~Zephros~
The boxing bag swung violently as my fist connected with it again. And again. And again.
Sweat dripped down my face, my muscles burning, but I didn't stop. The anger flooding through my veins was too thick and too consuming.
"Because of your recent behavior, Mr. Silvain, you will be returning to first-year classes."
Principal Seraphine's voice echoed in my head from Saturday's meeting, calm and infuriatingly reasonable.
"And you will be responsible for guiding our new student when she arrives. Her name is Daphne June, a werewolf. Do be kind to her."
I punched harder.
What exactly had I done to deserve this humiliation? Fine, I had torn into the neck of a werewolf. That's what.
But it wasn't unprovoked.
The bastard had been poking at me for weeks. Comparing me to Zander, my precious older brother, the golden child, the proper heir of House Silvain. The one without.….certain peculiarities.
"Your brother would never lose control like this," the werewolf had sneered that night. "I guess that's what happens when you're a freak."
Freak.
I hated that word.
My fist slammed into the bag again, the chain rattling violently.
Reading minds wasn't normal for vampires. It was an anomaly. An abomination. Something that marked me as different, as wrong. And my eyes, violet instead of the normal red, orange, or black, just made it worse.
It wasn't as though they knew I could read minds. I kept that bit a secret from people outside my family. But my eyes?
It made me easy prey to even my fellow vampires. My own family looked at me like I was something to be studied. Contained.
They didn't know it, but I could hear their thoughts. All of them. Every whispered judgment, every comparison to Zander, every moment they wished I was more like him.
More like the fucking perfect heir.
Ethereal.
Calm.
Composed.
The bag burst.
Sand and padding exploded outward as my fist tore straight through the reinforced material, specially made to withstand vampire strength.
I stood there, panting, staring at the wreckage.
Daphne June.
Fucking Daphne June.
She was hiding something. I knew it the moment I saw her. The way her heart raced. The way she fumbled over her words. The way she smelled…..off. She didn't have the usual stench a lot of werewolves had. If anything, I couldn't really figure out her scent at all.
And her thoughts…..
I couldn't read them. Not fully.
Bits and pieces, sure. Flashes of panic, fear, confusion. But the rest? Blocked. Muffled. Like trying to hear through a wall.
That never happened.
I could read everyone. Everyone. Except the Great Seven vampire lords of course, whose minds were shielded by centuries of power.
But her? A mere werewolf?
It didn't make sense.
And I hated how intrigued I was.
"Dickwad."
I spun around, fists still clenched.
Ash leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, smirking like he didn't have a care in the world. His ruffled brown hair stuck up in every direction, and he wore a tank top, shorts, and slides, casual as always.
He was a dragon heir, and my only friend. Ash was literally the only person who could tolerate me and my antics.
"It's time to rest, buddy. You've been going at it all night, and in case you didn't know, some of us are trying to get some quality sleep man," he said, his tone light but pointed.
"Shut up," I muttered, wiping the sweat from my face.
Ash's smirk widened. He pushed off the doorframe and tossed me a bottle of blood. I caught it easily and downed it in seconds, the liquid cooling the burn in my throat.
"Thanks," I said grudgingly.
"I take it you hate the new girl," Ash said, settling onto a bench and stretching his legs out.
I scoffed. "What gave it away?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you just destroyed your third punching bag this week?" He raised an eyebrow. "Man, you're just being cruel for no reason. It's not the end of the world."
"So I've been told," I said flatly.
Ash laughed and punched my shoulder, hard enough that I actually felt it. "Come on. You're Zephros Silvain. You can do this."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."
"Let's go," he said, standing and pulling me toward the door. "First day of the week tomorrow. You need sleep. Or whatever it is you vampires do to recharge."
"Fine," I muttered, letting him drag me out of the gym.
But even as we walked back toward the dorms, I couldn't stop thinking about her.
Daphne June.
Why couldn't I read her mind?
What was she hiding?
And why the hell did I care so much?