I was going on instinct as I rocked my hips and kept our eye contact, and when the light returned to my hands, I knew that it was the right thing to do. It pulled my attention to his chest, and I watched as white light ebbed into his wounds, clotting his blood and sealing his wounds. The energy that surged through me before, slowly faded from my body, pooling in my hands as I healed him. I cried in relief as his heartbeat quickened and he stopped wheezing.
“Kai'sa,” Monte whispered lustfully, his hands traveling the length of my torso and cupping my breasts.
I quieted him with my lips, moving them along with his joyfully. Vulnerability came over me as the energy completely faded and in its place, I began to feel the amorous rush through my being. Sensual heat pooled in my skin and I felt hot as Monte's hands moved to my hips to aid in the motion of my hips. I found myself awash in desire as our kiss went from joyful to lustful, hungrily searching and pleading for more.
Monte took control over me, rolling until my back was pressed against the tile. His hips moved powerfully, his thrusts urgent and passionate as our lips came together again. I basked in the feeling as it enveloped me, alerting every nerve ending in my body and setting them on fire. My heart raced as his hands captured mine, his fingers lacing through mine as he pinned them to the floor. I couldn't help the muffled, vulnerable sounds that escaped my lips.
As we made love amid the world crumbling around us, I made an important realization: I was just as wildly in love with Monte as he had confessed to. He had been the reason for my happiness for so long and I was just realizing how much he meant to me, how much I relied on and cared for him. That is why I wanted him so close to me tonight, and why I felt so vulnerable and empty when he wasn't next to me. I needed him just as much as I needed the air that filled my lungs.
Seven
“You guys look different,” Ophelia stated as we walked to the headmaster's office, her eyebrows furrowed. “What happened in the library?”
I flushed immediately, smiling sheepishly at Monte when we locked eyes. He chuckled and smiled affectionately. It sent butterflies through my stomach and I looked back at Ophelia when the intensity of his stare became too much.
“Kai'sa saved my life,” Monte said, his hand brushing up against mine in a subtle way. “You should've seen her, it was truly extraordinary to see.”
She rose her eyebrow. “Mm, I'm sure it was.”
A silence fell over us as we entered the headmaster's quarters, our footsteps echoing through empty halls. It was eerily quiet and pristine, unlike the blood-soaked grounds outside. My stomach was in knots as we got further inside, a bad feeling creeping up. I couldn't explain it, but I suddenly felt as if we were in worse danger than before, and it amplified into mistrust as Monte's hand rapped the door thrice. Maybe we shouldn't be here. I thought as the door opened.
“Why aren't you in your dorms? I was clear about anyone who wandered the courtyard, wasn't I?” The headmaster scolded, his eyes focused mostly in my direction.
“Sir, we just want to know what's going on. Our friend is dead,” Ophelia piped up, her voice breaking as she spoke of Aubrielle. “And, we need answers.”
He sighed heavily and stepped to the side to allow us inside. “Come take a seat, and I'll try to explain it to the best of my ability.”
The three of us walked past the headmaster and took a seat on his couch, looking at him expectantly as he joined us. He looked tired, but on edge as if something was on his mind – and maybe not working out for him. I chalked it up to the epidemic happening, but the feeling inside gave me doubts.
“I am deeply sorry to hear about your friend's passing. It really is a tragedy, she was so young and had a lot going for her,” the headmaster mused, his sympathetic expression insulting at best as his lips twitched between a frown and a smile.
Neither of them seemed to catch it, as they thanked him for his condolences and continued to listen to him as he gave a speech about the epidemic. He told them that the Blood Moon was an unfortunate event that the school had missed, and their negligence to quarantine the students was inexcusable. And they believed him, as I studied the subtle, inadvertent movements he made. He continued to pick at his cuticles, and he was tapping his foot in intermittent times. It made him look guilty in my eyes and that mistrust grew when my eyes found his calendar. He had today's date circled quite a few times, and in small lettering, he'd written BM with an exclamation mark.
“You knew,” I stated, interrupting him as my eyes turned to meet his.
“Excuse me, Ms. Estrange?” He asked, stunned.
“You knew that the Blood Moon was tonight, it's marked on your calendar. So, why are you lying to us?” I challenged.
He chuckled nervously. “I don't know what you're talking about. You must be very exhausted from all the excitement.”
I stood up and ripped the calendar off the wall, shoving it in his face. “Stop lying to us! Our friend is dead because of you! Tell me why you did it!”
His entire demeanor changed after that. Eyes narrowed, lips turned up in a malicious smile, he stood confidently before me. “Fine. I knew and I didn't do anything to stop it. But, if you're looking for someone to blame, you should look inward. You are the reason that all those people are dead and so many are wounded. Because of you, once the sun rises and people return to normal, there will be cries of anguish and self-loathing so strong it's palpable.”
His confession took me by surprise and anger rose in my chest.
“How is Kai'sa responsible for any of this? She didn't even know about the Blood Moon until I told her,” Monte defended, taking a defensive stance over me.
The headmaster's face scrunched in disgust. “It's not about her knowledge, it's about her power. Kai'sa is an abomination, an insult to us all, her existence is blasphemous. She will be the end of the Paranormal community. When people find out about her, they will hunt us into extinction.”
“I'm not a deity, I'm just a shifter with an odd resemblance to the moon Goddess. What is it with you people?” I growled, pushing passed Monte. “YOU are responsible for the deaths and their blood is on your hands! I will make you pay for this, I'll tell everyone what you've done and The Society will have your head!”
Again, he chuckled, crossing the room to his office door. “Oh, but how will you do that if you're friends take that pretty little head of yours? The moon is still up for another hour, my dear. Better run fast,” he taunted as he pulled the double doors open, and after snapping his fingers, he disappeared through.
I started to run after him when my body crashed to the ground and Monte's weight kept me there. His eyes were crazed and he was snarling at me, fangs bared as he reached his hand back and swiped at me. Caught off guard, he managed to hit me and his claws tore the flesh of my collarbone and chest.
“Monte, what are you doing?” I cried out in pain, wincing as it began to sting.
From behind us, I could hear Ophelia chanting again, the water ball pooling between her hands. She had the same look in her eyes as she absently stared at us.
“Oh, not you, too!” I groaned, struggling to keep Monte at bay as he tried to swipe at me again.
“You're the reason that Aubrielle is dead,” Ophelia whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. “I'll make you pay for it, even if it means taking you both out!”
She began raising her hands and I rolled us out of the way just in time. The water hit the floor as electricity licked the puddle violently. It sent fear through me to think about what it would feel like if we had been hit with that.
“You have to fight this, Ophelia! We aren't your enemies!” I begged her as I dodged Monte's quick, deadly strikes.
She put her fingertips together again, charging another attack, and I changed my approach. Fighting with Monte, I managed to get away and bolt through the office doors before she could strike, and I shut them tightly. My heart raced as someone began banging on the doors, the violent sound of each hit sent me back another step.
&nbs
p; I have to get away from them before they tare me apart, I thought desperately. How could the headmaster suddenly force the Blood Moon to affect them? They weren't affected before. He isn't a witch, so he couldn't have cast a spell on them. Unless he had a witch working for him. . . But, what kind of person would go along with a plan that involved killing developing shifters, vamps, and witches?
The wood began to splinter and break as each hit to the door made it weaker, and I growled as my feet carried me out of the building. How am I supposed to protect them, when I'm the one that needs protection?
*******
Running from a rabid shifter and a clever witch proved to be harder than I thought. For an hour, I ran and I hid, but every time I tried to catch my breath they were right there to punish my decision to stop running. Ophelia's attacks were getting increasingly closer to me and eventually she managed to hit me with one. It grazed the right side of my body and soaked me to the bone, the electricity weakening my resolve. Its powerful currents licked the wounds that Monte had put on me, reopening them and blinding me momentarily. But, I kept running and bit my tongue against the pain that weighed me down.
“Come down from there!” Monte shouts, shaking the tree as I cling to the trunk.
“We just wanna talk,” Ophelia added, putting her fingers together.
I impatiently looked toward the sky as the sun slowly began to rise. Just a few more minutes, and I can rest. I thought as my muscles started to break down and my eyes started to droop, my sense of survival starting to dissolve.
Ophelia's ball was nearly at its peak and I braced myself for its impact, no time to try and dodge it this time. My eyes darted between her and the sky as time seemed to move in slow motion. The sun seemed to be taunting me as its rays slowly broke through the trees and washed us in its light, stunning Monte first. And a few seconds later, Ophelia. Her eyes blinking as the spell she'd begun casting shot through the tree and washed me in water. This time, the contact of her attack sent my body into convulsions and everything went black.
Prologue
I woke up in the infirmary. The sounds of pain and anguish piercing as the nurses treated the wounded. I watched as they rushed around urgently between patients, looking exhausted and grim. So many students were wounded last night, and as I took in my surroundings, I realized that we had only helped a small percentage of them.
“You're awake,” Ophelia sighed in relief, grabbing my hand tightly. “I'm so sorry, Kai'sa! I-I don't know what happened, one second we were in the headmaster's office and the next you fell from that tree. You scared the hell out of us, the nurses said if my spell had been even a little bit stronger, you may not have survived it.”
I sat up, grimacing from the pain. “Ophelia, you weren't in your right mind. It isn't your fault, so don't apologize. Where is Monte?”
“He's helping the teachers round up the dead, we're holding a big memorial for everyone. I tried to volunteer in his stead, but they insisted that a stronger shifter help,” she explained, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
“I should be helping, too,” I told her firmly, slowly getting out of the bed.
“You should be resting,” Ophelia scolded.
I ignored her comment and started toward the exit. “I'm not missing Aubrielle's memorial, I'll rest later.”
*******
The memorial was set for the following day, to give the wounded a chance to recover, but we needed to say goodbye to our fallen friend in peace. So, as dusk approached, the three of us traveled to her grave to say a few words about Aubrielle. Monte had argued for my recovery, but quickly backed down when I told him it wasn't happening. He reverted to the overprotective man he had been last night, but I didn't mind it now. It was comforting to have his hand in mine as we stood over Aubrielle's grave and tears disappeared into the earth.
“I will get revenge on the man who did this, Aubrielle,” I began when my turn to speak came around. “So that you may rest easy knowing that the man responsible for your death is rolling in his grave. I will keep good on your dying wish and keep living on in your memory so that you may smile from the afterlife knowing that we're safe and happy. Even though a piece of us is missing and our hearts will never be as full, you'll always be there deep down inside of me.”
THE END
Character Descriptions:
Kai'sa Estrange, 18, 5'3” tall, voluptuous figure and agile muscles. Long, shimmering white hair. Heterochromia in both eyes: one ice blue with gold ribbons, the other bright green with brown ribbons. Tan with tribal brand over her left bicep (given at age five). She is kind and passive, but strong and assertive when she needs to be with the blood of an Alpha. Uninterested in love at the beginning of the book, but by the time she needs to save Monte, she will become passionate and incredibly loyal to him. (Her real parents are still alive, but distance themselves for Kai'sa's safety.) She will become very protective of those closest to her after this book.
Monte Scout, 18, 6'0” tall, muscular figure and strong muscles. Jet black hair, shaven close on the sides and longer on the top. Brown eyes and freckled nose. Tan with lots of scars from battling in his old pack. He is kind and protective of Kai'sa. His love for her runs deep and has for a very long time. His family have been dead for a good portion of his life and it has made him secretly crave one – which is where his loyalty and protection over Kai'sa comes into play. The same could be said for Aubrielle and Ophelia, but more of a brotherly protection over them. Once he fears for his life, Monte will lay everything out for Kai'sa – his dying wish.
Ophelia Day, 18, 5'6” tall, a little out of shape but toned muscles. Dyed pink hair, mostly worn in space buns or a messy bun, but lies to her middle when down. Ocean blue eyes with thick eyelashes. She has a few self-given stick and poke tattoos on her forearms and has her tongue pierced. Her skin has an olive-tone to it and is nearly flawless. She is a kind, water-based witch, who loves helping others with her magic. Like Kai'sa, Ophelia prefers NOT to fight or harm another living being, but she will if her friends are in danger. Aubrielle's death will affect her greatly, as she has been in love with her for a very long time and never got to tell her how she felt. (Her character development in the next book will be vast and dark.)
Quantum Minds Page 4