As Naomi and Eva left the room I told them that I had forgotten something, I stayed behind to grab the small pearl earrings that used to belong to my mother and as I placed them on I noticed that Ryder's suitcase was by the closet covered by some clothes but the thing was that it was still full of clothes, why haven't Ryder unpacked yet?
With a sight, I headed downstairs where everyone was waiting for me.
"Wow you look beautiful honey; you look just like your mom." My dad said as I descended the stairway.
I gave a small smile.
"Thank you, you all look lovely as well, so elegant." I said softly.
Kole rolled his eyes at my comment.
"Yeah sure we look so lovely in this monkey suit." Kole said with a hiss.
I gave a sight and closed my eyes slightly for a second before I got near them.
Mason looked at me worried.
"What's wrong sis?" Mason asked me as he got near me.
I smiled, it was the first time he had called me like that and I liked it but as I met his worried gaze I simply shook my head.
"I'm alright, I'm just nervous and worried for what could or couldn't happen tonight." I said in a soft voice.
"We're going to be alright Alice; we still have people within the Academy that are still on our side." Eva told me.
I nodded even if all I could think about was the whole army of vampire rebels that were currently under Nastasia's control.
"You're right, maybe I'm just overreacting. We should probably leave now." I said as I placed on my mask.
As I went through the door Ryder wrapped his arm around my waist pulling me towards him.
"You look so beautiful but so frighten at the same time." Ryder whispered against my ear.
I shook my head as I grabbed his hand, we intertwined our fingers and somehow, I felt better.
"It's nothing Ryder, it just some nerves. Whenever something big comes up I simply get nervous, but don't get alarmed about it." I told him with a smile.
"No matter what happens tonight Doll, just remember that I love you." Ryder told me.
I stopped walking by the front steps and looked at him. I saw how the moonlight touched his handsome face but all I could do was to stare at him in confusion.
"I love you as well Ryder and you know that but why did you say it like that?" I asked him.
"How; how am I saying it?" Ryder said confused, his brown eyes shinned in the moonlight.
"As if you were saying goodbye, as if you were saying goodbye forever." I said softly in a low voice but I knew he could hear me.
"Doll, I need-." Ryder started but he was cut off by my dad.
"Alice, Ryder, come on we have to leave." My dad told us grabbing our attention.
Ryder gave a sight that held so much sadness before he grabbed me and we started to walk towards the car.
I was too afraid to even ask why he was so sad.
When we got to the Academy I looked around shocked, the whole Academy was filled of hunters with masks, each one of them had masks and at this point I couldn't tell who was who, I couldn't recognize them.
"I will be back soon." I said as I started to leave but Ryder grabbed my wrist stopping me.
"Where you going Doll?" Ryder asked me.
"I need to check in with the Headmistress so she can see that we arrived." I told him in a calm voice.
"I'll go with you." Ryder told me.
"No, I don't think it will be a good idea; Nastasia despises vampires and just in case you have forgotten you are the Vampire Prince, I think it's better if I go alone." I said as I stopped him.
"You're a vampire too Doll." Ryder told me, he kindly reminded me that.
I looked at him.
"I know that Ryder but Nastasia won't attack me tonight not when there is lots of hunters in the Academy, by doing that she would expose herself and besides there would be by far too many witnesses. Meanwhile I go please stay together; I will be back as soon as I can." I told them before I headed to the Headmistress' office.
As I got to the office I saw that the door was slightly open and then I heard the voice of the Headmistress.
"It will work; I know what I'm doing so stop doubting this whole plan." The Headmistress said in a clear voice.
I took a few steps away from the door and pressed my back against the wall near the door eavesdropping.
"Just do as I told you, vampires are not that complicated; they can be easily controlled by their desires: power, lust and their greatest one yet blood, a small taste of your blood and Alice won't be able to contain her own self and she will attack you exposing herself to everyone. There is a reason why I chose you no matter what has happened you have always accomplished your missions no matter what you had to do it for it to be like that, I know that Alice will trust you after everything that had happened, I know you won't fail me because you can't, not without risking the lives of everyone. Besides it's too late for you to retract from all of this, you started this mission and you will end it. Now leave, find Alice and neutralize her." The Headmistress said in a serious tone, who was she talking to?
I stood there in the hallway shocked for what I had just heard, it was completely overwhelming but then I heard some footsteps get near the door and forced myself to move just as the door was opened slowly.
I reached the control room, closed the door and held back the need to give off a small sight in relief.
"What are you doing here? Who let you in?" A voice asked catching me by surprise.
I turned around and looked at her; it was Claire, Antonio's sister.
"I should ask you the same thing, this area is off limits especially for hunters from other Academies." I told them as I took off my mask.
"Then the rules also apply to you Alice." Claire said with a smirk.
I looked at the three Spanish hunters that were next to Claire and I noticed something.
"You opened the sub-office; why the bloody hell did you do that?" I said as I headed to the door.
One of the hunters got in front of me blocking the entrance.
I looked at him right in the eyes.
"You can't enter." The hunter told me.
"Get out of my way or I'll move you." I told him with a low snarl.
When the hunter didn't move, I gave a small groan before I pushed him away easily, I was stronger than him since I was a vampire but that had clearly caught off guard the hunter, he wasn't expecting that. I went through the door and descended the stairs, as I got to the room I found another three hunters, they were in the computers. I started at the screens that were in the room.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" I yelled grabbing their attention.
They were trying to put down the security system of the Academy but that was not only it, they were also trying to erase all the files of past hunters, the original files of the first hunters ever and I knew very well that Anna Falcon's original files where there, Selene had told me that once a few weeks ago, when she told me about her vampire husband.
"Claire I thought I told you to keep everyone out of here! That clearly implied her!" A hunter told Claire.
"I know David but she stormed into the room, what do you suppose I did? Stake her down to the floor and kill her?" Claire told him.
"That could've been useful for once." David told her as he rolled his eyes.
I gave a scoff.
"Are you serious? Now get your hands off the main computer." I said as I got near him.
David looked at me.
"We are simply following orders; besides you don't hold any power against any non-graduated hunters like us, not anymore." David said with a smirk.
I gave a small chuckle.
"Actually, I still do, more than you could ever imagine. Now move before I actually consider locking you all up in the cellars." I told David with a glare.
"Why do you even care about this Alice? About us and what we are doing?" Claire asked me.
I turned around and looked at her.
"Well first you lied to me Claire, you claimed to be a graduated huntress when clearly you aren't; you still have a lot to learn about the secrets the Academies and the Association hold. Second, by lowering the defense system if the Academy you are exposing all of us to an attack of vampires do you even know that? Are you all clearly aware of it?" I asked them.
David laughed.
"Just look around Alice, the Academy is completely full of vampire hunters from all over Europe and the whole Association is here, tell me how is that not a very appealing target for the vampires?" David said with a smirk.
I looked at him and set my jaw.
"That's it, get away from the computer!" I said as I walked towards David.
As I got near David and tried to snatch him away from the computer he punched me in the face sending me to the ground. As the pain struck my face I placed my hand on my cheek and looked at David shocked, had he seriously just hit me?
"You are so going to regret that." I told David as I got up and approached to him slowly with a deadly glare.
Just as I got near David a hunter pushed me to the wall before he placed his wooden stake between our bodies.
I looked at the stake before I looked at his face.
"Go ahead; I dare you to do it." I told the hunter as I met his eyes.
The hunter was taken back clearly by my answer and then I saw hesitation in his face.
"Just do it Jerome!" A hunter yelled at him.
Jerome looked at the other hunter.
"I can't do it Paul she is a huntress, it's against the law." Jerome told him.
"She's a freaking vampire, a vampire kisser. I'll do it myself if you don't have the guts to do it!" Paul said as he started to walk towards us.
I took advantage of the argument and snatched off the stake from Jerome's hand before I pushed him towards Paul knocking them down to the ground.
The other hunters rushed towards me but I held out the stake getting ready to strike.
"Don't you dare to get any closer to me or I swear I won't hesitate on defending myself, I will attack you if I have to." I told them with a threat.
One of them looked at me with a smirk.
"Please be realistic Alice because you won't be able to fight all of us off." The hunter said.
I smiled and chuckled.
"You are really a bunch of kids; you don't know anything about being a real hunter or huntress." I told them as I shook my head.
"And I take it by this that you do know what it is?" The hunter said as he reached to his belt and grabbed a vervain bomb.
"I do, now stop what you're doing and don't get near me!" I warned him.
"What is going on here?" A voice said startling all of us.
We all looked up and found Mathew by the entrance.
"Mr. Rusakov I'm so glad that you're here. We found Alice here all by herself without permission trying to put down the Academy's security. We tried to stop her but Alice attacked us." Claire told him innocently.
I looked at Mathew; he seriously wasn't going to buy that, right?
"Mr. Rusakov, I didn't-." I started before I was cut off.
"That's enough Ms. Wythman! Wasn't it enough that you failed your mission now you must betray us like this? The Association will hear about this, this won't be going off without any punishment. Now the rest of you are dismissed, I would like to speak with Ms. Wythman privately and discuss her fate." Mathew said in a harsh tone.
As Claire passed by, she looked at me with a smirk.
"So besides being a liar you are also a backstabber?" I asked her in a low voice.
Claire looked at me.
"I'm sorry but someone had to take the blame and in this case, it's better if it's you and not me; you already have a trial coming up so a few extra charges won't hurt you. Unlike me, everyone trusts me and I have a reputation to live up to." Claire said briefly before she left.
The hunters started to leave and as Paul passed by, he shoved me with his shoulder. I gave a scoff and rolled my eyes as he left with an arrogant cocky smile plastered in his face.
Once we were alone Mathew looked at me.
"Care to explain yourself?" He told me as he waited for my answer.
"Mathew honestly I didn't do anything of what they claim I did, I entered the room and found them here, they were the ones trying to put down the security system and trying to erase the files of Falcon but they couldn't access the password." I told him explaining.
"I believe you." Mathew said calmly.
I looked at him confused.
"You do? Then why did you make me stay behind?" I asked him confused, why make me think that I was in trouble.
"Because Alice I want you to put down thesecurity system of this Academy." Mathew told me to my surprise.