Millwood Academy - First Term by Dawson, Tanya (i like reading txt) 📕

and feel a surge of energy. My hearing heightens, and I listen to a man and a woman in the back of the room speaking quietly to each other, “This is our chance to find out more about that mutt. Force her to claim her den.”

“I agree, but it must be handled delicately. We don’t want a war on our hands.” She covers her mouth with her hand.

“We’re already in a damn war.” The man stands up and walks over to the bar.

Vampires have excellent hearing, but not this good. The blood not only awakens my vampire side, but whatever other blood that runs through my veins. I slouch back against the wall, not wanting them to be alarmed by how alert I was.

A young girl, late teens, approaches me cautiously. Relief appears across her face when she realizes that I’m still ill. She crouches down by my side, “I’m Annie.”

She has a sweet face, pale with freckles. Her hair a deep red was almost to her waist.

“Penelope,” I mutter.

“Did the blood help? We have more if you need it.” She points to the fridge.

The group congregates on the other side of the room, away from me.

“I’m good.” My voice is still scratchy. “What’s going on here?” I wondered how much she would know and tell me. Teens knew more than their parents expected and loved talking – even supernatural teens.

“A den meeting about the missing boys.” She sits next to me on the floor and flashes me a friendly smile, “I know you were close with them.”

“Is there any news?” I sit up straight and glance between her and the rest of the vampires.

She bites her lip. There’s an awkward silence as I wait to see if she will tell me what she knows.

“Arthur made contact. They’re Okay but compromised.” She runs her finger on the floor in a pattern.

At first, I think she's a weird teenager, then I notice she keeps making the same movement. Her eyes meet mine, and once she has my attention, she nods. I pay more attention to what she is doing.

Her finger traces out an E. I nod to her, and she traces another letter. L. She repeats this until she spells, “Elliot.”

Once I realize who she’s talking about, I try to remain calm. I didn’t want to blow my cover if she was fishing for information from me. Maybe she wasn’t as innocent as she appears.

“It’s okay.” Her hand grazes my leg then pulls away, “Clark called me. You can trust me.”

I stay open-mouthed. Still unwell and foggy. She knew Clark. But why was she here? “Are you a Mutt?”

She giggles, “No. I’m a full-blood vampire. But, also part of the secret council. I’ve worked with Elliot, or whatever he’s calling himself these days, for centuries.”

“But you look so young.” I bend forward, and my head spins so I slump back to the support of the wall.

“You need more blood.” She begins to stand up, but I grab her arm and pull her back.

“No.” I don’t want to feel my vampire side. When the blood reached my tongue, it made my stomach turn. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t know why.

“You need your strength. I can’t leave you vulnerable around some of these vampires. They are not all friends.” She gets up and hops over to the fridge, so innocently. She grabs a couple of bags of blood and makes her way back to me.

She plops down, carefully blocking the view from the den members, ripping the first bag open, spitting the plastic on the floor. “Here. Drink it.”

When I don’t reach for the bag, she forces it in my hand then up to my lips. Once I have the taste of it in my mouth, I grab onto the bag and devour the contents. The taste is addictive, and I can’t stop. I grab the other bag of blood and drain it.

“Need more?” Annie asks.

I shake my head and lick the access blood on my mouth off while she bounces off to get more. She doesn’t disappoint. Her arms are loaded with bags of blood as she returns.

In no time, I finish them all off. I feel sharper and more powerful. Like I could rip through anyone that attacks me.

Annie witnesses my transition, and for a second, I see a flash of worry in her pretty green eyes. “I’ll get you out of here. Clark will be waiting in the woods.” She grabs my arm, “you’re still unwell.” She winks.

“Yes.” I lean on her as she brings me to my feet.

“I’ll take you to a bed to rest.” She says loud enough for some of the den members to hear, “I’ll stay with you for a bit.”

“Where are you going?” Principal Stanton is by her side instantly.

“She needs to sleep it off.” Annie bats her eyes at him. “The blood was too much for her.”

I slump up against her and keep my eyes to the ground. I had to rely on Annie at this point. At least I will know who’s side she is on.

“What about the couch?” He nods his head to one on the side of the room.

“She’d hear Den business.” Annie scrunches up her forehead, like his suggestion was the most absurd thing she had heard.

He waves us off, just as Alexandra pipes up. “Where are they going?”

“Enough already, Alexandra,” Principal Stanton throws his hands up in the air, “The Den members need to hear more from you. Let this go.” He grabs her arm and whisks her over to them. We are free to leave the room.

As we enter the hall, I keep my head down and keep the act up. There are several servants preparing supper for the group. Trays are lined up against the walls. We slump along until we arrive in the ground hall. It’s empty and dark.

We pass the grand staircase and begin a jog to the front door. Annie opens it, and we both race toward the woods. I feel