CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 97: THE PARTY DISASTER III

Felicia sat beside her, crossing her legs in that long black slit dress. The slit revealed more of her legs and Armand’s jaw ticked so sharply it looked painful as his eyes trailed up her to her inner thighs.

He was behaving like a pervert right now, but he didn’t care one bit

Levi didn’t notice any of it. Neither did Leo.

"So Athena," Levi grinned, leaning back, "if someone posts that ’Eryx throws Athena like a sack of potatoes’ video on the school page again, I just want you to know it wasn’t me..."

Leo gasped. "Levi! Subtlety! Do you have none?"

Felicia pinched the bridge of her nose.

Athena groaned. Leo kept talking anyway.

"It’s trending, by the way. People are using it as reaction memes"

"Leo," Alaric said, voice cutting but calm, "stop."

Leo shut up immediately.

Athena managed a small laugh, and the conversation started flowing, normal jokes, teasing, Felicia adding sarcastic comments...But Armand didn’t join.

He didn’t even pretend he was staring at her.

His eyes tracked every tiny movement she made, the way her fingers brushed her thigh, the rise of her chest when she breathed, the moment she adjusted her posture. His gaze was thick, heavy, hungry in a way Felicia absolutely fell off her chair.

"How long has he been staring like that?" she whispered under her breath, voice tight.

Athena leaned closer. "Since we walked in."

Felicia swallowed. Hard.

Finally, Alaric caught it.

Caught the way Armand’s pupils were wide. Caught the raw, unhidden hunger in his gaze. Caught the sweat slipping down his temple.

And he cursed sharply under his breath.

"Armand," he muttered, voice dangerously low.

Armand didn’t react. The idiot didn’t even blink.his eyes was locked onto Felicia like she was gravity and he was falling.

Alaric’s jaw clenched.

He grabbed his brother’s hand firmly. "We’ll be right back," he said to the group.

Leo blinked. "Huh? Where are you guys?"

Levi elbowed him. "Shut up."

Alaric didn’t wait for questions.

He dragged Armand out of the circle...out of the atrium’s noise.

Armand didn’t look away from her until the very last second as the crowd swallowed them.

And Felicia exhaled shakily, finally realizing just how tightly she’d been holding her breath.

The door slammed open so hard that it echoed down the hall and before Armand could even register the movement, Alaric had him by the front of his shirt dragging him inside the empty bathroom.

In a blur of supernatural speed, Alaric shoved him against the wall. Hard.

The impact echoed through the room, shaking the metal stalls.

Armand hissed under his breath, head snapping back against the cold tiles. "Tch..."

Alaric’s eyes burned from rage that only a brother who’s had to clean up someone else’s disasters far too many times could possess.

"Are you mad?" Alaric snarled, low and lethal. His palm pressed harder into Armand’s chest, pinning him in place.

"Do you want to expose us in front of everyone like that?"

Armand’s breath came rough, uneven.

He lifted his head slightly, jaw tight, eyes still tinted with that dangerous hunger.

A slow groan escaped him.

"Alaric..."His fingers curled into fists at his sides. "I can’t..." he gritted out, voice ragged. "You saw her."

"I saw you losing control," Alaric snapped.

Alaric’s arm pressing him back against the wall when Armand tried to push forward. His breath stuttered again, another groan vibrating from his chest.

"Her scent..." Armand’s voice broke off like the words physically hurt him.

"It’s stronger tonight."

"I know," Alaric bit out. "But you can’t stare at her like you’re about to..."

He cut himself off, jaw clenched.

Armand exhaled shakily, sweat trailing down his temple again as he pressed the back of his head harder against the wall, eyes fluttering for a second like the control was slipping through his fingers.

"I’m trying," he growled, a low, frustrated sound.

"You don’t understand. It’s..."

"I do understand." Alaric’s voice dipped, quiet but sharp.

"But if you keep looking at her like that, someone else will understand too. Someone who shouldn’t."

Armand’s breath hitched, chest rising and falling too fast. His restraint was hanging by threads. Thin ones.

Armand’s fingers curled against the wall, nails biting into the tile as another harsh breath tore out of him.

"I could smell blood on her," he ground out, his voice low. Pure torture. "It was...damn it, Alaric...it was all over her. Sweet. Fresh. Right there. How the hell was I supposed to act normal?"

Alaric shut his eyes for half a second. "Yeah," he muttered, "I smelled it too."

Armand’s head snapped toward him, eyes glowing faintly. "Then don’t pretend I’m overreacting."

"But I am going to tell you you’re being a dumbass," Alaric shot back.

"She’s an innocent girl. She’s literally just on her period. And you?" he jabbed a finger into Armand’s chest "...you were one heartbeat away from exposing us in front of a lot of people...you were one moment from sucking her dry in front of everybody."

Armand groaned and dragged both hands over his face, pushing his white hair back, breath shaking.

"I haven’t felt a pull like that in years," he admitted, voice hoarse.

"You know it won’t calm down unless it gets fed."

Alaric made an annoyed sound and tossed his black hair back.

"There’s no blood for you here, man. None. You can go outside, grab a deer, I don’t care...just not a human. Tonight is not the night to be stupid."

Armand leaned his head back against the wall, chest heaving.

"I swear, if one more person gets near her..."

"Stop thinking about her," Alaric snapped. "Focus on..."

The bathroom door creaked. Both their heads shot toward it.

A random student walked in, hand wrapped in tissue, blood soaking through. "Shit...forgot my..."

He never finished the sentence.

Because Armand’s eyes landed on the blood.

Pure red blood. Dripping. Fresh.

Alaric cursed immediately. "Armand, don’t..."

But he didn’t get the chance to finish because Armand moved already.

In a blur of supernatural speed, he launched forward and slammed the boy into the opposite wall. The kid barely had time to gasp before his head snapped sideways, hitting tile, knocking him out cold.

"Armand!" Alaric barked, but the warning was useless. Armand’s fangs were already buried in the boy’s neck.

Blood flooded his mouth instantly, hot, heavy and intoxicating.

His grip tightened around the boy’s shoulders, holding him steady as he drank desperately...like a starved man.

The sound alone, the pull of blood, the scent of its freshness, sent a cold shiver through Alaric that he almost felt dizzy and intoxicated.

"Damn it..." Alaric whispered, frozen for a moment as he watched the life drain from the kid’s body. "This is so fucked up."

Armand didn’t stop until the body in his arms went limp. Only then did he pull back, with blood smeared across his lips, eyes glowing an unholy shade of red.

He turned slowly toward Alaric.

And for the first time tonight...

He looked calm. Too calm.

"Better," Armand whispered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Then the calm cracked just slightly...just enough to show the guilt fighting to surface beneath the satisfaction.

Alaric stared at the dead body on the floor, jaw tight, fingers shaking.

"...You just killed a student, a boy..." he said quietly.

Armand didn’t move. Didn’t bother denying it.

Only closed his eyes and exhaled, the remnants of hunger fading from his features. "Help me clean it up," he muttered.