The banging on the door grew ceaseless, even when Jasmine came out of the bathroom. With a towel patting her hair, she noticed her roommate was gone. Her bed was unmade, her clothes thrown all around the room. Jasmine bent to pick up a fallen shirt, ignoring the shouts from outside. They were calling her to answer the door, saying they wouldn't leave until she opened up. If they really thought that would get her to open the door to them, they weren't smart.
She sat on her bed, continuing to dry her hair. The pounding faded into white noise. Jasmine's eyes burned into the wooden floor, her mind drifting off. Different scenarios popped up in her head, as if presenting itself to be displayed but she quickly skipped past them all. She settled, finally, on daydreaming about last night. Instead of what actually went down, Jasmine replaced her tears with the lycans' blood. She swapped her flailing, frantic punches for quick, precise ones that knew where to hit and how to make it look cool. She was smiling to herself, caught up when she heard a familiar voice.
"What are you people doing out here?" came her mother's voice. "Go away before I call the campus police! Go!"
Jasmine heard a muffled response, then her mother's loud shouts broke through. She was suprised it didn't blow the door off its hinges. "I said, go!" The door opened and she slipped through. "When I open this door, you better be gone!"
Jacey Wynter was many people in one. She was a mother. She was the woman who had wiped Jasmine's nose when she was little, and read her bedtime stories. She was the one who got up early to make her daughter's breakfast before they went to school. She kissed booboos. She cheered whenever her children achieved something.
She was also a teacher. Jacey got her teaching degree when she was still pregnant with Jasmine. After Jasmine was born, she set to work teaching primary school children and was voted Best Teacher of the Year three years in a row.
And lastly, Jacey was a disciplinarian. She didn't tolerate disrespect, she didn't hesitate to dole out punishment like it was money. By the time she was done, the most unruly child would be whipped into shape.
Right now, Jasmine could have sworn she saw all three Jaceys barking at the supernaturals outside. She closed the door with a slam, then brushed herself down, as if they had spilled rudeness all over her and she had to get it off before it seeped into her skin. Jasmine thought she saw a flash of fear on her face, before she spotted her.
"Jasmine!" Jacey rushed over. "Are you okay? You aren't hurt, are you? Stand up."
Jasmine did as she was told. Her mother whirled her around, checking to make sure Jasmine wasn't sporting any bleeding wounds. "Mommy, I'm fine," she tried to assure.
"Good, good," Jacey said with a sigh. "I was afraid-"
"Afraid of what?"
Jacey blinked, as if she hadn't realized what she said. She shook her head. "Nothing, nothing. Come here, let me pray over you."
Jasmine groaned. Jacey often did that with all her children. Before they left for school, she would take them one by one, rest her chin on their heads and murmur a prayer to one of the gods. Sometimes it was the god of the nations for strength, other time it was the warrior god for protection. Each time, Jasmine had to wait it out. It always felt as if her prayer was longer than her sisters. It's been a while since her mother prayed over her.
Jasmine allowed Jacey to wrap her arms around her without protest. They were the same height, so Jasmine bent her head to give her mother the chance to rest her chin on top. Jacey and Jasmine looked a lot alike. The only difference between the two, other than visible age, was that Jacey usually braided her hair around her head and she was weightier.
Jacey began praying. As usual, Jasmine couldn't make out a word that was being said. The words were too low and too rapid for her to decipher anything. She just stood there and waited for it to be over.
At long last, Jacey stepped away. "There. That should do it."
"I don't think I needed a prayer, mommy."
"Nonsense. You need it more than you think you do."
Jasmine opened her mouth to respond, but it was cut short at another knock on the door. Jacey's face instantly reddened with anger. She made a move to the door, but Jasmine held her back. "Let's just hear them out."
"Jasmine, you can't entertain those kind of people. You let them in now and they'll never stop coming. They could be dangerous."
"You think everyone is dangerous," Jasmine said. She knew exactly where she got her paranoia from and it definitely was not her chill father relaxing at home, that was for sure. She went to the door.
Before her mother could say another word of protest, she pulled it open. There, standing just where she left them, was the stranger and his two vampire friends. He looked up in surprise when the door opened, then frowned. Slowly, he released a lout breath.
"You wanted to talk?" Jasmine said.
He was still frowning. He looked at the male twin and shook his head, and he frowned too. His red eyes shifted to Jasmine while his hand slowly fell from his face. The other twin joined in, just as confused.
Jasmine rolled her eyes in impatience. "Do you want to talk or not? I don't have all day."
"Yes," the guy said. "Yes, we'd like to talk. Can we come in?"
Jasmine stepped to the side and swept her arm outwards. They entered her room.
"Sorry about the mess," she said, kicking a pair of pants aside. "My roommate is a mess. As you can see, my side of the room is completely clean."
Jasmine rejoined her mother's side. She made her mother sit, easing her onto the bed and trying not to laugh at her mother's angry appearance. She turned to them. The guy stood closer to her. His gold eyes shone like shiny new coins, glittering with an emotion Jasmine couldn't name. Even when he blinked and looked away, Jasmine could see his eyes, bright against his skin.
He was rather cute, she decided. His curly brown hair was a messy mop on his head, shaking every time he moved. Although he did nothing of the sort now, she remembered his smile from last night, a bit off its kilter, displaying white uneven teeth. That slight imperfection made him somehow cuter, especially when he stood rubbing the back of his head so sheepishly.
The other guy he was with didn't look nervous at all. He looked Jasmine up and down, interest shining in his eyes. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his baggy shorts, his shirt hanging off narrow shoulders. Jasmine always felt uneasy around vampires, simply because their red eyes put her on edge, but there was something about his that calmed her. His twin sister was the same. Calming red eyes, long blond hair, and dressed in a tight short skirt and a spaghetti strapped shirt. She folded her arms, hanging back as if she fully intended to let the boys do all the talking.
"I suppose I should start with my name," the lycan boy said, which had Jasmine's eyes snapping back to him. "I'm Rich Young, and these are my two friends. Wendy and Mason Falz."
"Mason and Wendy Falz," Mason said.
"Mase, shut up!" Wendy hissed.
Rich pretended they haven't spoken at all. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but, last night, I figured out who you are."
Jasmine blinked in surprise. "You did a background check on me?"
"No, no!" he said quickly. "I didn't do anything like that. Let me start over. I'm the son of the Lyon pack alpha. Last night, those two men that attacked you were a part of my father's pack."
"I gathered that when you guys were talking," Jasmine said, her tone as dry as sandpaper. "Wait, Lyon pack? You mean Lute the Lycan's pack?"
"Yes, that's the one." Jasmine could have sworn his chest puffed out a bit.
"If you're the son of the alpha, why did they attack you?"
"They don't respect me. I'm still a pup and until I've proven myself, they'll always see me as that. But that's not important. The real question is why they attacked you. Have you ever heard of a woman named Lady Katherine Hellen?"
Jasmine shook her head.
"Lady Katherine Hellen," Rich went on. "Was born in 1920. She was the future king's cousin. When she was born, she had to be kept in the king's castle at all time because whenever she was near, supernaturals would go crazy. They couldn't control themselves around her and always tried to kill her. When Lady Katherine turned twenty she finally got fed up. She snuck out of the castle and went to find the woman that lived on the city's outskirts who was rumoured to have practiced witchcraft. She thought she might have an answer to her predicament."
"The woman told her the reason supernatural creatures lost their mind when she was near was because she was born with pure magic. A witch like her could not compare to the powers Lady Katherine possessed, was what she had said, and because of that power radiating off her, supernaturals lose control. All they want is the power. They become like possessed men and women. They think that ripping out the heart and eating it was the only way they could satiate themselves."
Jasmine sank onto the bed, absorbing his words. Beside her, she felt her mother squeeze her hand but she kept her eyes on Rich. She frowned, bemused. "So ...?"
"Lady Katherine died on her way back to the castle. The witch had given her a charm to walk with, but her powers were weak and she wasn't good at what she did. A vampire found her and tore her heart out. The vampire died after eating it."
"What's the moral of the story?"
Rich shook his head but it was Mason that spoke. "There is no moral. The woman died and there haven't been another borned with pure magic since then."
"Let me guess," Jasmine said. "You think I have pure magic."
"Bingo."
"Okay, you guys are crazy."
"No, we're not," said Rich. "What about last night? Didn't you see how crazy Felin got?"
"That's because I kept thwarting him," Jasmine said. She wanted to laugh but she had a feeling it would offend Rich if she did. He obviously believed every word.
"No," he insisted. "It was because somewhere during the fight you released your magic. I don't know how but-"
"When you know how, then you can come back to me." Jasmine rose to her feet with a clap. "Well, it was nice having you all but, I've got things to do."
"Hey, we're not lying!" Wendy spoke up. She stepped forward, eyes blazing. "You really do have pure magic, We're telling the truth."
"I'm very sure."
"Okay, how about when you flung those lycan men aside, huh?" Rich said. His eyes dared her to deny his words. "How do you explain that?"
Jasmine hesitated. "A vampire saved us. Simple. He moved so fast we didn't see him."
All three of them groaned. "Let's just take her," Wendy suggested. "She can't fight us."
"I'm still here, you know."
"I agree with Wendy," said Mason. "We can take her mother too. They won't be able to do anything."
"Plotting kidnapping right before me. Nice."
"We're not taking anyone," Rich said. "We're not criminals. We just have to get her to see that what we're saying is ..." He trailed off, sniffing the air. His eyes drifted over to Jasmine, his nose twitching.
There was a hum in the air. Jasmine didn't know what it was. She focused on Rich, who turned to her fully. His face contorted and then, one by one, so did the other two. They grabbed their nose again and the humming grew louder. Shocked, Jasmine saw it came from her mother. She wasn't humming, she was muttering, words flying from her mouth rapidly.
Rich, Wendy and Mason froze. The creases in their foreheads didn't move. Their arms were held upright, pinching their noses. They didn't even look like they were breathing. Only their eyes moved, shifting back and forth between Jasmine and her mother.
Jasmine didn't get any time to wonder what was happening. Her mother grabbed her hand, still muttering and pulled her out the room. The frozen supernaturals behind her followed her with terrified eyes.