Monteverde Academy

Chapter-19

The next evening, I woke up at the sound of the wake-up bell. Bianca was already up and dressed. I dragged myself out of bed and showered. I pulled on my boots and braided my hair. Today was Friday and we were going hunting. 

Miss Natasha Ford oversaw hunting for all the classes. She was strict and didn't put up with any nonsense. She let us hunt humans to feed but always kept nearby in case something went wrong. 

Bianca was silent as we headed down the stairs. She was looking paler than usual. She has had a feeding addiction since she was a child and it scared her a lot. She always thought she might kill a human someday and she never took even the slightest bit more than what was prescribed. Sometimes, she even took less. I tried to cheer her up but she was too distracted by her worries to listen to me.

The forest was damp and cold. The moon had already risen. All around me, the eyes of Carthans seemed to glow a little as they always did under the light of the moon. The eyes of Aria and Yves glowed a bright blue, while those of Eryx and Bianca glowed green. Most Carthans had blue or green or dark eyes but Airell's family, the noble Cassians all had grey eyes. 

Some humans came in to trek in the forest while others were compelled to come here at night so that we could feed. Ms Ford gave us the signal and we shot into the dark forest, barely a blur. 

I hadn't fed like this in so long, I had almost forgotten how to do it. Almost. 

I sped through the trees, looking for signs of a human. I finally saw a blond guy standing near the lake. He had a blank look on his face and was looking around with unfocused eyes. A compelled one. This was going to be easy. The ones who had come into the forest on their own were harder to feed on because then they also had to compel. 

I made my way over to the human. He stared at me. 

"Your eyes are glowing," he said stupidly. 

I ignored him. My fangs snapped out. I bent my head over to his neck and began to feed. I was thrown off by the taste of fresh blood. I hadn't had any in months. I forced myself to continue. Even though my body needed it, my mind resisted it. I finished feeding and wiped off the blood from my chin with the back of my hand. I noticed with a start that my hand was trembling. The smell of blood made me want to throw up, but I forced myself to control nausea. 

I looked at the two holes on the side of his neck and raked them with my fingernails so that no one would recognize them. It was painful, but he would heal quickly. They always did. If humans suspected vampires lived here, they would come with their stupid pitchforks or guns or whatever. Then Mrs Kuperus would have to compel them all or something. I told the guy to put a band-aid on his neck and took off. I was the first to be back. I felt proud of myself. Even though I didn't have the urge to feed, I still did it and managed to do it quickly and cleanly. Finally, I had done something well.