The Vampire's Bride

Leo and Mallory walked down the eerie hallways. Were they to take their classes in such an eerie time? Mallory could not help but shiver at the thought of actually going to school every night.

"Cold?" Leo wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "It's night so you might feel cold."

"I-I'm alright, Azazel."

Leo did not let Mallory go. "Just stay like this."

Mallory obediently stayed still. She kept wandering why Leo was anxious ever since they entered the school. She tried to think of reasons why and she only ended up with one thought. "Do the other vampires not like newcomers?"

"Ha!" Leo sighed. He sometimes forgot how perceptive Mallory was. "It's not as simple as not liking newcomers. It's more of a survival game. Show your strength and they'll approve but show your weakness... and they'll throw you out. That's how prideful most of them are."

"How many are there?"

Leo pondered for a moment. He never really thought of the number of students in the class. "Most of the people present consists of only 6, excluding me. Not all of them will be wary of you but... best be on your guard."

Mallory smiled. "I'll be fine."

"Ho? Getting cheeky now, darling?" Leo squeezed Mallory's cheek. "Where's your confidence coming from, eh? From your loving fiancé?"

Mallory could not help but laugh with Leo. The reason why she was confident? That was easy. They were near the classroom and Mallory could not feel an ounce of malicious intent from the room. They were not as evil as her father, mother, and sisters. She'll be fine.

"Well, let's finish the meet-and-greet quickly. I'm not really fond of them either." Leo opened the door, not bothering to knock, and almost immediately, his famous cold expression was seen on his face.

This was the usual Leo. A cold person, uninterested in other things. Only in front of Mallory and his close friends does he lower his guard. He wondered, how come he could easily fall apart in front of Mallory?

"Oh? A new smell?"

Just as Leo mentioned, there were 6 people in the room. The most confusing part was how they all seemed distant from everyone else.

"I'll be introducing them now." Leo stood by the door and lifted his finger, pointing at each one of them and stating their names.

Justin Reyes. His body was bigger than an average person. He could be easily compared to a big oaf. His temper could be dangerous as he's a prideful vampire.

Eunice Imrie. A pale woman who barely move an inch. "Lazy is the best energy-saving method," is her motto. Between hostility and friendliness, she's a neutral vampire. She just wants to graduate as soon as possible and to go back to her home just to sleep till her body decays.

Udine Lee. Despite the androgynous appearance, this person is a female vampire who could rival a male vampire's strength. Give her a sword and she would be on par with Justin. This would, of course, lead to an unspoken competition between the two. In studies, in power, and in strength, Udine and Justin were considered to be the troublemakers when it comes to competitions.

Quintine and Keanine Cruz. They are the infamous fraternal twin siblings whose looks seemed to have made their ways in the modeling industry. It could be said that Quintine, the boy twin, and Keanine, the girl twin, have opposite attitudes. Quintine likes to be in the center of the attention while Keanine likes to stay unnoticed. Perhaps, the most common between the twin siblings are their ruthlessness and their psychotic minds.

"And lastly," Leo could not help twitch the moment he saw a hooded person. "T-that one..."

"Eh? Master Jillion?" Mallory was utterly surprised. Judging by the man's aura, it was not hard for her to recognize Jillion hiding under the hood.

"Haha! You actually guessed right. Nice to meet you, classmate." Jillion shook Mallory's hand as he removed the hood. "I was supposed to surprise you but I guess I failed."

"Stop causing trouble. Let's go take our seats." Leo slapped away Jillion's hand and led Mallory to their desks.

Just as Leo expected, Udine was the first person to react the moment Mallory passed her seat.

"Wait a minute, Orpheus."

"What?" Leo stopped and glared at Udine, "I did not allow you call my name."

However, Udine was unfazed. "Who's that girl?"

"My fiancée and a vampire." Leo begun walking, grabbing Mallory's shoulder. He knew Udine caught something suspicious... he just did not want to let Mallory hear anything weird or negative.

"Azazel, stop." Udine stood up and faced Leo.

"Is that... an order?" Leo turned around and stood in front of Udine. Despite the aura Leo emitted, Udine did not cower. No, it was because Leo was so insistent on hiding Mallory did Udine decide not to cower.

"Azazel, let me meet the girl," Udine did not request. She was telling Mallory to face her.

"And if I say no?"

First day of classes and Mallory had spark a conflict in the class. This was as expected. Jillion grabbed Mallory's wrist and whispered, "Let's go take our seats. Leo will handle this. It's better to avoid that Udine for now."

"Sorry, Master Jillion, but this will be my problem. That girl... probably thought that I'm a human." Mallory gently removed Jillion's hand and walked towards Leo. "Azazel, it's fine. She wants to check not fight."

Leo looked at Mallory's eyes. Was it really alright? Leo knew he could not change Mallory's mind and could only give in to her request. "No fighting."

"Is my wrist alright?" Mallory offered her wrist for Udine to smell. The obedience caught everyone off-guard, especially Udine.

Udine could not understand. The scent was truly different but if Mallory was so confident to let her confirm it then... it could mean two things: Mallory was a human and was bluffing, or she was actually a vampire with a weird scent.

Udine eyed Mallory carefully, "Are you really a vampire?"

"Yes." Mallory did not hesitate to tell the truth, "I'm a half-vampire."

"Half?!"

The rest of the class were speechless. How did a halfing entered the Night Class? That was something prideful vampires could never accept. And Udine was one of those vampires. Almost instantly, Udine gathered her strength to attack. "You... what sort of underhand tricks did you do to enter this room?!"

"I did not. The principal talked to me." Mallory could feel the air changing. She felt nervous but seeing Leo besides her, she suddenly felt confidence. Was this because she knew Leo would always be by her side?

"Liar! You can never be in this room! You halfling!" Chains suddenly grew from all over the room, all rushing towards Mallory, constricting her movements. The chains had a special effect that could suck up all the energy of a person. This was one of Udine's favorite attacks. There was no need to shed blood. The chains will be stronger with every energy it sucks.

However, she underestimated Mallory. In fact, even Leo underestimated Mallory.

"I've been informed that violence among the students is forbidden. If one violates the rules, then punishment must be given. In case of a vampire attacking another, the victim can give the punishment. Is this correct, Azazel?" Mallory calmly asked, not moving an inch even though the chains were painful.

"That's right. Don't move too much. I'll get rid of these chains." Deep inside, Leo was panicking and wanted to just tear Udine apart but seeing the calm Mallory, Leo knew he shouldn't cause any troubles.

"No need," Mallory smiled at Leo, "I can handle this much."

"Huh?" Udine felt like her powers were being mocked. "You think you can escape these chains?"

"Yes."

"Then, I will be moving in the act of self-defense." Mallory closed her eyes. She tried to feel in her body the power she long sealed away. The power her father said was hideous. As if opening a c.h.e.s.t, Mallory could feel the bottled up power spreading throughout her body. She could not help but feel weak as she was not used to such an amount of power. "Please excuse me."

Mallory wondered how long she last used her full strength? How long did she hide t the point that she had forgotten about this? But all these were in the past. It was no use to think about it in the present. The only question now was how to use it. Like a baby starting to speak, Mallory was learning to control the huge amount of power in her. She looked at Udine whose face had paled. The chains continued to grow stronger yet Mallory showed no sign of weakness. Mallory could not help but slightly smile.

Shall we get started?