Staring at his phone, Mathew read the thunderstorm warning as a threat. The storm puts a snag in his plans. Everything could unravel with just a little rain. He checked again, wondering if he should leave the party now or wait to find Elijah. He just got here, but Elijah was nowhere to be seen. The prince in him with the good manners told him to at least say hi and thank him for the invite.

Eardrum rupturing kind of loud, the music was almost all bass powerful enough to shake the lights and the walls. Absolutely everyone had a drink in their hand. Every activity was just a vehicle for more drinking and Mathew's water he was pretending to drink obviously made him stand out. He was stuck to the wall of the living room, spreading roots and flowering there.

Mathew's fingers twitched. He should just text Elijah and cancel. Say he got sick and was hanging off the bathroom toilet. Mathew already didn't want to go to a party Grant was throwing. If he wanted to hang out with Cain more, maybe a party with hundreds of drunk college students wasn't the best way to do it... not that he even should explore this crush.

Sighing, Mathew rubbed his forehead. This first week of school packed too much punch for Mathew to focus on finding out more about Beatrix and the school. At every turn, a distraction took away his focus.

The biggest distraction of them all, Jace burst into the living room. Already picking a fight, Jace pushed through the crowd and cornered Mathew by the window. He put his hands on his waist like a dad going into lecture mode. "I can't believe you were dumb enough to come to this party."

Mathew frowned. "Has anybody ever told you that you're a warm conversationalist? No? I'm not surprised." Deciding to ignore Jace, if he could, Mathew breezed by him on the way to the kitchen, which wasn't quieter, but at least didn't have Jace. That didn't stop the man from following Mathew. Spinning around, Mathew snapped, "You don't even start with a hi or hello."

"Hi, hello," Jace barked out. "Are you out of your mind?"

"I already told you," Mathew said, and rolled his eyes. People scattered around, grabbing drinks and food while a couple made out at the kitchen table. Mathew tried not to stare. "You don't have to waste your time worrying about me."

"You would tell somebody to get out of the way if a car was about to blast through them." Jace's glare could burn a hole in Mathew's chest. The look in his eyes was the gasoline that constantly burned Mathew's temper to a burnt crisp. The heat prickled his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

"You're dramatic," Mathew snapped and ripped his jacket off the hanger hard enough to snap the plastic. Mathew let out a frustrated sigh.

"That's Grant and his shitty friends."

Rolling his eyes, Mathew just grabbed his phone and figured what he was wearing would be good enough. Jace's big hand stopped him in his place. Jace was the barrier between him and the door. This close, Mathew's sparks were flying off him, hitting Jace and creating fireworks. In a few minutes, they'd burn this house down with everyone inside.

Jace said like he knew everything, and Mathew knew nothing. "I think you've been in the spotlight long enough. Maybe you should take a break this weekend."

"And whose fault is that—" Mathew stopped himself. He had never fought with someone like this before, and it was driving him even crazier that he felt annoyed with himself for getting worked up. "I don't even know why I'm having this argument with you."

Mathew side stepped to get around him, but Jace moved to stay in his way. "Fine. Go," he dared Mathew with that smug look again. "But I'm not going to be there to pull you out of the next closet. Get into trouble and get out of it yourself.'

"I will. I'm a fully capable adult, Jace. I don't even know why you care. You're not family, you're not my friend, and you're not my boyfriend. So, what I do should have no bearing on you."

Holding his chin up, Mathew took another step forward. If they were any closer, they could kiss if they wanted to and Mathew had never wanted to kiss someone less. He didn't want to run his hands through his hair or pull him into a hug. Mathew wanted to put his fist through this human's face and crush him into powder.

Mathew shoulder checked Jace on the way out, his skin crawling at the airy sound of Jace's laugh and stormed out of the kitchen and back through the living room. This whole thing wasn't just about learning the truth or the cure, it was all about Mathew facing his fears. Despite Jace and the storm clouds rolling over Mathew's head, he was going to find Elijah and have fun at this stupid party.

Mathew moved through the bodies, searching for Elijah or Cain. He'd even take someone he spoke two words with during class. The night has shifted. Mathew searched through the crowd and as he walked into the night air, the rain freckled his body fluttering down. Mathew took out his phone and tried calling Elijah, but it went straight to voicemail.

Mathew walked towards the lake, craving the quiet and a second to be alone. His second phone call went to voicemail and this time, Mathew left a message. "Hey, I'm just wondering where you are—?"

Mathew's last word got cut short as a hand closed over his mouth and knocked his phone out of his hand.

In Mathew's heart, he knew the Ventura were lovers. They were born from love, taught to love, and received enough love that the sudden death of their parents truly rocked their world. All this love gave the Ventura something to fight for, so in times of immediate danger, Mathew could hold his own.

A gloved hand covered Mathew's mouth and pinched his nose. They pressed a cold wet cloth into his lips. They must not know who or what they're dealing with. Holding his breath, Mathew reached behind him, grabbing a handful of his attacker's clothes, and dropped forward in the same motion, pulling this person and slamming them into the ground. The cloth fell and Mathew faced a stocky person, dressed in black with a black mask that resembled what fencers wore.

Just as he thought it, a hard object struck the back of Mathew's head and the pain weaved throughout his head and down his back, shaking Mathew to his core. He stumbled forward, trying to avoid the body on the ground as someone struck him again in the back. Mathew fell, hitting the ground and that person planned to hit him again, holding a bat high over their head.

Mathew's eyes widened, and he rolled out of the way, but the first person snagged his arm and while Mathew tried wrenching his hand out of the grip, he couldn't. They tightened their hold, and Mathew flinched as his bones threatened to snap.

Alarms screamed in Mathew's head. These weren't normal humans who thought they had an easy score. These were monsters too, and it hit Mathew that he didn't have to hold back at all. Mathew kicked out the legs of the person with the bat, forcing them on the ground. The first one pulled Mathew's arms, forcing him to turn and twisting his arm unnaturally high, and angled up his back.

Mathew cursed, thrashing against the bind, and digging himself into the cold earth. The rain was still feathering down, not enough to soak them, but enough to add another level of frustration. They were stronger than he expected and acted together so well without saying a word.

Mathew kicked his legs out to find no purchase. The other man stuck his boot against Mathew's neck and pressed down.

"You don't know what you're doing," Mathew grounded out. "You don't know who I am." He stared daggers upward at the net over this person's face, who didn't respond. They just took out another cloth, pouring another liquid onto it and soaking it.

"Mathew!"

Mathew twisted, spotting Jace running up, shedding off his jacket and his shoes as he ran.

"Jace, don't—!" Mathew yelled, but Jace jumped forward and a blinding light disappeared, leaving a trail of ripped clothing and tufts of fur behind as a wolf landed on all fours. Mathew's eyes widened, the shock petrifying his limbs. The size of the wolf shocked Mathew the most, not his teeth or his golden eyes flashing in the darkness. His claws dug through the ground as he ran through the dirt, his short dark gray and black fur shaking as he moved.

Jace.

But he was human.

Obviously, he wasn't. But how was that possible? What were the possibilities of this happening? That his roommate was a werewolf? Mathew had never met a werewolf. Only heard of them. Their species rarely mixed in social settings.

Jace leapt off the ground, opening his maw and snapping around the bat owner's waist. He spat in out to the side and the grip around Mathew's arm even lifted, and it was just enough slack to let Mathew rip his arm back and he crawled through the dirt, giving Jace ample room to knock the other assailant on his back.

Another light and Jace appeared again at his full height with his jeans tattered into shorts, barely hanging on for dear life. His eyes still held, his claws still extended, Jace looked wildly at Mathew's person. "Your highness," he said. "Are you alright? Why do I smell blood?"

"I..." Mathew reached back and touched the back of his head, feeling wetness there, but froze. He took a second look at Jace.

Your highness.

Did he just call Mathew, "your highness"?

"Who are you?" Mathew asked, and that didn't inspire comfort in Jace. Sighing, Jace quickly gathered Mathew up again. Just like that time in the library.

It struck Mathew suddenly that it was weird for Jace to find him in the library, to notice Grant with him and be worried about Mathew at all, especially if Jace supposedly hated him. Why did they have all their classes together? Why did Jace care?

"Get off," Mathew pushed him and hit the ground at an odd angle, twisting his ankle, and Jace grabbed his arm to keep him upright. With a huff, Mathew yanked his arm back to his chest and shoved Jace out of his personal space.

"What is going on?" Mathew demanded to know.

"I'm on your side," Jace said and couldn't be vaguer if he tried. He did it again, holding his hands up to show no signs of a weapon, except this time, all Mathew could see were his claws.

"You know who I am," Mathew asked, "Don't you?"

Jace's shoulders dropped. "I do."

"This whole time?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"You weren't supposed to know so soon."

"That doesn't matter. I know now."

"His majesty...." Jace was saying it and every word was more shocking than the next, making Mathew's jaw drop and his eyes widen. "Dante hired me to be your bodyguard and to watch over you while you went to school here."

If there was a rug underneath Mathew, Jace just yanked it, and he was on his back with the wind knocked out of him.

Mathew shook his head and turned away from Jace, walking into the woods in no real direction.

"Where are you going?" Jace asked, chasing after him.

"I don't know. I don't know," Mathew said, waving Jace off. For the first time in his life, Mathew thought he was on his own, making his own decisions and able to make his own mistakes and learn to be braver all on his own. And now, he finds out he hasn't been alone at all. There's been someone in the shadows this whole time.

"Slow down," Jace said. "We should go somewhere else to talk."

"No, I don't want to go anywhere with you—"

"Shit," Jace cursed, and Mathew's foot lodged into a root and put him off balance. He was weightless for a split second before gravity did its work and ripped him back down. Mathew hit the forest floor and scrapped his hands across the twigs and the rocks. Pushing himself up, Mathew looked back at the root. But it wasn't a root. It was a leg. Mathew's eyes followed up the body and he recognized those little freckles anywhere.

Elijah was face down on the ground. Not moving.

"Elijah?" Mathew whispered, the words so thin. He stopped, focusing on Elijah, but couldn't hear his breath, couldn't hear a heartbeat.

Mathew slowly crawled over, his hand moving through the air like quicksand. He laid his hand on Elijah's shoulder and could feel how Elijah was soaked to the bone, then turned him over. Mathew gasped, falling backwards. Elijah stared blankly ahead, lips turned an Ashen white. Mathew shuffled closer, despite Jace yelling at him.

"Mathew, don't touch him," Jace said.

"It's too late." Mathew looked over at him, the realization hitting him all at once and his emotions swelled up like a giant knot in his chest. Tears pricked his eyes and Mathew had to put himself together, wiping the tears away to give Elijah the proper care. He owed him that.

There in his neck was a bite mark and one to match on his collarbone. Mathew pushed down his sleeve to find more, and he checked one of his legs. More bite marks. Mathew recognized those marks, too. Vampire marks.

There were vampires in this school.