Aston walked through the darkening hallway, the sunblockers closing with every step the group walked towards the back of the packhouse, the tiger aware that Bianca was delayed due to the sunlight. Beside him, his mate stayed close, their footsteps echoing from the sounds of their feet on the dark hardwood that paved their way to their destination. Without having to look next to him, Aston knew that Nicolai’s eyes bore into the back of Ransom’s darkly clothed muscular back, burning holes into the expensive clothing. The sun blockers closed ahead of them catching the tiger’s attention, the hallway darkening slightly from the lack of light, the surrounding light fixtures instantly lighting.

“You know,” Aston stated, gaining his mates attention, “This feature of the house still amazes me, the way that everything happens in such a fluid motion is astounding.”

“Always the observant one, mi gatito” Ransom answered, earning a glare from Nicolai.

“I’m guessing that this is all for Bianca and her people?” Nicolai looked at Aston, knowing that he would rather hear from his mate than the wolf. 

“Yes they are” Ransom interjected, feeling a knowing look that emitted from Aston’s hazel gaze, “We use soft lighting for when Bianca and her coven visit, but the main feature are the sun blockers, they are what keep them safe during their daily visits. Aston, do you not have them at the compound as well?”

“You do?” Nicolai looked at his mate with a raised brow.

“Yeah we do. You and the others never got to see them because the vampires didn’t visit while you were there. If they had then we would have used them” Aston replied softly smiling at his mate.

The more they moved through the packhouse, the more the sun blockers had become set, the creaminess of the walls of the home becoming more evident from the now luminescent lighting. The feeling of warmth and comfort returned to Aston, the pack home thick with a familiar feeling that the tiger had felt he missed during their whole ordeal in the office; it had now returned. His hazel eyes looked ahead towards the end of the hallway that they had now turned into, a set of large cherry Mahogany doors came into view, their monstrous stature a sight to behold as they stood towering over the two figures before them. The two figures were foreign to the tiger, he had never seen the duo before today, their identities suddenly becoming very intriguing to the tiger alpha. 

The first figure was a man that stood with an ethereal elegance, an aura that surrounded his body nonchalantly radiating a beauty that could be only deemed as intimidating, the man’s bright almost white eyes the biggest indication. He stood at eye level with Aston, his hazel eyes meeting the bright eyes without hesitation, the intenseness of his stare made the tiger tense with caution. The man wore a burgundy cashmere turtleneck that fit closely to his lithe muscular frame, the color contrasting with his wild curly locks that surrounded his strong angular face. His legs were supple and long yet they looked strong from years of work, the black dress pants falling perfectly against them showing off their extravagance. His cold demeanor screamed something that Aston only deemed to be the most logical answer; Vampire.

But, who was this man? 

Next to him stood an equally as beautiful man, his features screaming of the wilderness as his long dark hair flowed around his shoulders. His black eyes watched the large group approach him and his counterpart, taking in their movements and inspecting them with an intensity that slightly unnerved Aston. He wore a navy collared button up that was crafted with a miniscule rich autumn floral pattern that appeared the closer that the leaders got to them, his pants matching the theme of the other. The tiger alpha continued to watch the wild looking man, noticing his eyes travel over them until they came across Ransom. The man’s body stiffened. His nose flared up along with a pointed glare at the wolf alpha, the actions confusing Aston as they reached the duo.

“It is nice to see you again, Alpha” The bright eyed man’s smoky voice washed over the tiger’s skin like a caress, his voice addressing Ransom, “It has been a while.” 

“Ah Indemnis, I almost forgot that you were attending The Gathering this year. I’m glad you were able to attend.” Ransom replied, his eyes ever so slowly looking at the man next to the vampire. 

The slight action intrigued Aston.

“Yes, Bianca insisted that I make an appearance since I’ve been out of the country for a while. You know how persuasive she is.” Indemnis stated curtly.

Ransom grinned, “Oh I am mi angelical, and whom, if I may ask, is this?”

Aston noticed that Ransom stared at the mysterious man with a deep curiosity that was hidden within his eyes, the situation becoming even more interesting as the air around them changed.

“This is Valentine, he just arrived a few weeks ago after I met him in Brazil during my travels. He has been staying with the coven until we are able to get him settled somewhere within the city” Idemnis answered.

“I smell feline on you, but I can’t recognize this scent” Nicolai interrupted, his eyes peering at Valentine, his nose sniffing near the long haired man, “You don’t smell like anything that I’ve ever encountered before.”

“I am a Jaguar” Valentine bristled, staring at Aston’s mate with caution.

“A little jumpy don’t you think, do you have any shadow’s with you?” Aston spoke up without hesitation.

4 pairs of eyes stared at him with surprise, their faces showing that they had not expected him to ask that at that moment.

“What? I’ve done a lot of reading about other big cats so I thought I would ask..” the tiger muttered, shifting under their gazes.

“No, I have no shadows. I am the only one from my tribe that is left in this existence” Valentine’s accent making a slight presence. 

The jaguar’s words had cancelled out any questions that the leaders had thought to ask, their mouths staying sealed in order to not make the situation more awkward. Aston looked once more at Indemnis, seeing that the vampire has still remained elegantly stoic almost like a statue carved from the finest marble. The tiger alpha had never met the man nor had Bianca mentioned him before in the past, his eyes wandering over to Valentine who was occasionally flicking his eyes towards Ransom. The mystery that was Valentine now caught the interest of the tiger alpha, he would find out the reason for those looks. 

“Are all of you just going to stand there and look pretty or are you all going to open the doors?” Rhea’s voice broke the silence.

The four men watched as Rhea stood looking at them with a questioning brow and folded arms, Bianca walking past them in the moment of their distraction opening the large doors like they weighed nothing more than paper. 

“Let's have this damn Gathering start before I get upset about something else” Bianca called out, her heels clacking on the floors of the enormous room.

Aston and the others hurriedly followed after the queen of the coven, their eyes taking in the sight of the massive meeting room that lay dormant in the back of the packhouse. The room was lit with fixtures that Aston had seen in the hallway, their rays of light shining brightly due to the large sun blockers that covered the wide windows along the farthest wall of the chamber. A set of tall wooden doors sat in the middle of the row of windows, opening to the backyard of the packhouse that Aston knew led into the forest that circled a large part of Falcon Haven. His eyes became flooded with the hues of subtle cream and wood that resembled the rest of the pack home, the large triangle shaped meeting table sitting in the middle of the room gaining his attention. The obvious addition of the extra chairs caught the tiger alpha’s gaze, his eyes noticing chairs specifically for Nicolai and Valentine at the head of the table where his seat resided. 

From the left side of the meeting chamber a set of double doors opened, welcoming the elders and council members, their voices flooding the room as they made small talk with each other. Aston watched the group make their way into the room, their attention focused amongst themselves, ignoring the leaders that stood awaiting them. Lydia caught his attention at first, her calm smile filling her face as she talked to a council member that Aston knew the moment he had seen her.

A blonde blur flew past the tiger’s body.

“Goddammit Rhea!” River yelled, his arms wrapped around the waist of his mate.