Page 47 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Kiss

My growl drowned her words as my limbs shook with the effort of holding back the change. “What. Happened.”

“H-He has risen.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hayes

The screaming of the students in the hall barely registered. My senses were dulled and yet sharp as a knife, words held no meaning. There was only bite or be bitten, friend or foe, life or death.

I could feel the blood on my maw, running down my chin. Panic had gotten the better of me. The nurse would have a nasty bite. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Rowan—waking up alone, hungry, confused, desperate to the point that he’d attacked the living vampire who happened to be in the infirmary at the time. It wasn’t like him. Either his actions were driven by the change, or the drug he’d been taking had affected him long-term.

Regardless, Ashvale had failed him. I had failed him. He shouldn’t have had to be alone and he definitely shouldn’t have been allowed to escape into the castle without us knowing if he was sound of mind. The panic rose up in me again and I knew I wouldn’t be able to change into my two-legged form if I couldn’t get a handle on my emotions.

A living vampire brushed by, slightly too close, and I snapped at them in warning. Was this loss of control what Cal had feared? Had my power grown to be too much for my living body thanks to my lineage? Or was this just grief, rearing its head and flooding me with guilt over failing Rowan again. I should have known that something was wrong with him, that he needed help. Instead, he’d been left to deal with Elowen alone. Just as he was now.

I couldn't tell if the space was small or if I was just that large, but my shoulders brushed each side of the hall as I approached the main hall and wrestled with my emotions. Short breaths huffed out of my nose and my eyes rolled, darting from side to side in an attempt to keep all potential threats in view—Not threats. Students.

Sounds registered faintly, the clatter of cutlery, the murmur of students gossiping. Dinner time. I pushed through the heavy double doors with little effort and the wild beating of hearts rose like a cacophony despite the silence that engulfed the room at my presence. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, maybe just direction, but the anger was starting to take control once more. I must have missed Rowan by moments, and yet there’d been no sign of him in the halls, no lingering scent to follow, like he’d just vanished without a trace.

How could they have let this happen? How could they unleash a newly undead vampire on the world? Why didn’t they have more guards in place? Or a ward? How could they be so stupid?

My growl turned into a roar, rumbling through every corner of the room. The echo bounced off the walls, eventually becoming the only sound.

A screeching sound cut through the air as a living vampire lost their nerve, the panicked gasping of their breath as they ran encouraging me to do the only thing a predator could: chase.

A wave of power swept out before I could do more than take two steps. My head turned slowly and met the eyes of the woman sitting in what used to be Elowen’s seat.

“Enough,” the new head of Ashvale said, her eyes piercing me until even the predator inside me paused, assessing. “My students have done nothing to incur the wrath of the wolf.” She inclined her head and my mouth closed as wolf and man conflicted internally. I wasn't sure I agreed that the students were innocent—they’d left Rowan alone in who knew what state of mind.

I sat back on my haunches and the woman nodded, a slight smile on her face like I was just another one of her students who had made the right decision in not attempting to bite her face off.

“If you would, I will meet you outside in a few minutes. It’s my understanding that I have a mess to clean up in the infirmary.”

The click of my claws on the floor was my only response as I left through the front door and headed to the forest tree line. I wouldn't apologise for trashing the room and biting the nurse. She’d had a duty, and she’d failed in it in more ways than one—she was lucky I’d only bitten her. Though, I couldn't deny my loss of control. Cal would want to know about this.

At some point, my power would grow too much for this living body and I would be forced to become an undead lest it drive me mad and kill me anyway.

This all felt like a dream, or a nightmare. My heart beat harder as I replayed the moment I’d found the empty bed, over and over.

Rowan was awake. Rowan was alive.

Well, as alive as an undead vampire could be.

Had he known I was there? Had he fled while I’d still been in his room, reminiscing?

Fuck, how was I going to tell Leonora and the others? Would they also feel this complicated mix of joy and worry? Guilt and relief?

My paws dug into the earth, the wind rustling the trees above me as a different thought occurred to me.

Newly awoken, hungry, and emotions freshly heightened, where was Rowan going? I’d been so concerned about the possibility of him being awake, that I hadn't considered what he might want or what he might do.

Nora had killed him. Would he want revenge? This was Rowan we were talking about, but the transition from living vampire to an undead wasn’t an easy one and some emerged… changed. Even without Elowen’s drug in the mix, there was no way to guarantee that this was the same Rowan we’d known and loved.

Fuck. I needed to get back to the field where I’d changed and left my clothes and phone so I could warn the others. If Rowan was planning on going after Leonora, then he was already on his way.

I glanced back towards the castle and hesitated before backing away into the depths of the trees. Whatever the new head of Ashvale had to say to me, it would have to wait. I had more pressing matters at hand.

Decision made, I didn't hold back. My paws hit the ground with a rhythm of desperation, like thunder warning the forest to steer clear of my path.

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