"What are you going to do about her?" Asher asked. He moved to the chair opposite Axel and sat down. Knowing Axel, he could tell that the guy was already making plans in his head.
"I don't know. I feel something is not right with her and I intend to find out what it is. Also, my theory about her being the black venom may not be true. She may be something else. So I am keeping her safe until I find out what she is." Axel said but Asher threw him a disbelieving look.
"What?" Axel queried and Asher shook his head. He knew there was more to it than Axel was revealing, but he decided to leave it be for now.
"You should take her to Nana Zica. She is the only one who can give you an accurate answer." Asher suggested
"I thought of that, but I don't think I can trust Nana to keep her mouth shut."
"She's not trustworthy, but she's your only shot at getting to the root of this matter in the quickest way."
Axel nodded slowly, acknowledging what Asher said. Even though Alita's strange ability puzzled him, something else about her bothered him. It was as if something had stirred up within him since the very moment he cast his eyes on her at the bar. The sudden need to protect her came over him and in the whole world, he only feels that way toward one person. Why was he feeling that way towards a strange human he just met, who may just be the greatest threat to his kind?
***
Alita woke up with a start. Despite the cool weather, tiny beads of sweat could be seen on her forehead. With eyes wide open, she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling while her ragged breathing slowly normalized.
A nightmare had jolted her awake, one she had not had for the past three years. Every night since that incident, had been torturous for her. She relived the experience in her dreams until the day her abilities activated. It's been three years now without such a nightmare so she didn't understand why she had it again today.
She turned her head sideways and her eyes fell on the clock beside her bed. A sigh escaped her lips as she rolled off the bed. It was 6 am already and she was expected to be in school by 7 am. Only three hours of sleep, all thanks to Kayla and that stupid vampire.
Hurriedly, she prepared for school and finished just in time to catch the bus. She grabbed her phone, bag, and jacket from the bed, and stormed out of her bedroom. While going to the front door, she caught sight of the ruined shirt she had promised to replace. A sharp glare was sent to the piece of clothing before she picked it up and stuffed it inside her bag.
Normally, her class starts at eight, but the school suddenly decided to change her project supervisor to one heartless vampire who is bent on frustrating her life. He had told her that he wouldn't attend to her if she comes even a minute past seven. This is the third time she would be going to his office for the same purpose.
The first topic she picked was rejected by him, even though her previous supervisor already approved it. His reason had been that the topic was too easy for her level, it feels like she is looking for the easy way out. The second topic she presented was also rejected for the exact same reason.
Standing in front of the door now, she wished she could get the school to change her supervisor to someone else. A soft sigh escaped her lips before she knocked on the door.
"Come in." A man's voice sounded from the other side of the door.
Alita turned the knob and pushed the door open. She stepped inside the office, closing the door behind her. Her eyes met with the eyes of the one person she did not wish to see. If not for her project, she would joyfully avoid him until she leave the school.
"Good morning, Mr. Silas." She greeted while walking toward his table.
"Miss Lucius, you are on time today." The heartless red-haired vampire said. His rectangular face is set in a rigid and pensive state.
Alita huffed internally. What is he talking about? She had always been on time, not one minute late. It seems the man is suffering from memory loss or he had a few loose screws in his head.
Instead of rolling her eyes or scowling at him —which she seriously wanted to do by the way— a ghostly smile appeared on her face.
"I'm hoping you have come up with something good enough to impress me." His brows rose higher while he spoke.
"I have three topics today. I'm willing to work with any one of them you chose." Alita said as she reached inside her bag to pull out a file. Her voice was the exact opposite of how she was feeling inside.
The man looked from her to the file in her hand, then back to her. "I see. You can drop it on the table and leave. I'll take a look at it later. Come back for it tomorrow." He said, after which he shifted his attention back to the stack of paper he was working on.
This is not a good sign, Alita thought. Why didn't he just check it now and pick one for her to start working on already? If he was going to leave it for later, why did he ask her to come this early?
"Is there something else you want?" Mr. Silas asked when she didn't move from where she was standing.
Alita quickly shook her head and moved to drop the file on the table. Without waiting for another second, she exited the office and went straight to the cafeteria. Her stomach had been grumbling since she woke up, but because she had to meet the heartless supervisor, she had not bothered to eat anything.
After picking up her food from the counter, she went to sit at a table in the corner. Her phone rang out when she started eating and she picked up without checking who the caller is. Her circle is a small one so there are only a few people who would actually call her.
She pressed the phone to her ear, but before she could say anything, Kayla's voice screeched.
"What the hell, Lita, where are you? And why aren't you picking up your calls?"
Alita moved the phone away from her ears as a grimace appeared on her face. "No need to scream, Kayla. I'm at the cafeteria." She said as she chewed on her food.
"Stay right there. I'm on my way." Kayla's voice bounced back before a beep sound was heard, signifying that the call had been disconnected.
Alita dropped her fork and scrolled through her phone. She had been in so much hurry that she didn't even get time to check her phone. There were several missed calls and messages from Kayla.
It didn't take long before Kayla and Brian waltzed into the cafeteria. When they got to her table, Brian had a pleasant smile on his face while Kayla was shooting daggers at her.
"Hey, Lita." Brian's voice pulled her attention away from the fuming Kayla. He pulled out two chairs and sat on one.
"Hey, Brian." She put a smile on her face as she greeted. "How was your sleep?" She asked.
"Never enough." He responded. "You look like you didn't get any though." He added when he observed her carefully. Even though she wore a smile, her eyes looked tired.
Alita's eyes moved to Kayla who was still glaring at her even while taking her sit. "Kayla made sure of it." She responded and Kayla's glare intensified.
"Glaring at me will not solve anything, Kayla." Alita pointed out.
"Will strangling you be better?" Kayla asked, relaxing her face a little.
"Will it make you feel better?"
"No. But this should do." Kayla said. At the same time, she grabbed the untouched burger on Alita's tray and her smoothie.
"Get your own food, Kayla." It was Alita's turn to glare, but Kayla paid her no attention as she stuffed the burger into her mouth.
"I will, but this is your punishment for ditching me last night." Kayla spoke with a stuffed mouth so her words came out muffled.
"I wouldn't have ditched you if you weren't so busy enjoying yourself that you forgot about me. Moreover, I never wanted to be there in the first place." She muttered the last part looking annoyed.
"Okay... That's enough." Brian piped in. "I'll buy you another one, Lita. Forget this troublesome girl here." He added. Kayla immediately turned to him, but before she could say something, he stood up and walked to the counter.
"What did Mr. Silas say?" Kayla asked after a moment of silence.
"That I should return tomorrow for a verdict."
"Verdict?"
"That was what it sounded like."
Kayla chuckled. "Why do I feel like he's trying to punish you by making you wait? The man's a sadist." She shook her head.
***
In the luxurious bedroom of the presidential suite of Greenville Hotel, Axel woke up. He was so weak last night, he had fallen asleep immediately he collapsed on the bed. Though he felt his strength had returned, he still felt an intense thirst for blood.
He had a quick shower before he strolled out of the bedroom.
Asher quickly scanned him the moment he saw him enter the living room. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern.
"I'm not dead yet." Axel replied offhandedly as he sat down and opened the bottle he had taken from the refrigerator.
Asher gave him an unamused look. He didn't find it funny at all. Last night was the first time he had seen Axel that weak. And as much as he had tried to remain calm, he couldn't help the worry when Axel suddenly dozed off after emptying two bottles of blood.
"I'm fine, Ash. I'm just thirsty." Axel said when he saw Asher's face.
"Fred called. He said to tell you he has completed the job. All comm devices found on Oliver are in his care." Asher reported.
"One down, many more to go. How long before Castel and the others get here?" Axel asked thoughtfully as he twirled the thick red liquid in the glass.
"They are downstairs already."
"Good. Send them up." Axel said. He gulped down the remaining content of the glass and moved to the office.