The house was an old manor in the town built by a few settlers a hundred years ago. After taking a peek outside, I understood where we were. The Carrice Manor that been abandoned for years. It was inside one of the housing communities in the town and no one had been inside the house for a very long time. In the early '90s, according to Aunt Carol, the manor was used for parties and balls before it was left alone. No one knew the reason why but it had been more than ten years since anyone was found inside the house.

I never had the chance to visit it as the place was off-limits for the public. Often, I crossed the community and saw the manor from a distance but that was all.

"What is this place?" I asked, looking around at the large walls and the thousand spiral stairs going up and down. Anyone could get lost in here—anyone and they wouldn't even find their way out.

The room I was kept in by King was on the lower floor and there were many more floors above me.

"It's a packhouse."

"What's that?" I clicked my head to him. He walked in front of me, leading me toward the place where I could get a drink.

"It's where the werewolves gather and live together." He replied to me.

My eyes widened. I began counting. There were too many rooms and it only meant one thing—there were many more werewolves than just King.

More than one.

Probably hundred.

"All of them?" My voice quivered.

"No, not all of them. Just the ones that need shelter or the ones that are being trained." He responded while taking me into another enclosed room. "Though, the packhouse isn't being used at the moment."

"Why?" I furrowed my brows in curiosity. I knew for a fact that wolves ran in a pack—it was common knowledge and after Aunt Carol explained a few things to me, I understood some more.

It made a lot of sense. Wolves were settled here, in the town, long before any of us and they were just wolves, they were werewolves. They ran in packs, lived together, stayed together, and therefore the hundred-year-old manor.

"Conflicts." King didn't say much. He turned around and took my hand in his. "I don't want you to be worried about anything like that. There is a whole world beyond what you have seen. Secrets, lies, darkness, deaths—so much more."

I nodded and sat down on a couch while he prepared a drink for me. My eyes wandered around, my gaze reaching high up on the ceiling that extended for miles and was almost touching the sky. There was not a single soul at the manor, just King and me.

My backside ached. The pain in my body was still there, worse and it was crippling. I leaned back on the couch and breathed heavily.

King returned a second later. He offered a drink to me and sat down beside me. "The closer you'll get to the full moon, the worse the pain will get. The first transformation is the most painful, you'll feel as if your bones are melting and reforming but after you have passed that pain, you will feel nothing except for immense strength." He explained, looking straight through me.

I took a sip of the alcohol, hoping it would help to suppress it down. "How do you know I'm in pain?" I asked, licking my lips.

He appeared cornered by my question. "I—I just can feel it," He gave his head a shake, confused slightly. "I bit you, the bite turned you, I can feel every emotion, every inch of pain you're feeling."

"That's good. At least you're going to suffer a bit." I giggled before placing my lips against the glass and taking a large gulp. From the corner of my eyes, I found King smiling and shaking his head a bit more. "What if I run away? What will happen to me?" I asked.

I had my eyes on a few doors I suspected would be my escape plan if I had a change of mind. I was still processing. I wasn't sure of where this day was going to take me.

"You can't escape. You'll never find your way out of here, only wolves can. It's a packhouse for a reason." He said as the corner of his lips curled into a wide smirk. "Why do you think I bought here? You're not getting out of my sight until you have shifted."

I gulped down and looked at him in disbelief. "Okay. What will happen to me afterward?"

I rubbed the back of my neck and thought. I surely couldn't go on and live my life as I would normally. After tonight, there would be an animal within me, controlling me. My body would change and so would my life.

"Nothing. You'll go home and sleep."

"What about my Aunt?" My face turned into a scowl.

"What about her?" He cocked his brow.

Aunt Carol was the most precious person in my life and I couldn't harm her at all. "I don't want to hurt her," I said.

"You won't. You'll have control over your wolf. This town is filled with wolves, you may not see them but they are there. Some residents such as your Aunt are humans, unable to shift but they have spent their entire lives keeping our secret. Those who know have adjusted and lived along with us." King explained to me.

I didn't know if I should've felt better by knowing there were many more werewolves out here, living among us. It sounded terrifying but fascinating at the same time.

"So, if I bite someone, would they turn as well?"

He shifted on his seat, uncomfortable, "No, no, that wouldn't happen. They would only die."

"I didn't die."

"Because you're my mate."