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I had never experienced anything like that in all the short time I had been in House of Night. It all started when High Priestess Neferet announced that the High Council was coming to visit us in order to check if the operation of the school was up to date. It was a tour they did at regular basis. Everyone set about preparing the school for their arrival, especially the very special ballroom that hadn't been used in many years. Everyone was in awe when we heard that they were coming over. Especially since they had reportedly never been to Tulsa's House of Night. This school was so new that it had not been part of their previous observation tour.
"I've never seen this place so full of excitement," I said to Stevie Rae, Stark, and Jack while we were cleaning up the ballroom. It was a huge room and it took days to clean it. We, the first-year students, were assigned to take care of the job.
"Me neither," Jack said.
"You have to remember to tell the Twins that their favorite teacher is here to watch over us," Stark said with a grin, referring to our wonderful poetry professor Loren Blake who was in the room making sure we actually did the assigned job. The Twins had pissed us off when the task lists were given and as older students they didn't have to do the cleaning work with the rest of us. Now we had a way to get back at them – they'd never get over me and Stevie Rae drooling over Loren.
"Does anyone have a phone with them?" I asked with a grin. "Take a picture of Mr. Wonderful for them."
"I'll take care of it. He's close enough so the picture will be good," Jack said and dug his phone out of his pocket. Loren was a meter away from us talking to a couple of fledglings and stood so that we could see his face. He was an incredibly handsome vampire with lovely dark eyes. Jack grabbed a couple of pictures of him and showed them to me. I chose the best looking one and Jack sent it to our group chat. And then we would wait for their reactions.
Twins were very excited when they answered the message saying ‘what a cruel joke it was that they had to fold the napkins and we got to watch Loren Blake as much as we wanted and even flirt a little with him’. We thought the whole thing was funny and we laughed about it until we finally started cleaning the hall again after Loren announced that the break was over. We continued cleaning until he finally let us go. Of course, the Twins were waiting for us at the door and immediately started flirting with Loren when he stepped out of the hall. He answered them politely but in a matter-of-fact tone which certainly didn't leave anyone guessing whether the man was interested or not. The answer was a clear no.
When we left, the Twins blathered all the way to the fledglings’ dining hall about what a perfect man Loren Blake was. Eventually they started repeating themselves to the point that the rest of us pretty much got tired of listening to it and focused on our food and other topics entirely.
The ballroom was cleaned and prepared for our guests a week later. Elegant-looking mahogany tables were brought there on which beautiful tablecloths and flower vases were laid on. We were ordered out of the room as the decorating team took over.
*
The High Council arrived a couple of days later. I was shocked when I was told that I had to be there when they got here. I was expected to do so as I was a high priestess in training. A stunning new black dress was arranged for me to wear in the meeting. My hair was also braided and pulled over one shoulder as I prepared for the meeting at the Nyx temple. Neferet's staff of vampires were there to help her prepare for the rituals.
"You will only be present when they arrive at school," Neferet advised me. "After that you’ll join your friends."
I nodded. "Don't they want to ask me anything?"
“They probably won't ask you more until tomorrow, Zoey. You can be at the party today with a peace of mind."
“Okay, Neferet,” I said and smiled.
"Are you nervous?" she asked me with a warm look in her eyes.
"Yes. I heard about this so suddenly that I didn't even have time to prepare for it mentally and now I'm sitting here", I answered truthfully. It was so easy to open up to Neferet because she listened to me and helped as best she could. She was my mentor and I certainly wouldn't trade her for anyone else.
"Meeting the High Council is always a nerve-wracking experience," Neferet said with a smile. “I have never forgotten my first time. I can tell you that I was not the personification of calmness back then either."
"But you're always so calm," I said, confused. How someone like Neferet have nervous moments? She was always so calm and collected!
"Oh, I was nervous too," Neferet replied with a smile. "However, there is no need to fear them. They are gentle.”
I nodded just as Neferet's group finished their preparations. I stood up and the group put a black velvet cape on me with a hood that they put on my head just as the ever-so-charming Loren Blake walked into the room. He was already dressed in his formal clothes and looked very handsome.
"Are you nervous, Zoey?" he asked me.
"I don't think I am anymore when I talked about it with Neferet," I answered.
“You look just like a High Priestess. Neferet, is there a reason for that?”
Neferet smiled at the court poet. "I want Zoey to leave an unforgettable impression on the council. She is the future of this House of Night, my love.”
"Right, I should have known that myself, my love," Loren replied in a gentle tone to the High Priestess and touched her cheek.
I hadn’t known they were in a relationship. I did know that Loren was the consort of Neferet’s but I hadn't known that it was actually a romantic relationship. I thought it was just some kind of figurative thing but I was wrong. I didn't watch them for too long but I thought that they were quite a gorgeous couple and there was clearly genuine feelings between them.
When we then left the temple, we walked to the front door of the school building where I had to stand next to Neferet right next to the front door. While walking there, I had also seen my gang in the front row and I smiled at them as I passed. They gave me a thumbs up to show their support. Then I joined the vampire professors feeling a bit like an outsider. I wasn't a vampire (yet) and I had only been at this school for few months. However, I decided not to let nervousness ruin my day. So I took a cue from the calm Neferet beside me and braced myself. I had to handle this like a pro and I could definitely greet the vampire High Priestesses without any problems.
When the High Council arrived, they looked absolutely stunning and gave off this mighty vibe as they walked up to us. The fledglings bowed to them in one wave-like mass and it looked pretty cool to me. The High Priestesses nodded to them and then started walking towards the main door. Then a calm came over me that I knew to be given to me by our goddess. I watched calmly as the High Council came to us after greeting the vampire professors who greeted them. Then they stood by me and Neferet and we greeted them in the same way.
“This is High Priestess-in-training Zoey Redbird,” Neferet introduced me to them.
“Nice to meet you, Zoey,” the leader of the High Priestesses Shekinah told me.
"A pleasure to meet you," I replied, smiling to them.
"We are absolutely delighted to meet you. We've heard a lot about you from High Priestess Neferet. We want to talk to you face to face later,” Shekinah said.
"I am taken by your words, High Priestess. I'll be happy to talk to you later", I answered with the calmness of a proper high priestess even though inside I was confused by the whole encounter. Their power was quite astonishing. Would I become like them one day? I hoped so.
Shekinah and the other vampire priestesses smiled at me. Then Neferet lead us to the ballroom. I walked beside her as she had instructed me. In the hall I separated myself from the crowd with Loren because I had to go and sit at the table where the gifted fledglings sat. Loren wasn't allowed to sit at the high priestesses' table either so Neferet had asked him to stay with me if I needed help.
"You did really well," Loren told me as I walked with him to the table reserved for me and the other gifted fledglings. "You sounded like a real High Priestess when you spoke to them”, he added.
“Thank you, Professor Blake,” I said, grinning. “They are absolutely amazing vampires.”
"I'm sure you'll make an amazing high priestess too," Loren told me with a smile and he helped me sit at the table like a real gentleman. I sat on the chair and he sat next to me when the fledglings and the vampire professors entered the room. Anastasia led a group of gifted fledglings to us.
“You were excellent, Zoey,” she told me with a smile. "I am immensely proud of you."
"Thank you, Professor Lankford," I replied as the fledglings took their seats around me.
Anastasia bowed to me and then left for the table reserved for the professors on the other side of the room.
“You look so vampire like tonight, Z,” Stark commented, looking me up and down. “I like it,” he added, grinning in his cute cocky way that made my socks roll. I was totally in love with James Stark, and I didn't hide it from him or anyone else.
I smiled at him. “I thank you for your words, Stark,” I said.
*
And then the party began. At first was really nice for me when I got to chat with my friends – and flirt with Stark – and I got to eat good food which really stood out from the usual food that was offered to us fledglings. The meal consisted of a salad portion as an appetizer and after that we got pepper steak as the main course. It was definitely the best pepper steak I had ever eaten.
“This kind of food is often served in the vampires’ dining hall,” Loren told us.
"I wish we could have this too," I sighed. “Really good steak.”
"You could very well sneak in there since you can use your elements to hide yourself," Loren said and winked at us, making all of us giggle.
"Sounds like a good idea," Stark said with a grin. "Let's do it."
"Maybe," I laughed.
And then that scent wafted over to me. It was intoxicating and enchanting at the same time. I recognized it right away. Even though I tried to hide it how thirsty I felt when I smelled it, I couldn't hide it from the vampire man sitting next to me. I heard him open one of the bottles of blood that were placed on all the tables and he put that wonderful thing into an empty glass next to my glass of water.
"There's nothing wrong with blood drinking," Loren told us calmly as he poured blood into his own glass next. "Sometimes it just happens that fledglings come to the House of Night and feel the need to drink it as soon as they arrive," he added as he closed the bottle. He then placed it on the table.
I smiled at him as he raised his glass to his lips. He was right. I shouldn't try to pretend that I don't feel this desire. It was just a normal vampire thing. And thus I took the glass of blood in my hand while my friends watched in amazement. Stark and Aphrodite were the only ones who didn't.
“You are quite right, Professor Blake. I'm just a more advanced fledgling," I said and took a sip from the glass. The blood exploded in my mouth and I let out a content sigh as it was so damn delicious.
“Exactly,” Loren told me. "Don't drink too much at once though, Zoey. Remember that blood is what alcohol is to humans,” he added as I was about to take more.
"I could take some too," Stark said in a slightly hesitant tone but Loren immediately handed him the bottle with an encouraging look on his handsome face. Stark poured it into his own glass.
"I think fledglings should be told about bloodlust at the very beginning," Loren told us. "I felt the need four months after I had been marked and I was quite confused about it. I was the only one who started feeling it that early,” he revealed.
"I felt it for the first time just a couple of days ago," Stark said and drank from his glass. Soon there was a surprisingly sweet and satisfied look in his eyes and he, too, sighed.
“I agree with you, Professor Blake,” I said to the poetry professor. "It's terrible to feel like a freak of nature when you hear that the bloodlust shouldn't start this early on."
He nodded. "That whimsical feeling is quite unpleasant," he said. "Yes, it goes away when you realize that it's a normal vampire thing."
"And you two have each other so you can do vampire stuff together," Stevie Rae said looking from me to Stark and back to me with a knowing smirk on her face.
I didn't even blush because Stevie Rae was right and as I looked at Stark I saw him looking at me from head to toe and smiling in a bad boy kind of way with a twinkle in his eyes. Oh my goddess, I would have left the party with him immediately if he had asked!
After the party we were allowed to leave. I had ended up talking to the High Council about my gifts and other things. They had been very interested in it. I even summoned elements over to show off my skills to them and they were amazed because they had never met a fledgling like me before. Soon afterwards they let me to leave the room where we had been talking. Loren escorted me to the Temple of Nyx where I’d have to leave my high priestess robes. We talked about school and sometimes the conversation went off the rails without us even realizing it. It felt like I was on a first date. He made me laugh and he also laughed at my stories and I found his laughter adorable.
I didn't miss the look in his eyes though; It was mysterious, seductive and longing at the, same time. As if he were looking wistfully at something he couldn't claim as his own. It was hard for me to not to look into his eyes because they were so beautiful. Not to mention his handsomeness. He was absolutely gorgeous. There was no other way to describe him. I really wanted to touch his face or even hold his hand but I couldn't. It was inappropriate because I was a fledgling and he was a professor. Not to mention that he was also my mentor’s lover.
"You are an unique fledgling," Loren said when we were at the door of the Temple of Nyx. "Nyx must have big plans for you," he added, touching my braid that hung over my shoulder.
"What are you doing, Professor Blake?" I asked him with a smile as his fingers moved the stray strand of hair behind my ear. My skin tingled and I felt the tension between us that honestly made me want to kiss him.
"Something forbidden," Loren sighed with a longing look in his eyes. “But I can't do that.”
"And you shouldn’t even try," I whispered. "It's against the rules..."
"The problem is that I've never cared for the rules so it's hard for me to resist your charm, Zoey," Loren whispered to me.
"You make this difficult for me too," I said honestly. "But it’s not right. Your lover is my mentor, Loren. We can't do this to her.”
"You're absolutely right," Loren said with relief.
"You wanted me to reject you because of Neferet," I said and gave him a knowing smile.
"If you had said you wanted to kiss me, I wouldn't have been able to resist you," Loren confessed. "But you rejected me."
"I wouldn't mind if you were a fledgling," I whispered to him.
"It's a shame we didn't meet when I was a fledgling," Loren said with a smile. "I would have needed a girl like you in my life then."
"Were you a restless soul?"
Loren gave me a grin. "I was the bad boy of my school."
Of course he was.
*
"Oh my goddess, Z, Loren Blake wants you!" Erin later freaked out when I told my gang that our poetry professor had flirted with me and I had flirted with him just as much. After that conversation with him I had gone inside the Temple of Nyx and Neferet's staff helped me out of that wonderful dress. Loren didn't come to the temple with me and had gone to his own room by the time I left the building myself. There had been a look in his eyes that told me he didn't actually want to go. He had wanted to kiss me instead but I left the situation before giving in to that charming man. After I changed back into my own clothes, I headed back to the dorm where my friends immediately led me to my room where I had first told them about my flirty moment with Loren Blake and how I had wanted to just give in to him.
"I crave it so much and I don't know what the hell is going on," I sighed.
“Us bad boys always want a girl like Z,” Stark gave me a cocky grin. "Because you're the kind of cutie who always react to our naughty stuff the correct way in bed and we love it."
I blushed deeply. “Stark!”
"Oh, have you guys done something?" Shaunee asked me.
"We haven’t," I answered hurriedly.
“Yet,” Stark said, grinning cockily next to me.
I blushed even deeper. Oh my goddess, why did I have to have a crush on a bad boy? A bad boy who shot a bow and was sexy while doing it? A bad boy with a cute and sexy grin? A bad boy who was just as fond of blood-drinking as I was and who would surely be happy to try it with me? Oh hell, I was in trouble with him around.
After that discussion we continued on the topic for a while until it was time to go to bed. Stark stayed on my bed while the others went to their rooms. They pretended they were unaware that Stark was planning to stay with me. Stevie Rae also left my room and winked at me as she went. I smiled at her as I closed the door behind my bestie.
Then I turned to Stark after closing the door and was not surprised when he immediately pressed me against the door and kissed me passionately in a way no one had ever kissed me before. He caressed my neck with his soft lips. I gasped because it sent vibrations of pleasure down to my toes. Stark's embrace was wonderful. It was better than I had even imagined.
"Shall we drink each other's blood, Z?" Stark whispered in my ear as he caressed my neck.
"Let's do it," I whispered and giggled.
“Come on, my love,” Stark said in my ear and led me to my bed where he pulled me into his lap. Then we kissed each other and Stark caressed my neck again. After a while he made a small cut on my neck and drank from it. The feel-good pheromones in me immediately activated and I let out a contented sigh.
“Oh my god, this is wonderful,” I breathed.
"You drink from me now," Stark said with a cocky grin.
I nodded and then leaned into his neck. I caressed it with kisses making him gasp and after finding the right spot I made a cut on Stark's skin. I then drank from him making Stark growl silently and smiled proudly at myself. I made a bad boy feel really, really good.
"Damn, you're not a nice girl," Stark breathed into my ear as I stopped drinking from him.
"I'm going to be a great vampire woman," I whispered against his lips.
Stark gave me a cocky grin. "And I'm a great vampire woman’s great vampire man," he said and then we kissed again passionately.