23 Bothersome

Esme dropped her bag before the double bed at the centre of the room, she could already tell the sheets were of the most expensive cotton, and as much as she wanted to jump on them, she did not wish to dirty them. Kicking off her boots, she was still eying the large room in awe; this guest room could fit her whole studio apartment in. Like the rest of the penthouse, its décor was of monochrome colours, modern art on the walls, and a blue loveseat next to a thin mirror.

Stripping out of her dirty clothes, she walked into the bathroom and rolled her eyes at how glamourous it was.

"Hey, take advantage of everything while we are here! Pamper yourself! There's even expensive shampoo and soaps!" Isana gushed while Esme chuckled, walking past the large copper freestanding bathtub and opening the door to the shower that had one of those large waterfall showerheads she used to love using.

Turning it on, Esme screeched at the cold water spraying down on her. She jumped to the side and kept testing the temperature with her hand until it warmed up. Once it was warm, Esme sighed in relief and took her time in the shower, watching in disturbed interest as the flow of red water from blood swirled into the drain. She slowly raked her hands through her long thick locks with the shampoo provided; feeling pampered from the luxury brand, she tried not to think too much about her old shower at the packhouse.

Esme did not wish to disturb her peaceful mind from thinking of her past self living in that mansion on the cliff.

After washing herself, Esme wrapped a towel over her body and hair before swiping at the fogged mirror from the steam of the warm shower. She cringed at how her face looked. It wasn't just the brutal claw marks that were deep and definitely weren't from a house cat, as Esme stated to Lenny, but there was bruising on her cheek, corner of her eye and her temple. Well, she had been roughed up a little; at least she didn't break her nose. Her wounds should be gone by the evening.

Esme strolled out of the bathroom and into the bedroom and opened her bag for new clothes to wear. Once changed into skinny black jeans and a skin-tight black turtle neck jumper, she let her hair down from the towel and searched for a hairdryer. In her search, Esme realised her dirty clothes from earlier were nowhere in the room. With her damp hair falling down her shoulders, she opened the door slightly and popped her head out, looking around.

"Is everything to your liking, miss?" Vincent appeared before her, ready to serve.

"Erm.." Esme peered into the guest room again, wondering if she had misplaced her clothes. "I've lost my clothes.."

"Oh yes, please do not be alarmed. His Majesty said he could still smell the blood and streets from your clothes and asked me to clean them for you. I will have them ready by the evening," Vincent smiled politely.

"Oh," Esme replied, a little dumbfounded. "Thank you, Vincent."

Vincent parted his lips in surprise before swiftly composing himself and smiling politely. "Is there anything else you need help with, miss?" He asked

"Er, it's just Esme. Is Gabriel around?" She queried, wondering what else to ask of a butler while brushing her fingers through her damp hair.

"I'm afraid he was pulled away on some urgent business, miss Esme. The hairdryer is in the bathroom countertop below the sink."

"Ah, okay, I'll catch him later then," Esme replied, wondering if she would be paid for just chilling at his penthouse. What a strange situation. She would have to keep herself busy until he returned. "Thank you for your help."

"You are welcome, miss. Please do call if you need anything. There is a games room, cinema room, swimming pool, spa area and other rooms that His Majesty has allowed you to enter." Vincent bowed and vanished.

Esme's brows rose from his comment; that must have been where downstairs led to. She couldn't imagine a vampire going swimming. Chuckling to herself, she closed the door behind her and headed to the bathroom to dry her hair. As soon as she was done, she pulled her book from her bag and leaned comfortably on the loveseat. Even though she felt tired, she still felt wary about being in a vampire's place. If he wanted to, Gabriel could easily kill her, and the only exit from what she'd seen so far was the golden elevator.

"Hmm, I don't think he would kill us, though," Isana murmured, thinking back to their previous encounters with him.

"I never expected you to stand up for a vampire, Is," Esme replied while tapping her thumb on the book from where she held it.

"That makes two of us. But the bloodsucker would have killed us by now. Just think.. He knew about our existence before even arriving here," Isana continued pensively.

"Hmm." Esme hummed aloud and turned the page to her book. She wanted to escape her worries for a while and read the fantasy book in her hands. With her thoughts slowly absorbing the world of the book, she found herself relaxing further into the loveseat, her body's tense muscles releasing and soon after leaning the side of her head against the backseat, she fell asleep.

Hours later, on the other side of her door, standing there and waiting for Esme's response, was Gabriel. He knocked on the door again, wondering why she was taking so long, but then when he had been approaching the room, he couldn't hear anything. Was she even in the penthouse?

Gabriel turned the doorknob and opened the door gently, peeping inside, but she was not on the bed. Nor could he hear her in the bathroom, but he knew Esme had not left because her backpack was still there. Then as he was about to leave, he found her fast asleep on the loveseat. She lay there curled up on the cushioned seat clutching a book to her chest.

Gabriel tilted his head to the side and closed the door behind him. From what he had learnt about Esme so far was that she was not one to relax. She slept on the streets instead of returning home; thinking about it now still angered him. Even though she denied it, Esme was on the run; she couldn't fool him. Rogues settled down in areas where packs didn't reside, some still travelled like Esme, but even then, they only moved on every one to two years.

He wondered just who she was running from. Was it a pack, a mate, other rogues or possibly hunters? It made her seem like some type of criminal being hunted down for a heinous crime. Yet as he slowly approached her and stared at her relaxed, innocent-looking features, he couldn't picture her doing something so wrong. He scoffed, a pretty innocent face didn't mean anything, and even then, she was nothing but a rogue who was fighting to survive.

But even as his thoughts turned sour, his brows drawing together, his eyes were still softly looking at her. Closing his eyes, he tested her mind again, but like a guarded wall, he still could not enter. Gabriel sighed and raked his hand through his white locks. "Even now, you are not fully resting. It must be tiring," He whispered gently before leaning down and gently lifting her into his arms. Esme still clung onto the book causing his lips to twitch in amusement.

He refrained from groaning when he could smell her scent even more and felt the softness of her tiny body in his arms. Though his brows drew together when he realised just how skinny she was. Didn't werewolves eat twice as much as humans?

Gabriel stopped walking after feeling her stir slightly. "No.." Esme mumbled in her sleep, frowning at what might have turned into an unpleasant dream but then she did something that made Gabriel tense. Esme smelled his chest and sighed before snuggling her head into his shirt.

"How bothersome," He muttered before pulling back the bedsheet and placing her delicate body on the bed, covering her as his gaze swept back to the claw marks on her face. "Very bothersome."

Clicking his tongue, he turned on his heel and left the guest room, ignoring the burning gaze he felt on his back. Vincent was very curious to see him take in a she-wolf like she was some sort of stray, but already he could see the vampire getting attached to her. Now it seemed his butler was even more curious since Gabriel was seen exiting her room.