Two: Midnight

~Lucinda's p.o.v.~

*A year & 11 months later, age 17*

When the clock strikes midnight, your fate will be changed in the most unexpected way. Be prepared for an unwelcome surprise.

I am startled out of my sleep, heart palpitating in my eardrums as every person in the classroom is looking in my direction with wide eyes. Mrs Kane is standing at the front with her right hand placed over the left side of her chest. She blinks before clearing her throat. Then she lifts two fingers, pointing them at the door. I nod, standing up from my seat and following her out to the hallway. She scratches her arm, turning to face me as I close the classroom door behind us.

“Lucinda, are you alright?” Mrs Kane asks.

My heart is beating a frantic rhythm in my chest and I try not to let the panic show on my face. “Y-yes, I’m alright.”

She tilts her head to the side, inspecting my fake smile and the uncontrollable twitch of my left eyeball. “Lucy, did you forget to take your medication last night?” I shake my head, change my mind and then slowly nod. She lets out a soft sigh, stepping closer to me. “I am going to send you home and you are going to get some much needed rest. Okay?” I nod my head again and lower my gaze to the floor. Tears are blurring my vision but I push them back, trying to look unaffected by her kindness. “I will call the main office and let them know to get ahold of your parents.” She informs me before stepping away from me. “Wait here and I will have someone bring out your things.”

“Thank you, Mrs Kane.” I mumble underneath my breath, and then we part ways. Two minutes tick by and the tears begin to break through the barrier, falling down my eyelashes and splashing on my cheeks. I swipe them away, huffing in annoyance at myself.

The door creaks open, revealing a tiny brunette with light green eyes. I think her name is Juliette but I can’t honestly remember. We only share one class. “Lucinda?” Juliette inquires, and I raise my hand. “Here you go. Get feeling better, hon. We will see you tonight.” She smiles apprehensively, handing my belongings over to my arms.

“Yeah, sure.” I sigh, hugging my books against my chest. “See you later.” She turns and walks back into the classroom as I start walking down the long hallway, heading to my locker.

Along the way to my locker, I get lost in my thoughts. The same words playing in repeat inside my head. ‘When the clock strikes midnight, your fate will be changed in the most unexpected way. Be prepared for an unwelcome surprise.’ Tonight at exactly midnight I will be walking on stage to recite the Hunters’ Code for my Blood Oath Ceremony. It is a century old tradition where hunters' on their 18th birthday must stand beside the current leader and make a promise to our people that we will always be honest, loyal, and brave. That we will not freeze with fear in the face of danger. That we will respect fellow hunters, obey any order given by the current leader and, most of all, promise to protect those who are less fortunate and unable to protect themselves. Then, both the 18 year old and the current leader will slash open their palms with the silver dagger that is used each time for the ceremony. They will shake hands to combine their blood and that will commence the blood oath ceremony.

Furthermore, what does it mean I should be prepared for an unwelcome surprise? That my fate will be changed in an unexpected way? There should be no other way except for perfection. My parents are Phoebe and Evander Archer; two of the most skilled hunters among our subdivision. They are second and third to our current leader, Orpheus. With me as their daughter, I am expected to be at least fourth or fifth in line. After Draven, my parents, and Orpheus of course. This is what has been worrying me. For the past two years I have continued having this dream. It started the night that Drae kissed me and has continued plaguing my sleep ever since.

I had a discussion with my parents about it. They came to the conclusion that something was wrong with me. Therefore, the next morning after I was brought to the infirmary. There I was subjected to multiple different tests, scans, and they even took a few samples of my blood. When the doctor finished his thorough examination, his results were that I have severe insomnia. This means that I have trouble falling and staying asleep. He wrote me a prescription for every night use that was supposed to help me sleep. Even though that isn’t the issue at all. I sleep fine, just with vivid visions that make me toss and turn all night. Nevertheless, I went with what the doctor prescribed. The medications make it possible for me to sleep like a zombie, but the side effects are not worth it. Daytime drowsiness and migraines.

It was just a dream, Lucinda.

Don’t stress yourself out over it.

It means nothing!

Shaking the thoughts from my mind, I put on my most bright smile and make my way over to my locker. I twist the combination, entering in my code to unlock it and stuff all of my books inside. Then I pull out my jacket and purse from inside the locker before shutting it. Today is fortunately Friday, which means that there won’t be any homework handed out for the weekend. After closing my locker, I start walking in the direction of the staircase. The main office is located on the first level floor. I am a senior here at the academy, which means that all my classes are on the fourth level. Making my way down the staircase, I could feel two particular eyes glued to my back and heard heavy footsteps following after me. I already know who it is without having to look behind me. It was always him. Emeric Knight. Six feet and two inches tall of muscles, medium caramel skin, six-pack of washboard abs, always messy chestnut brown hair, sea green eyes, and that stupid arrogant grin that he always keeps stretched across his orange full lips. After quickly rushing down the first flight of stairs, I spin around to face him.

"Lucy, how are you, sunshine?" He asks, puffs out his chest and then steps closer in my direction.

“Leave me alone, Knight.” I snap at him, backing away from him until my back collides into the Juniors’ lockers. Emeric smirks, closing the last bit of distance between us. After releasing a quick intake of breath, my hands reach out to shove him away from me. Before I am able, he grabs my wrists with one large hand and pins my arms above my head. "Get off of me, creep!" I snarl, flaring my nostrils at him while trying to yank my wrists from his grasp.

Emeric is the same age as Draven, but just a few weeks older than Drae. That makes him at least twenty-two and fresh out of university. He and Drae hate each other and although I have no idea why, I completely understand why Drae dislikes him. The guy is a complete douché with no ounce of respect for others' personal space. He probably gets off by kicking puppies, harassing innocent children, and stealing candy from babies. I hate him. Loathe him entirely, as the Grinch would say. Emeric might be a good-looking young man with a drop-dead gorgeous body... but that is where the attractiveness ends. His personality is bulls.hit, and I am not a girl that is easily swayed by physical appearances. What matters most is how a person looks from the inside. Emeric's inner beauty isn't helping to do him justice at all. He has a black heart and an empty soul. This I am positively sure of. His half sister, Valerie, is a sophomore which is probably the reason for his appearance.

He clicks his tongue, squeezes my wrists, pulls my hands down to his chest, and stretches his lips into a wider grin. "Come on, sunshine. Don't play hard to get." He taunts, before letting out a low chuckle and leaning closer until his lips are beside my ear. His breath fans my skin, sending a cold shiver down my back, "I know your dirty little secret, Lucy. I know how you truly feel about me."

I feel my blood start to boil up inside of my veins, increasing my body temperature and making my face turn bright red. My body squirms against the wall of lockers while my arms tug relentlessly against his tight grip. "I don't know what you are talking about, Emeric. Let me go." He tilts his head to the side, twisting his lips into a wicked smirk. Drops my hands before lifting his right hand and dragging two fingers down my cheek. A shiver of disgust travels down my spine, igniting goosebumps all over my skin. Before he can get the wrong idea I reach out and grab his wrist, flicking his arm away from my body. "Touch me again and you'll lose a finger."

Emeric laughs out loud but his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. He finally steps away from me, outstretches his left arm and motions for me to walk past him. "Fine, sunshine, but you can't keep playing hard-to-get for long. Sooner or later you'll come crawling into my arms." He smirks at me.

"In your dreams, Knight." I tell him, rolling my eyes before jogging towards the other staircase at the end of the hall.

I run the rest of the way down the stairs, heading to the main office. After a thirty second jog, I reach the entrance to the office and step inside. The secretary behind the desk hands me a slip of paper, smiles and informs me that my parents won’t be able to pick me up. They are getting the house and yard ready for my ceremony tonight. I sigh, chewing on my bottom lip before tugging my phone out of my pocket. After scrolling through my contacts, I stop on the one person who has always been here for me without fail. The one person who is completely reliable and is always kind to me. I click his name, wait three rings, and then hear the click of the call being accepted.

"Hello?" His tired voice reaches my ears, sending a pang of guilt straight to my heart. It makes an icy block of penitence settle low in my gut. "Lux, is everything alright?"

I clear my throat, take a deep breath and answer him, "Yeah, I am fine. C-can you pick me up from the academy? Mom and dad are busy with the preparations for tonight."

"Of course, Lux." He replies, pauses for a moment and I can hear background noise. It sounds almost like he is pulling on a pair of pants. Then he clears his throat, lets out a light chuckle and I am positive he ran his fingers through his perfect light auburn hair. A habitual act of his that happens occasionally when he is feeling nervous. "About that night..." He starts to try and explain himself for having kissed me and then acting like it never happened after all this time. Even when I tried for months to talk about how it made me feel.

I shake my head, forgetting that he can't see me and laugh at myself while rolling my eyes. My feet carry me outside the building and over to the nearest bench. "Forget about it, Drae. Two years is a long time."

He inhales a sharp breath before releasing it out slowly. I can tell my words cut him deep because he doesn't say anything. There is more rustling in the background and, finally, I hear the jingle of his keys clashing together. "Yeah, you're right." He whispers and a moment later I can hear his front door shut behind him through our call. "Anyway... I will see you in thirty minutes. Don't go wandering off on your own and getting yourself lost again." We both laugh, reminiscing about the incident when I was eight years old. When I had wanted to find a pixie that could grant me the ability to fly. It was right after we watched Peter Pan and I fell in love with Tinkerbell. It took my parents, Drae and his father a total of almost five hours to find me.

"I won't. See you in thirty minutes, Draven." Then I click the red button on my phone, ending the call.

After shoving my phone back into my pocket, I pull out my favorite book 'The Bad Boy's Oath' and begin reading it. If my parents or anyone found out I read this genre of books. Books about werewolves and the Moon Goddess... I would be sent to the loony bin to be locked up for the rest of my life. Werewolves have been extinct for a century now. After our ancestors wiped them all out because of their abilities. More importantly, what a handful of them had done to thousands of innocent lives with those abilities. The werewolves had gone savage on the rare blood moon and a group of rogues escaped the werewolf realm and destroyed eight villages in one night. They successfully murdered over 5,000 humans and acted like it was nothing. Our ancestors came together with the humans and they all agreed that werewolves should be dealt with accordingly.

However, when our ancestors approached the werewolves about their heinous crime, they turned them away and refused to punish the guilty party. They called it an accident and blamed the phase of the moon for what happened. That was when our ancestors had finally had enough and they declared war against the werewolves. After three weeks of endless fighting, the werewolves were finally defeated and the last survivor was hunted down and killed. Ever since then, werewolves have not been spoken of or seen by any other supernatural creatures. Humans are the only ones that continue to write, read, and watch television shows and movies about them. They have this outlandish idea that werewolves are sexy and protective creatures. That one day a handsome alpha wolf will knock at their door and declare that they spend the rest of their lives together. It is a completely delusional theory. Though who am I to judge, I enjoy reading their delusions.

A loud horn echoes off in the distance, startling me from my thoughts. I quickly shove my book back into my purse and stand up from the bench. Draven drives up closer to where I am standing, puts his vehicle in park, and steps out. His charming smile breaks out on his face.

"Hey, Lux. You look good today." Drae compliments me, dragging his eyes up my tight blue jeans and dark blue silk tank top. Then we make eye contact, and I can feel my face heating up as his bright blue eyes sparkle like two perfect sheets of ice.

"You look good, too, Drae." I respond back and I mean it. His light auburn hair falls to his shoulders, and he has filled his 6 ft form with a decent amount of lean muscle these past few years. Whereas before I could tell he worked out, now it appears as if he spends the majority of his free time at the gym. He hasn't grown any taller over the years, but six feet is a nice height for him. He pulls it off without looking like a beanpole. "Thank you for picking me up, I appreciate it."

His lips spread out into a breathtaking smile and I can feel my heart palpitating in a wild rhythm inside my chest. "Anytime, Lucinda." He beams, takes my hand and leads me over to his vehicle. It is a dark red, lifted Jeep Gladiator. The step up is almost a foot above my feet that are on the ground. Draven walks directly behind me and I can feel him place his hands on my hips, his breath on the back of my neck, his body heat all around me. My entire body is a flame and I feel like I am going to combust. "Let me help you up, Lux." He whispers beside my ear and, for once, I am not repulsed by a male crowding my space without first being invited to do so.

"Okay." I mutter in a breathy tone, feeling my heart skipping a thousand different beats.

Drae tightens his grip on my waist and lifts my body up into the giant vehicle. Once my feet are resting firmly on the inside, Drae releases his grip and walks to the drivers’ side door. He pulls it open and then climbs inside the Jeep with ease. Both of us close our doors at the exact time, and then he starts the engine. After about ten minutes of driving, he is the first to break the silence. “Are you going to tell me why you were sent home from school early?” He asks.

I try not to let the fear show on my face. “I fell asleep in class and woke up crying.” I answer him, releasing a defeated sigh.

He nods, straightens his posture, and continues to drive down the road. “Still having that dream, huh?” He questions me, reaching over the arm rests to place his hand on my thigh. I stay still, welcoming the cool of his skin against my overheated body, and nod my head. “Don’t worry about it, Lux. It is just a dream trying to prey on your insecurities.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” I laugh, closing my eyes and resting my head against his broad shoulder. “Wake me up when we reach the house. I’m gonna try to take a nap.” I mumble, yawning as the words leave my lips.

Drae smiles, peeking over at me while keeping his head angled toward the road. “Sure, Lux. Get some rest.” He replies, massaging my thigh with his hand as his touch lulls me to sleep.

~*~

When my eyes peel open, I realize that I am no longer in Draven’s truck and am lying in my bed, tucked underneath my blankets. There is a half sheet of paper resting on my nightstand and a perfectly wrapped box sitting on my dresser. I reach over and unfold the piece of paper, reading the words out loud. “You looked peaceful so I decided to carry you up to your bed. Hope you don’t mind, I changed your clothes-” My words falter as I lift the blankets up, examining my body only to realize that I am still wearing the exact same clothes from earlier. I roll my eyes, finishing the reading of his dumb note. “Got ya, haha! Anyway… Happy birthday, Lucinda. I hope you like your gift, I picked it out myself.”

Smiling like a lovestruck character from one of my books, I hop off my bed and walk over to the dresser. I pick up the box and walk back over to my bed, setting the box down on top of it. My hands fumble around as I try to peel off the tape holding the lid to the package. After managing to remove the tape, I pull the lid off the box and release a gasp at the sight. Inside the box is a beautiful gown made of an expensive silver colored satin fabric. I pull the gown the rest of the way out of the box, holding it in the air. There is a deep plunge neckline, off the shoulder sleeves, a low cut open back, and a slit up the right side for leg reveal. I place the gown carefully on my bed, noticing three smaller packages inside the box. The first one is a pair of silver heels to go along with the dress, the second is a matching set of silver earrings with teardrop diamonds dangling from them, and the last is a silver necklace with a teardrop diamond.

My eyes fill with moisture as I place all the gifts onto my bed, staring down at the expensive objects. Releasing a sigh, I kneel down and slide the empty boxes underneath my bed. Afterwards, I walk over to my walk-in closet and pick out some matching lingerie that won’t be visible under the dress. Then, I walk to my bathroom and take a long, hot shower. Spending my time to cleanse my skin, shave my legs and lady bits, and then wash my hair with shampoo and repeat with conditioner. By the time I am finished with my shower, my mom enters my bathroom, knocking on the wall beside the shower to grab my attention.

“Moonbeam, are you about done? I want to style your hair and apply makeup for you. I have ideas to match Draven’s gifts.” She trills in her singsong voice from behind the frosted glass door, using the nickname I was given since birth.

“Just about done. I’m rinsing my hair.” I tell her and she hums her response, leaving the bathroom to wait for me in my room. I quickly finish my shower, step out onto the fur rug, grab my towel and dry my body off. Then I apply moisturizing lotion to my skin, pull on my white bra and underwear, toss my robe on after, and exit my bathroom to join her in my room. “Alright, mom. What’s the plan?” I ask, smiling in excitement.

Two hours later and her work to make me look flawless is complete. I stand up from the chair and slip on the gown that Drae bought for me, while mom helps me put the jewelry on. Then I walk over to my body-length mirror and stare at my reflection. My long, natural midnight-blue hair is pulled up in a beautiful twisted up-do with a few strands of curly hair framing the sides of my face. My eyelidss are done with silver eyeshadow in a smoky eye look to make my bright silver irises pop, black cat eyeliner, shimmery peach highlighter and rose red blusher to make my cheekbones stand more prominent against my ivory skin tone, and some red glossy lipstick that makes my apple red lips pop.

Straightening my posture, I test out my smile. "You can do this, Archer." I mumble to myself, narrowing my eyes at my reflection. “Believe in yourself. We are gonna do great." Catching my mother’s glance in the mirror, we stare at each other and laugh. She waves her hands and I follow her out of my room and downstairs to the back door.

We step out onto the back porch, looking out to the yard to see everyone already sitting in their seats, facing the stage that is set up in front of the creek. My father is standing beside the stage with Orpheus, the two of them engaged in a serious conversation. Draven is speaking to a few of his friends, his posture facing my general direction and when he notices my presence, his eyes travel up the length of my body. Mom smiles, catching Draven’s line of sight. She gives my hand a gentle squeeze in reassurance before releasing my grasp and patting my cheek lightly.

“You look gorgeous, moonbeam. Don’t you forget it.” She tells me before dropping her hand and walking over to my father.

I follow her with my eyes, watching as she wraps her arms around my dad’s waist from behind. Someone clears their throat behind me and I peek up above my eyelashes to look at the culprit. My eyes widen in surprise as Emeric stares at me with his mouth agape. He lowers his gaze to the floor, closing his mouth and then slowly drags his eyes up my body. A sigh leaves his orange plump lips as he scratches the back of his neck, making his biceps flex.

“Wow, Lucy….” He gasps, clenches his right hand into a fist and presses it against his lips. “You look breathtaking.” He whispers, breathing out a sigh while a light pink blush appears on his handsome face.

My eyes blink in confusion. First, at his compliment and then at his flustered appearance. Never in my life have I nor anyone seen Knight blush like this. It was oddly appealing and gave him a more charming boyish look instead of the typical arrogant prick that he goes for. “Thank you.” I mumble, feeling my own skin heat up in a blush as I drop my gaze to my feet.

“Why are you bothering her, Knight?” Draven appears out of nowhere to snap at Emeric. He grabs my hand, pulls me behind him, and squares his shoulders to try to make himself look bigger. Sadly, it doesn’t work out in his favor. Emeric has a few inches over him. “I thought I warned you to stay away from her. Know your f.ucking place and go sit down with everyone else.”

I gasp, narrowing my eyes at Drae’s cruel words and slap his arm. “Draven Arco! Are you serious right now? What the Hell is wrong with you?”

Draven huffs, glaring at Emeric and then back at me. “He is only trying to get you into bed with him, Lucinda. God, can’t you see that? I know you are not that naive.”

“Leave her alone, Arco.” Emeric warns him, straightening his posture to tower over Drae. “You are just as guilty as I am. Don’t pretend you actually love her.”

His words cause a flurry of emotions to swarm my already overwhelmed brain. Confusion. Doubt. Anger. Sadness. Fear. Annoyance. These all combine with the anxious nerves bubbling in my stomach, making a wave of nausea attack my system. I glare at both of them, tears stinging my eyes as I turn and run back inside my house. While rummaging through my cabinets in search of some anti-nausea medicine, I hear someone step inside the house with me. “I don’t want to hear it, Draven. Just leave me be.” I call out to him, still rummaging through the cabinets.

He walks over to me, pressing the front of his body against the back of mine as he reaches above my head to grab the box of promethazine tablets. “Here.” Drae speaks softly in my ear. He steps back to give me space and I grab the box out of his hands.

“Thanks.” I mumble, peeling open the package and taking the recommended dosage. Then, I turn to walk out of the room but, before I can, Draven snatches my arm in his grasp and pushes me up against the counters. A jolt of pain shoots up my back from the impact just as his lips come crashing down on mine. Gasping, I place my hands on his chest and shove him off of me with all my might. “DRAVEN! WHAT THE HELL?!” I shout, moving away from him and crossing my arms over my chest.

He blinks a couple times as if not realizing what he had just done, looks at the wall behind me, runs his fingers through his hair. “F.uck, Lucinda… I am so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Just… go. I’ll be out in a minute.” I seethe, clenching my back teeth together. Draven sighs before walking back outside with everyone else.

Tears slide past my eyelashes and splash onto my cheeks just as my knees buckle under me, causing me to fall to the kitchen floor, hugging my knees against my chest. “Is this what you meant, Universe? Is that what you were trying to tell me?!” I holler at nothing.

Black makeup stains my skin and I sigh, realizing that I probably just messed up my makeup. I stand up to my feet and carry myself up to my room. After wiping away the streaky makeup, I quickly apply a fresh layer, fixing my disheveled appearance. Peeking over at the clock on my nightstand, I see the time reads 11:58. I check myself once more in the mirror before heading back downstairs. My feet carry me over to the back door and I peek outside, noticing that everyone has their attention on the stage. Orpheus is standing in front of the microphone, delivering his long speech about the century old tradition. I watch as his lips form the syllables of my name and all eyes glance over at the glass door that I am standing in front of. My hands wrap around the door knob, twisting it and I push the door open. Just as I step outside onto the back patio, I hear the grandfather clock go off as the clock strikes midnight and that is when a loud scream bursts through my lungs.