All Chapters of After the night: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The Peltvinian warlock sighed as his eyes drifted from the bunch of waxy red leaves, to a pile of black ash kept in a tray—all that remained of the attacker that had struck the mansion two days ago. His workroom was illuminated only by the soft light emanating from candles, giving a golden glow to the charts hanging over the black stone walls and glass jars of varying shapes stacked into shelves, but it looked far neater than how he had left it.His mind, on the other hand was complete chaos. There were so many thoughts swirling about at the same time that he struggled to tell one from the others. His emotions were raw—regret reigned over the other. Not once, but twice he had been absent when his suject had needed his protection. He had made a promise to himself. I will not betray her like I did the others, he had told himself. But unwillingly he had.After hearing the vicious tales on his return, his mind was

Josh couldn't see her struggling that way. Her eyes had welled, she was just about to cry. So, he walked up to her, ready to spill his guts.Before the warlock could get a single word out, he sensed something tugging the bottom of his jeans. His eyes lowered and he spotted his puppy, Flames.Flames was magical, a phoenix in the form of a dog. Josh had owned him since he was a child himself. He had been a birthday gift from his mother. During the span of his life, they had parted ways often only to find each other back again. On his quest of finding the Videns viribus, he had found his little pet once again.A smile almost appeared on his face as he picked him up in his arms and ran his fingers gently through his reddish-yellow fur. Flames began swaying his tail happily.Eira's eyes watched with admiration but her lips still frowned."You're bein

Eira's feet reacted to Dana's scream immediately. One second she was standing in the kitchen with her cell phone in hand and the next—she was running. The dark brown locks of her hair flowed behind her head, and heart raced with fear and anticipation. She arrived in the living room out of breath to find a stranger with his teeth sunk deep into Dana's pale, delicate neck. She had stopped screaming, yet the harsh sound of her screams still echoed in the witch's ears. Eira's stomach stirred at the sight. The male vampire held his arms around Dana's petite body, vigorously feeding off her blood. A red stream ran down her neck and soaked her white T-shirt completely. Her eyes were closed; she wasn't struggling. "No! Don't be dead!" Eira whispered in terror. The mere sound was enough to grab the monster's attention. His black eyes with white-slit pupils darted to her and held her captive. He loosened his grip and Dana's limp body fell to the fl

Eira yearned to punch him but stayed composed and questioned, "What condition?""You have to keep a close eye on Dana.""Why? You're afraid she is cheating on you?" Eira smirked.The vampire seemed to be in no mood for joking. With his back turned, he stated grimly, "She has been attacked before. I know the intention of the person who sent Rafael was to harm me indirectly. That person won't fear to do it again. Josh has spelled a bracelet that will notify me if she ever gets into trouble. But it will still take time before I reach there. You have to protect her.""I will," She agreed instantly. Then cleared her throat. "I will try to. You know it's not possible to be around her all the time." She wanted her freedom to experience something normal again and if being a bodyguard to someone was the price, she was ready to pay it."As for who will keep an eye on you," He began

They arrived late for the first class as Eira had predicted. Entering into an already settled class was a greatly embarrassing task especially with a handsome hunk by her side.The stares everyone gave them didn't go unnoticed by her but she pretended to be unaffected by them. Nate was introduced as a new transfer student from the neighbouring town Everwinter. The way some of the girls in her class had looked at him the whole time stirred something inside of Eira.The bell indicated the end of a torturous hour. No longer had the professor left the class than Bella jumped on her from behind and engulfed her into a bear hug.The reunion was quite emotional, even though Eira wasn't the emotional type. A stray tear slipped down her cheek and Bella teased her for acting like a 'softie' but soon they were discussing more important things."Since when?" Eira tried to keep her voice low but the surprise w

Suddenly the commotion in the class settled. Apparently, the professor had entered. He was a doable, old fellow with the most amusing tales and share-worthy mythical instances. Eira had never been more excited for a class before but when the student standing in front of her finally took a seat, her gaze fell upon not an old man but a young woman, a little too young to be a college professor.“She is the professor for this subject?” Nate asked, sounding as shocked as she was. The professor turned as if she had heard his question although it was barely a whisper.“Yes. I’m your new professor for Occult Studies!” Her tone was high pitched completely displeasing to the ears and she was dressed in a turtle neck striped sweater. The only professor-like feature in her was the way she carried a fat book in her hand and the ID card that stayed hung around her neck which was different than that of students.

 The drive back to the Carters mansion was a quiet one. Eira sat in the passenger seat silently contemplating as the tires ran smoothly over the grey road. Occasionally, Nate stole glances at her—she pretended to enjoy the scenic beauty of the sun going down. It was all an act at first but soon she unintentionally managed to enjoy it. The view was tranquil and gorgeous over the open fields on either side of the road. But it was over soon and she found herself looking at tall green trees. Darkness overwhelmed in a twinkling and brought along with it the cold winds. The car slowly lost speed before coming to a complete halt in front of a huge open gate. Through its metal bars, the great mansion stood divided into a hundred long slits. From the inside, the mansion appeared creepy, so vast

Nate stirred in his seat at her words. "Are they heading here to attack us? Right now?" He raised his voice for the first time. That was how he was, he barely talked. He preferred listening quietly until the need to ask a question struck him.Trish shook her head and smiled sadly."That brings us to the good news. Until yesterday, I believed the thing was mythical but today he just showed up carrying a long bone and said that's the thing they had been looking for. But apparently, the artefact we found is incomplete. It's missing a part. The new alpha is positive he'll find it in a few days but even then, the plan isn't to attack until the next blood moon."Eira asked tentatively, "The Blood Moon? That's next month, right?"Trish nodded but a sour look covered her face. "On my twentieth birthday. Yes. Jake had promised me a wonderful date," She squealed and her eyes were lost somewhere else for a second. "B

"You're the one who doesn't know the full story. I asked Damien to get rid of Cameron, the former alpha."Something in the air shifted. The winds that were once gentle now blew harshly. Eira could feel the air nibbling at her open arms and she hugged herself while her mind absorbed the meaning of Trish's words. When the shock passed, she opened her trembling lips to speak but Nate beat her to it."What? Damien killed him because you said so?"Trish raised her arms in defence, "Well, I didn't ask him to kill the alpha. I'm not half as mad as Damien." She pressed her lips together and her eyes lowered to her feet when she continued, "Cameron—The alpha...He wanted to sacrifice the pack in a ritual to become immortal. I realised it now but he possessed the Videns viribus—perhaps the other part of it as well. It was going to play a part in the ritual. He ha

The beast lurched forward with a growl. Its hairy arms pushed aside tree branches that blocked its vision. Sharp talons extending from its hands swayed across the air in an attempt to grab hold of the running target, but it missed by an inch. The shadow of his hunched figure easily towered over her. Under its heavy clawed feet, the twigs lying on the forest floor twisted and cracked. Even with slow steps, it managed to keep up with the girl's fast legs—just close enough but not about right. The full moon peeked from above but refused to provide any help to either the prey or her predator.Eira ran quicker when she heard another growl kiss her back. This dream was different—she knew it only a dream, but she knew she had to run. While in the former ones the beast had been farther away from her, this time it managed to get so close that its hairy fur brushed against her bare skin and claws buried themselves in her back, drawing three large slant-cuts. Blood oozed from