From Eden.

“Are you sure we look okay?” I asked Zacky after I laced my fingers with his as we walked to his car. The moon was bright, so bright, the yellow color of it almost looked orange. It gleamed against the black clouds. With Zacky being part Shifter, he didn’t Turn on the full moon. The rest of the gang was gone, and it was obvious why. This All Hallow’s Eve night was chilly, and the wind went right through my dress.

“I doubt this Qidar guy will care much.” Zacky shrugged as he opened the passenger door for me. I knew he wanted to see up my dress like he had attempted to about five other times before this one.

I pulled up the skirt of my dress and climbed in the car. I watched as Zacky strutted to the other side, his body moving so fluidly. He looked amazing in the suit he was wearing. Something told me that Zacky knew about the color scheme of my dress, because his tie was grey as well. But of course, Zacky was wearing his black Chucks and a leather jacket over the suit. Zacky opened the driver’s door and climbed in.

“Ready for this?” He asked as he stuck the keys into the ignition. I was, but at the same time, I wasn’t. I had doubled up on my deodorant due to the fact I was sweating bullets.
“Yeah.” I mumbled, looking down at my hands.

I pulled a compact mirror out of my purse and looked at my makeup. It amazed me how I could look so different with just a few products on my face. Michelle had come over, and had heard about the shenanigans Zacky and I were getting into. She insisted on doing my makeup for the night. She said, and I quote: “You’re going to a party! You’ll be the sexiest looking girl there.” And truthfully, I did look good for the evening. The gold eyeshadow glistened—thanks to the shimmer that was in it—against my green eyes, and with the right amount of eyeliner and mascara my eyes popped. It scared me a bit, because this girl wasn’t me. I wasn’t used to wearing all this makeup. My foundation covered every pimple, bump, and acne scar. My face actually looked flawless - like the airbrushed, PhotoShopped models you see on the front of magazines in the grocery store. Michelle went crazy once she realized that I was basically her guinea pig for the evening. She was crazy passionate about her makeup, but that was the perfect girl for Brian, so I would just have to live with it.

“Stop it.” Zacky said, snatching the mirror out of my hand. My heart began to speed up. Had I done something wrong? I looked at him, dumbfounded. “You look beautiful.” He said quietly, keeping his eyes on the road. “Stop stressing over it, and let’s just have fun. We deserve it.” My heart began to flutter. I felt his warm hand on mine, and I immediately laced our fingers together as he drove.

I didn’t tell Zacky that it had been my Father who sent me the invitation, I wasn’t that stupid. I had lied and told him it had been a friend from school, and they had apparently invited everyone who was a junior or senior, that it was just like prom, only not school supervised. I felt like shit for lying to him. But I was also scared. Scared about the fact that my Father wanted to see me. I knew he wanted me dead, so I was prepared for this to be some kind of trick. Kaelah had said that Gabriel wanted to get to know me. Maybe, on some off chance, if he got to know me, maybe he’d change his mind about killing me? It was a fun idea to entertain.

“Babe, you okay?” Zacky asked, breaking my train of thought. I jumped at the sound of his voice after it being silent for so long. Zacky couldn’t help but chuckle. I looked over to see that he was facing me, and I realized we had stopped. I looked through the windshield and saw a huge iron gate that was slowly opening for us.

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and level. Even though I was scared shitless, I didn’t want to give it away.

“You’ve been pretty quiet the whole drive here.” Zacky shrugged, slowly driving through the gates and through the dark pathway. Trees lined either side of the dirt road. It was so dark, the headlights on Zacky’s car barely penetrated it. We were technically in the woods, and, being the kind of person I am, I was nearly having a heart attack. Woods still terrified me. I held my breath and gripped the door handle as we drove. squeezed Zacky’s hand in fear, and he chuckled. “I will never understand what it is with you and the woods.” He said.

“You can breath now. We’re here.” Zacky chuckled. I felt his plush lips press against my cheek that was covered in makeup. I looked out to see that we were in a clearing, only the clearing was demolished by a huge mansion standing proudly before us. It looked like it had been built during the Victorian era, and hadn’t been restored to look more modern. The house had huge pillars that supported the second story. The wood that the house was made of had begun to rot, but it still stood proudly. The house was pitch black. No light could be seen from inside.

“So spooky. Perfect for a Halloween party!” Zacky cheered excitedly as he unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of the car. He walked over to my side, opened my door and extended his hand out to me. “C’mon, I bet they already have food out!”

We walked hand in hand up the steps to the front door of the mansion. Being surrounded by the woods only made me grip Zacky’s hand tighter. It felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin as my eyes darted across the trees, hoping that nothing would jump out and kill me. My paranoia was only getting worse.

“Got the invitation?” I asked Zacky as we stopped on the last step. He nodded and pulled it out of his jacket pocket. Zacky held out his arm, and I gripped it tight as he knocked loudly on the door three times. “There’s nothing to be afraid about.” He whispered into my hair before kissing my forehead.

It was an easy thing for him to say. He had no idea whose party this actually was. I could only imagine how dangerous this man was. The man who had sired me. And now here I was, dressed up to the nine’s, standing on his doorstep. Zacky was holding on to the invitation, with writing on the bottom saying how he wanted to meet me and had waited so long for this day. None of this made sense to me. Everyone, even Jaed and Kaelah, said that he wanted me dead.

The door was opened, and there stood the man who had given me the invitation. I glanced at Zacky’s face to see had a look of disgust written across it, but he didn’t make the mistake of gasping and making a fool out of himself like I did. He looked the same from the last time I saw him, the right side of his face was still burnt horribly, only something about his skin was slightly different. He looked more alive. His deathly pale, grey skin from the last time we were face to face now had a tint of awareness. His beady, pitch black eyes had a certain glisten to them now. It may have been the October moon, playing tricks on my mind, but something in my gut told me that wasn’t the story. His eyes locked with mine, and a smirk played on his lips.

“Ah, Delilah, we were wondering when you would arrive.” He spoke softly, but I knew every word he said was delicately placed in that order. He shifted his gaze to Zacky. “I see you’ve brought a guest.” His voice was full of venom as his cold stare was aimed at Zacky. The man stepped aside, leaving room for Zacky and me to walk through. “Please come in, the party has just begun.” He lifted his hand gracefully, gesturing for me and Zacky to walk through the doorway.

We stepped inside, and my breath was taken away by the beauty of the interior of the house. A gorgeous crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the entryway. Lit candles lined the wall, making it hard to see the years of wear and tear that had begun to desecrate the house, but the smell of mold hung thick in the air. Zacky held my hand tightly; pulling me close to him as we followed this man down the hallway. I could hear music, laughter, and conversations going as we moved closer to a doorway.

The voices became louder as we neared the doorway. “Uh, Del, who invited you?” Zacky asked as he sniffed the air, his voice full of confusion and upheaval. His hand tightened around mine, almost to the point where it hurt. I knew the only way of me getting out of this was to lie, but the thought of lying to Zacky and bringing him to a party full of Angels, and who knows what else made my stomach drop. “A guy I know.” I shrugged my shoulders as the words slipped through my lips, trying my best to put on a poker face, and making a silent wish that my makeup wasn’t sliding off my face due to my sudden sweating.

Zacky didn’t buy it. “Delilah, who really invited you?” His voice was cold and serious. I knew I wasn’t going to get out of this one.

Before I had the chance to open my mouth to explain myself, the man walking in front of us had walked away, opened the door to this room, and had exposed us. The room inside was a glamorous ballroom, with the dome ceiling reaching up with gorgeous paintings of angels and nature decorating the inside of the circle. A huge diamond chandelier hung from the dome, reaching down as it was supported by a golden chain. The diamonds shook every so slightly. The purple and gold drapes hung down to the first story. I could see people having conversations down on the first floor, which was decorated with pieces of gold furniture. The middle of the floor was dedicated to the dancing portion of the party, and a few had already started a traditional dance from the Victorian times. I could hear a gorgeous voice singing opera somewhere off in the distance; no orchestra was needed for whoever was performing tonight. The other guests that were attending this “party” looked as if they had stepped out of a time machine. The women wore elegant dresses, with ruffles and lace, masks hiding their faces. The men wore suits that were tailored to their every last measurement. The men and women at this party were all talking, laughing, drinking, and being merry. Those who were dancing moved so gracefully across the dance floor.

I was in a room full of Vampires, Angels, and Demons. Even with my mask on, I couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone had their eyes on me.

I glanced over at Zacky. His teeth were clenched, his eyes full of anger. His shoulders tensed as he looked out across the ballroom. Slowly, but surely, his gaze met mine.

“I cannot believe you.” He said to me in a harsh whisper. I suddenly felt ten inches tall. The feelings of embarrassment and shame washed over me. He was angry at me, and I couldn’t blame him.

“Let’s go see what all of these Supes will do with two Hybrids walking around.” He grabbed my hand, and led me down the stairs.

We found out what they would do. As we passed each person, they would avert their gaze from their partner, or their drink and stare. Their gazes would wander down to our linked hands, and their eyes would widen in shock. Some jaws dropped, some made audible gasps, some muttered obscenities under their breath. They didn’t know who we were, but they did know we didn’t belong. I heard a few whispers of the word “Hybrid” every now and again. I moved closer to Zacky, causing him to unlace our fingers and place his arm around my waist - which only made the whispers rise in numbers.

“Why...aren’t they hurting us?” I asked Zacky, turning my attention from all of the Vampires, Angels, Demons, and whatever other Supernatural species that were here tonight. All I could think about was what Jaed told me.

Zacky turned his head towards me, “I really don’t know,” he answered, “Although, I have a feeling if they knew who you were, they wouldn’t hesitate to haul your ass out of here.”

“Gee, you sure do know what to say to make me feel better.” I muttered under my breath sarcastically, which emitted a chuckle from Zacky. He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.

A chorus of gasps were heard as we shared an innocent kiss. Kisses like these still left me breathless and wanting more of Zacky. It had been a surprise to every Supernatural in the room to see us share a kiss. Our kisses weren’t forced, they just happened naturally - the way it should be. Zacky didn’t treat me like his slave, or the dirt under his shoes, just his significant other, which seemed to shock everyone the most. For the first time in my life, I felt wanted, and loved, which was a feeling I could get used to.

“Excuse me?” A soft, mousy-like voice interrupted our kiss as I felt a tap on my shoulder. My gaze met a young woman’s. Her hair was the color of dark chocolate, which was put into a long, elaborate braid that almost touched the floor. She was dressed the same as the other women here - her dress was elegant and reminiscent of the time period this party wanted to accomplish with its dress code. I couldn’t tell what Supernatural this woman was. She looked innocent, and pure. Zacky and I stared at her, and for a moment, my insecurities got the best of me. I had a sudden flash of jealousy come across me - I wanted this girl out of our sight.
“Are you Delilah?”

The minute the question slipped from her tongue, the room went quiet. It was an eerie quiet, like the calm before the storm. The opera singer had stopped, the conversations and laughter had stopped, the drinks had stopped being served. Everything and everyone was still, and it seemed like every single person in the room had their eyes focused on me.

“Yes, I am.”

Silence was met with my answer. A small smile creeped across the girl’s lips as her amber colored eyes stared into mine. “Perfect.” She whispered the word, but I knew everyone in the room had heard it. “Lord Qidar is waiting for you, please follow me.” She said, in a sickly sweet voice. She turned her back to me after gesturing for me to follow her, as she made her way up another staircase, headed to a room where the doors were closed.
I looked at Zacky, who nodded, giving my hand a small squeeze of reassurance, letting me know everything was alright. He walked a few steps behind me, but just knowing he was there helped my anxiety a little. I felt everyone’s gaze on me as we climbed the stairs, following the girl.

It scared me shitless to think that behind those doors, that’s where my father was waiting for me.