𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑:
Mates

THE DENALIS ARE CURRENTLY IN THE LIVING ROOM. Evangeline was reading the latest fashion magazine and already planning a shopping trip with her sisters. It had been a long time since she bought new clothes; Tanya was cleaning the windows; Kate and Irina were painting their nails; Eleazar was playing crosswords in a newspaper; Carmen was replacing the old flowers that wilted. It was calm and peaceful.

Until, of course, a knock disrupts their peaceful atmosphere. Eleazar stands up from his seat, walking up to the door, looking at the peek hole. He looks back at his family, confused but still opens the door.

Behind the door was a man, skin olive-toned beneath the typical pallor, his hair a glossy black. He was of a medium build, hard-muscled. He also had red eyes, which made the family tense and cautious.

"I'm looking for the Denali Coven. Carlisle Cullen told me that they could help me with my diet," The man tells them carefully, hopefully not looking intimidating to them.

"We are the Denali Coven. If you knew Carlisle, you must have been a friend," Tanya tells him, still wary.

"Opposite, really, My ex-coven mate was planning to kill their human. I wanted nothing to do with it, so I warned them. I was interested in their diet, and he told me that another coven in Alaska has the same diet as them," The man tells them.

"What's your name?" Irina asks. She was curious. She also feels attracted to the man, and it was strange scenes he never deemed a man worthy of her attention

"My name is Laurent," He introduces, giving a curt nod.

"Get yourself comfortable, Laurent. You're staying here for a long time," Evangeline says as she puts down her magazine, stands up from the floor, walking towards the stairs to arrange the guest room.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Laurent says, still shocked that he was easily accepted to their coven.

"It's no problem. We support our kind who wants to change their way of life," Eleazar tells him, opening the door even more and signaling him to come in.

"I've grown tired of my old ways. I want to live in peace with humans," Laurent tells them with a small smile, sitting beside Irina.

"Well, we'll help you every step of the way," Irina says, placing a hand on top of his, feeling a sudden wave of shocks come through their bodies.

"I guess centuries of being alone pays off," Laurent chuckles, holding Irina's hand.

"This is great!" Evangeline says while cheerily clapping her hands as she got down the stairs, "Your room is arranged. Make yourself feel at home."

Kate, who is looking at Laurent suspiciously, feels something off from him that she just can't put a finger on what it is.

"We can start teaching you how to hunt. It's noon, the perfect time to hunt," Carmen offers. "Or we can start tomorrow?"

"The early I start, the better," Laurent says while rubbing both of his hands together, preparing himself mentally.

"It's going to be hard at first. Centuries feeding on human blood can be tough. I still have occasional slip-ups," Evangeline says, looking at him with her rose-gold eyes.

"Your eyes.." Laurent begins to question, but he was cut off by Evangeline. "I lost control last month, and my eyes are slowly changing to gold. That's why they're rose gold at the moment."

"How long have you been on animal blood?" Laurent asks Evangeline.

"Since Kate changed me in 1861, but I still have trouble," Evangeline says with a frown while looking at Kate.

"Hey, it's not that easy having control. Even I still have trouble sometimes," Kate says while patting the empty space beside her, signaling Evangeline to sit next to her.

"How about I come with Laurent so that he won't be overwhelmed with all of us," Irina says to them, and they agree, so the two take off to hunt.

"So, who bets on Irina and Laurent being mates?" Evangeline says with a big smile.

"Them? Mates?" Kate scoffs.

"Oh, come on, it's obvious how they look at each other," Evangeline tells her with a smirk knowing Kate was very protective of them.

"Finally, at least one of us blondes has mates," Tanya says while looking at Evangeline and Kate.

"I'm not looking for one; I'm perfectly fine and happy with my family," Evangeline says while hugging Kate.

"That's my girls. I'm not ready for the role of the protective brother at the moment," Eleazar says while glancing up from his newspaper.