Small towns drummed passed, their un-monopolized shop fronts staring bleakly out at passers by but House and Cameron paid little mind to the passing scenery, too preoccupied with Lucas's words and the possibilities that lay ahead.
"We're nearly there." Lucas said softly.
House, Cameron and George peered out of the window eager for a first peak at their new hunting ground. A thick wood littered each side of the road and they were left unsure as to where the haven that was promised to them was.
Lucas led the car down a smooth and almost hidden side road to the left and through the thick underbrush. They followed the road for a minute or so before the bright lights of a security house and a wide electrical gate on a 30 foot high wall appeared before them. The place was wired up tighter than most prisons by the looks of things. To an ordinary hunter during the day it would seem exclusive but to the werewolves in Lucas's car, it was daunting.
An armed guard four strong stood vigilant at the gate and waved the vehicle forward and then to a stop.
"Hello, Mr Cairn." The security guard said in a clipped professional and yet respectful tone, as the other three guards checked around the vehicle.
"Hi Peter. I want you to meet George Sands, Greg House and Allison Cameron."
The guard nodded to George but almost seemed to bow to the couple in the rear. "I've been told to expect you."
"Right." House said with a raised eyebrow rather confused about the whole situation.
The guard stood to attention and waited for all the other guards to step back from the car and nod in approval.
"You're clear to go in. Have a good stay." Peter said stepping back from the car as the large gates clanged and whirred open.
The car passed into the Hartwood reserve and hummed along at a leisurely pace through cultivated wood and trimmed green grass until the large beige edifice of a fashionably lit stately home loomed before them tall, grand and beautiful. At its tallest point it was three stories of vaulted ceilings high, this central section was three large windows wide with the two thick pillars holding a balcony for the first floor and framing the wide oak door, an entrance that was as grand as the home itself. To each side of this central section was an equally wide wing only two stories tall, battlements adorned the roof making the house seem ever more imposing.
House and Cameron shared a worried look as Lucas pulled up and parked next to the door and slipped out of the car. George followed suit and between the two of them they unloaded all their bags as House helped Cameron out of the back of the car. The group made their way inside with Lucas leading the way, the others followed reluctant and curious.
They stared in wonder at the large welcoming hall and grand sweeping staircase leading into the depths of the house. The room was decorated cleanly with a few choice paintings, dark wood floors and cream walls with gold gilded cornicing framing double height ceiling. There was a grand staircase made of the same dark wood as the floors, polished to a high shine and coated in a thick red carpet. And atop the carpet on the bottom step stood a tall aged man in black slacks and a blue shirt who had the outward appearance of a man in his late 50's but his shinning brown eyes shone with centuries of knowledge and yet they held an unquestionable youth and exuberance.
It could only be this mysterious Jeremiah.
"Welcome." He said with a beaming smile, a hint of a foreign inflection in his voice.
"Are we really?" House answered shrewdly. "The armed guard didn't seem like too much of a welcome. It made me wonder if it's to keep people out. Or trap us in."
"True. Very true." He said with a nod and stepped down making him the same height as House. His wizened eyes peered deep into House's very soul. "And the answer is both."
"Why are you stopping?" Harold asked as his companion pulled in at the side of the road just short of the turn off to the Hartwood estate.
"Because they went in there." He said taking out his cell then pressing it to his ear waiting for Jacques to pick up.
"What's in there?"
"Trouble."
"I thought we were trouble?" He asked his curiosity bubbling still.
"We are; but if they're in there then it's bigger than just us. We'll need back up." He answered shortly. "Jacques?"
"Speak."
"They just went into the Hartwood estate."
"Raaggh!" Jacques roared on the other end of the call so loud that Harold could hear it to, the sound made him shiver."Jeremiah has them."
"Yes sir, I suspect so."
"He knows."
"Yes, sir."
There was a moment of silence as Jacques thought deeply on the matter.
"It's definitely them. But this could be an opportunity for us to prepare. They'll be protected there until the end of the week but when they come out, when they return to their "normal" lives we'll be waiting. I'll arrive in three days to see that everything is ready. This must go off without a single hitch, Haite."
"It will s-…"
But Jacques hung up before the he could finish. With a sigh the man flipped his cell shut.
"So?" Harold asked timidly. "What do we do now?"
"Look busy. Because Jacques is going to pay us a visit before the week is over." Haite growled turning the car around and speeding back to Princeton.
Harold gulped and stared out the window lost in the grey land between right and wrong, the choice he had to make between one or the other was looming ever closer.