Cursed Fate

4- Grounded

I sit in the chair in front of the large desk in the gloomy Headmaster’s office, waiting for my certain doom. I know I messed up big time and I am certainly going to get expelled from this school. Or worse.

I gulp, remembering all the punishments I have heard about in the past. From being forced to work full time at something you hate to have to teach classes everyone knows you were never good at. Not I have ever seen any of those punishments in action. It’s not very common for anyone to lose their grip on their instincts here.

Shit. I’m screwed.

Trying to keep my mind from my impending doom, I look around the office. I have only been here once before: ten years ago, when I was admitted into the Academy.

The room hasn’t changed much. It is filled with shelves after shelves containing the most variable strange things. Organs in flasks, gooey moistures in bottles that I swear I can see moving… There’s also this huge computer with many screens where the Headmaster controls all the cameras and technology existing around the Academy.

Like Madame Solena said in her class, our Headmaster is one of the last Royals and his special power is controlling technology and digital data. He is known to be a gloomy man with very little tolerance for failure.

But his powers have proven to be a good ability to have to found this school and everything in it. The whole Academy is controlled by technology, seen that ambient magic is dissipating very quickly.

Ambient magic is the magic that exists in the air around us. It is what grants witches and wizards their powers and is also what allows shapeshifters to control their abilities. But it is vanishing as time progresses. It is said that in the old times there was enough magic for a warlock to take over the world. Now it is barely enough to create a thunderstorm.

Feeling bored, I touch the strange statuettes at the desk and wonder about the new female student I saw before I lost control.

She looked just like me. How come?

The only two possible reasons for that to happen are that she is either my clone or my twin sister.

And of course, the first possibility is much less credible than the latter. But then why don’t I remember her?

One would think I would remember my own twin sister, but I don’t.

But then again, I don’t really remember anything about my human life before I was 10 years old. I always thought that was strange, but my foster parents never really gave me a credible reason for why that happened.

There’s nothing before that. It is all a blank.

I must have been born at the start of the 90’s but I have no idea where I really came from. I was adopted exactly when my memories start. I have no idea how I got to my foster parents or how my childhood was before I lived with them.

All I remember is that I hated each minute I spent with them, which is why I ended up running away and inevitably became a vampire. But that is something I don’t want to linger on right now.

I wonder if my ‘twin sister’ has been through the same.

Maybe she remembers me from before I lost my memories.

I am still lost in thought when the office’s door suddenly opens and in comes the Headmaster.

I gulp and unconsciously crouch down in my chair, knowing the moment to hear about my punishment has arrived.

“You caused quite a commotion, Miss Naiya” He tells me as he circles around the desk and sits at the large chair in front of me.

I try to look at anything else but him as I sense his cold eyes on me, studying me. He is quite a handsome man, looking to be around his 20’s when in fact he is many centuries old, with a clean figure and silky black hair he always keeps tied at the base of his neck. He still dresses as if we are still in 18th century and always smells of oaks. It’s not a natural smell vampires can have. I suppose he has chosen this smell to appease his wife.

“Why did you attack him?” He suddenly asks me, while continuing to watch me attentively.

I continue to avoid his gaze as I think about my answer. I open my mouth to respond, but shut it back again. Somehow, I don’t want anyone to know that werewolf is my mate. I feel embarrassed by the simple fact. My mate is a werewolf. Disgusting.

At my inability to respond, the Headmaster continues. “He is your mate, is he not?”

I look up at him in surprise. How does he know?

He sighs as if he was dreading my confirmation. “This is problematic” He says. “I was afraid that would be the case when you attacked him so suddenly, but I had hoped I was wrong”

He leans forward in his desk and locks eyes with me.

“It is virtually impossible for a vampire to resist marking their mate and drinking their blood when they first meet. Were they to be human, they would get turned immediately, ensuring they could remain together forever” He tells me. “However, in your case, this could prove to be fatal to you”

I know what he means. It is the reason why I am so angry that my mate is a werewolf.

Werewolf blood is fatally poisonous to vampires.

It’s like fate has pulled a prank on me and is laughing so hard it is snorting.

I can’t even mark my freaking mate. It’s the most terrible thing anyone could ever do to me.

I look at the Headmaster, now frowning at my own frustration.

He leans back on his chair. “There is not much anyone can do now. You can either avoid him or resist the temptation. But somehow I know you will not be able to do either”

“What the hell am I supposed to do, then?” I ask, completely ignoring my manners in front of the Headmaster.

Fortunately, he ignores it. “Obviously, the problem started when he first came into contact with you. I could turn him away… But I am not willing to let go of any of my students” He says, while pondering. “You will have to learn how to control your instincts. By force, if you have to”

I look at him, not liking where this is going. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Human food dulls your instincts” He simply states, and I just watch him in horror. “If you eat human food every day, you will be able to tolerate his presence without feeling the need to drink his blood”

I stand up in outrage. “You can’t be serious!”

He calmly looks up at me. “With luck, you will learn to control yourself without the need of such measures, but for that to happen you will need more time” He states, standing up. “You will have to spend another year at this Academy while you learn how to control your instincts”

“WHAT?!” I shout raising my hands in frustration. “That is so unfair! I’m not to blame that you brought that guy into this school!”

He suddenly turns to look at me threateningly and the color of his eyes change from green to black. I flinch as all my instincts tell me to bow down.

“You will do as I say” He declares and it is all I can do to just bow my head and nod. “Also, he will be joining your class. Remaining close to him at all times may help you to learn how to control your instincts more quickly”

I am about to protest but he looks at me with those dark eyes and I gulp down my words, sitting back down on my chair.

I can’t believe this is happening to me.

“You will be given a full meal before you leave this office” He tells me as he heads to the door. “Also, the female student who came with him has asked to speak with you. I shall let her inside so you can talk”

At this, he leaves the room, closing the door behind him and leaving me with a sense of doom.

I knew it. I’m screwed.

Shit, s**t, s**t!

I can’t believe I will be forced to eat that disgusting food every day. And it is all because of my stupid mate!

No, he’s not my mate.

He’s just a stupid werewolf who came into my life and ruined everything!

I scream in frustration.

Then, there’s a knock at the door and I barely register the door opening as I stand up, feeling angry.

I am about to shout my frustration at whoever walked in, even if it is the Headmaster, but the one I see in front of me makes my emotions shut down.

Again, I find myself face to face with my mirror like copy.