Unleashed: Book 2 in the House of Shadows Series

by Michelle Areaux

  “Tonight, we are going to break into my dad’s office. I can get the keys, he leaves them in his office in our suite,” Donovan began.

  I had forgotten that the Dean had a large suite that was more like an apartment. Donovan stayed there most nights since he didn’t like half of the male Vampires at the school. It would be easy for him to access the keys we needed.

  “Ok, and then what?” Eden pressed.

  TURNING TO HIS SISTER, Donovan gave her a knowing look. “We download the form they use to allow students into the school. I will bring my flash drive.”

  “What time are we meeting? Zane planned to meet with me after dinner. If I cancel, he might think something is up,” I said, hating that I had to even acknowledge Zane.

  At the mention of Zane, Donovan growled again. Eden’s eyes rose in surprise before a smile appeared over her lips. She was loving that Donovan was into me.

  “Let’s meet at midnight. But Audrey,” Donovan began, stopping and causing both Eden and I to stop in our tracks as well. “You need to be careful. Zane will only grow stronger and more dangerous as time passes.”

  Gulping down my fear, I simply nodded my head. I hated this idea, but he was right.

  Without saying anything else, Donovan left in a flash of lightning. I barely saw his form leave.

  Now, it was just Eden and I left alone.

  “How are you dealing with this?” Eden asked, after I got over the shock of Donovan’s departure.

  Sighing, I closed my eyes for a moment. “Ask me when this is all over.”

  AFTER DINNER, I WENT up to my room and changed out of my uniform. Opting for relaxed jeans and a gray t-shirt, I waited for Zane to arrive.

  Eden was hanging out with her study group from her Algebra class, and Jordan was busy stuffing his face as he waited outside my bedroom door. I was alone in my room and took the opportunity to try and call my dad again.

  Sitting on my bed, I dialed his number and allowed the phone to ring several times. I almost hung up, but then my dad answered in a rushed tone.

  “Audrey,” he said, out of breath as usual.

  “Hey dad,” I said, laying back on my bed. “Do you have time to talk?” I asked.

  “Sure. I’m sorry I haven’t had much time lately. The hospital has been insanely busy. There is a new virus spreading in the city and we have had several cases at the hospital. I have slept here the last few nights,” he said, his voice sounding tired.

  “Really?” I asked, sitting up now. This sounded serious. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Yeah, me too. I’m just glad you are away at that school. If you were here, I wouldn’t know what to do. I am able to help more patients knowing that you are safe and secure there. The virus is called Covid-19 and is spread through contact when you touch the same surface or object as the person infected. Symptoms don’t usually appear until fourteen days after being affected. It is getting really dangerous out here. Hundreds of people are dying here in the United States, but other countries are seeing thousands of deaths. In all my years as a doctor, I have never seen anything like it before,” he warned.

  My heart dropped to the pits of my stomach. Here I was about to beg him to come and get me, but he was battling something much bigger than what I was. Even if I told him to come get me, could he? I mean, if our country was battling this deadly virus, could it be possible that I was safer here surrounded by Vampires?

  “Wow, well just stay safe,” I said.

  “I am. What did you need to talk to me about the other day? I had to run, and I feel terrible for not hearing what you needed,” he said.

  Guilt now washed over me. “Nothing, it wasn’t important.”

  “Well, I will try and call you as soon as I can. I love you,” dad said.

  “Love you, too.”

  When we hung up, I sat there for a minute longer. I was numb. Looks like I wasn’t leaving the House of Shadows anytime soon.

  CHAPTER 9

  THE HALLS WERE PACKED with students and I had walked closer to Zane.

  After he had picked me up, Zane had offered Jordan a few hours off from having to watch me. It sounded like he was babysitting me the way Zane described it. Ugh, it made me sick.

  After my talk with my dad, I was ready to get this date over with and my plan with Donovan and Eden in motion. We were getting so close to having enough evidence to stop Zane, but we weren’t there just yet.

  “Hey, are you listening to me?” Zane asked.

  I was so lost in thought; I hadn’t been paying attention to what he was saying.

  “What?” I asked. Sorry, I had a conversation with my dad earlier. He was telling me about this crazy new virus that is spreading through cities. It’s called COVID-19 and hundreds of people are dying,” I said. Again, I had to keep everything as honest as I could.

  Nodding, Zane took my hand in his and smiled. “I heard about that on the news. It sounds really bad. Is your dad working with infected people?” he asked. He sounded so concerned, but I knew it was just a game he was playing.

  “Yes, he said he has been sleeping at the hospital,” worry laced my tone.

  “Well, I’m just glad you are safe here at the House of Shadows. Nothing will get you here,” he said.

  Yes, just you and a few other rogue Vampires, I thought to myself.

  “Aww, look how cute. The Human and her Vampire boyfriend,” Brie sneered as she sauntered past us.

  “Don’t you get tired of being so obsessed with me?” I asked her.

  I stopped walking and Zane tugged on my arm. “Audrey, don’t let Brie get to you,” he warned.

  Ignoring him, I took a step closer to Brie. Right now, she was the least of my concerns.

  Laughing, she flipped her long, white hair over her shoulder. Her gray eyes bore into me as she began to talk. “You don’t really believe that, do you?” she asked.

  “Well, why else would you constantly be taunting me? I mean, I get it that you are jealous that I am with Zane and you aren’t, but you really are looking pathetic,” I taunted.

  Brie’s face went rigid and she clenched her fists at her sides. “How dare you!” she yelled.

  Now, Zane stepped up intervening before we got into a real fight. “Brie, back off. You know if you touch Audrey, you will be expelled, or worse,” Zane warned.

  Brie glanced between us, before huffing and running off.

  I laughed as she left. Score for me.

  Turning to me, Zane gave me a serious look. “You really shouldn’t give in to her. Brie is hateful, but you never know when something bad could happen,” he said.

  I felt like his words were ominous and that he was hinting at something. Maybe that was part of his wicked games.

  I couldn’t let him beat me at my own game.

  “You are right,” I said, leaning against him and looking lovingly into his dark, silver studded eyes. I ran my hand through his blonde hair and smiled. “You never know when you will go to war with someone. I just need to keep my distance from Brie.”

  Zane smiled and kissed me on the cheek. “Exactly.”

  LATER THAT NIGHT, ZANE walked me back to my bedroom. We had taken a romantic walk around the courtyard and talked and laughed about Brie and some other gossip he had heard. I had yawned and told him I was exhausted. In reality, I was filled with adrenaline and couldn’t wait for midnight.

  After taking a power nap, I was ready and alert when Donovan came to our room at midnight. Only, he didn’t use our bedroom door. I had Lain out there watching for the night. Instead, Donovan came to our balcony door. With Eden at my side, Donovan lifted me and jumped down to the ground below.

  I felt weightless in his arms as he cradled me close to his body. Eden landed beside us and you would never have guessed that we had just jumped from our third story balcony.

  Once on the ground, I followed behind Donovan and Eden as they remained close to the stone walls of the academy. Donovan had left a window open in his father's office, so we were going
to climb through the window.

  It all felt so surreal to me, but I didn’t dare question any of the plans. Once we reached the Dean’s office window, Donovan stopped. Still kneeling down, I watched as he slowly opened the window. Climbing inside, I was happy it was on the ground floor.

  Eden went in next and offered me her hand. Gladly accepting, she pulled me inside.

  We were quiet as we kept our guards up.

  The room was dark, and it was hard to see. Donovan and Eden moved with ease, no doubt their Vampire sight helping them to see through the blackness.

  I saw a light emerge as Donovan found the computer and turned it on.

  He quickly began typing something and then he was into his father’s system.

  “What exactly are you looking for?” I whispered as I tip-toed to his side.

  Not taking his eyes off the screen, Donovan answered. “My dad and Professor Martin both have access to the student files. They share the same program. I am going to open the files and download to my flash drive. I saw him insert the drive into the computer.

  He continued scrolling until he stopped and clicked on a folder titled, Student admissions.

  As the file opened, we all leaned forward and began reading.

  To me, it looked like any other admission form. I felt a pang of sadness. This wasn’t anything different. Again, a memory began to flood my thoughts and felt like I might pass out.

  “So, what does this mean for me? Obviously, I am not going to be attending my dream school, so what do I do now?” I asked.

  Now that I was aware that they weren’t going to suck my blood and have me for dinner, I could settle my nerves—Just a little.

  “First, I need to find out who was responsible for allowing your application to get through our system. Once that happens, we can determine who is to blame. The next step is to meet with the other students and let them know that a Human is, in fact, joining us at the school,” he finished.

  I was reminded of that day being back in the Dean’s office. I had been so scared and now as I stood here again, I was on a mission to find out exactly what the Dean had been wondering, too.

  This was all too much. The forms weren’t giving us the information we needed.

  Realizing this, too, Eden spoke up. “Nothing about this looks suspicious. Maybe we should open a few of the latest students that have been accepted for next year,” she offered.

  Donovan opened the file titled, 2020-2021 admission. As we began scanning, we noticed that all students were either freshmen or sophomore status. Then, I began to notice a pattern. Under family history, all students admitted were from either single-family homes or had been orphans who were accepted into the academy.

  “Hey, do you all notice this trend?” I asked, pointing out my findings.

  “Wow, yes. Let’s see how that compares to students admitted a few years ago,” Donovan suggested.

  He began searching through old files and noticed there wasn’t the same trend. It appeared that once Professor Martin became responsible for student admissions, he targeted specific kids.

  Students like me.

  Only one parent.

  Or, no parents.

  It made complete sense. Pick Humans who had little to no family to miss them.

  “This is disgusting,” Eden said, shaking her head in anger.

  I know it’s wrong, but the plan truly was brilliant. Too bad we were about to destroy it.

  “Download everything,” I said, gritting my teeth.

  Donovan completed the task and then with his flash drive in his pocket, we snuck back out of the office.

  Taking my hand, Donovan helped me out of the window as Eden carefully closed it behind us. Never dropping my hand, we held hands all the way to the other side of the building where our balcony was located. It felt right having my hand in Donovan’s. My heart swelled at the thought of hopefully one day being able to be with him and not have any fears of Zane.

  CHAPTER 10

  I WAS DROWNING IN HOMEWORK when Donovan knocked on my bedroom door. I had been and was enjoying the quiet. Eden had gone out to hunt and Zane was busy with meetings—at least, that was what he had told me.

  Opening the door, I saw Donovan smiling back at me. “Hey,” he said.

  Lain was standing behind him and watched us carefully.

  “Hey,” I greeted, trying not to act too thrilled to see him.

  We had managed to get through the rest of the week without any more issues. Brie for the most part was leaving me alone and Zane still didn’t suspect anything was up.

  Friday was finally upon us and I knew Donovan wanted to talk with me before Eden got back from hunting.

  “Can I come in?” Donovan asked, very formally.

  I waved for him to enter and then gave Jordan a side eye. Jordan didn’t seem to even notice. He had a book open that he was reading and seemed busy with the task.

  As I closed the door, Donovan walked in and looked around. He almost seemed nervous to be in my bedroom alone with me. Usually, Eden was here, too.

  I sat down at a chair by my desk and Donovan just stood in the center of the room.

  “So, tonight. I need you to stay with me at all times,” he began.

  “Ok,” I said.

  “I’m serious. Alex and Marcus will be with Zane tonight. While they will be focused on getting down, I don’t doubt they will also be more aware of their surroundings,” Donovan said.

  “I will stay with you and won’t say a word,” I offered.

  “If something happens, I will get us out of there fast. But you will have to be close to me,” he added.

  It was making me a little nervous that Donovan was taking such strong precautions. I mean, I had followed those guys myself and didn’t get caught.

  I glanced outside and noticed the moon was shining brightly in the sky. It was a clear night and would be perfect for walking through the woods.

  Checking the time, Donovan muttered something to himself.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I just wish Eden would hurry up,” he said, clearly agitated.

  He was growing more anxious and it was making me feel uneasy.

  “You just need to calm down. Eden will be here soon,” I reminded him.

  Just then, Eden landed on the balcony with a thud. “Did someone mention me,” she said, wagging her eyebrows at us.

  Donovan gave her a nasty glare as she entered the room.

  “Your brother was about to go crazy waiting on you,” I laughed.

  “Oh, calm down, Donovan,” Eden said, patting her brother on the back.

  “I’m here now, let’s go have some fun,” Eden proclaimed.

  Ten minutes later, we were walking along the back of the property toward the forest. It had only been a short time ago that I had made this same walk, but I had been alone. Now, I had two others with me. I felt safe in numbers.

  We took the first step into the forest and as I looked back at the House of Shadows, I couldn’t help but notice how magnificent it looked in the glow of the night. Seeming more like a castle, it appeared ethereal as it stood tall among the large property it was housed on.

  Sighing, I followed Donovan and Eden inside the forest. We moved to an area where there was a lot of brush and a ginormous tree to shield us. We hunkered down and waited for the rogue Vampires to appear.

  At twelve-thirty, we heard voices and footsteps at the line of the forest. Holding my breath, I waited for Marcus, Zane, and Alex to emerge.

  I noticed Donovan’s body went stiff as we anticipated their arrival.

  I heard Zane’s voice first and it sent chills down my spine.

  Eden looked at me and we both smiled, the anticipation almost killing us.

  “Come on, you guys have cost me enough this week,” Zane shouted at the boys.

  His voice sounded so angry and menacing.

  They moved so fast; I barely saw them buzz past us.

  “Wow,” I mused. I keep forgettin
g how fast they move. I guess these guys are super hungry tonight.

  Once the guys were past us, we emerged from our hiding spot and began to follow their trail.

  It wasn’t long until we were at the spot of the forest that opened to a small clearing where city lights shone into the darkened woods.

  Only, something was different this time.

  Last time, the sounds of cars and voices had filled the night air. Now, it was silence.

  “What’s going on?” Eden asked, realizing how quiet the world around us was.

  We stopped at the clearing and looked around. There were no cars and no people to be seen anywhere. It was like Armageddon had hit and the entire Human race was wiped out.

  An eerie feeling of dread swept over me. Something was seriously wrong.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Donovan held up his hand and hushed both Eden and myself.

  He pointed toward the street and I could see Zane, Alex, and Marcus walking down the center of the abandoned road. Their voices began to fill the silence and I realized Donovan wanted to listen.

  “Where are the Humans?” Zane shouted.

  “It’s like they all disappeared,” Marcus stated.

  Alex pulled out a phone and began calling someone. Zane stopped and watched him with intent.

  “Professor Martin, we are in town, but it’s deserted. No one is out anywhere,” Alex said into the phone.

  He nodded a few times and his face grew angry as his eyes shot open wide. When he ended the call, he crushed the phone in his hand.

  “Professor Martin said with the COVID-19 virus, all Humans were ordered into their homes. They are being quarantined,” he lashed out, his viscous voice echoing around us.

  My conversation with my dad came to mind. Of course, people were locked safely inside their homes right now. A smile spread across my lips as I realized they couldn’t harm any Humans tonight.

  “What are they talking about?” Eden whispered.

  I pulled out my phone and texted Eden and Donovan the information I had learned about COVID-19. I guess being at the House of Shadows, we were locked away from the rest of the world. No one really watched the news, so it was unlikely for many Vampires to know what was happening to the world outside of the House of Shadows.