A Kiss For The Alpha

A Secret

Wrapped in the now-familiar warmth that seemed to have been embracing me since I came to this academy, I slowly came to my senses. The world around me was dark, and I felt a wave of dizziness trying to focus as I slowly opened my eyes.

"Where am I now.?" I whispered weakly and disoriented. My hand instinctively reached out to feel what I thought was a pillow-soft yet firm-underneath me. But then, when trying to pull it toward me with the hope of indulging in the comforting embrace of a pillow, I realized it wouldn't budge. Confusion crept in as, attempting to clear my hazy vision, I blinked my eyes.

As my vision began to return, I stopped pulling on the material with such blind effort and focused on what was actually in front of me. To my surprise, I found I lay my head on what looked like someone's leg, wearing black pants. It suddenly dawned on me that I wasn't lying on a pillow at all-I was resting my head on the thighs of someone else. Shock swept through my chest as the little reality burst forth into my mind.

Upon entering the room, instantly, a panic overtook me, and instinctively, my hands began to feel for my eyeglasses on the table nearby. Fingers danced across-nothing besides dust and glass was there. A sharp pain started to sting my heart, and anxiety dulled as memories before it came flooding into my mind.

It had been a hard lesson to learn-I had unwisely challenged Casie to a duel and gotten licked. The heart still reeled from the shock of being churned, senseless, and utterly crushed by mere memory. The belief I fought for, the hope of finally winning for a change, lay in tatters.

As it started to set in, I told myself that I was not alone. I looked up at the person whose lap I was lying on. I had no idea who this person was. Squinting my eyes to make out the features of the man before me, he silently extended to me a little box. Naturally curious, I opened it straight away, and inside-well, it was quite breathtaking.

"How classy .!", I whispered, aghast. Because of poor eyesight, I brought it right up near my face to see it. Inside that box was a pair of eyeglasses, plain and beautifully done, just the size for me. The temples were made of silver, with something translucent in it that heightened its understated beauty. I put them on, though I doubted the lenses would be suited for my prescription, and fiddled with the bridge on my nose to see who might have owned them.

Before I knew it, the person disclosed to me was no other than Lucien, the vampire who had guided me when I first came into this world. Wearing what looked like a doctor's coat over his neatly pressed black attire, his grace and poise were just as I had remembered.

"L-Lucien! You're here. Thanks so much for the eyeglasses, I like them lots!" I exclaimed with a forced smile, since I was feeling so embarrassed. Lucien had been my protector and guide since my arrival, and now here he was again likely because of the chaos created in class. Of course, a wave of shyness must flood me.

"I'm glad you're alright, Fey," Lucien said calmly as ever. "Let me check your blood flow here."

His touch was gentle and yet firm as he laid his fingers on my shoulders and neck, causing a shiver to run down my spine. He leaned forward, nuzzling my nape with his hand, his fingers skittering over my skin with a gentleness that was almost unnerving. I still underestimated how well Lucien was able to feel the flow of blood sans instruments of any kind.

But why was Lucien doing this examination? Was he, in fact, a doctor here at the academy? I found myself wondering, but couldn't help the fact that I liked this attention far too much. His touch was like heaven, and I found myself relaxing under his ministrations, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

He would then write down some kind of conclusion in a big book. He sat down on the couch, looking reflective while clasping his hands across his thighs. "Now that you've woken up, do you remember why you were sent to the clinic?" Lucien asked seriously.

"I. fought Casie and lost badly," I said, the pressure of my failure weighing upon me again. "I'm sorry."

"Fighting for what you believe in isn't something you have to apologize for," Lucien told me, giving me an encouraging smile. "But there's a reason why I'm here instead of the school physician. Something strange happened during your duel, and I need you to tell me precisely what happened."

"Honestly, I did not know pointing my wand at someone was declaring a duel. I was foolish." I said abashedly. Indeed, it was all born from my ignorance.

"Really? I was surprised to hear you challenged someone of a higher rank. I thought you were just being brave, especially since you did it for your friend Lilian," Lucien commented; his eyes filled with understanding.

"A higher rank? What do you mean?" I asked, vaguely remembering Lilian mentioning something about ranks, but I couldn't recall the details.

"Witches at this academy train for four years before being dispatched to the remaining sanctuaries on official missions. Their ranks increase per year, starting from the lowest, Omega, to Enchantress, Sorceress, and finally Archwitch, the highest rank," Lucien explained.

I suddenly remembered that the power and achievement rankings were also applied to vampires and werewolves. The ranks among vampires were Omega, Noble, Lord, and Pureblood, while for werewolves, they had Omega, Delta, Beta, and Alpha. All these ranks really mattered when it came to selecting a mate for a witch. That's why Lucien was shocked by my move.

"Whatever rank Casie was at the time, I won't let her hurt my friend," I said firmly, crossing my arms in defiance.

"Well, a true witch of values indeed," Lucien said, his eyes showing clearly his impression. "But what interests me most is that 'blue flames' you used during the duel. You invoked an ether jinx."

"Ether jinx? What is that?" I asked, puzzled by the term.

"When a witch casts a spell, the ether inside their body is converted into mana. The conversion process does the necessary adjustments given the amount of mana any particular spell needs," Lucien said. "But in your case, during the mana conversion something went wrong, and the spell managed to jinx the ether."

Lucien leaned closer to me, sitting beside me. He tenderly grasped my wrist, his fingers tracing soft patterns on my palm while he spoke.

"Ether jinx happens when either the ether is put out too little or too much. If its too little, the spell fizzles. But when it's too much, the spell goes out of control, spiraling, just like what happened with your blue flames."

He took the pitcher of water from the table and started pouring water in a silver glass, letting it overflow. "Your body was like this glass-overflowing with ether, which caused the incident."

"Will it happen again?" I asked, a little fear in my voice.

"There's literally a chance of one in a million that this can happen once more," Lucien said, cleaning the table of the spilled water. "That is why the academy sent me here to investigate."

"What about the blue flames? Why was everyone shocked to see it?" I asked him, still curious as to why everyone reacted that way towards my magic.

"Well, about that-" Lucien began, but before he was even able to finish, the door to the clinic burst open with a loud thud.

"I think that's enough for today, Sir Lucien," my homeroom teacher, Maria Azaroth, cut in coarsely.

"To your pleasure, Madame Azaroth," Lucien said with a slight bow.

"And Fey, I know you just woke up, but your mate, Siegfried, needs you in the ER," Ms. Azaroth said, her voice softening a bit more.

"Siegfried? Where is he? I need to see him!" I exclaimed, remembering how Siegfried had saved my life during the explosion caused by my out-of-control magic. I rushed out of the clinic, only to remember afterward that I had forgotten the case for my new glasses.

As I came back for it, I chanced upon a snippet of a conversation between Ms. Azaroth and Lucien that I wasn't supposed to hear.

"That witch. don't you dare touch a hair on her head. By now, I think you ought to know better." Ms. Azaroth warned.

"Fear not, Madame Azaroth. Her secret, as it were, is mine to keep, forever," Lucien said with solemnity in his voice.

Not wanting to regret having overheard the conversation, I made my way out of the clinic as fast as I could to find Siegfried and learn what had transpired with him. I know at this moment he needs me the most.