Chapter 34: Chapter THIRTY FOUR

Anxiety rose a notch in Ethan's heart at the beginning of the week. His intuition was screaming at him that something was wrong. As time passed, his mind began to waver and his thoughts became mired in a lingering fog. His inner Vila gave him no respite, being particularly agitated by the prospect of not being able to bond immediately. He felt helpless, and that terrified him. The first confirmation of his intuition came in the guise of a small piece of paper slipped under his door well before dawn, when he had difficulty falling asleep and had taken refuge in his office chair. Mia slept soundly, completely unaware that this little paper signaled the beginning of a chain of events that far exceeded the issues they thought they were facing.

"If you care about your human, take part in the next tournament" was elegantly written on the piece of parchment.

Ethan's fist clenched sharply, crumpling the message into a small ball which he tossed into one of his drawers. He had no intention of participating in this tournament. If those threats were proof of anything, it was that it was going to degenerate. He had to warn Vassili without further delay. Maybe he could get the event canceled...

A sigh escaped his lips as his gaze fell on Mia's sleeping body. He didn't have the heart to wake her when she was sleeping so peacefully. And leaving her unattended was out of the question. He then resigned himself to waiting for her to end her night peacefully, trying at the same time to grab the hours of sleep that he was missing. His attempt again failed.

When Mia finally awoke from her heavy sleep, Ethan was already dressed and ready to go.

"You should try to sleep at night," Mia yawned, sarcasm oozing in her voice. "You have a scary face."

He couldn't contradict her. Dark circles had developed under his eyes and his porcelain skin had taken on a pale tint. Nevertheless, the tone used by the blonde annoyed him all the same.

"Easy for you to say since you can't do anything anyway," he growled.

Mia jumped up and planted herself firmly in front of him, furious.

"And that gives you the right to act like a jerk?"

Ethan took a deep breath, trying to sweep away the wave of anger that threatened to shake him before he answered something he was going to regret bitterly. He had enough to worry about as it was, and having to deal with the blonde when she had been taking malicious pleasure in tormenting him for a week was slowly getting tiresome. Mia's priorities have been in the wrong place for the past few days. If he was able to control himself with his Vila, she should be too, even if his pheromones reinforced her urges. It was time for him to refresh her memory a bit. With this in mind, he suddenly opened the drawer in which the ball of paper lay and abruptly dropped the message into her hands. Surprised at first, Mia hastened to unfold it and read it before plunging her questioning gaze into his.

"It was slipped under the door last night," he informed her without delay.

"Who... and why? What does it matter if you participate in the tournament?"

"No idea, but something is brewing. And I'd rather we weren't involved."

"What do we do with it?" she asked, waving the paper.

"We have to go and inform Vassili about it, maybe he can cancel the event..."

"Do you really think he'll be able to cancel it? Because of a piece of paper? The Headmaster doesn't even know about..."

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"I know," he cut her off, "but it's worth a try."

Thirty minutes later, Mia and Ethan were sitting across from Professor Vassili's desk. He scanned the message quickly before returning his gaze to Ethan, looking contrite.

"You want me to try to cancel the tournament, don't you?" he asked with a sigh.

Ethan replied with a nod, gritting his teeth. It was not the expression of someone who intended to do anything to help them, and his impression was confirmed a few seconds later.

"I can't do anything, you already know that. The Headmaster must not know what's going on with you two."

"Why did he rush the next tournament in the first place?" Mia asked suddenly. "I'd be surprised if the tensions between werewolves and magicians really calmed down..."

"The director thinks that the tension has subsided enough for there to be no serious incidents to fear and that the competition will be a good outlet for the few minds that are still a little too agitated."

"Then why not convince him it's a terrible idea?" asked the blonde.

"Because he's convinced otherwise," he replied, grimacing. "I can't do anything to help you."

Mia gave the teacher a wry look as Ethan was already getting up. Continuing the conversation would lead nowhere. The second they left the office, Mia grabbed his elbow to get his attention.

"Don't you find that weird? I thought he was good at persuasion or whatever, with his vampire powers. Why couldn't he use them on the Headmaster? Or at least try?"

"He must have a good reason not to try. Do you think he's lying?" he asked without conviction." I don't know. But I smell something fishy," she replied confidently.

"Listen, Vassili is on our side. I've known him since I was little. If he says he can't help us, he can't help us. There's no need to look any further."

"If you say so," she exclaimed, not convinced at all.

In the back of his mind, a "what if" was trying to sneak into the thoughts of the Vila. He chased it away at the cost of an incipient migraine. If there was anyone he trusted completely, it was Vassili. Doubting this fact demanded energy from him that he no longer had. His sanity was already hanging by a thread.

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