Chapter 4 - Aidan

SLAM!

The loud sound of the heavy antique red oak double doors being slammed echoed through our shared historic Queen Anne Victorian home. Someone was in a foul mood. It wasn’t me because I was in the study looking through my class rosters to rank potential feeding prospects for the semester. It couldn’t be Isak. I distinctly remember seeing him earlier when I came home. That meant the only person who could be storming in was Albert.

I glanced at the grandfather clock and frowned when I saw the time. Nine o’clock? He shouldn’t be home this early. His class should’ve only ended an hour and a half ago. Driving here from campus takes about twenty minutes, so Albert drove straight home. We have plenty of blood bags, but Albert has always preferred straight from the tap. 

I sighed as I rose and poked my head into the foyer. I wasn’t alone in my curiosity about Albert’s sudden and violent return. I noticed Isak leaning over the railing of the stairs. The street lights from outside coming through the stained glass windows gave him an odd glow. He glanced at me, and we shared a concerned look before we looked at our friend angrily, kicking off his shoes into the closet.

“You’re home very early. Is everything alright?” Isak questioned as he descended the stairs.

“Slim pickings at campus? Or did one of your fellow vampires give you grief?” I asked, as they were the only reasons that made an ounce of sense.

We’ve had our share of issues with our fellow supernatural beings who work at Yale. We should count ourselves lucky the order hasn’t taken drastic steps against us. While the council comprises each of the three races, they only work together for the sake of all supernatural kind’s safety. Beyond that, they stick close to their blind speciesism beliefs. So, we three have always been ostracized for being friends. Then add in that in recent years, we’ve aided werewolves and hunters, and we became even less popular. 

Albert hissed as he slammed the closet door and turned to face us. His brown eyes were almost entirely red. He’s on the verge of a frenzy. I subtly nodded to Isak, who was already ahead of my thoughts. I headed for the kitchen to fetch our old friend a blood bag. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, touching his shoulders.

“You’re home, old friend. Isak and I have you.” I kept my voice soft, trying to use my demonic influence to quell the frenzy. “Isak’s getting ya some blood. After you’ve settled, you can tell us what happened.”

“I’m fine. You two fuss too damn much. I’m just annoyed.” Albert rolled his eyes and shook my hands off his shoulders.

“Right, because ‘annoyed’ means slamming doors and throwing a tantrum.” Isak scoffed, throwing a blood bag at him. “Eat. You’re worse than one of those Snickers commercials.”

I chuckled as Albert grumbled but sank his fangs into the bag, drinking it like a tot with a juice box. I sighed and led Albert into the sitting room to discuss what had him in such an uproar. It could be something small. I’m not saying Albert is temperamental, but many of his kind are. There’s a reason he limits the number of classes he teaches a week to three. Sitting in a room with people who all look like dinner is difficult. 

“Feel better?” Isak asked as Albert slumped into one of the chairs near the fire.

“A little.” Albert sighed as he set the empty blood bag aside.

“So? What happened? Why are you in a foul mood and home so early?” I asked, sitting on the sofa while Isak took the other chair. 

“You weren’t completely wrong about someone giving me grief. There Paxton was a douchebag before I had my class.” Albert said.

“You already told us about him.” I reminded him

“So what’s the real reason? Unless you are going to say Paxton or others found you after your class to stir up trouble.” Isak tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair.

“Alright, fine. It has nothing to do with Paxton or any of the stuck-up order cunts on campus.” Albert frowned.

“We aren’t mind readers,” I grumbled.

Albert arched his brow at me, and we all started to laugh because I am a mind reader.

“You know what I mean. I can only read human minds.” I rolled my eyes.

“A human is my issue,” Albert confessed.

“Oh, this just got juicy.” I chuckled, leaning forward and rubbing my hands with anticipation. “What happened? What kind of trouble?”

“You didn’t drink someone dry, did you? Are we going to need to cover up the death or disappearance of a student from the authorities and the order?” Isak asked, of course being the rational one.

“What? No, I didn’t drink anyone. If I had, would I have needed that?” Albert scoffed, pointing to the empty. 

“Can you get to the part where you tell us why you were in such a mood? I was in the middle of looking for potential targets for the semester.” I pointed across the foyer to the den, where my laptop was still open.

“That’s my issue.” Albert rolled his shoulders. “I was doing the very same when I sat for my first class of the semester. And arguably, some delectable options were practically throwing themselves at me after dismissal.”

He dug into this pocket and threw a handful of paper on the coffee table. Curious, I leaned forward and snatched one up. Unwrinkling the paper, I saw the delicate handwriting of a woman’s name with a phone number and her dorm address, as if any professor would be caught dead in a student’s dorm. Being caught in a student’s dorm would be the death of a teacher’s career. 

Isak leaned forward and looked at a few more, tossing them down. “Looks like you have your pick of the litter. Shouldn’t this please you? I think such a thing would be perfect for you or Aidan.”

“The ‘pick of the litter’ is the key phrase, my friend.” Albert leaned back as his lips curled into a smile.

“Well, I’m lost. I’ll take a few if you don’t want these numbers to feed on. It’s better to poach from your students than my own, anyway. Less chance for them to grow attached and think it’s more than sex.” I offered.

“Take any of them you like, Aidan. I have my sights set on the true pick of the litter.” Albert waved a dismissive hand at the papers.

“I see. And this ‘pick of the litter’ isn’t among the eager, warm bodies unwittingly offering up their blood?” Isak arched his brow.

“Exactly. These women aren’t challenges.” Albert snorted. “I’m tired of the clique of fresh-faced college students desiring their professor. I want a challenge, and she is already proving to be a challenge, and it infuriates me.”

“Oh, so she played hard to get it, and that makes her the pick of the litter?” I shook my head. “What’s so special about this human?”

“Yes, do tell,” Isak said.

“Hana Yashida. She sat front and center, not giving a moment of attention to her peers, and not once did she appear to succumb to my vampire charms during the class. I just… I can’t place why, but she’s special, and I will have her.” Albert explained.

“Are you certain she’s human?” Isak asked.

“Yes, she’s human. There wasn’t anything about her scent that indicated she was supernatural. I think she holds a strong will. She had this air about her. The way she sat and spoke, everything about her was refined. Nothing like her peers.” He said.

“Well, now I’m curious,” I said as I returned to my laptop.

“What are you doing?” Albert demanded as he and Isak followed me to the study.

“Looking her up, of course,” I said, unsure how he missed the obvious.

A quick search of the freshmen brought her up. I sat down, cocking my head as I looked at the picture of her on file. Based on her name, I’d already assumed she was Japanese. Her picture confirmed that, but she’s an Asian beauty. No wonder Albert wanted a taste. She looked delectable. Even the picture captured that essence Albert was talking about. I can’t name many college-age humans with her kind of poise. I scanned the information the school had on file. I furrowed my brow as I looked closer.

“What is it? Did you find something strange?” Isak asked.

“Unless she’s an orphan, yes. I’ve never seen a student’s file that didn’t include the parents’ names. Especially here in the United States where financial aid is tied to parental household income until the age of twenty-four.” I said.

“That is curious. What does Hana’s file say about her? I didn’t have a chance to look at it. I had to deal with all the other students falling over me while I tried to get to my car.” Albert asked.

“She had a perfect 4.0 GPA at her high school, a list of extracurricular activities that likely helped put her on Yale’s shortlist. But this…” I tapped the screen. “Is what intrigues me.”

“Tamanawas Falls High School?” Albert arched his brow.

“Why is that intriguing?” Isak asked.

I sighed, rolling my eyes as I minimized the tab and signed into a secured network used by the Adio Guild. My friends watched in confusion on why I was signing into the guild’s system form. My reasoning was quickly revealed as I pulled up the school so that they could read.

“Bloodmoon Pack’s high school. How is that possible? I’d have known if she were a werewolf or even a hybrid. She wouldn’t have smelled as delicious as she did if there was even a drop of werewolf in her blood.” Albert shook his head.

“Perhaps her werewolf gift allows her to mask that. Is there a werewolf family in Bloodmoon that can hide their scent and the scent of others?” Isak asked.

“The Bryants, yes. But I’m not saying Hana Yashida is a werewolf. You both have forgotten that there is a human among the pack.” I shook my head in disappointment as I brought up the guild’s file on the Bloodmoon Princess.

“Princess HANA Kinsley!” Albert and Isak exclaimed in unison. 

This semester just got interesting. Albert had the human daughter of Alpha Logan Kinsley, a justifiably feared alpha from the Pacific Northwest in his class. While I don’t know if Albert will give up pursuing her, knowing who she truly is, I’m more intrigued than ever. I will find a way to have an audience with the Bloodmoon Princess and see if she’s as immune to my charms as she was to Albert’s.