Chapter 55 55
AIDAN
That night I had dinner with my father. He didn’t mention Lois or Emmanuel, but it was already the second day they hadn’t been here.
I had to ask. Didn’t he realize they had escaped?
“Do you know anything about Lois? She left class yesterday and didn’t come today,” I said.
“They’ll be back any minute, surely tonight.” How could he say that when he didn’t know anything? Why was he ignoring the fact that they were gone? Did he not care?
I realized he knew nothing about what was happening, and I wondered what the real reasons were for the two of them to run away.
“I… I want to see her.”
“She’ll probably be back in class tomorrow.”
“She won’t!” I slammed the table and stood. My hands tingled, and his stern look had no effect on me. There were things stirring in my chest, and the need to see Lois only grew. “I want to see her! Why don’t you understand?”
“How am I supposed to understand if you don’t explain it? I don’t know what’s happening with that girl.”
“You do know! Why the hell did you tell me to get close to her?!”
“Aidan… I only asked you to keep an eye on her in class, nothing more. What exactly am I supposed to know?”
“That she’s driving me insane. That I can’t get her out of my head. That I think about her constantly. And that this damn collar burns my chest.” I ripped it off and held it in my fist. The heat grew stronger and the discomfort in my chest wouldn’t go away.
“Aidan! Control yourself and put the damn collar on. Now!”
“No!” I threw it across the room; my father lunged and caught it before it hit the floor, but it burned his hand and he had to drop it. My lips curved into a smile at the sight of his pain. My body began to feel different now that I was away from the collar—not only inside, but physically my appearance began to shift.
My father ran at me and shoved me toward the collar.
I didn’t want to put it on.
My eyes drifted to my arms, my fingers, and I could feel my fangs pushing through in my mouth, along with the burning thirst in my throat.
“Aidan, please.” His calmer voice begged. “Pick up the collar and put it on. Don’t do this. Don’t do it—things could change, especially your life, your existence, the way you see things, the way others see you. I just want you safe, and if you remove the collar like this, something could happen to you. Do you want someone to discover us? Do you want the Alpha to accuse us both of treason and end your life? Is that what you want? There cannot be a vampire in this place!”
“I want to be free. I want Lois. I want Lois!”
“The only thing you’ll get is both of us being executed! Aidan, pick up the damn collar and put it on your neck. Without it, your aura will change and everyone here will feel your presence for what it really is. This place is full of wolves, many with abilities to detect you. Pick… up… the collar.”
Slowly, I crouched down in front of him—but I didn’t pick it up. Even just being near it was enough for it to take effect on me again.
Disappointment washed over me when my appearance returned to normal.
My father let out a loud, exhausted sigh.
“Lois and Emmanuel ran away. Yesterday. I heard them when he took her out of class. I want to know what’s going on. I want her to come back. Father… I need her. I need her here, close. Otherwise I’ll have to go after her.”
She hadn’t been gone long, and I already felt like I was losing my mind. I couldn’t explain what was happening to me, but I knew it was because of Lois. And it only increased—desperately—completely outside my control.
I fled to my room, trying to calm my thoughts. The more I thought about her, the more restless I became, needing her.
The collar was what allowed me to be like them—to change my aura so the others perceived me as one of them. But inside me, there was no wolf. There had never been. That wasn’t my nature.
Many times my father had to make excuses for my lack of wolf behavior. People often misjudged me; it all depended on how they chose to see me. Some thought I could be an Alpha, others saw me as a potential Beta, and a few—very few—sensed something more like an omega.
It all varied by perception.
I was only a vampire.
Someone hiding his true nature and living among wolves. With this appearance, I kept my natural strength, but my aura was replaced so no one could detect what I really was. My father ensured we belonged to no pack, and that’s how he came up with the idea of taking over the university.
His way of protecting me. Even though his blood didn’t run in my veins—he only found me near the borders of the pack he once belonged to. The strange thing is… it wasn’t even a territory bordering vampires. So he never discovered how I ended up there.
I got the collar when I was two. Since then I’ve worn it every day. It suppressed my thirst, changed my appearance—but I always felt it did something more. As if it wanted to take part of my life and control it.
Where did my father find that collar?
I know he stole it from someone, though I have no idea who could have owned a collar with such powers. I knew very little about vampires.
“Aidan, I’ll speak with her father to inform him of the situation,” he said from the doorway. “Don’t do anything reckless, and you’re forbidden from leaving the premises. Is that clear?”
I didn’t answer. I just closed my eyes and held the pillow tightly, thinking of Lois.
Maybe I should have gone after her. Maybe I should have followed them.