Chapter 2

I had missed dinner last night. Death was the only natural occurrence that felt unnatural. The concept of here one day and gone the next felt like an unfair deal due to its unpredictable terms.

Though death seemed unfair, I knew it was necessary. For all good things cannot live forever, for they would seize to be good and turn wicked with time.

But this death was unjust. He was just a boy and seeing the first friend I made here dead just minutes after speaking with him left me stumped.

Death followed me like a shadow sometimes taking away people I loved and leaving me whole to witness the carnage and heartache. For a long, while I had come to the conclusion I was cursed only to have the packs Oracle Reuel laugh in my face, and Reuel never laughed.

These thoughts were consuming and due to being stuck in my head recoiling back into my shell of numbness, I had missed breakfast. Besides, the thought of food had my stomach clenching. I was simply not hungry.

According to the school, Seth's death was the result of a heart attack. For a skinny lanky boy like Seth who looked as healthy as a horse, it sounded unbelievable that his heart would just fail him.

The lecture room door opened and in walked one of the Valentine boys. It was the boy that looked like he had a chip on his shoulder. The boy with the light brown hair and nasty glares." Mr. Valentine," the professor stopped his introductory speech on evolution. "Just because your father is the headmaster of this establishment it does not excuse your tardiness young man."

The boy smiled coyly. "I was with my father sir," he responded in a fluent English accent. "If you don't believe me you welcome to check but I caution you my father is a busy man and he will not take lightly interruption just because I was ten minutes late to your lecture."

Gina nudged me with her elbow. I tore my gaze away from the scene in front of me most of my classmates were engrossed in. "Who is he?" There was an underlying tone in Gina's voice it almost sounded like she was impressed by his lack of manners.

"Take a seat. Mr. Valentine," the professor seethed and the boy smirked as he walked past him and moved to sit behind me and Gina in the last row of chairs in the room.

The register was being passed around and the professor looked up at all of us. "So we will be starting on darwins theory of relativity to make sure we are all just not here for a good time. Who can tell me what are the five main points of Darwin's theory?" A few hands flew up and he completely ignored them and tapped on the desk of a boy that was sleeping on his bag. The boy woke with a fright and the professor glared and shook his head. "You, tell me what is your name?" He asked and the boy looked around confused causing some kids to snicker.

"Chad, sir."

"Well, Chad I can assure you that this isn't nap time. If you are already feeling the pressure of university I suggest you try going back to daycare where you will be rewarded for napping." The majority of the students tried to hold in their laughter and the professor picked his head up once more. "Someone answer my question before I make you all read up to page fifty-five tonight."

"Darwin's theory explains_" a girl began and Gina handed me the register.

My name was not on the register since I was a last-minute applicant. I wrote my name down. It was an odd name to have but it was the pack's name and we all used it as our surnames.

Obsidian.

I signed next to my name and passed the register back and looked back up to pay attention to the lesson. The girl had already finished listing three of the five points.

I heard the sound of something snapping behind me. It sounded like a pencil and then the chair scraped against the tiles. The Valentine boy stormed out of the class with ink dripping from his hand.

"What's his problem?" Gina whispered.

He was a strange case. "Your guess is as good as mine."

The professor sighed heavily and shut the door. "It seems Mr. Valentine has better things to do today."

Lunch was served at ten am and I still wasn't hungry. But considering my last meal was a banana and a slice of wheat toast yesterday, I needed to put some food in my body.

I sat in front of my tray of French fries in the large dining hall that had circular tables and silver stainless steel chairs. I had only managed to eat half of my French fries, my stomach was not complying with necessity.

"Hey, do you guys mind?" A girl asked and I recognized her from yesterday. The girl with the bronze hair and green eyes, that seemed like a professional on the Dean and his family. Her dark-haired friend was beside her.

"Not at all," Gina gestured for them to sit and the girl sat down with her friend.

"I'm Robin," she introduced herself.

"Alex," the dark-haired one said. She seemed quite unlike the extroverted Robin and began flipping through a small black book.

"So what do you girls think about our resident celebrities?" Robin asked.

I looked up to see her stuff a forkful of salad in her mouth as she waited for our response. "She means the Valentines." Alex sighed and something told me this was a topic she was already bored of.

"Ahh me God," Gina gasped. "May and I 'ave one in our biology class. The guy kind of seems like a total arse if you ask me." 

"You probably have Levi. He is a freshman and his siblings are sophomores," Robin immediately clarified, "and besides they are to be a bit bucky," she defended him. "I mean who wouldn't be with this immense amount of pressure on them." She rambled on justifying them and then suddenly she stood. "Crap I forgot my biology textbook back in class. I'll be back," she rushed towards the exit of the dining hall without so much of a second word.

Gina let out a long whistle. "Geez, She is team Valentine all de way isn't she."

"You have no idea," Alex said.

The dining hall suddenly went quiet and we looked around to see the Valentine's walking in. Their faces looked troubled and as usual, they paid no heed to their hundreds of viewers.

They were too involved in their silent arguments. They moved to sit at the table in front of ours and Levi, the boy that was in our biology class picked his head up and glared in my direction. I put my head down wondering if it was because I was staring.

"May, Levi is starin at you," Gina whispered and I looked up to see his eyes were fixated on me, unblinking as his jaw ticked and fists balled.

I looked at him as I tried to ponder what his problem was. I was starting to feel uncomfortable and self-conscious wondering if he was staring because I had ketchup on my face. I touched the side of my face just to be sure and it was clean.

It had become a staring contest but this time I felt scared to look away or even blink. For a second it looked like the under of his eyes darkened. I stood unable to take the intensity of his stare any longer.

"You okay?" Gina asked and Alex looked up at me.

"Yeah, I just need the bathroom." I excused myself and left the dining hall with my bag. I walked to the end of the hallway where I saw the sign for a bathroom.

I slipped into the bathroom and went over to the long vertical mirror on the wall. My face was clear of any food remnants so I slipped into one of the stalls. I did need the bathroom.

As I pulled my pants off and sat on the toilet seat I heard the door open and close. I heard lazy footsteps and then I saw a pair of men's shoes under the stall door, facing me. The person reached under the door with their tattooed hand and snatched my bag.

"Excuse me. If this is a prank-" he walked away and I stood and pulled my jeans back up. I opened the stall door to find no one was there and in the mirror the words, you have ten seconds to run before I change my mind, were written in red. 

I walked over to the mirror and found my red lipstick laying in the sink. "This is not funny." I turned and began looking under the doors of the stalls to see if the person was still in here as I looked under the stall something caught my eye and I jumped in fright to see Levi standing behind me.

"You should have run," he said wrapping his hand around my throat.

"Why are you doing this?" I struggled to get the words out. He was crushing my windpipe and I tried with both my hands and all my strength to pry his hands off my neck.

He glared into my eyes. His hatred for me as clear as day. "Because your pack is responsible for my mother's death."

His beautiful face contorted and his eyes turned red as the skin under his eyes darkened as black veins crawled up his cheeks. He hissed flashing a set of fangs. "V-a-m-p-i-r-e," I struggled to say as my blood went ice cold.

I knew I was going to die. It was amazing how my life came full circle. My blood relatives were killed by vampires and me spared just to be killed by them later on in life.

"You human," he smiled, "are you a spy?" I couldn't breathe let alone talk. My head started to feel light at my limited supply of oxygen. He bit into his wrist tearing his flesh and pushing the open wound that oozed with blood against my mouth, forcing his blood down my throat. When he removed his hand I spat the blood out messing his face and clothes with it. I knew what he was trying to do and I'd rather die than him turn me into a vampire. "I want to see how those wolves rip you to pieces after this." He began squeezing my neck again. His grip got tighter and I choked and gasped as I tried to kick and scream.

I could feel my head getting light and my breaths came out shallow. This was it. I was going to die. The bathroom door burst open and his brother and sister ran in. "Levi are you insane!" His brother shouted. "Leave her brother. The girl is innocent in this." Joshua pushed Levi away from me and I fell to the ground gasping for air. I began coughing and droplets of blood littered the floor. "This is beneath you," Joshua told him. "She's a human girl Levi."

The realization that his blood was in my system had my stomach churning and hot tears wet my cheeks. There were two ways one could become a vampire. Venom or drinking their blood. I was more than terrified.

I had vampire blood in my system and I was left alone with vampires that wanted me dead for some reason. "How did you find us?" Levi got down to eye level with me and I pressed my back against the wall to get an inkling of space away from him.

Then as if I heard a voice in my head. A voice I hadn't heard in over ten years.

'You never show monsters' fear, yes they are stronger but you are smarter. They can be killed just be strategic about it,' Dallas my huntress mother once told me.

"I wasn't looking for you," I found my voice, gaining my second wind. I looked him dead in his cool blue eyes and he brought his face inches away from mine our noses almost touching.  "I'm here to study. I have no idea who any of you are."

"You are a part of the Arizonian Obsidian wolf pack. You reek of mongrel."

"Don't you dare speak of my family like that," I seethed through clenched teeth.

"Levi stop it. She was probably a little girl when we lost mother. It was years ago," his sister Hannah tried to pull him away from me and he shrugged her off.

"Your Alpha's son killed my mother," Levi roared in my face.

My eyebrows furrowed. Was he insane? Creed's son couldn't even hurt a fly if he tried. "You insane, Parker is only nine years old."

"Hannah this isn't going anywhere," Joshua said to his sister. "Do it and let's find out the truth before our brother rips her apart."

Hannah put her hand on Levi's shoulder and he stood and backed away from me. His eyes remained on me as he went to stand at the opposite end of the bathroom.

Hannah crouched in front of me. "I won't hurt you."

I was getting tired of the good cop, interrogative cop, and crazy cop routine the siblings had going on. "If you want to kill me just get it over with." I glowered at her and she sighed and placed her hands on either side of my face staring deep into my eyes.

"Sleep," she whispered and my eyes instantly felt heavy as darkness overtook me.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

I awoke on something soft. As my vision cleared up I noticed I was on a bed in a room. I sat up to see all three of them watching me. Coming to my senses I grabbed the lamp from the bedside and held it in front of me as a weapon.

Joshua laughed, "What are you planning on doing with that, darling?" He walked over to me and took it out of my hands and placed it back on the nightstand.

Levi stood at the doorway his eyes frantic as he watched me."I'm so sorry about this," Hannah said and she looked remorseful but I had to wonder what kind of remorse did a vampire have. "We looked through your memories while you were asleep. You are not here to kill us. Our brother acted hastily."

I stood and she blocked my path with her vampire speed causing me to stumble back. "We won't hurt you May." She put her hands in front of her in an attempt to calm me.

I sidestepped her and I moved quickly to the door. Levi stood in front of it with his arms folded as he scowled at me. This time he was dressed differently. In a black t-shirt and pants. He had tattoos running up his arms and neck. How different he looked from that evil creature that forced blood down my throat and tried to kill me in the bathroom. "Get out of way." I glowered at him. It didn't matter what face these creatures had. They were evil incarnate.

The taste of his putrid blood was still lingering in my mouth. It tasted like rust and seawater and I longed for anything to get the taste out. "You aren't going anywhere, love," he answered snappily.

"And if you all are not going to kill me. Why am I here?" I asked looking at all their faces.

"You have vampire blood in your system." Levi smiled down at me. "It simply means if you die in the next twenty-four hours. I get to rip your heart from your chest and I'd hate to have to do that to you."

I looked up at him. "You didn't seem to hate it all that much earlier," I retorted.

"So the Obsidian wolf pack has a new alpha. Your memories reveal that is your brother and he too was once human?" Joshua inquired. "You have to forgive us. We were unaware of your motives."

"Brother I beseeched thee not to play the harmless nobleman when you, yourself were fangs deep in an entire village of humans after our mother's passing," Levi glowered at his brother.

"It was eleven years ago. When are you going to stop bringing it up? Our mother's death left us all devastated."

"So you get to slaughter an entire village and when I go after a member of the clan responsible for her death, I'm painted the villain."  He laughed but there was no humor in the sound.

"No one is making you the villain," Hannah chimed in. "Levi she is not a wolf. She isn't even related to any of them. She was adopted. She is not like them," Hannah voiced. I must admit it did hurt when she spoke of my relation to the pack in that way and I felt violated that they were in my head. Digging and learning everything about my past.

"Hannah your heart is soft. She grew up with wolves. Just because she is human doesn't mean she is feeble. She probably knows how to kill a vampire," Levi voiced his concerns. "Isn't that right, love?" He looked at me. He walked across the room and picked up a wooden rocking chair. He threw the rocking chair against the wall startling me and his siblings.

My heart rate picked up to the extent I could hear it in my ears. He was a psychopath. "Go ahead, there are sharp pieces of wood all around. Have at it. Take your shot, love."

"Brother control yourself," Joshua warned.

"Are you going to try and kill us?" Hannah asked me.

I hated vampires. They were the reason my life was the circus show it was."You saw my memories so you know the pain your kind has brought upon me."

Joshua looked at me with sympathy in his eyes. "I can understand your pain. Our mother was killed by a wolf by the name of Micah Obsidian, eleven years ago, May. You can understand the mix-up," Joshua tried to play mediator and I remembered this story.

Hera told it to me years ago. "Micah was killed by my brother when he became Alpha of the Obsidian wolf pack. Your mother was avenged. My mother was killed by your kind and the perpetrator is probably still out there. I lost my entire family because of creatures like you. So you lot can rest easy knowing justice has been served for your lost mother and y'all can leave me the hell alone because  I have nothing left to say to any of you." I pushed past Levi and he grabbed my arm.

"Your mother was killed by vampires?" He repeated and it almost looked like his eyes softened.

"Are you mocking me? You invaded my mind while I was asleep. Was it not enough. Do you want the narration too?" He looked at me with his mouth agape.

"I didn't look into your memories," he said and I scoffed. Like I would ever believe the words of a conniving vampire. "Stay the hell away from me all of you," was my final word as I pushed past Levi with force and left the room.