Chapter 7

After a week of pleading and somehow convincing the Dr and leader that I wouldn’t go hunting, I was finally released from the prison that was my hospital room.

Precious time had been lost while I was forced to rest. Time that could have been spent searching for a cure for the plague that had befallen me. Even though I had no concrete evidence, I was vividly aware that the transformation progressed further with each day I sat back doing nothing.

Before I’d gone on that hunt for the twins, I’d been tormented with sounds that made me want to claw out my ears and a seemingly unquenchable thirst that I suspected could only be sated by one thing. Over the past week, the sounds seemed to grow less overwhelming, almost as though my ears had adjusted somewhat and was now able to tune out some of the unnecessary noise.

As for the thirst? I’d nearly come upon Damien’s neck one night he’d visited me. He’d been fresh from a hunt with claw slashes marring his skin after a battle with a Lycan. One whiff of his blood was all it had taken for me to nearly lose my senses. I still wasn’t sure how I was able to stop myself but thank heavens I did.

There would have been no going back if I’d made that mistake. From the little I’d read about turned humans from stolen texts, a drink of blood would cement the change. Any hope I would have had of reversing this change would have died the moment my fangs sunk into Damien’s neck.

I absolutely could not make the mistake of drinking blood. Not even a drop.

As I made the turn down the hallway leading to my room, a cool sensation swept over my skin the moment my bedroom door came into view. Something was wrong. That thought was confirmed when I noticed the crack in my bedroom door. A crack in the door that should have been locked.

An intruder?

My whole body tensed in alert as I approached the door, my fingers coiling around the keys in my pocket to form my equivalent of brass knuckles in case I needed to defend myself. I loathed not having my sword or any of my daggers on me but weapons weren’t exactly hospital-friendly friendly so I’d been stripped of them on admission.

Well this would have to do, I thought, clenching the keys tighter.

But who could have broken into the impenetrable fortress that was the association? When not even royals attempted it. With that thought, my grip on the keys eased a tad.

Maybe I was being a little paranoid. It hadn’t been that long since my encounter with the royal and admittedly, I was still on edge.

I pushed the door open further only to be faced with the silhouette of a male back. He didn’t seem to notice me yet seeing as he remained hunched over my reading desk, his attention focused on something sitting on the table. I would have panicked if I didn’t instantly recognise the mop of dark hair and familiar build.

“Damien?” I called out as I drew closer, confusion giving my voice a certain edge.

His body straightened as he turned around, his grey eyes wide with shock.

“I thought you were still in the hospital.” He said his voice holding the slightest hint of panic. So slight that I almost thought I imagined it. But this was Damien. The ever cool-headed, never flustered Damien. Any other person would think he seemed normal right now but I’d know him long enough to pick up on his little tells. He was being suspicious.

“I was released a few minutes ago.” I answered, my eyes searching his face for a read. “Though I’m not allowed to go on hunts yet.”

“Oh, I see.”

Something in his expression gave me the impression that he was nervous like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t be.

“Why are you in my room? How did you get in?” My eyes narrowed on the way he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. One of Damien’s few tells.

“I just came to return your weapons.” He stated calmly, seeming to regain his composure. He gestured to my sword leaning against my table and the daggers propped on my desk. “As for how I got in, I got your spare key from Lacey.”

His reason made sense but why did something still feel off? If he was just returning my weapons, why had he seemed so nervous when I came in? Why did I get the feeling he was hiding something?

“That explains why you’re here, but what were you so focused on that you didn’t even notice me enter?” I peeked behind him, at the thing he’d been so focused on earlier and my stomach dropped at the piece of paper sitting on the table.

It was the list of high-ranking witches and mages that I’d compiled in hopes that they could find a way to reverse my change. A lot of names had been asterisked, those belonging to the wiccae I had already paid visits to, none of which had been able to solve my problem.

Only one name remained unmarked on the list and I intended to pay her a visit today.

“Quite an extensive list you have here. I never knew you had an interest in the magic folk.”

“They don’t cause trouble the way vampires and demons do but they are still abominations. I just thought it wouldn’t hurt to study up on the stronger ones. It’s just a precautionary measure.” I lied, secretly praying I sounded convincing enough.

“Hmmm. Smart girl.” He placed a hand on the top of my head, something he’d always done since we were kids. “Even though their kind typically stay out of human business, we can never be too safe.”

“Exactly.” Did he buy my lie? I couldn’t tell but with the warm smile on his face, it seemed like he did.

“Well, I should take my leave now, give you space to clean up. I’m sure you’re eager to wash off the stench of hospital off your skin.”

He turned to leave and I almost exhaled a breath of relief when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Without turning to face me, he spoke,

“Al, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”