Order of the Alpha #2

09

"Holy shit." We hear at the door.

Elrond stands there in a suit, wide-eyed next to Taylor, Genevieve and...Serenity. It was Serenity who spoke. Genevieve grins my way, Taylor is wide-eyed and looking at me like I'm a sunrise after centuries of darkness.

Hayden grabs Elrond and pulls them in. Serenity stares at Rowan, then at me, "What is going on here?" She whispers, shakily.

Credence scoffs their way, "Spying on us, were you?" Nah, Credence, they were just doing laundry at this hour. Bloody imbecile.

I drop down in Rowan uncomfortable office chair and run a hand down my face, "You four are meant to be at the ball." Rowan mutters.

"We heard the commotion." Elrond says slowly, staring at me, stilled.

I stare at him, "Have you heard of the saying 'snitches get stitches'?" I ask him, randomly.

Genevieve giggles, Elrond clenches his jaw. Serenity stares at me closely, "You know how to fight?" She says slowly.

I smile with no meaning. It's notoriously easy to fool vampires if they think you're just a small, uneducated bimbo with no expertise. The dumbbells were fun and you couldn't get mad because the puppy-eyed look works every time. Future reference, for a guy as old as you, don't trust anybody. Especially someone who looks like they're as innocent as a peach, because those ones, are the ones you should be most afraid of. Now, I'm gonna take this, since it belongs to Professor Athena and myself, you have all been through enough tonight with all the snitching, stalking and...gosh, what's the word, manipulating and yelling. For a vampire, you'd think you would keep those emotions in check, but with Athena and myself, you're a bloody child holding a red balloon asking for attention from an evil clown, and if you seriously don't get that reference, I'll send another 'accidental' dumbbell to your balls.

I wanted to say that and much more, but I refrain from it, "You put students through hell to make them better. Twenty percent of those students dropped out. Five percent have nightmares, showing reports to the three separate mental health and physical health councillors here. Three percent are in the hospital, scared out of their minds. One student had a heart attack, wouldn't have made it if it weren't for medical treatment." I state.

Staring at Rowan, he clenches his fists, "Those documents are sealed. Not even Professor Athena would have access." He snaps my way.

I tilt my head higher as I look at him, "Not to me. I made it into your office in seconds. I survived hours before your fucked up initiation begun. You are a phenomenal shit show, because you think you're still training soldiers for some crown's army almost three hundred years ago. I can get reports dating that far. What my job is, Professor, is to beat people like you, not physically. Not the way men seem to have no problem with. You publicly punched me for answers and even then—you didn't get them and now you're frustrated because I have history with such cases." My tone of voice low while the rest of them still. Even Genevieve, her eyes widen.

I lean against the desk and stare at Rowan, who stills as he stares at me.

I take a deep breath, "Those games are to challenge students, keep a reputation for a school where others will build alliances just to defeat this one. Headmaster Hale trusts me because I will think outside the box you supposedly nailed down like a coffin as your bloody bed. You wanted power, but you didn't believe anyone else could obtain it. Now you're back in the dark and putting vampires in shadows where not even their own sight can navigate the area. It's like giving a child a loaded gun and telling them not to play with it. An hour later, the child's dead. How many hours have you been unsafe in a darkness you cannot navigate, Rowan?" I ask him, the metaphor making Genevieve, Serenity, Taylor, Elrond, even the Legion, even...Creed, look at me in an entirely new view.