CHAPTER EIGHT

MAXINE

I navigated by way through the crowd, rushing to get to the man with the hood. The vibration got louder the closer I got to him. He walked through the exit and I followwwed. But as soon as I stepped out of the bar, I couldn't find him anymore, and the vibration stopped. It's like he just disappeared into thin air.

Well, I am dealing with a creature that had managed to stay hidden for a very long period of time.

I drew a long sigh and turned to go back into the bar when the vibrations started again. It rang so loud in my ear that my head start to throb.

Okay, no one told me the device was this tortuous. I was so tempted to pul it out from my pocket and throw it in the ocean.

I darted my gaze around, searching for anything that seem out of place. I saw the retreating figure of the man in the black hood. I rushed towards him and grabbed his neck. I pulled out the injection of vervain I had on me and injected him with it.

"Ow, what the hell?" I heard the man groan. His voice sounded familiar.

The man turned swiftly and grabbed my throat roughly. He lifted me up and pinned me against the wall, his eyes were red with fury. His expression slowly melted from anger to confusion. My eyes widened as the recognization dawned on me.

"Derek?" I choked out, my voice laced with surprise.

Derek is the hybrid? He wasn't even a vampire or I would have sense it. And I didn't get any aura from him throughout our two hours class this morning.

"What did you inject me with, you freak?" His voice was rough and aggressive.

The vervain didn't affect him, that much was obvious. He tightened his hold on my neck and I start choking. I tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he was too strong. At the risk of revealing myself, I tried the spell my mum thought me to use on vampires. It would make their blood vein pop and set their brain on fire. That also didn't work on Derek.

Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind and forced him off me. I fell on the hard floor with a thud. I coughed and inhaled deeply, trying to catch my breath.

"Are you okay?" I heard Xander's voice as I tried to regulate my breathing. I gave him a nod.

Derek charged at me again but Xander was able to grab him before he could come closer to me.

"Get the hell out of here, right now." Xander said, his tone left no room for argument.

"I don't think so." Derek replied, trying to remove Xander's hand from his shoulder.

"Now!" Xander said with a bit more energy than before.

From the way Derek's face softened and he walked away without any word, I could tell that Xander compelled him. Strangely, I don't feel disgusted by it. He did it to save my life anyway. Well, not exactly true. Even if Xander hadn't intervene, I'd have found a way to take Derek down. Might take a couple of spell and my life almost snuff out of me, but I'd succeed eventually.

Xander turned to me as soon as Derek left.

"Are you okay, Max?" He asked as he helped me up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I breathed out.

"Do you wanna go back inside? Maybe grab a glass of water?"

"No, I'll just go home."

I wanted to go after Derek. I need to know more about what happened tonight. Why the egg pointed me to Derek and if he is a supernatural or not. If he is a supernatural, why didn't the vervain affect him but Xander's compulsion did? This is all so confusing.

"I can walk you then, If you don't mind."

"It's okay. I'll be fine." I flashed him a smile.

I tried to walk away when I realize I had spraind my ankle. I cursed under my breath.

"You don't look so good. Let me give you a ride back to campus." He stared at me expectantly.

"Okay, no problem."

I put my arm around his neck as we strolled to the parking lot. I saw Billie walk into a corner with a group of boys. She had a distant look on her face. Xander must have trailed my line of sight because he said,

"They're called 'the serpents'. You don't want to get in trouble with them, trust me."

"They're that bad?"

"They're the worst. They're a group of four most notorious boys on campus."

We didn't say a word to each other till we got to the car. I stared out of the window as Xander drove into the campus. My mind wandered back to Derek. If he was a supernatural and I couldn't sense him, then he must be a very dangerous one. It made me wonder how many supernaturals I had come across that I couldn't sense.

"Are you okay? I've been calling your name for a few seconds now." Xander's voice interrupted my trail of thoughts.

"I'm fine. I'm just really tired." I flashed him a smile.

"We're on campus. Which way to your dorm? Let me drive you."

"No, it's okay. I'll walk from here. Thank you."

He might be a really nice person, but I don't trust him enough to tell him where I live. I opened the car door and was about to step out when he stopped me.

"Max?" I turned to face him.

"You need to be careful around Derek. I know you think you can take him, but he seem very dangerous. He could really hurt you."

My jaws tightened as the context behind his words became clear. I shut the car door and turneed to face him.

"Do you know what he is?"

He tore his gaze away from me.

"I don't know. I'm just giving you a friendly warning."

"Let's not pretend you don't know what I am. Now answer my question." I said, my voice stern.

He drew a long sigh.

"I'm not your enemy, Max. I just want a normal human life. As normal as life can be when you're constantly craving blood."

I could see the sadness that reflected in his eyes as he spoke. I almost felt bad for him. Almost. I knew better than to do that.

"When you walked up to me earlier, did you know what I was?"

"I sensed it after I talked to you. I mean you no harm, I just want to be your friend."

"A vampire wants to be friends with a witch? I don't believe that."

"Not all of us are monsters, Max. Some of us just want to live."

I stared at him for a long while. He seem sincere but I had a gut feeling that I shouldn't totally trust him.

"What do you know about Derek?"

He seem hesitant, darting his gaze around as if someone can see us in his car.

"If I tell you, does that mean you can trust me?"

I held his gaze and swallowed hard.

"Trust is earned, Xander. I can't just hand it over."

He let out a dark chuckle. I felt chills travel all over my body.

"He is a dhampir." He said in a low tone.

My brows creased in confusion. I had never heard the term before.

"A what? What does that even mean?"

"He is a hybrid."