\[Serenity’s POV\]
I watch with wide eyes as my father turns and rushes to my mom’s side, shifting back into his human form. He picks her up and heads toward the school. It is only when he is out of sight that I turn my gaze to Maverick, who remains stunned.
‘Hey,’ I call through mindlink, trying to draw his attention only for him to seem to not hear me. ‘Maverick.’
I repeat this call a few more times, but he doesn’t seem to move. Realizing that he is too shocked by what happened to focus on anything, I shift into my human form and rush to his side.
“Maverick!” I gasp, grabbing him and shaking. “Hey, snap out of it, Maverick!”
“Serenity,” he whispers, blinking a few times. “I’m…”
He doesn’t finish his words as Uncle William comes and drops down beside us, throwing a jacket over me and then pulling Maverick into a sitting position.
“Are the two of you okay?” He asks, beginning to examine us. “Did you get hurt? Why the hell are you out here?”
“We were attacked,” I sigh, feeling a sudden wave of deja vu. “I think it may have been their leader.”
“Attacked,” he repeats, fear flashing in his gaze. “What do you mean attacked?”
“A man snuck into the dorms and tricked Serenity into giving him some of her blood.” Maverick finishes for me. “I failed to protect her,” he continues, hanging his head like a defeated man. “For that, I will understand if none of you forgive me. I let your precious niece get hurt, and I let…”
“You didn’t let me do anything!” I snap, grabbing Maverick’s cheeks and making him look at me. “You couldn’t have possibly known that he would be so powerful.”
Dammit. I hated this. I hated that everyone around me was hurting, and it was essentially my fault. It was now clear that these rogues were coming after me because their leader needed my blood. If anyone was supposed to feel bad and beat themselves up, it was me.
“None of this is your fault.” I repeat, head-butting Maverick and pulling away while he rubs his forehead. “Do you understand me?”
“I...” he begins, but stops as Uncle William clamps down on his shoulder.
“She’s alive, isn’t she?” He asks quietly, and I know that he is remembering Aunt Elise.
“Yes,” Maverick responds quietly.
“Then you protected her just fine.” Uncle William says, giving Maverick a rare gentle smile.
Nodding, Maverick looks from him to me, but even I can see that he isn’t fully convinced. And even though I want to try to help convince him that everything was going to be okay, I knew about his strong sense of duty and knew that right now nothing I said would make him feel better.
“I’m going to go check on mom.” I say quietly, not wanting to stay here and watch Maverick suffer. “Maverick, can you help Uncle William and the others check on everybody?”
“Yeah,” is all Maverick says, but he doesn’t dare look at me.
Opening my mouth, I prepare to call out to him, but decide against it.
“Alright then.”
Not waiting for any further response, I get up and begin to move, all the while taking in those who are hurt and helping the hurt on the grounds. From what I could see, no one seemed to have suffered major injuries, but there were a few who clearly got bit.
“This complicates things.” I murmur, heading into the school and making my way straight to the infirmary, where I was certain my parents were.
When I arrive, I can hear my mother’s soft voice attempting to soothe my father, who I was certain was brooding.
Pulling the coat Uncle William gave me closer around myself, I head in and feel a wave of relief rush through me as I see my mother sitting up in bed. However, her face is pale and her lips are stained with blood, indicating that she was definitely suffering.
“Mom,” I whisper, rushing forward and throwing myself against her. “I’m sorry!”
“Sorry for what?” She asks, beginning to gently run her hands along my hair, comforting me when she was the one who was suffering. “You didn’t do anything, sweety.”
“But I did,” I counter, knowing now that all of this was happening because of me. “It’s because of me that these attacks are happening. I shouldn’t have kept the secret of my blood from everyone. I should have...”
“There’s no point in regretting it now.” My dad says, causing my guilt to grow even more. “The consequences of your actions are starting to come to life. Now, the only thing we can do is try to figure out how to stop this.”
“Honey,” my mother sighs, her voice stern. “I know you’re angry, but blaming Serenity isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
“I know,” my father huffs. “I know that better than anybody. But what the hell are we supposed to do now?”
“Quarantine those bitten.” I say, remembering how Aunt Elise’s bite only grew. Even if I wasn’t certain, I feared that maybe just maybe her joke about turning into one of the rogues was real, and if it was, then we needed to keep those who were bitten away from everybody.”
“Why?” My father demands. “Is there more that you aren’t telling us, Serenity?”
“Only a hunch.” I say, sitting up and fixing my gaze on my father’s. “Those rogues had to come to be somehow. What if they were also bitten by a rogue?”
“Then what about the original?” My father counters, frowning. “Did it also get bitten?”
“No,” I sigh, shaking my head. “But Aunt Elise had a theory. She thinks that it has something to do with our family and the curse.”
At my words, my mother’s eyes widen, and she looks to my father, who is already looking at her.
“The journal.” They say together.
“Journal.” I repeat, frowning. “What journal are you talking about?”
“When you were just a baby and this curse was threatening you and our pack, we were given a journal with entries from the original alpha of Emerald Moon. I wonder if what happened to his pack has something to do with this.” My mother explains.
“It is a possibility.” My father agrees. “We will take a look at it when we return home.”
“Return home.” I squeak, shock rushing through me. “I thought…”
“Things have taken a turn that can’t be undone.” My father says. “They’re going to have to close The Academy indefinitely until the threat is eliminated completely.”