BLAKE

"Stop laughing," Blake growled at his older brother, Link bending over with a howling cackle. He had to hold onto his sides to keep them from bursting open. Not listening, Link fell out of his desk chair and rocked back and forth.

"It's not funny!" Blake snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. "You, dickwad! I'm marrying Danny for you! I just asked a simple question!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry—it's just my little brother! Never had a date in his life! Engaged! I fucking can't man! Does Damien know? Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Link said, through labored breathing. He wiped a tear from his eye and flicked it at the floor. "Ask me again. Go ahead," he encouraged, still lying flat on his back.

Link was the same age as Danny, twenty-five with round glasses and usually, he wore business casual wear with intricate patterns and quirky ties with socks to match, but at home he wore his navy blue Yale sweatshirt and black gym shorts. Currently, while working at the family business, Link strived for his master's degree in plant biology. He was gangly like the rest of the Winslows, but he's the only one who's cut his curls short.

"I just wanted to know what Danny was like," Blake asked for the second time.

Link's dumb face scrunched up as he mulled it over. It annoyed Blake like crazy that he could look even a little but like his stupid brother. Link shrugged and said, "Well, first off, he doesn't go by Danny anymore. If someone called him that, the whole room might shit a brick. He's a prince, Blake, to a huge coven. It's Daniel. Not Dan. Daniel."

"I don't really care about his name."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Blake mumbled and crossed his arms. He didn't even want to pack, giving the task to Nancy, a maid that knew him well enough to pack the stuff he liked and leave the stuff he never wore. He didn't want to think about it. Blake changed the subject back to Danny. "Is he any different from how he acted like he was a kid?"

"Oh, yeah," Link nodded, easily swayed as long as he still had the opportunity to run his mouth. "He's so serious. We barely even talk when we run into each other, like we didn't even know each other, like we weren't best friends back in the day. He just waves and gets ushered to the next function or whatever."

"What's going on around here? Why is everyone in such a fuss?"

Damien popped his head into Link's room. The eldest of the Winslow brothers, Damien had an intense maturity surrounding him, which reminded Blake a lot of their mother. Gentle, but intense. He let his curls grow out, probably without realizing it. His silver eyes were darker, stormier and he was the tallest by far.

Damien snapped a look down. "Why are you on the floor?"

Link snorted. "Blake's engaged."

"Link," Blake snapped as his face burned red hot.

"You're what?" Damien blinked. A flash of betrayal swept over his eyes that quickly contorted into smoldering fury. His voice grew as he entered the room. "You're what?" He slammed the door behind him. The lights flickered. "To who?"

"It's the best part—"

"Link, shut up!" Blake hollered and launched at his brother, struggling to throw his hands over Link's big mouth. Link twisted to escape his hold, but Blake held on with all his might, when Link opened his mouth and slobbered all over Blake's fingers.

"Ugh!" Blake shuddered and released Link's stupid mouth.

"He's engaged to Daniel Bellerose!"

"That asshole?"

"Is he an asshole?" Blake asked, his heart slamming into his toes.

"We'll see about this," Damien grumbled. He stomped out of the room, calling for their parents. Damien was the biggest reason Blake never had a chance to date. No matter who Blake introduced them to, they were never good enough in Damien's opinion. They never passed the test. Damien ran most of the boys Blake liked out with some help from Link, who helped mostly for a laugh. Damien insisted he would know if a boy was good enough from one look.

All that didn't matter now.

"Are you okay?" Link asked, making Blake realize he was just laying there, staring at the ceiling. "I mean, I know you're not okay, okay, but I just mean... I don't know what I mean."

"I'm fine, really," Blake lied and put on a brave face. Funny that being engaged could make him feel so incredibly lonely.

"Don't listen to Damien. He's not that bad—"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. Tell me what's going on with you?"

Link hesitated, but something inside of Blake's eyes convinced him to hold back. Link started talking about school and his internship at Winslow Apothecary. His words slowly lost their form and then, the sound all together. Everything blurred around Blake as he dreaded the morning, the plane ride and meeting Danny again.

Daniel.

He had more questions than one person could probably answer.

Eventually, maybe even in the middle of Link talking, Blake excused himself to the outdoor courtyard. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the cold inside his chest. His skin prickled at the touch of cold. Night descended around the manor and the garden lights flickered to life, making all the foliage glow. Shivering, he enclosed himself in his arms and tried to pull himself together. Still, the tears pricked. Still, the sadness bubbled over.

All his plans for his future were gone just like that. His dream of independence and seeing the world now had to be a distant memory. It couldn't be his dream anymore. That would be far too painful.

The door to the courtyard whined as someone joined Blake outside.

"It'll be colder in Sagewick," Adrian said, and Blake dropped his chin to his chest, smiling through the ache. Adrian draped a blanket over Blake's shoulders and then, joined his side. "We'll have to buy you a better coat when we get there."

Blake straightened, snapping a look at Adrian to see if he was joking. A sneaky tear rolled down his cheek. Adrian's lips didn't even quiver as he looked out into the garden. He just said, "Did you really think you would go somewhere, and I wouldn't follow?"

A smile appeared on Blake's face, the first real smile all day and despite the bodyguard's stiffness, Blake wrapped his arm around him and squeezed. He let the tears fall and thanked Adrian a million times. Adrian was subdued into relaxing after a while. He stroked Blake's back, not wasting his breath on words. The man never expended more oxygen than necessary.

Eventually, when Blake calmed down, Adrian told him, "I'll always be with you, Blake. Always."

Blake believed him.

If anything, he banked on Adrian helping him navigate this new world. It was Adrian that woke him up the next morning to leave for their plane ride. Usually, witches of their caliber could simply teleport, but there were magnificent wards surrounding the island that kept any sneaky visitors from coming to the island without permission.

Blake's whole family stood outside, awake before the sun even sprung out of bed to say goodbye. Blake couldn't shake the cold and his eyes still itched from exhaustion. He just saw his family again, after so long. He couldn't stand the fact that he was leaving again so soon and so far away too.

"We'll meet you in Sagewick when we can," his mother promised.

"And Link and I will be there for Christmas, hopefully sooner," Damien added.

"Okay," Blake said because what else was he supposed to say? He hugged them all, savoring their warmth and their smell. They smelled like herbs and tea leaves. His mother smelled like fresh basil cut from the garden and Blake had to remind himself he wasn't going somewhere strange. He had been to the castle before. Not in thirteen years, but Blake had to hold onto a least a little bit of optimism.

He wasn't going to be alone, he promised himself.

"Master Blake," Adrian said, opening the car door for Blake.

The car hummed with life and Blake's stomach twisted as he clutched his bags a little tighter. He couldn't make his legs move. Without Adrian guiding him, he might have never gotten into the car. This time, someone else drove and Adrian sat right next to him, reading the paper and giving Blake plenty of quite time to freak out.

All the way to the airport, Blake picked at his fingernails and the skin there. Out of nowhere, Adrian laid his hand over Blake's fingers, warning him, "Stop it before you break your skin. You don't want to start bleeding, sir."

Blake opened his mouth to ask why, but he knew why.

Swallowing back the sick bubbling up at the top of his throat, he slid his hands underneath his thighs to avoid temptation. It'd be bad to attract more unwanted vampire attention than necessary. Blake's skin tingled as he imagined fangs biting through flesh and the marble bloom of blood and the heat of their breath and the smell of copper and Blake's stomach acids curdled and soured.

Soon, they came upon the airport, but they didn't stop to find parking like Blake expected. He turned his body every which way and back, warning the driver. "Um, I'm sorry sir, but we missed the exit back there—"

"He's going the right way," Adrian assured him as he slid his newspaper into his jacket pocket, taking out their passports instead. Blake watched outside the windows in awe as they drove directly onto the ramp towards a huge aircraft hangar, which was way bigger up close than he ever imagined. Blake's mouth dropped unconsciously, making Adrian chuckle a little.

In the middle of the hangar was a long, sleek private jet. It was steel black that faded with harsh lines into a deep red. On the wing, Blake recognized the Bellerose family cress, an intricate design with a rose in the center of thorns and black snakes with long fangs.

The driver got out of the car, opening Blake's door for him. Then, he bowed? No, Blake was just seeing things. The guy probably needed to crack his back or something. As the driver began to unload their luggage and hand it off to the baggage handlers from the airport, Adrian guided Blake to the woman that was obviously the pilot, dressed in a black suit with four golden stripes around the cuff of her blazer. Her dark hair was fastened into a long ponytail underneath her pilot's hat.

She smiled upon seeing them, slapping Blake across the face with her beauty, the striking cut of her cheek bones, her chiseled jaw and full plump lips. He only saw women like this, but after they were thoroughly photoshopped. Blake didn't swing that way, but she made an excellent argument with one smile.

"You must be the Winslow party. My name is Captain Holst." she spoke and even her accent didn't seem real, so smooth and deep. "I've been flying for the Royal Coven for quite some time and I am honored to be your pilot. It shall mark an important moment in my career."

She even curtsied, alongside the flight attendant and Blake straightened in surprised. He glanced behind his shoulder, just to make sure that was for him. It was.

Adrian handed her their passports, letting Captain Holst double check them. She nodded. "Everything seems to be in order. We shall take off within fifteen minutes, your highness."

Blake pointed to his chest, blinking a mile a minute. "Me? I'm his highness." Like a kid, he looked up at Adrian, double checking if that was even allowed. The flight attendant giggled behind her hand, unable to contain herself.

Thankfully, the Captain smiled warmly. "You'll have to get used to that."

She winked and rounded the crew up, before boarding the plane. Blake felt like he just slipped on the beach and the water dragged him into the ocean, where he flipp around the inside of its belly. He found himself inside the jet, amazed by the couches, the TV and a table with comfortable chairs. As soon as Blake sat down, the flight attendant handed him a Mimosa.

"I'll take coffee," Adrian waved his drink away. "Black."

"Right away, sir. My name is Molly. I shall serve breakfast after take off. If there's anything else you require, just ask," she said in a similar accent to the Captain's that Blake couldn't place. It wasn't quite British. Not quite German or Danish. Something in between.

Oh, Blake realized, It was the Sagewick accent.

"Do you want to sleep? There's a bed in the back," Adrian motioned to the back of the plane and Blake's eyes nearly popped out and plopped into his drink. He smirked, dropping one of his rare moments of humor, "We're just going to have to suffer here for ten hours."

"There's a bed too? Adrian, I think I'm way in over my head." Blake took a swig of his Mimosa and it was of course, the best mimosa he has ever had in life. Not just orange juice, but something else and just as rich as sweet. The champagne tickled his nose as he drank.

"It's like the Captain said, you just have to get used to it."

Blake wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "I don't think I can."

"You must."

That was right. There was no going back now.

In less than fifteen minutes, just as the Captain promised, they drove onto the ramp and took off into the sky. Blake watched through the window as his home shrunk smaller and smaller. Definitely too late to bail now, unless he wanted to become a wizard pancake. This was just the plane ride to Sagewick. He couldn't possibly grasp what was waiting for him when they landed. 

#

Author's Note

Here's a quick little update! I'm happy to introduce the rest of the Winslow family. This might be my first character since Eric (from The Golden Rule) who has siblings and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Sad that we're leaving them behind. But they'll be back for the wedding ;) ;) Maybe. Who knows! We gotta a lot of book left. 

This was a fun one. What did you think about Link and Damien's reactions? If you were Blake, how would you be feeling? Also, how much would you freak out over a private jet? Are you excited to reach Sagewick? Do you have any guesses about Blake and Daniel's first meeting? 

All comments are appreciated and don't forget to like the chapter! Add it to your library in order to keep up with updates every Monday! 

And if you like this book, check out my collection of werewolf novels that are also full of romance, comedy and lots of drama.