I looked at him and gave a small laugh.
"You're joking, right? You are not serious Ryder?" I said and then I saw that Ryder had a dead serious look in his face.
"But Ryder there is no way I'm a vampire or else I wouldn't be a huntress." I said when it wasn't a joke; it just didn't make any sense.
"Doll..." Ryder started to say in a clam tone.
"There is no way I'm a vampire, I'm a human!" I said nearly yelling.
"Okay Doll but just to make it clear for me answer some of my questions." Ryder said trying to calm me down.
"What questions?" I asked him.
"Tell me when you were training did you ever notice that you were stronger that others, even guys?" Ryder said watching how I looked at him shocked for a second.
I gave a scoff.
"That doesn't prove anything, I always trained hard my strength was a consequence of all those hours of training." I said brushing it off.
"Okay, then tell me did you ever get any scars that never healed up or bad bruises?" Ryder asked me pressing the matter.
"Ryder-." I started to say but my voice quivered unsure.
"Have you ever touch or drink vervain?" He asked me cutting me off.
"No." I said in a soft voice.
"And why not Doll? As a huntress, a vampire huntress shouldn't you gave your body especially your bloodstream full of the only think vampires are weak to or am I wrong?" He said with a smirk.
"No, you're right." I said with a sight, he had a very good point there.
"Then, why haven't you?" He asked me as his deep brown eyes tried to read my expression.
"They told me that I shouldn't touch it much less drink it since it could cause me an allergic reaction to it." I said shrugging.
"The same allergic reaction vampires have to it? Did you honestly never question that?" Ryder said as he rolled his eyes.
"Ryder, I truly don't think that I'm a vampire it just doesn't make sense, my mother was human." I said in a soft voice, maybe I had been naïve for a second.
"What about your father?" He asked me.
"What about him?" I asked him confused.
"What if he was a vampire?" Ryder said; this was insane not less.
"Ryder-." I started to say before he cut me off once again.
"Just think about it Doll, you never knew who he was. Do you think that the Headmistress that oversaw you would tell the Association that a future huntress was a daughter of a vampire?" He said explaining.
I looked at him, it did made sense in a way but I was still not convinced.
"And then your blood." Ryder said and paused.
"What about it?" I asked him, now that had caught my attention.
"It doesn't taste normal, what I mean is that it doesn't taste like human blood." Ryder said as he looked away.
I didn't say anything for a minute, I just stared at him.
"Who are you?" A voice said startling us.
We both looked at the door where Mike was.
"Who is he?" Ryder asked me.
"He is Mike, my brother." I said with a smile.
"What about you?" Mike said as he entered my bedroom.
"I'm Ryder." Ryder said as he got up from the bed.
"Alice shouldn't have visits when she is sick." Mike said as he glared at Ryder.
I gave a small smile.
"See I told you that it wasn't necessary for me to stay here with you Doll." Ryder said accusing me
I stared at him shocked.
"What, Ryder I never told-." I said alarmed.
"Mike, could you bring me some of her medicines, I would go myself but I don't know where they are." Ryder told Mike, who immediately nodded and left the bedroom.
After Mike left Ryder looked at me.
"Don't move." He told me in a warning tone
Ryder placed his hand on my neck making me feel those tingles I felt every time he touched me and he pulled out my long necklace that had a locket and a gem, the locket had my name on it and inside of it was a picture of my mother holding me in her arms after I was born, a few days before she was killed.
"Do you know what this is?" Ryder said as he grabbed the red gem between his fingertips.
I shook my head.
"This is a Redstone gem from the frozen blood of the First. For centuries, this type of gems had been used by vampires to be undercover. The gem makes a vampire look and feel human." Ryder said as I looked at the gem.
"But that used to belong to my mother." I said explaining.
"What if it was your father's and your mother gave it to you because she knew what you were." Ryder said explaining.
I open my mouth to object but Ryder interrupted me.
"Look I understand if you don't believe me." Ryder said as he pulled out something from under his shirt, it was a thin chain with a red gem hanging from it just like mine.
"You also have one." I said as I looked at his.
"Doll, tonight take off the gem and try to touch or drink vervain, I'm sure that will clear all our doubts." He said before he quickly kissed me in the lips and left the bedroom.
"Here, you should take this." Mike said as he gave me my medicine.
"Thank you." I said with a small smile.
"Was that your boyfriend?" Mike asked me as he referred to Ryder.
"No, we're just friends." I said as I brushed the matter off.
"Are you friends with benefits?" Mike said next to me.
"What?" I said alarmed, where did he get that bloody idea from.
"I saw him kiss you so you can't be just friends." He said explaining and I shook my head.
"Ryder is just...confusing." I said in an honest voice.
Mike sat next to me and saw the TV show I was watching.
"Alice?" Mike said after a few minutes of silence.
"Yes?" I said as I looked at him.
"Could you take me to the store tomorrow?" Mike asked me.
"Why do you want to go?" I asked him curiously.
"Mom's birthday is in two weeks and a half and I was wondering if you could take me to but her a present." Mike said as he intertwined his fingers in his lap.
"Sure, you know what? Why don't we go after school to the mall? I could pick you up and drive all the way to the mall to buy that present that you have in mind." I said with a smile.
"Okay." Mike said as he continued to watch the television.
We continue watching the show and eventually fell asleep together.
"Wake up sleepy kids!" Kelly said as she moved the bed.
We both stared at her,
"I'm going to the city for some materials for work; do any of you want to come with me?" Kelly asked us with a smile.
"I want to." Mike said as he got up.
"What about you Alice?" Kelly asked me as she met my gaze.
"No thanks Kelly I should rest so I can go back to school tomorrow." I said in a soft voice.
"Alright honey." Kelly said before she started to leave.
Kelly and Mike left, after a while of sitting there in bed doing nothing I decided to call someone I haven't spoken in a while: Beck.
"Hello." A voice said and I smiled immediately.
"Beck, is that you?" I said holding myself from screaming.
"Who is this?" He said confused.
"It's me Alice Wythman." I said with a smile.
"Smarty, mate is that really you?" He said shocked.
"The one and only, what, another girl would call you?" I said with a smile.
"It's so strange that you call me what happened Alice? I haven't heard form you in a long time." Beck said starting to get worried.
"I know I'm so sorry, the whole mission is actually harder than I thought but don't think that I forgot about you Beck." I said reassuring him that everything was alright.
"What do you mean when you say that the mission is actually harder than you thought? Is it harder physically?" Beck asked me.
"No, it's not harder physically but it is getting confusing to the point where I don't know what exactly my mission is. Beck I'm only telling you this because I trust you, you have always been like an older brother to me. You have always been there for me." I said in a small voice.
"I know that Smarty, you are also like a sister ad you can trust me because I also doubt about your mission." Beck admitted in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"Shortly after you left Nastasia asked to talk with Antonio in private. And after she did that the attacks to the other Academies started, I'm not a foul Alice and I don't think that it's just a coincidence. I'm not saying that Nastasia is with the vampires that are attacking the Falcon Academies but that she has something to do with it." Beck said in a low voice.
"What do you think she is planning?" I asked him.
"I don't know mate but what is the things the Headmaster and the Academy have taught us are nothing but lies? What if they have been lying to us the whole time?" Beck said; I could clearly hear the fear in his voice.
"What makes you think that?" I asked him.
"The Association has so many secrets and they are not letting us leave the Academy grounds even if we are already graduated hunters, they are doing it for a reason but why?" Beck questioned.
I gave a sight.
"I don't know Beck but look even if we are in different continents I want us to stay together, we can't afford to lose distance because I don't know when but I know that something bad is going to happen soon so promise me you will take care of yourself." I said praying that nothing would happen to him.
"Of course, I will Alice; I know that something bad is approaching so take care of yourself as well." He said in the same tone as me.
"I will, love you Beck and take care." I said with a small strangled sight.
"Love you as well Smarty." Beck said before I hung up.
The whole afternoon I thought about the things Ryder had told me and now what Beck had just confessed. I paced around my room until I made up my mind; I grabbed a crystal ball full of vervain and went downstairs. I took off the gem and looked at it.
"Let's see if it's a lie." I said with a sight, I honestly didn't lose anything if I tried.
I placed down the gem and made the crystal ball explode in my hands, I screamed in pain as I felt my flesh burning.
"Oh, my god Alice, what's wrong?" Kelly asked as she ran towards me, they had just arrived.
I shook my head.
"Alice, what happened to you?" She said as she saw my hands.
"Nothing, I accidently poured hot water in my hands as I tried to make my tea." I said trying to bear the pain.
It was like touching hot iron.
"That is not nothing you are injured, I'm going for the first aid kit." Kelly said before she walked away.
As soon as she left I saw that my hands were starting to heal quickly, they had complete healed in ten seconds. I grabbed the gem and went upstairs.
"Alice, I need to heal you." Kelly said stopping me.
"It won't be necessary, I already healed myself with cold water, and it was just a small burn nothing bad." I told her as I showed her my perfectly fine hands.
"But, you were-." Kelly started to say.
"I'll be fine Kelly but thank you for worrying." I said with a smile.
As soon as Kelly left I went straight to my bedroom and grabbed my cell phone. I searched my contact list until I found a new contact that was introduced this afternoon meanwhile I was sleeping. 'Hot and lick-able abs Ryder' it said.
"Of course, he would." I said shaking my head with a small smile.
I called him and he answered after the second ring.
"Did you figure out that you can't live without me Doll?" Ryder said as he answered.
"Ryder, stop joking." I said in a serious tone.
"What's wrong Doll?" Ryder asked me when he heard that I wasn't joking, much less that I was in the moss to be joking around.
"I need to talk to you Ryder now! It's really important and I don't think it can wait." I said as I looked at the rest of the crystal ball of vervain I had left.