They were sneaking out-again. The trouble trio, always in the wrong place at the wrong time, talking nonsense and laughing too loudly for kids who were supposed to be in their classrooms, learning something, anything. But here they are.
Katriel tugged his hood up, trying to not get caught, again. "So," he said casually, "did you hear the newest gossip around the cafeteria?"
Vexra groaned. "Unless it involves pie or explosions, I'm out."
Katriel ignored him, tsk, just as he expected from this always hungry, dumbass wolf. "I've never seen the Council so panicked before."
Vexra laughed, a sharp bark of amusement, he clearly enjoyed their misery. "Yeah, they were practically peeing themselves. I know that feeling."
Katriel made a face, recoiling slightly. "Ew, what the fuck, Vex?"
He shrugged unapologetically, but his grin faded when he caught Delvin's expression. The third of their trio wasn't laughing, his gaze was distant, brows furrowed in thought.
"Hey… has your uncle said anything?", Vexra nudged him. "He was there too, right?"
Delvin blinked out of his thoughts, slow to respond. "Yeah… he was there."
"But?", Katriel's voice leaned in, curious.
"But he hasn't said anything about it. Not a word. It's weird. I mean, he's always been strict, but lately…", He trailed off, searching for the right words. "Something's different. Something has… changed. But I can't tell what."
Katriel hummed, nodding slowly. "He looked serious that night. Like...scary serious."
"He scared me too," Vexra muttered with a dramatic shudder. "Like a librarian with a vendetta."
They rolled their eyes at him and quickened their pace, deliberately leaving Vexar behind to sulk and stumble after them.
Later that night...
Delvin had been watching his uncle for days now. Observing. Waiting. Something was off. His uncle, Francis, who usually wore authority like a second skin, was quieter now, more contained, like he was fighting a battle inside himself that no one else could see.
And he was good at hiding it. Too good. It made Delvin's skin itch.
He'd been glaring at Francis at dinner, trying to make him crack. The man barely reacted, save for a few sidelong glances. His mother noticed, of course, she always noticed, and then boom! A smack landing at the back of his head, hissing, "Stop staring, what's wrong with you?"
But he couldn't stop. Not now. Not when he was this close to understanding.
He needed answers.
Even later…
The house was quiet. Everyone else had gone to bed.
Delvin sneaked down the hall, silent on socked feet, and opened the heavy door to his uncle's office without knocking. The door creaked a little. Francis didn't even look up.
"What is it?" Francis muttered, his eyes scanning the stack of papers spread across his desk.
Delvin took the seat opposite him, folding his arms on the desk.
"I know this might sound weird," he began, voice unusually serious, "but… Uncle… are you okay?"
Francis looked up, finally. His eyes locked onto Delvin's. Quiet. Measuring.
"I mean it," Delvin went on. "You've been different. Distant. Like you're… hiding something. Are you under some kind of....pressure? Did something happen at the council meeting?"
There was a long pause.
Francis set his papers aside slowly. The silence in the room deepened, stretching between them.
"What makes you think I'm hiding something?", he asked at last, his voice even.
Delvin's breath hitched. That wasn't a denial.
"I don't know," he admitted softly, "I just feel like it. And the way you've been acting… I don't think I'm wrong."
Francis chuckled, low and dry. Then his expression changed-just for a second. Hardened. Tired.
"You're not wrong," he said quietly.
Delvin sat straighter. "So-what is it? What's going on?"
Francis leaned back in his chair, eyes gleaming faintly in the candlelight. "It's not just me, Delvin. It's bigger than that. The whole world's about to change. But not yet. Not tonight."
Delvin's heart thudded in his chest. "What do you mean-"
Francis stood abruptly. "It's past your bedtime, mister."
"What? No! You can't just-"
"I can, and I am." Francis opened the door, a small smirk curling at his lips. "You'll understand soon enough. Until then…goodnight."
Delvin groaned as he was ushered out. So close. So unfair.
The door clicked shut behind him.
And in the silence that followed, Delvin could have sworn he heard the faintest sound, a whisper of something…. Powerful. Watching.
He froze.
Oh, fuck!
He is now the one who is about to pee himself. It must be his brain. His uncle is right, he needs to be in bed right now!
And with that, he rushes to his room.
________________
"What the fuck is wrong with this kid?", Nyxara whispered to herself, watching Delvin stops moving suddenly, then almost tripping over his steps.
She had been there for a while now. Hidden in the shadows, as silent as breath, watching.
Waiting.
Always waiting.
Nyxara didn't believe in intuition—she relied on it. And right now, it was screaming. Something was off. The air was too still, the stars too quiet. She could feel the twist of unease in her chest like a premonition itching to be spoken aloud.
She couldn't rest. Couldn't sleep.
So that's why she is here.
She never trusted Francis. Never. And she warned Yoon more times than she could count.
'Don't let your guard down. Vampires cannot be trusted. You know that better than anyone!'
Yoon, of course, had rolled his eyes. Like he always did. Like she was the overprotective sister who saw monsters under every bed.
'I know what i'm doing.' he said.
But Nyxara remembered. She remembered what trusting Francis cost them last time...
She gritted her teeth.
That stubborn little shit never listens to anyone but himself. She loved Yoon, but heaven, she wanted to shake him sometimes.
This Francis...
He had to be planning something. She knows it, can feel it.
The Council had already set up something for them...
Better to be paranoid than sorry. Or some shit along the lines of it.
She'd learned that the hard way.
Well, well, well. As if she would let him be!
She would intervene.
Always.
Nyxara exhaled sharply and slipped back into the shadows. Enough for tonight.
But she would be back.
She is always coming for this ass.
Because she couldn't afford to look away. Not even for a moment. Not after what happened last time.
She had paid in blood and time and silence for her one mistake, letting Francis get too close. Letting Yoon walk into a trap she should've torn apart with her bare hands.
Not again. Never again.
If she so much as blinked too long, Yoon would vanish on her. Again.
And then who would take care of her child when she needed a break? Who would babysit when she and Nael got horny?
Gods. Decisions, Nyxara. Decisions.
She sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose, and vanished into the trees.
Tomorrow, she'd be back.
And every night.
Armed with sharper blades, sharper spells, and a sharper glare.
Because family was everything. And no charming bastard was going to touch what was hers again.