Chapter 284

Joseph’s POV

It was strange returning to the academy after a year of being away. But once I got back, it was like nothing had changed. I was greeted by some of the elders who ran the school, and they were pleased with my return.

“Your office is exactly how you left it,” one of the Elders that I had worked closely with, Robert, had said as I walked through the school with him by my side.

I nodded in response.

“Should I assume that I’ll be resuming my usual course?” I asked once we neared my office located at the back of the school.

“Yes; there’s a new string of students that will be taking your course,” Robert informed me. “It might be the worst of them. We had them in isolation for a long time because they proved to be dangerous toward other students.”

I paused to look at him.

“Dangerous how?”

“There were some issues with assault and other forms of violence,” he explained. “They wanted to get their hands on blood, and they didn’t care if it was human or vampire. They just wanted it. We kept them in isolation for the last few months and they are cuffed in silver. They will be released from the isolation ward later today.”

I nodded.

“I want to be there when they are released,” I informed him. “If they are to be my students, I need to speak with them.”

Robert nodded in return.

“Of course,” he replied.

“How about Ruby Gonzales? Have you seen her around lately?” I found myself asking, knowing that Tessa would be asking soon enough.

“She’s not in my section but I have heard others speaking of her. She’s very good and she’s adapting well. She’s even making some friends from my understanding.”

I nodded in appreciation.

“I’ll have to find her later and speak with her for myself,” I said, more to myself than to her.

“Is she a friend of yours? I know you brought her in, but I was never clear on your relationship.”

“Yeah; she’s my fiancé’s best friend,” I answered. “She’s important to her, which makes her important to me. If anything happens with her, I need to know about it.”

“I’ll let the others know,” Robert assured me.

I nodded my thanks to him and then I disappeared into my office, shutting the door behind me.

Robert was right; my office was exactly how I left things. Papers were scattered across my desk that sat in the far corner of the room and there were bookshelves all along the walls filled with books I had written and some books friends of mine had written.

My office had the scent of a library and that was comforting to me. I took a seat at my desk and saw there were some folders in front of me; folders that weren’t there before. As I flipped through them, I saw that they were portfolios that I would be training.

They were unpleasant-looking individuals and they looked as if they hadn’t showered a day in their lives. They looked like the typical vampires that would be in fictional stories. Their hair was matted, their face was pale, and there was blood on their lips from after they had fed, most likely after they first transitioned.

There was no life in their eyes, which left me with an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. I typically worked with the worst of the worst, so this wasn’t anything new for me. Not all new vampires were like this; some transitioned a lot smoother than others and they still kept up basic hygiene. There were a lot of new vampires that still held onto their humanity, not wanting to hurt anyone. Those are the ones who learn to control their bloodlust the easiest because they have more motive to do so.

There were also a lot of new vampires who were born from vampire parents. They are born humans and then once they turn 18, they die and wake up as a new vampire. They will feel the strong pull of the bloodlust, but they grew up learning about it already, so they knew what to expect. They were also easy to train.

There were a few trainers who worked with them specially. At this academy, they tried to categorize the different types of new vampire students.

Those born with vampire blood already in them were in separate classes from the new vampires who were turned into one later in life.

Then there were the new vampires that were turned later in life and had lost most of their humanity and given into their bloodlust.

Those were the ones that I trained.

They assigned me to those new vampires because of my abilities and because I was one of them when I first transitioned. So, I understood what it was like. It’s not like the person they were before the transition was long gone; they were still in there. It was my job to tap into that part of them and pull them back out while helping them control their need for blood.

It wasn’t an easy job, but it was worth it if I could make the streets a little safer and keep our kind a secret from the human world.

I wasn’t as lucky; I didn’t have the academy to help me with my bloodlust and to gain my humanity back, I had Bernard. He was my mentor, savior, and my friend. If it wasn’t for him, I would still be wandering the streets and terrorizing humans.

I shuddered at the very thought.

I turned on my computer and entered each of their pieces of information into my computer database; I found it easier to work digitally and not the old-fashioned ways this school was so accustomed to.

There were 5 students in my class. 2 girls and 3 guys. One girl was 19, two of the guys were 20, and one of the guys was 25. I paused when I saw the last girl.

16 years old.

She looked so young in her photo; she might have been the youngest new vampire we’ve had at this academy. It’s true that if someone was born with vampire blood in their system, they don’t usually make the change until they are the age of 18, however, if they were to die sooner, they could transition a lot sooner.

The same thing happens with someone who was turned into a vampire by another vampire. This girl was only 16 years old before someone changed her.

My stomach tightened at the very thought.

Who would turn this girl into a vampire at such a young age?

Over the last few years, the council made it illegal to turn humans into vampires without their given consent and there needs to be a good reason as to why a specific person should be turned into a vampire. The council would never approve of such a thing, regardless of her situation.

Most new vampire profiles would have a stamp of approval from the vampire council to show that they had approved of the change and that no further investigation was needed. So, I wasn’t surprised when this girl, Natalia, didn’t have the same stamp as the others.

She looked so young in her photo and there were tears in her eyes. Her blond hair was stuck to her blood-soaked face, and it was obviously knotted all around her head. She was thin, which was evident in her face and her body. She wore ripped and very dirty clothing as well, making me wonder what she had been through before she arrived here.

Other teachers didn’t usually look at the profiles of students that weren’t theirs. They were created by trackers, such as me, and given to the correct teacher and assigned mentor. It was up to that teacher to report it when the stamp of approval was missing.

The council has a distinct scent that they place on the person that only trackers can smell. That’s how we know they have the council’s approval. Without that scent, we know the person was illegally turned and it needed to be reported right away.

I immediately picked up the phone and called one of the school board members, Alberto.

“Joseph, I didn’t think I’d be hearing from you so soon. How are you adjusting back to your role as instructor and tracker?” Alberto asked as soon as he answered the phone.

“I just got here not long ago, and I was going over the profiles of my students,” I explained. “I guess there are a few students here who have been causing some issues and have been living in isolation.”

“Yes, they arrived a few days ago and have been nothing but trouble from the moment they stepped foot at this academy. I’m glad you are back because I’m not sure any of the others can tame them like you are.”

“Do you know anything about these new vampires?”

“Not much,” he admitted. “Only that they are hungry for blood. There are 5 of them altogether.”

I nodded, but then remembered he couldn’t see me.

“Did you know that one of them is 16 years old?”

There was silence on the other end for a moment.

“What?”

“Her name is Natalia; she’s amongst the 5. She’s only 16 years old,” I explained. “Which wasn’t approved by the council.”

“I’d assume not,” Alberto murmured. “I’ll get a hold of them and report it right away. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Yeah, of course. Keep me updated. I’ll help her the best I can.”

“I know you will,” Alberto said. “Oh, by the way, the girl you wanted me to keep an eye on, Ruby, right?”

“Yeah, is everything okay?” I asked.

I asked Alberto a while back to keep an eye on Ruby while she was here because she was important to Tessa and me. He agreed to do so.

“She’s fine, but there’s something you need to know.”

“What is it?” I asked, suddenly on high alert.

“Her advisor told me that Ruby woke up screaming the other night. She apparently had a dream about an attack on campus.”

“Okay?”

“That same night, there was an attack on campus, and it happened exactly how Ruby described in her dream. It was one of the new vampires that was in isolation,” he continued explaining.

“What? She saw it coming??” I asked, unsure I was hearing him correctly.

“Yes,” Alberto confirmed. “I’m pretty sure the goddess had gifted Ruby with a gift.”

“Are you saying… Ruby’s a prophet?”