Blood of the Pure [COMPLETE]

Chapter 24 - Part 4

As soon as I left Michael's company, my levels of stress shot through the roof. I spent the whole morning in an extreme state of alert, jumping at any unexpected sound, looking for evil shadows in every corner, or crazy beautiful faces in the crowd. As it was, I could hardly concentrate on classes and my ears just couldn't seem to focus on my classmates' voices.

As if not to disappoint my expectations, we were halfway through Philosophy when something suddenly changed.

I jumped to my feet, my heart hammering against my chest, and looked around as fear nestled in my stomach. Contrary to what I'd expected, her presence wasn't subtle at all, echoing through the walls, filling the air all around me. The fury that marked it was simply terrifying and the world seemed to almost bend under it, shrinking as if it could break at any moment.

"Miss Mellis? Is something wrong?"

At the back of my head I knew the teacher had just spoken to me and that I must look like a crazy person, standing just like that in the middle of class. My hands were shaking now and I left my seat running to the door.

"Bathroom," I said quietly without even pausing to wait for an answer and stumbled into the hall, closing the door behind me.

The blast that echoed through the walls making the air vibrate stole my strength and I almost fell to my knees. I stopped for a minute, trying to regain control, and peered through the door's small window, afraid of what I might find inside. But class was going on as if nothing had happened. Hadn't anyone else heard that deafening sound? The teacher was still talking and everyone was calmly sitting in their places.

Another blast made me hold on to the wall and my eyes flew down the corridor. Even if no one else had noticed it, I was sure something really wrong was happening.

I went for the stairs as fast as I could, clenching my teeth as I made my sore muscles obey me in such a strenuous run, holding on to anything my hands could reach, afraid I might fall. The murderous presence I had first felt was now mixed with others that I knew all too well, and my stomach twisted anxiously as I prayed that they'd be safe.

I stopped when I reached the hallway that lead outside and leaned against the wall, trying to recover my breath. Pain was a constant now, pounding throughout my entire body, and each breath I took was like a living hell. My gaze fell immediately on the glass door at the end of the corridor and I shuddered, knowing what I'd find outside. Even so, my feet were already on the move as I dragged myself across the short distance that, on any other day, I would have covered in just a few seconds.

Placing my hands on the cold glass, I looked outside and I could immediately see Alexander, his expression bleak, with Jonathan standing right beside him. His eyes were fixed and burning with a fierce glow and I couldn't help gasp as I looked at the target of his undivided attention.

Telane stood not two steps away and yet she kept her back to them, almost as if she didn't know they were there, or if she thought them inconsequential. She was, as I recalled, more beautiful than humanly possible, her red copper hair tied up in a single ponytail, the soft waves cascading over her shoulders and down her delicate back that the white dress she wore left uncovered. Much shorter than her previous dress, this one seemed to only cover the minimum to be considered a piece of clothing, molding itself against her perfect body, around her round, firm chest and long lean tights. The skin of her bare arms and legs was as white and perfect as Gabriel's, and she stood barefoot just like before, as if summer had already come. Her expression, however, was one of pure rage and her golden gaze burned with a red, fierce glow.

And then there was Gabriel, standing like a shadow, right in front of her. At first I feared his expression, even after noticing he looked his usual indifferent self. Over the last few days I'd come to realize that he was rarely ever indifferent, and that that was just his way of keeping a better control over his own strength. However, right then, he did seem calm, almost relaxed, his opened hands pending beside his body. And, at his feet, nestled a small dark bundle that I immediately recognized as Lea in his cat form, his black fur standing as he hissed threateningly at the beautiful woman in front of him.