Fated To The Lycan Brothers
Chapter 33

Suri Nightingale

The beachfront estate of the Santino's was pretty breathtaking. Much like Keith's place, it doesn't lack space for hundreds, maybe even thousands of people and expensive decorations were present left and right. The only difference is that it was obvious the owners of the house showed off a lot more, as gold and diamonds were littered across the room, varying from vases to paintings and even just chairs.

These people were loaded and they wanted others to know it.

It wasn't really hard to tell when you enter a shingle-style manse like you've somehow transported yourself to the Hamptons. And after the quick tour by Polly, I have come to learn that it was complete with three pools with the same number of corresponding pool houses, a tennis court, a bowling alley, a home theater, a 'mini' ballroom, and, of course, their own bar/club, because what kind of high school student would dare throw a party without one?

Pounding bass music thuds in every corner of the house all while students talk loudly and laugh even louder. Most of the girls here are wearing barely any clothing-bikini tops and short shorts-even showing off more skin than I did, so that was saying a lot. The guys are obviously enjoying this, their eyes incapable of keeping them focused on a girl's face. Apparently, their boobs are far more interesting than whatever a girl has to say, and I guess I'm not surprised if that was the case because right now, by the bar, there's a conversation as shallow as a puddle happening right next to me.

"Do you know how many followers on the gram I got today after I posted a picture of me in this bikini?" A dark blonde girl asked as she slightly shook her chest, making this bouncy movement left and right.

The guy in front of her-tall, also blonde, and I think in my English Lit class-practically drooled all over her. "Uh... I don't know... A lot?" He answered, the struggle for him to keep his eyes on the girl rather than her boobs getting stronger by the second. "So, so many! Like, a thousand or something." The dark blonde girl giggled, obviously proud of her accomplishment. Good for her. I never garnered a single follower, but that's obviously because I don't have a single social media account. "That's great. Hm, I'm happy for you." The guy responded and he was no longer giving his admiration for her body subtly, his eyes having wandered off completely to her boobs and curves as he licked his lips in a predatory way. "You know what?" He adds. "Fuck it, do you want to make out with me?"

I almost coughed in disbelief, but managed to keep it in.

The girl's eyes widened in what seemed like disgust and I was so sure she was going to slap him for being a pervert, but all of a sudden, she gave him a sly grin right before she almost jumped to kiss him. Seconds later, she's on his lap and they're both pretty much eating each other's faces out.

What the actual hell just happened? Is that how easily people get together now? That's... bizarre, and I wish I hadn't witnessed that.

"Suriiiiii!" I heard Polly squeal right next to me, her smile from ear to ear, and her breath reeking of alcohol.

"My apologies, I took forever to get your drink. The kids in this place, man. Savages. Raquel's staff could barely manage and that is saying a lot because the universe knows how many parties they've thrown here, that they should be more or less used to the chaos." She says, her words slurring here and there, then passes me a red cup filled with whatever this is.

"Right, right..." I nodded my head, not sure how to answer her since this is my first party so there really isn't much for me to compare it to.

So far though, if this is how most parties went, then I don't think I missed out on a lot.

"But look at you! You look delightful! I could just gobble you up." Polly says before exaggerating fake eating noises.

I laughed at an intoxicated Polly. I'm kind of not surprised she's even more all over the place, but in an interesting way. At least she's not out here tongue-deep in some random person's mouth.

"You already said that during the tour, but thank you." I gave her a smile just as I saw Elle squeezing her way to us. I almost didn't recognize her, as her usual tight curls had been straightened and blowdried with volume.

I was seconds from putting my hand out to pull her from the large crowd, but she surprises me when she elbows the couples-or strangers-making out so she could pass through. Girl's got balls. I love that for her.

"Aren't we just the cutest? Our first party and we all unintentionally matched? Eek!" Polly said, smitten before she jumped up and down, in which Elle and I quickly stopped or else we'd be cute and drenched in alcohol.

She was right, though. The odds may be pretty high for teenage girls to come to a party wearing skirts, but all three of us ending up with the same denim style? Granted, the length of the hem varied-Polly's being the shortest-it was still a fun coincidence. The best part? It definitely made me feel like I belonged even more. I was internally giddy.

"Is Polly always like this when she's drunk?" I whispered the question to Elle.

She shakes her head with a smile. "Girl, trust me. You haven't even seen a drunk Polly. This is just tipsy."

We both let out a chuckle.

"Cheers, please!" Polly says as she pushes our hands to raise our cups up and we clink our cups against one another's.

"To senior f*****g high!" She says loudly that others around her also heard, prompting them to raise up their cups and down their drinks.

My god, this alcohol was strong, but I didn't mind. Hell, I was at a party with my friends, having fun, and I just took a group shot. There were a ton of firsts for me and I was sure more was to come as the night was still young.

The girls and I moved to one of the couches that wasn't filled with people making out yet-which was rare-and made ourselves comfortable. Polly took out two bags of chips and giggled in triumph. I have no idea where and when she had time to get that, but I'm not complaining.

"It's a bummer Ariana couldn't come," I said as I put a mouthful of potato chips into my mouth.

"Yeah, but she's used to it. She has to keep that 'American Sweetheart' image. Polly and I have become experts at giving her the rundown of what she'd missed the night before." Elle says as she glances over to Polly who was on my left, before turning back to face me. "Well, mostly me." She laughs and I laugh with her.

"How come you can go to parties when you're..."

"A prim and proper Princess? A lady in bed at nine in the evening?" She said with a raised brow. "Please, I may be a Princess, but I'm not a prisoner like Rapunzel. My parents know they can't keep me locked up in the house or else I'll revolt and then they'll have a real problem on their hands. Besides, I keep my grades up, my image clean, and they're okay with everything. For the most part." She winks.

Ugh, my friends were so cool.

"So... the brothers, huh? How did you end up arriving here with them?" Elle asks and I shrug my shoulders. "Keith's orders."

"Ah," she says as if that explains everything, which I guess it does. "They can't say no to the man." She enunciates 'man' like Keith is an omnipresent being.

"Why is that? Do you know? I mean, he's not even their real dad and it's obvious only Dev pretty much cares to be directly nice to him, but even so, Atlas and Wes choose not to, I guess for lack of a better term, rebel against him."

I don't know why, but I found myself trying to get answers about the dynamic of Keith's relationship with the boys. I sure as heck won't get it from them and now that Elle's opened up the topic, I might as well get the most out of it.

"Hm..." Elle says in thought as she slides her finger back and forth under her chin, like she's really thinking about it. "I think it's because they still respect him a lot. Even if the boys do get rough from time to time, they see Keith as this man who's done everything for them even when they're not even blood-related, so because of that, they still look up to him in a way."

Huh. That actually makes a lot of sense.

"When did you say they arrived here in Los Altos again? What was it like then? Were the brothers already like how they are now?" I ask her question after question, and it makes me feel like I'm interrogating her.

I hope Elle doesn't think weirdly about any of this. Do you know how people say that it's better to go into battle with knowledge than be totally blind? Yeah, that's kind of what it feels like right now. I realized that I'd come into their house completely empty-handed, but that has to change now. If I want to win this war, I need ammo to protect myself.

Unfortunately, Elle seems to have caught on far too quickly as she looks at me with a raised brow, suspicion written all over her face. "Suri Nightingale, do you have a crush on one of them?"

"What?!" I shrieked before vehemently shaking my head. "No, no, nooo waaaay." I denied, hard, but deep down inside there were thoughts of the boys ransacking my head.

Atlas dripping wet from the pool. Wes with only a towel around his body. Dev topless after his run. There was no denying the way these boys made my heart pound and every time they were near me, I thought I might get a heart attack, but I quickly shoved all those thoughts deep, deep down.

The Wolfe brothers-save for Dev-are assholes and there is no universe in the entire galaxy where I would wish to end up with any of them.

"Then why are you so curious?" Elle asks.

"Because I have to live with these idiots for the meantime and I can't really ask Keith about it or else he'll think something is up. Come on, Elle, help a girl out." I gave her a pout, something I never imagined myself doing, but here we are.

"Okay," she says, convinced. Well, that was easier than I expected.

"Come closer," she tells me as we cram together on the couch, pushing Polly further to the side as she's on her phone, watching Ratatouille. For some reason, she's obsessed with it, but hey, whatever makes her happy.

On the other side of Elle, two couples have found the comfiness of this spot and have started to make out, intensely.

We both ignore it though, circling back to our conversation.

"Okay, so, they got here just a week before freshman year began. They easily became the talk of the town because they bought that big mansion with acres of green land. The realtors always had a problem selling that place for a while back then and I know there were talks of turning the empty land into a golf course, but that all stopped when they arrived. Three teenagers and one man strutting their way into one of the most expensive cities in California, imagine that."

Three teenagers and one man?

"Wait... there was no... woman with them?" I asked to confirm. I know Keith said the boys' mother died, but I thought it would have been when they were here. I guess my assumption was wrong.

Elle nodded her head. "Yup, no woman. From what I know, which is from what Polly managed to get from her gossiping, is that they moved here right after their mom died." She lowers the volume of her voice and leans closer to me. "From a suicide." My breath hitches and I almost dropped my drink, but Elle managed to catch it. I down it in one gulp, feeling like I needed that hit right about now.

"Seriously?" I exclaimed in disbelief. I would never have expected that. She didn't seem like the type of woman who would be so sad to take her own life, but then again, you never know. Plus, I barely even knew her, too, only based on pictures I saw around the house.

Even then, though, I could see the happiness in her eyes, so I wondered what happened.

"Yeah, but nobody really knows the exact details and nobody ever found out too because you're dead if one of the brothers hears you talk about their mom. The first time Atlas got into a fight, the one Polly told you about with the seniors? That wasn't all of it. Another one of them talked crap about their mom and Atlas was furious. If Keith didn't have that much influence, he would have landed in jail for almost killing a guy. From then on, nobody dared to cross them."

T

Wow... I didn't know what to say. All this time I thought Atlas had gotten into that fight just to get into a fight, but it was more than that. He was protecting his mother's image, just like I tried to do too. I guess we were somewhat the same in that sense. What a shocker. I actually have something in common with someone like them.

I can't help but think of what it was like for them to lose their mom at such a young age. I lost mine somewhat recently and I still ache terribly. Wes and Atlas may be rude and condescending, but maybe it's because they cover up all that hurt after all. I was starting to get a new-better-image of the brothers when the crowd began to disperse a little near the corner just as the Calvin Harris song featuring Rihanna started blasting on the speakers. Baby, this is what you came for

Lightning strikes every time she moves

"What's happening?" I leaned over to Elle to ask her and she tried to get a better look, pushing her head past numerous bodies of teenagers.

"I think somebody just got inside..." She says without turning back to look at me.

Somebody? Who would it be for these people to care so much about their appearance?

That's when Elle came back from snooping around, her hair a little ruffled, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"What is it?"

"What's happening?" Polly appeared to have stopped watching her movie to join in. Of course, it was clear she was the type of person who would always be present when something interesting happens.

Elle looks at us with excitement in her eyes, as if she's just come across valuable information. I'm itching to know what the heck it is and I'm about to ask her again when she says, "Destiny Omilanie is here."

Wait, why does that name sound so famil- Oh f**k me. It's the girl I've been seeing with Dev.

"Destiny?! No way! She never comes to these things!" Polly says, also utterly shocked.

"She doesn't?" I turned to her, confused. If Elle was a Princess and went to these things, I wonder why Destiny wouldn't.

"No," Polly and Elle say at the same time. "She's first in line to the throne. They will never do anything to harm their image, like come to a high school party probably full of drugs and other illegal stuff, but oh my god, she's here!" Polly squeals.

I don't understand the big deal, but that's probably because I barely know these people and the kind of life they live.

"And there's something else," Elle adds, and my curiosity comes back.

"Wait for it, they're coming." She points out to the corridor where everyone is still staring in anticipation and suspense wracks my every being.

They're coming? I thought she said it was only Destiny, then who could-

At that moment, it felt like time had slowed down for me. That moment when-all too gorgeous-Destiny in her tight-fit orange dress showing off every curve in her body and displaying her tanned skin effortlessly, turned from the corner into the room we were in, and when I looked down, her hand was holding someone else's.

Someone that made my heart skip a beat and said action quickly made me feel guilty.

And everybody's watching her

But she's looking at you

Ooh-ooh, you, ooh-ooh

I stared, caught up in all of... him, as if we hadn't seen each other earlier today. Somehow, though, it's as if he has become even more charming in dark gray pants and a white button down, the sleeves rolled up just enough to show off his forearms. Piercing emerald green eyes, sharp cheekbones, and that exceptionally angled jawline.

He's beautiful.

He's so heartbreakingly beautiful that it hurts.

And all of a sudden, I completely regretted my decision to go to this party.

Because not a second later, Destiny turns to face him, whispers something into his ear that makes him smile that charming smile of his and then...

He plants a soft kiss on her cheek and I hear my heart shatter into a tiny million pieces, deep down wishing that it was me right next to him. That's when I realized...

That sweet smile, those soft eyes, and his gorgeous face - I like all of it.

I sorta, kinda, maybe, might, slightly, possibly like him.

Well, shit.