Thea woke up with the first rays of the sun, which kindly looked through the open window. And although there was snow outside the window and frosty winds were blowing, it was warm and cozy inside the room. Coals were smoldering in the fireplace and it looked like someone had just recently thrown fresh logs into the fire.

She looked around and noticed that the other half of the bed was empty and the sheets were cool. Frowning, she got out of bed and immediately dressed hastily, pulling on a cozy knitted sweater, trousers and knitted socks.

For a couple of minutes she was spinning in front of the mirror to tidy up her hair, which was tangled and looked like a bird’s nest, but in the end she gave up this thankless task and tied a careless bun, noting in her head that she needed to look for a hair comb.

Going down to the living room, even on the stairs, she felt a pleasant, fascinating olfactory receptors, a fragrance and her tummy purred plaintively.

But to her surprise, when she found herself in the living room, there were others besides Raphael.

Adeline, in her usual fussy manner, was spinning around in the kitchen cooking pancakes, while Nicole was busy with eggs at a leisurely pace and putting another fried egg on a plate.

Raphael was standing at the very entrance to the house and looked tense, talking to Klaus, who was silent and only nodded from time to time.

Immediately, Raphael’s attention was transferred to Thea and his lips broke into a slight smile, and his eyes lost their thoughtfulness and frown. He walked around Klaus and moved towards her.

Almost at arm’s length, Adeline came out of nowhere and threw herself on her friend’s neck, as if trying to strangle her in an eerily tender embrace.

- Thea, God, how worried we all were. – she looked like a beaten puppy with huge crying eyes, who chattered incessantly. – How are you? Do you have any pain anywhere? Did you sleep well? And we’re cooking breakfast here. You don’t mind us coming, do you? We’ve missed you so much.

Thea burst out laughing so hard that her stomach muscles cramped. Adeline did not change her principles at all and chatted like a gossip girl who was kept without communication for a long time.

It was too nice to see her friends after so many days and find out that they were doing well, but most of all she was amused by the sight of Raphael. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes from how much she laughed.

At the moment when Adeline got out right in front of his nose and took the initiative to greet Thea, his face was distorted in a variety of emotions, from shock to anger. But it was amazing that he stood there and puffed, as if steam could come out of his ears at the moment, but he did his best to restrain himself while he could.

His red face and bulging eyes with anger seemed ready to burst in the very near future, if he hadn’t heard Thea’s carefree laughter.

Immediately, the atmosphere around him changed, throwing off the former heaviness and suffocation, and he grabbed Adeline by the jacket, pulling her away from Thea forcibly. And although she was indignant and kicked, he did not give her the opportunity to get close to his woman again, whom he missed so much.

And even though it hadn’t been more than two hours since he left their warm bed, he still longed to be as close to her as possible and hug her, touching her warm body.

He smacked his lips irritably, remembering how these annoying people at 6 in the morning came under the windows of Marcel’s house and whispered loudly about whether they could or could not finally see Thea. He had to leave the princess so that these human beings would not disturb her sleep.

- Who in their right mind would bother a sick person with so many questions? Idiot girl. - his lips twitched, grinning at Adeline, who tucked her tail between her legs, but did not stop growling at him.

Thea grinned and accepted his embrace, noting how much she liked it.

- It’s all right, Raf. You know I’m perfectly healthy. - she smiled at him and leaned slightly to the side, not breaking away from his embrace. – And I’m glad to see you all.

- You really made us nervous. - Nicole said, glancing at the small wounds on Thea’s neck.

Nicole tensed, exhaled noisily, and clenched her fists with force. She didn’t need to explain where these marks came from. But she decided not to spoil this morning, especially since Thea looked carefree and happy, such as she had never seen her.

Klaus also greeted her, but did not hug her, as he had done before, because now there was one unbalanced vampire with possessive and jealous habits within this room, so it was extremely unsafe.

Instead, he hugged Adeline, who was dejected by Raphael’s boorish attitude. Although, she was no stranger to it.

While Thea was unconscious, Raphael pretty much ruffled everyone’s nerves and it was their moment of survival, so now Adeline was not surprised at anything.

- Since everyone is awake and everyone is gathered, let’s have breakfast soon. – Nicole invited everyone to sit down at the table, which was fragrant with the aromas of freshly prepared food.

- Well, what have you been doing all this time? - Thea asked after chewing on a piece of scrambled eggs.

- Nothing particularly important. - Adeline mumbled with her mouth full. – Werewolves are not friendly to us from the word at all, so here we are like outcasts. Fortunately, Marcel and Irma do not keep apart from us.

- I agree. - Nicole nodded.

- You are strangers to them, so their behavior can be easily explained. - Klaus interjected.

- But they treat you normally. - Adeline pointed it out.

- Not all of them. – he denied it. – Moreover, I had to go through a lot to prove that I am not their enemy. Although there are still those who treat me with contempt or do not accept me at all.

- My God, and why don’t they live in peace? - Adeline gasped.

- Maybe because you’re here? - Raphael teased her and immediately earned a sideways cutting look from Adeline.

- In any case, this does not apply to anyone personally, they just do not like outsiders. - Klaus commented.

- That’s an understatement. - Adeline blurted out. – I was here the other day going for herbs to replenish my stock of potions and potions, so they twisted me in the forest and almost tore me apart if it wasn’t for Klaus.

Adeline pursed her lips sadly, as if it was unpleasant for her to remember this event.

- Anyway, we keep our company at a distance, so as not to create trouble for anyone. - Nicole replied.

After these words, Thea involuntarily turned her head in the direction of Raphael, who was sitting with a blissful smile on his face.

- What? – He asked, noticing his look and making an innocent look. - They provoke me themselves and in general it would be too boring to sit here for so many days as if in prison. You woke up in time!

Thea took a deep breath, rolling her eyes.

- I think it’s really about time, otherwise the werewolves would have disappeared as a species. – she gave him a disapproving look and he leaned back in his chair with the appearance that he didn’t care at all. - Do you think we can meet Marcel today?

- You can meet him whenever you want. I’ll drag him to you by the skin if he resists. - Raphael chuckled. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

- It’s unnecessary. - She grinned nervously.

Raphael turned his gaze to Klaus and seemed to silently give him some kind of message, because Klaus nodded and suddenly said that he had to go, even before he finished his meal, which caused confusion among everyone except Raphael, who still remained relaxed.

- Why aren’t you eating? - Adeline suddenly asked him, noticing that he hadn’t touched his plate at all.

- Because he has already eaten. – Nicole whispered almost without moving her lips that no one even heard her, except Raphael, who measured her with a cynical look and curled his lips in a half-smile.

- I don’t like the color of the plate. – he answered coldly, which made Thea choke.

Thea surreptitiously reached under the table and squeezed his leg in a way that would have hurt anyone. Anyone but him. But with a click his tongue he added.

- And I don’t like underdeveloped chicken children either. - Thea’s eyes widened.

"What’s gotten into him?" - was spinning in her head.

- Well, if you don’t like this food, you can always cook something else. - She interjected, trying to defuse the tension between Rafael and Adeline.

- Great. And who will be the cook who will bring me a fresh human? - his teeth were bared, but there was a smile on his face so that Thea wouldn’t be scared.

She pressed her lips into a thin line, pursing her lower lip and the next moment, painfully shaking every muscle, Raphael was violently shaken by a current that passed through the tips of Thea`s fingers on his knee.

- I can only cook fried meat. - She smiled, narrowing her eyes and continued to eat her food.