Chương 13: I HATE VAMPIRES

Slipping out at the sound of the lunch bell, I finally got some alone time. I ate my grilled cheese sandwiches and washed them down with a can of coke. It was quiet by the side of the school building, just the dull hum of the old vending machine and a bit of wind. The air was still cold and damp, and patches of ice made little white glossy patches under the sunlight. Everyone else was probably at the cafeteria. I could actually smell the stink from the cafeteria exhaust vent somewhere.

Today's lunch was something greasy. Crumpling my can and paper bag with a satisfying crunch, I tossed it in a nearby bin — at least I hoped it was a functional bin. This part of the school was so deserted, I doubt the janitor even came here. Should I retrieve my trash to a more populated bin? I looked inside: some brown dead leaves... from last year maybe? It smelled sickly sweet with decay and something else… I decided to abandon my trash there.

Straightening, I suddenly stiffened as a small breeze brushed past, and the skin on my arm pricked — just a little. I turned my head to sniff. The air was suddenly still and the woods silent. I knew: vampire… Then I heard clumsy footsteps on the uneven dirt ground, little tripping sounds over small stones… I looked up and saw Maria's twice‑removed cousin, Aladdin. Our eyes met a moment later. Then he turned his attention to the beautiful human, Arlene. Catching her hands, he smiled at her.

She smiled back up at him as he guided her with care over uneven steps and away from my line of sight. He led her away, casting a quick glance behind him to make sure I wasn't going to follow. Why would he think I would follow? And then Elena stumbled into the clearing. She didn't notice me, too focused on following Arlene and the vampire back into the woods. Her uniform hung large on her thin frame. The sight was somewhat disconcerting, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I watched until I could no longer hear or smell the girls, and Aladdin's hollowed presence eased away from my peripheral senses. I heard the woods and its usual sounds fade back in and felt the breeze tease the loose tendrils of hair by my face. Then I let out the breath I did not know I was holding. I hated vampires. I headed leisurely back into the school building, determined to enjoy my alone time without further ado. In a few moments, the library welcomed me warmly.

I made my way upstairs to a quiet reference section near the window. The heating was less diligent here and the books smelled like old paper and lingering magic. It was a comfortable smell. I flipped through the books with pictograph texts and looked at the pictures. These were only replica books. I could read a little of our ancient literature, but only very slowly. I had been taught well, but it didn't mean I had learned well.

But I liked looking at old books — even the replicas — because they were all hand‑copied, not just the verses and stanzas, but the painted pictures. If you compared two books of the same title, the handwriting and drawing style could be very different. There were not many such books in this library, about a row and a half. I continued looking at the pictures. There was a wolf and a girl in a red cape — that was not the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

In Lycan tradition, a girl in a red cape was often used to signify a bride. She was his mate. The wolf looked angry. Must be an alpha. Hahaha. Well no, all wolves get angry from time to time. Getting angry was a pretty universal emotion. I turned the page. Something bad was happening to Little Red Riding Hood… there was blood — either that or the artist smeared a bit of red paint from the cape onto the front of her dress. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

I wished I could read the words a bit easier. Stupid ancient script. While I was enjoying myself, I sensed — I immediately recognized it now — the cold, dark emptiness at the other end of the bookshelves. Vampire. I even knew it was specifically a vampire named Maria because she was trying to get into my head. I closed her out firmly and ignored her. After a moment, she decided that speaking aloud was less difficult than using a mindlink after all.

"Let's go for a walk," she told me. Do vampires ever say please? I examined the small splotch of red paint in the book. Was it blood or paint gone over the lines? It looked like blood, but why did her face look so peaceful and happy? Her eyes were closed — was she dead? (blood?) — but she was smiling — was she happy? (not blood?)"It's blood," Maria informed me.

"Her mate has marked her. Read the words, Sam." I felt like sulking. Trust Maria to know how to read ancient script. Maria smiled, quite pleased that I had acknowledged her ability.

"I can read many languages," she boasted softly, her words falling like small glass shards.

"Now let's take a walk." It was time to return to class anyway, so I put the book back on its shelf and headed out. Maria followed me, slipping her hand into the crook of my arm like a dainty princess with a s***load of creepiness. She huffed prettily at my choice of vocabulary. {If you don't like it, stop reading my mind, princess.} Maria liked being called princess. {Creeeeeepy princess,} I amended. She hit my arm. We were going to see Dino again.

I knew because we were walking the long way around to class just to pass his classroom. I walked forward in my usual gait, ignoring the blur of humans and non‑humans around me. To a human eye, it was just two girls walking arm‑in‑arm (again). To any other wolf, an alpha was walking with a vampire on arm (shocking, I know), but still an alpha.

Most humans would not know what an alpha was but would shrink away instinctively, or be pushed or pulled out of the way by other wolves, or would simply follow their natural herd mentality and step back. In this mode, my guard was up, and my senses heightened to a roar of background information. I vaguely noted the number of wolves, caught the vampires lurking on the fringes, the sounds, movements, moods… I liked this — like how a dog might like sticking its head out the window of a moving vehicle.

I soaked up all the atmospheric data. Maria had carefully slid herself into my side again. She was tapping into my radar, accessing the lowdown of our school hallways — ooohhh the parasite! {Dino is a dinosaur from our imagination... and when he's big he's what you call a dinosaur sensation!} I racked my brains for any other dino‑themed songs. {Flintstones, meet the Flintstones…} Maria pulled away from my side, her eyes narrowed.

"Stop that." {Yes, Mrs. Flintstone.} Hahahaha. She hit me with an open palm. I suppose vampire princesses do not throw punches? {Yabadabbadooo!} She hit me a few more times, now with both hands. By then we were outside Dino's class. {Oh dear, what if Dino sees us? He would think, What a primitive girl!} She suddenly stopped and reattached herself to my arm. Her void flame turned darker and colder. Hahahahaha. She sooooo pissed. She squeezed my arm. OW! HURTS! Then she loosened her grip and smiled.

She had seen Dino and everything was right in her world again. His side profile was as handsome as always. My arm was bruised, and wherever she slapped me would undoubtedly be marked with hand‑shaped prints. But she was happy and that was all that mattered to me… wait a minute… WTH! I grabbed her mindlink and peeled her off my mind like a piece of cling foil. She looked at me silently, stricken. We had stopped outside our classroom. I was FURIOUS. {I didn't mean any harm, I was just communicating with you!} {Communicate my ass, you—} Then I stopped, whatever I was about to call her cut off by the sight of the rest of my school pack walking over. Henry in the front, Marcus just half a step behind him. Liam was sauntering next to Jasmine. Oh, this might be awkward. I felt Maria try to pull her link back out, but I held on. My fury refused to give way to this split moment of indecision.

"What is going on here?" Henry asked. The others fanned out a bit to block our escape — or rather, Maria's escape. Maria tried to tug her consciousness free from my mental grasp again. I almost let go. Almost. I realized then that Maria could not speak until I released her. On top of that, she was struggling to maintain physical contact, because something was starting to rip and if she let go of me, it would be bad for her… And I was reading her. {Ha! How do you like that, Princess?} Then I smelled her tears.

Her eyes were glassy. She was frightened? Why? I let her go — mentally anyway.

"Sorry," she whispered, her hands flying off my arm, and in a blink she nudged past me and escaped into the girls' washroom across the hallway. I shrugged to loosen the tension in my shoulders and turned back to class. Liam stepped aside for me to enter first. I dully sensed Henry and then the others following me closely into the classroom. My jaw felt tight, my expression still fierce when I sat down. Jasmine busied herself with something in her bag next to me to avoid eye contact.

The others sat around in their usual places but very silently. Sigh. Why did I feel like the bad guy here? I hate vampires.