You're grounded!

LEILA'S POV ~

"Fuck! Every damn time!"

I heard someone curse out loud, accompanied by muffled sounds I couldn't make sense of.

I tried to move my body, but it felt as though it was made of lead, entirely battered.

I struggled to open my eyes, and as soon as they snapped open, I saw a pair of dark, furious eyes staring right down at me. My heart sank.

"Every fucking damn time, you're always getting into trouble!" Dominick snapped, and I felt a shudder run down my spine. "Every damn time, it has to be you who's always at the center of attention. Why the fuck did you push them into a pit of snakes?" He yelled at the top of his voice, muscles protruding from his neck.

"I didn't—"

"Of course, how would you ever own up to the bullshit you've committed? How can you?" He roared, and I felt my eyes sting.

My mouth opened to speak, but I stopped immediately when I saw one of the girls Stellina had ganged up on, to hurt me, along with two other nurses and an unfamiliar blonde young woman who all had their eyes on me.

"You're finally quiet now, right?" He growled again, and my burning eyes shifted back to Dominick.

"She's one of them," I pointed at her with a shaky finger, and saw the girl instantly stiffen before she began to protest.

"Principal Dominick, I swear I'm innocent. It was her who instigated the fight and pushed those girls. She levitated into the air—I don't even know how she did it—and before I could comprehend it all, they were all in the pit. I had to escape," the girl said, her shoulders slumping in feigned sadness.

My eyes widened in horror. "Principal Dominick, I swear—"

"Silence!" He snarled at me, a murderous glare in his eyes, before turning to the girl, who now had her head facing the ground.

"Since you are both werewolves and the venom has little to no effect on you, you are to report to your respective teachers and receive your punishments. This is because you both fought back without going to report to any authority!" Dominick grated out. 

The girl instantly raised her head, giving Dominick a shocked expression, her voice quivering as she spoke. "Don't you dare try to interrupt me. Go now!" He ordered before turning to me.

"As for you..." Dominick began, and I felt my blood turn to ice. "For instigating a fight, you're grounded until you've realized your mistakes!"

 

The girl's eyes snapped to me, a wicked smile slowly making its way to her lips, and I refused to meet her gaze. I seemed to have lost my voice as well.

"You can leave," the blonde woman beside the two nurses said to the girl, and I saw her quickly move away.

I could already picture her going around to spread the news of my misfortunes, which would do nothing but gladden the students' hearts.

The two nurses excused themselves, leaving only Dominick and the blonde woman with me, who hadn't removed her gaze from me.

"This is going to be the last time you're running into trouble, Leila. I swear I won't come to your aid again! Keep to yourself and stop causing trouble!" He warned, and I threw him a fiery glare.

"I'm innocent! Those girls hit me! They're all lying, and you can't even do a proper investigation before blaming me," I snapped back, and I saw his eyes dim.

"Do you have any idea that if we hadn't saved you in time, you might have bled to death because you're wolfless? You were just at the brink of falling into the pit filled with thousands of snakes! You could have ruined my several years of hard work and plans!" He thundered with a snarl, his wolf's color flickering into his dark eyes, and it made me jerk back.

No! That wasn't what made me jerk back! It was his words…

My brows creased. I saw the blonde woman tense, and Dominick froze on his words before he muttered a "Fuck!"

"What plans are you talking about?" I asked him, feeling dread slowly gripping my heart. 

Thousands of thoughts raced through my mind, but I just wanted to hear from Dominick.

 

The blonde woman avoided my gaze before Dominick came to stare into my eyes with a dark expression. "The plan was to train unruly witches like you! But here you are, giving me second thoughts!" He started to stride towards the door without waiting for me to speak and then halted. "You're grounded, Leila! And you're coming home with me!" And with that, he slammed the door of the ward shut just as he disappeared through it.

Two fat tears dropped to the bed before I slumped back to the bed, my eyes resting on the ceiling. 

Two days after the incident, and following my discharge, I returned to my dormitory to gather my things in preparation for moving to Principal Dominick's house. I had no idea how long I would be grounded, but I was a little relieved that I wouldn't be seeing anyone's faces for some time. I could heal in peace.

I walked through the corridor, clutching my bag, only to see a group of girls muttering something under their breaths. 

When their eyes met mine, they stopped before throwing different remarks about me, which I couldn't quite hear.

I ignored them, gritting my teeth and steadying my emotions as I prepared to walk past them.

And once I did, I heard one of them say, "It's because of this useless bitch that the girls all got suspended! If I were the principal, I would have expelled her! She carries loads of bad luck, and I would never risk her mingling with any other student."

My brows jumped in surprise before a soft smile played on my lips.

Good! At least I wasn't the only one being punished.

I felt my spirits soar, and I paid no further attention to the gossiping girls before moving toward the waiting car.

The black SUV stopped right in front of a large, black-painted mansion. I gulped nervously when the driver stepped out of the car to open the door for me.

There was an eerie silence in the air as I stared at the vast space in the compound. Eerily statues were placed at every corner of the house, capturing my gaze.

"A butler will guide you to your room. Here is your key," a voice interrupted my thoughts.

My attention snapped toward the source, only to see a tall, unfamiliar, pale-looking man with long lashes staring down at me. He was handsome but couldn't be compared to Dominick.

I brushed that thought aside and took the key from his palm as he began to lead me inside. I wondered who these men were. 

Who was Dominick, really? What did the statues mean? And several other disturbing thoughts raced through my mind.

"Alpha Dominick won't be back for three days. I hope you enjoy your stay. Please hand over the key to the butler; he will know what to do," the guy spoke like an automated robot before turning to leave me in an empty hall.

Breathing out a sigh, I went in search of the said butler.

Three days passed in a blur as I tried bonding with the aloof butler who didn't speak more than two words to me. He was an old man who had introduced himself as Alfred and nothing more.

I was bored and wasn't allowed to step out of the house, not even to take strolls in the garden, until Dominick returned. I yearned for it. I was tired of being grounded.

It was already dark, and the sounds of rainfall hitting the ceiling prompted me to quickly go about locking the windows. I checked the time to see it was 9:00 pm, and the butler should already be in bed.

Before I could lock my door, I heard the sound of a shout—a guttural shout that sent a chill running down my spine.

I should have locked my door quickly, but my curiosity always got the best of me.

Clasping my flimsy nightgown tightly, I dashed out of the room, following the sounds my ears could pick up.

"Fuck!" Someone cursed, followed by a groan. My heart jumped.

I followed the sound, only to stop in front of a large black door, which I pushed open.

Once the door creaked open and I stepped inside, I felt as though my soul had left my body, my tracks freezing at the scene before me.

The entire room was in total darkness, and the sounds of bottles breaking echoed in the room. I gulped several times before moving closer.

The smell of alcohol was thick in the air, and a door to the left was open, the light in it slightly illuminating the dark room.

As I followed it, I stopped dead in my tracks upon seeing a huge figure clutching the sink tightly, his shoulders heaving as though he was out of breath.

Right before my eyes, Principal Dominick was wearing nothing but tight black boxers. A large gash of a scar trailed from his neck to his lower back, making my heart almost jump out of my ribcage.

My eyes widened in terror as I couldn't believe who was in front of me—a completely different man. When my eyes then moved to the ground, I saw a large amount of blood pooling around his feet, trailing from the bathtub to where he stood.

A loud gasp escaped me, and I instantly regretted it. All the hairs on my neck stood up when I saw his eyes meet mine through the mirror. They were empty—nothing but darkness.

Pitch-black and something I had never seen before. 

My heart sank.

Run!