Food or Lover (3)

Ringo and Michael met again in Amanda Lucifer's office two days later. It wasn't a pleasant meeting. Michael met Ringo outside the office and asked if the omega was feeling better but Ringo merely glared daggers his way before ignoring his concern and entering the principal's office.

The bite mark on Ringo's neck made Michael feel guilty about what he did. Even if Ringo was a rose blood carrier, he shouldn't have lost all control the way he did back then. The ancient vampire couldn't understand why it happened but he knew it wouldn't be correct to let a marked omega go about the academy with so many other alphas eyeing on Ringo. The omega was famous for being one of the few humans and for being an easy target.

If it wasn't for Shiro and Sei's help to ward off the pests, Michael didn't doubt that the boy would have gotten himself into trouble very quickly.

Amanda Lucifer was a terrifying woman to be in the presence of and Ringo lost his earlier temper outside the room. Her sharp stare penetrated through his soul and Ringo felt as if she was reading his mind just by locking gazes. Yet, the omega couldn't pull away and shuddered at the chill entering his heart.

Michael smelled fear radiating from Ringo and unconsciously released some of his killing intent directed to the principal. Asahina flinched when the room's atmosphere turned increasingly hostile with the archmage and ancient vampire fighting a silent war.

"Enough," Amanda sighed and recalled her hostility. Michael dropped his stance too and Asahina sighed in relief.

"The reason why I summoned both of you is because of the accident. You probably should have anticipated it but here is the registration form. Since you've marked as mates, I won't pursue the matter due to the nature of how it happened. However, rules are rules. To avoid people thinking that it is alright, you will both have to sign the registration form."

Michael didn't have a problem with it but Ringo did. As the vampire reached out for a feather pen to sign his name, the exorcist slapped his hand away so hard that the alpha dropped the pen. Amanda Lucifer didn't flinch. She only gave Ringo a levelled gaze, daring him to create trouble in her presence.

As expected, the omega flinched but he didn't back down even if his hands shook. The mark on his neck was humiliating enough. All throughout yesterday, people have been staring at him oddly. Shiro looked at him with pity and flipped off everyone else who tried to make fun of him in the omega class. Although his roommate meant well, it only made the exorcist feel worse. The humiliation of being watched with pitiful eyes got on Ringo's nerves so badly. As the sole heir to his family of exorcists, Ringo was raised to be strong even though he was an omega. To be treated like something fragile pissed him off.

"I refuse to sign it," he announced firmly even though his voice shook. Nobody said anything but Michael felt a strange ache when he heard it. Mentally, he knew that Ringo wasn't wrong to reject their bonding but for some reason, it made him feel incredibly hurt. Was this the power of a rose blood carrier? He didn't know because he never had one before.

"The mating mark is only temporary, the registration certificate is permanent. I don't accept this!"

Amanda didn't respond to the complaint. Instead, she looked at the exorcist very calmly. "Are you finished? If you have time to be yelling at me, you should take a good look at the document before flapping your lips away. Don't forget, you don't have a right to refuse. I'm in charge here and these are my rules. If you're not happy, you can get out of the academy and I wish you good luck surviving the time vortex."

Michael looked at Ringo and Amanda before placing his hand on Ringo's shoulder out of worry. The little exorcist didn't seem like a calm person and Michael bet he was calculating the chances of being able to assassinate the grand archmage in his mind. Eventually, Ringo settled down much to Michael's relief and snatched the contract to read the terms. The vampire finally bent down to pick up the pen when he knew his temporary mate wasn't going to act rashly.

Ringo re-read the terms again just to confirm that he wasn't missing out on anything. The principal included some terms that were different from a regular registration form. "I- This... Is this for real?" Ringo asked.

Asahina smiled. "Ms Lucifer made special changes to the contract. If there are points you do not agree with, you can bring it up for discussion. It is the reason why we've invited both of you to the principal's office. Mutual agreement is important. Also, we understand both your difficulties."

Michael peeked over Ringo's shoulder to read the conditions. "Principal! This is... this term shouldn't be included for both our safety!"

Ringo looked at the term Michael was pointing at and silently agreed. He didn't want to be stuck as Michael's food source when he had been made a temporary mate with the bite. Besides, only another alpha can undo the marking of a temporary mate. How was Ringo going to seduce and convince other alphas to remove Michael's mark? After all, the vampire was considered one of the more prestigious alphas available in the academy.

Amanda Lucifer sighed. "Look. If you've been eating properly, I wouldn't say anything. Don't think I do not know how sickly you've been ever since you came in. I do apologise that I didn't consider bringing in humans for you to feed from. If I knew that you didn't do well with blood packs, I would have made other arrangements and I would have told your family to prepare a coffin with dirt from your hometown. I closed an eye to the night hunting because you seemed to be coping but I've also been receiving complaints from people claiming that their pets were attacked."

The principal glanced over to the exorcist and continued. "Ringo was there that night to catch the culprit who had been attacking his animal shikigamis. The fact that you look a lot better now after drinking his blood means that this is the only method that works so far. Even though you accidentally marked him."

Asahina looked over to Ringo who didn't look pleased. "And I don't have a say in this?"

Amanda Lucifer smirked. "Of course not. Michael is an alpha and an important ancient vampire. You might be the son of a human exorcist clan but your clan is going to become extinct soon, you're all losing your powers. The god that you serve has been dead for a long time. It doesn't really concern me if you live or die but Michael's well being is something I need to look into. Of course, I'm not completely unreasonable. I will matchmaker you with a strong spirit alpha. That was your wish, isn't it?"

Ringo immediately pointed to the contract. "Add that term in and I'll sign."

Amanda nodded at Asahina who took the document back for amendment. While the three of them were left in the principal's office, Michael couldn't help but apologise to both Amanda and Ringo for causing trouble.

Ringo grinned and patted the platinum-blond vampire prince. "No worries, it all turned out well in the end. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be able to land myself a spirit alpha so easily."

Amanda watched them interact without a word. Behind her clasped hands, she smirked. An interesting show was about to unfold.