Margret crossed her arms. Her hair was tucked back into a tight bun and was wrapped in a handkerchief. There were large black circles under her eyes. She'd just woken up, but she looked more than just tired from a bad nights sleep. Her cheeks sagged and she chewed on her bottom lip.
"I don't think you should go to school."
Ren had just put on his hoodie when she walked in. His brows furrowed as he looked at her.
He didn't want to say she looked bad. However, that was the first thing he wanted to blurt out.
"Did something happen?"
She didn't know he knew about the murders. The last thing played in their house was the news. He knew she was trying to shield him away from the horrible propaganda made up about vampires and the unjust rulings made on vampires cases. It wasn't anything new. He'd seen and heard about it all, but she still tried to shield him from what he already had to experience in real life.
"Nothing major, but…"
She didn't have to say it for him to know what she meant.
The Hunter Society was back. Back when they were still "official", vampires weren't allowed in the same building as humans. Things were different now but they weren't much better.
He pulled his hood over his head. "They can't kill me. That'd be bad publicity."
He gave a weak smile. He meant it as a joke, but he didn't even find it funny. By the way she looked at him after, she didn't find it funny either.
On his way out, he hugged her. She didn't respond. She was far away, removed from the moment. He understood on some level. He too wished he didn't exist.
Though prepared for a change, he was still taken aback by the hostility in the air when he stepped into his first period.
All eyes were on him. He wasn't the only vampire that went to this school. There was a set of twins that had been adopted into a rich family. He didn't know them personally and he'd only gotten a glimpse of them when they weren't surrounded by a group of fan girls.
The twin girls weren't like him though. They were beautiful and had a well known family to stand behind them. They were exotic and had a following that would die protecting them.
Ren was on his own. He was even more different. He was the talk of the town because of what his father had done. Not only was he a vampire—he was the product of a violent vampire. The blood inside him was ruthless and evil.
Mr. Kale was standing by the door when Ren walked in. He gave Ren a long and tense stare. "Good morning, Mr. Cornelli."
Ren's throat went tight. "Good morning, Mr. Kale."
He didn't have to imagine Kale's hand around his throat to feel it. He knew that look in Kale's eyes. He'd seen it so many times in his short lifetime. When he was younger, it wasn't so bad. He'd been a small thing back then, something that could have been easily kicked away.
He was bigger now. He wasn't that tall, but he was fully grown. The people that hated him now had a reason to be really scared.
Ren had his backpack now. He was fully aware of the judging eyes on him. They thought he was the killer. They were thinking about what was in his bag. They were thinking about how he could attack them at any second.
He wasn't just a ticking time bomb. He was a maniac with no feelings. He was an emotionless killer.
As he sat down, he felt the surging anger swelling in his chest. That fucking thing was back. The anger and hatred he couldn't get over.
He gritted his teeth. He was so fucking done with all of this. He wished he would have stayed home, but he didn't want to be there when his mom was. It was awkward. And he was still irritated she had the nerve to keep things away from him but ride his ass about not telling her about the Mines.
The classroom door flew open. Ren kept drilling holes in his desk, not bothering to see who exactly was making a big scene.
"Mr. Kale! I finished my paper!"
Regan strutted in, waving a piece of paper in the air. He was alone, which was strange because he was always followed by his two stooges.
Kale ripped the paper out of Regan's hand. "A week late as expected. I'm proud you finished it at all though."
Ren rolled his eyes when Regan slid into his seat while trying to look cool. He got a couple laughs and that was enough to boost his ego to keep acting like a macho.
Ren zoned out for a bit while Regan kept disrupting Mr. Kale who was trying to get on with the next lesson.
The classroom door opened again.
"Ah, Darrien. I hoped you would be here."
Ren curiously looked up.
Darrien went up to Mr. Kale. He said something quietly to the teacher. Mr. Kale's face went blank and then he nodded.
Ren watched Darrien's body language. He couldn't gauge anything about what they were talking about.
Ren looked away when Darrien looked up. His eyes were on Ren now. Ren hadn't forgotten how strange he'd acted yesterday or that Darrien knew he was hanging around Ashton. He didn't know if Darrien knew Ashton was a Mantel though he absolutely knew Ashton was a vampire.
Regan stuck his leg out in the aisle. Darrien stopped in front of it. He slowly looked over at Regan.
Regan let out a low laugh. He was playing with the string of his jacket. "Are you going to say hi?"
Darrien looked at the offending leg. Ren watched with interest as Darrien kicked Regan's foot away. "No. I'm not."
He walked away, leaving Regan to glower at his back. Regan caught Ren looking at him. He flipped Ren off.
"Hey."
Mr. Kale was now talking about the Reginae government and how officials were elected. Ren wasn't paying attention at all. He wasn't even trying to pretend that he was. He was having a hard time keeping his thoughts straight. He didn't have much confidence in himself to be able to take notes.
Darrien sat in the desk in front of him. He had nothing with him as well.
"Can I borrow a pen and some paper?"
Ren sat emotionless. He met Darrien's eyes.
He wanted to ask if that was all he had to say to him. Darrien looked back at him. Nothing. No anger, no disgust, nothing. He was looking at Ren as if this was a normal conversation to be had with a vampire.
It wasn't refreshing. In fact, Ren found it more irritating than if Darrien had just hurled insults his way. He wanted a reaction. He wanted the same old. At least then he would know what he was dealing with.
What he got instead was a blank expression that helped him in no shape or form. Ren got the paper and pen, thrusting it out to Darrien so he wouldn't bother him again. But Darrien didn't turn around like he was supposed to. He was still looking at Ren.
"What?" He didn't mean for it to sound so hostile. He was trying so hard to keep his cool, but his irritable side was being affected by all the bad energy he was picking up from people.
It was like he could feel their thoughts inside his head. They weren't words or anything that could be interpreted as specific thoughts. It was just substance he had to wade through to get down to his real feelings. He wasn't hungry, wasn't entirely mad as he first thought, but he just wanted to get rid of this built up energy. It was like his arms and legs were trying to hit and kick without really searching for anything.
The energy in the room was heavy on him. He was being squashed with so many different strands he couldn't breathe without getting a burst of someone's negativity.
And then there was Darrien.
He was a black hole. He was sucking in the energy, making it easier to breathe, but there was also something hidden that made Ren recoil.
Darrien's eyes softened. He turned in his seat, muttering a thanks under his breath.
While glad to not be stared at so intensely, he could still feel the darkness not so different from his own. He was surprised and not sure what it meant.
***
Ren stood outside his locker, waiting for the next bell when he heard the chants. He looked around, watching others' reactions. They were just as confused as he was. He closed his locker. The chants were getting louder. People started moving in the direction the noise was coming from, but Ren was hesitant. He could feel the hatred in the air. This time, he could taste it. The feeling was shoved down his throat.
He put his palm to his chest. His heartbeat was steady, opposite of how he felt. He felt like he was swirling down a drain or that he was drowning in the middle of the ocean. He was grappling for something to hold onto, but the weight of the waves crashing into him pulled him down. His senses were muddled. This was worse than the scent of blood driving him crazy. This was worse than when he lost control of himself.
These were emotions he knew were not his own, but for some reason, they were affecting him like they were.
He knew it was a bad decision to go see what was happening. He knew he shouldn't do it, but his feet were already moving on their own. Each step was another step toward the engulfing flames of vile hatred, anger, and chaos. That horrid side of him wanted to be the center of it while the real side of him, his true self, was shivering with fear.
When he turned the corner of the hall, he saw a massive group of people staring and pointing at the front doors of the school.
His hand dropped to his side.
There were at least a hundred people outside the school. They were shouting, waving signs, and trying to get closer to the front doors. Officers blocked the entrance.
Ren edged closer. He mentally yelled at himself to get back, but it was lost in the void that was his mind. He didn't know it would get this bad. The stories, the horror stories, he heard in just the history books alone weren't enough to prepare for what it would feel like to actually see the hate in its true form.
"We want justice! We want justice!" They chanted over and over. They were getting closer and the officers didn't look like they were trying that hard to keep them away.
He caught sight of one of the signs.
It large and bold red lettering it said:
RID THIS NATION OF INFESTATION
He backed up.
"We want justice! We want justice!"
The screaming was too much. He couldn't breathe again.
He tried so hard to run away, but he was rooted in that spot, faced with all the things his mom had tried to hide him from. She tried so hard to raise him to be a normal person.
She couldn't have expected this.
And the only thing Ren blamed her for was protecting him. If she hadn't, maybe he wouldn't have been weak against the oncoming threats. Because that was what they were doing.
They were threatening him and every other vampire in this country.
If it was this bad already, how soon was it going to be so bad they came knocking on his door?
The answer was too soon. Too soon for him to be ready.
***
Ren didn't wait for anything when the last bell rang. He bolted out of his seat and raced out the back entrance of the school as fast as he could. The last hour of school had been full of tension and anxiety. He hadn't been able to focus on anything—though neither had anyone else. They were all talking about the riot that had broken out around the school. There was talk now that it wasn't just here. There were outbreaks everywhere.
He shoved the backdoor open. He froze when he wasn't greeted by an empty lot. Standing with one foot on the curb was Regan. He had a cigarette between his lips, unlit, and he was snapping a lighter open and close. He raised a brow when Ren stumbled out the door.
"Is Darrien with you?"
Ren panted. "What? No."
Regan looked him up and down. "Hm."
Ren looked around. He didn't trust Regan to be alone. Sam and Ollie were probably hiding around the corner, waiting for Regan to signal to them that it was go time to beat Ren up again. They'd done it before. He highly doubted they had become better people in the short five years.
"Have you heard about what they've been saying?" He plucked the cigarette out of his mouth. He put it away in his pocket with the lighter.
Ren wondered if it was all for show to make him threatened. It was having the opposite affect. He couldn't take Regan seriously when he was trying to be high and mighty. It was obvious he needed back up to do anything.
"Vampires aren't welcome here anymore. Your disgusting kind is going to be cut out of this town like the parasites you are."
The sickness came back. Ren ground his teeth. Buried under his fear was anger and rage. It was red hot, begging for a chance to show who Regan was messing with.
Regan stepped up onto the small sidewalk that wrapped around the building. Ren held his ground. His eyes flickered to the forest, to the path he took everyday. As much as he wanted to break out into a full on sprint, he couldn't get his legs to move. He was standing in cement, slowly sinking down. There was no connection to his legs from his brain. He was trapped in his shell of a body as Regan came closer.
Regan glared up at Ren. He was shorter, smaller, and it was a wonder how there could be so much anger trapped in such a tiny body.
"Remember what I did to you?" A smirk stretched across his face.
Ren's stomach lurched.
Regan frowned. "I should do it again. Are you still the same pussy? Are you going to fight back or are you going to curl into a ball like last time?"
He spat on the ground. The wad of spit landed on Ren's shoe. He looked down. He almost gagged.
He turned his face away, eyes staring at the still full parking lot. The chants were still going on. He hadn't been able to zone out of that. It was becoming too much all at once again. His heart was pounding in his chest. His throat was restricting and his fingers were twitching.
This time, the surge of emotions was too much. He could feel Regan's disgust and hate. He loathed Ren so much for something he couldn't control. But this was a different level of hate. It was blanketed in warmth and fear that didn't make sense with anything else Ren felt.
His eyes widened when he realized what it meant.
He looked back at Regan.
Regan was just as surprised. His brows furrowed as Ren looked at him with a hard gaze. He was seeing Regan in a different light. He now understood just why Regan had made him a target.
"I see," Ren said softly. He didn't try to hide the hardness in his voice. "You hate yourself."
Regan flinched like he'd been slapped. There was a change, a flicker, on his face where he wasn't hiding behind a cold mask of hate. Ren saw briefly who was under that mask and it was a scared boy who didn't know how to love himself. As cheesy as it sounded in Ren's head, that was the only way he could explain it directly to himself. The emotions flowing from Regan and into him were toxic. He couldn't stand them.
And just like he couldn't stand Regan for this reason, it made sense Regan couldn't stand Ren for the same.
For just this moment, Ren understood the turmoil Regan was going through. He still didn't like him, still thought he was a horrible person, but at least he had a reason for it. At least he wasn't an entire psycho for nothing.
However, Ren realized he'd made a big mistake.
Regan's face turned dark. His lips turned down so low it morphed his already ugly face into the most ghoulish face Ren had ever seen.
"The fuck did you just say?" Regan spat the words, not looking for an actual answer.
He shoved Ren back, his palms slamming hard into Ren's shoulders. Caught off guard, Ren didn't react. He fell back until he hit the brick wall. He was still reeling from Regan's emotions. They were some of the strongest he'd ever felt. It was like he was throwing them onto Ren, forcing him to feel the pain he was going through. The hate and the disgust were too much. They clogged his nose and lungs like smoke.
Like a volcano, his body was home to something much more deadly than what Regan was throwing at him. Regan's anger and hatred were no match to what was rising inside of Ren. The thing, the beast within him, was rising to the surface.
He could smell Regan's blood. It didn't matter that he wasn't bleeding. Ren could smell it in his veins and the animal was so thirsty.
A switch flipped inside him. His mind turned off, becoming numb to the pain and the guilt he'd been feeling since before he could remember. All that was left to drive his body was the need to take it out on everyone. He wanted revenge. He wanted to make everyone hurt just like he'd been hurt.
Regan's eyes widened. But Ren didn't care to find out what he was surprised by.
He punched Regan.
It happened faster than he could think, but he didn't want to think. He was swirling through a mist of rage. He was blind to right and wrong. All he could feel was excitement in his veins, the power he felt when his fist hit Regan's cheek.
The pain shot up his arm. He barely felt it. It was like a pinprick.
Regan stumbled back. He tripped down the slight slope of the sidewalk. His hand covered his left cheek. He stared wide eyed at Ren, mouth opening and closing like he was trying to come up with any words.
He pulled his hand back, stared at his fingers. He stared at them for a long time. His eyes were no longer surprised. They were processing what had happened, but he wasn't quite there. Ren knew that feeling. He understood it.
Regan dropped his hand. He turned his cold gaze to Ren once more. Their eyes locked.
Regan bared his teeth. "You're going to fucking regret that."
He charged toward Ren. He collided with him, shoving Ren's back even more into the bricks. His head slammed back with impact. He let out a groan, but the pain wasn't as bad as it should have been.
He let out an uncontrollable laugh. The laugh wasn't his own. It was manic, high pitched, and sounded like it was coming from the pits of hell.
"That's it?"
Regan growled.
He kneed Ren in the gut.
Ren didn't try to cover up the grunt. He was still laughing through it all. It wasn't as loud of a laugh as it had been before. He gasped between the little chuckles which made it sound even more demonic.
Tears pooled in his eyes. "That's it?"
Regan's face was red now. He looked like he was about to pull a vein in his forehead. That just made Ren laugh harder.
He could take the pain. He could take whatever Regan threw at him and he didn't think there was anything he could do that would truly cause Ren pain. For some reason, he wasn't as blood thirsty as he first thought. The need for revenge had subsided. He wanted Regan to get angry. He wanted to feel it coursing through him and devour it. It wasn't enough compared to blood, but it was like his body still needed it.
A grin stretched across his face. It felt like someone was stretching his cheeks, pulling his skin tight, and forcing him to smile. He was receding back into the cage that was his body. The dark thing took control. It had full control and he was a passenger to whole thing.
Regan threw his fist. He aimed for Ren's stomach, but before his fist could make its target, Ren kicked his leg out.
His foot slammed into Regan's hip, sending him back and toppling over. He sprawled out on the ground.
He jumped to his feet in a second. He wasn't giving up. Both Ren and the dark thing were both enamored by that. Regan was a fighter that was for sure. It was only too bad he was a shithead.
Regan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Just at that moment, when Ren thought the real fight was about to begin, someone shouted. It wasn't a shout from the marchers.
It was Darrien.
His face was flushed and by the furious look in his eyes, he wasn't happy.
"Finally," Regan spat out. "I've been looking for you."
Darrien looked between the two of them. "What is going on?"
Ren pressed his lips together. Regan gave him a side eye before he looked back at Darrien.
"What do you think is going on?"
There was something manipulative about the way he phrased the question. The hair on the back of Ren's neck stood up. He tried once more to gauge Regan's reaction to Darrien, but it was too hard to read.
Darrien tilted his head. He looked Regan up and down.
He turned his gaze to Ren. His face was calm, but he was livid on the inside. Ren had no idea what had happened for Darrien to be this pissed off.
This was definitely not good. These two hot headed people were right in front of him and with it mixing with the chanting crowd, he was about to burst because of all the negative energy.
He didn't know if it was good or bad that he didn't have control of himself. He just hoped he didn't do something horrific. As much as he didn't like Regan, he didn't want to kill him. He didn't want to kill anyone.
"If you don't mind—"
Darrien grabbed Regan's arm and dragged him out to the parking lot.
"Let go of me!" Regan tried to pull his arm out of Darrien's grasp, but Darrien was stronger. "What the fuck?"
Ren and the dark thing were both caught off guard by what had happened. He watched as Darrien shoved Regan into his car. He said something to Regan that Ren couldn't hear, but it caused Regan to stop fighting. He was glaring daggers at Darrien though Darrien didn't seem at all bothered by it.
Ren was left confused as they drove out of the parking lot. But he was also glad he didn't have deal with Regan anymore.
It wasn't that Regan had been relentless with his taunts and beating.
It was because Ren had been afraid that one more shove and Regan would have been dead on the asphalt.