yeah.” Steve smiled as he pictured the lake in his mind. A private picnic along it's banks was the perfect romantic spot. Afterwards, they could explore the grounds and he could show Jared the inside of the pack's headquarters. If Jared thinks the outside looked strange, just wait until he saw the inside didn't match up in the least. Probably it helps that the new additions appear completely empty. Just walls and the same wood floor as everywhere else,all waiting for the occupants to add the furniture, he mused. Right, let's get this show on the road. To the lake we go. He took Jared's hand and tugged him gently along. “This way. I think you'll like it. When I was a pup, my brothers and I would get into a lot of trouble for sneaking away to go play here.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yup. We weren't supposed to be there without an adult.”

“I'm sure there was a good reason.”

“You'll see,” Steve promised. Minutes later, Steve's promise came to fruition.

“It's beautiful,” Jared said in a soft whisper. He cleared his throat. “I can see why your mom didn't want you guys here unsupervised. What if one of you'd drowned?”

Steve's inner wolf gave a small snort in derision that Steve agreed with. “Yeah, yeah.”

“I mean it, that looks deep and there are reeds.”

“All right. I see what you're saying, but honestly, let's just sit over there, okay?”

“Okay. I'm sorry.”

Steve gave him a soft peck on the cheek. “Nothing to be sorry for. You're right of course.”

The afternoon had been simply perfect. They'd eaten their packed lunch, then dozed lightly in the sunshine. Afterwards, they'd taken a stroll through the grounds, ending with a walk up the drive and into the unlikely looking mansion. Jared had wondered how they'd get in, if the door would be locked and whether or not Steve had brought a key. Or if perhaps the magic of the place would simply recognize Steve and the door would open of its own accord. Jared had shivered at the thought. As it turned out, the house was not empty. As they climbed the short set of steps to the door, it swung open, revealing a smiling middle aged woman who'd greeted Steve by name. It made sense, Jared decided. Of course some of the pack lived here on the grounds and kept everything neat and tidy. He wasn't even surprised that she'd been expecting them, thanks to one of the fifth floor Fae having brought the message as soon as Steve had called to arrange for the portal.