Chapter 14: Michael
1396 Words
For three days, I avoided Aurora completely.
No late-night drives home.
No lingering outside the library.
No quiet moments in empty hallways where her eyes would meet mine and unravel whatever control I had left.
Nothing.
It was necessary.
After the library incident, after watching her laugh with Professor Hagset like she belonged in a normal world untouched by darkness, I forced myself to remember exactly what I was.
And exactly what she deserved.
Not me.
Never me.
So I kept my distance.
In class, I barely looked at her.
When she spoke, I answered quickly.
Coldly.
Every instinct inside me hated it.
But I endured it anyway.
Aurora noticed.
Of course, she did.
I saw the confusion in her expression every time I walked past her without acknowledgment. The hurt when I dismissed her questions too quickly. The way she slowly stopped looking for me after lectures ended.
That should have made things easier.
Instead, it made the ache inside my chest worse.
By Friday evening, the tension beneath my skin had become unbearable.
The demon hated this distance almost as much as I did.
It prowled restlessly beneath my control, agitated and vicious.
Especially whenever Hagset’s name crossed my mind.
I was leaving the faculty building late that afternoon when I heard voices near the physician’s lounge down the hallway.
Familiar voices.
Professor Tim Cruz laughed softly.
“You’re spending a lot of time with Whitmore lately.”
I slowed instinctively.
Then I heard Professor Hagset answer.
And every instinct inside me sharpened instantly.
Aurora.
“She’s brilliant,” Hagset said casually. “Quiet girls like her are always interesting.”
Something about his tone made my jaw tighten immediately.
Tim chuckled. “Interesting?”
“Oh, come on,” Hagset replied. “You’ve seen her.”
A dangerous silence settled inside me.
“She looks innocent,” Hagset continued lazily. “Naive too. Honestly, my plan is going better than expected.”
The hallway suddenly felt too small.
Too hot.
Tim laughed again.
“You’re terrible.”
“She practically follows every bit of attention I give her,” Hagset said calmly. “It’s actually adorable.”
Something beneath my skin snapped violently.
Mine.
The word roared through my head so loudly it nearly drowned everything else out.
The demon surged upward instantly, dark rage flooding through my veins with terrifying speed.
I moved before thinking.
Before reason.
Before control.
The faculty lounge door slammed open hard enough to shake the walls.
Both men looked up immediately.
Tim startled.
Hagset frowned.
“What the hell—”
My fist connected with Hagset’s jaw before he could finish speaking.
The crack echoed violently through the room.
Hagset crashed backward into the table, papers scattering across the floor.
Tim shouted something, but I barely heard it.
Rage consumed everything.
“You stay away from her.”
My voice sounded wrong.
Too deep.
Too dark.
Hagset looked stunned for half a second before anger replaced it instantly.
“What the f**k is wrong with you?”
He lunged toward me.
I hit him again.
Harder.
The demon inside me wanted blood.
Wanted destruction.
Wanted him broken for daring to look at Aurora like prey.
“Professor!”
A familiar voice cut sharply through the chaos.
Aurora.
My entire body froze instinctively.
She stood near the open doorway, eyes wide with horror.
Breathing uneven.
Terrified.
No.
No, she wasn’t supposed to see this.
Professor Tim immediately moved toward her. “Miss Whitmore, you need to leave.”
But Aurora ignored him completely.
Her gaze locked onto me instead.
“Professor Michael, stop!”
The fear in her voice sliced through the rage just enough for reality to return.
Barely.
Professor Hagset groaned from the floor, blood visible near his mouth now.
Aurora rushed forward immediately.
Toward him.
Something vicious twisted inside me instantly.
“Aurora.”
The warning in my voice came out sharp.
Dangerous.
She knelt beside Hagset anyway.
“Are you okay, Professor?” she asked quickly, helping him sit upright.
And somehow—
That hurt more than anything else.
Hagset looked at her with wide-eyed shock before glaring at me over her shoulder.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Professor Michael?” he spat.
I barely heard him.
Because all my attention stayed fixed on Aurora touching him.
Helping him.
Protecting him.
“Aurora,” I said again, more firmly this time, “move away from him.”
She looked up at me finally.
And the anger in her expression stunned me.
“No.”
The word hit harder than any punch.
“He’s bleeding because of you!”
My jaw tightened violently.
“You don’t understand. Aurora”
“You attacked him!”
“He deserved it.”
The second the words left my mouth, silence crashed through the room.
Aurora stared at me in disbelief.
“What?”
I took one step closer instinctively.
Big mistake.
Because Aurora immediately shifted protectively in front of Hagset.
Protectively.
Against me.
The demon inside me reacted violently to the sight.
Rage surged upward again.
Possessive.
Feral.
“Aurora,” I said tightly, fighting for control, “come with me.”
“No.”
Again.
Sharp this time.
My chest tightened painfully.
“You’re scaring me. Professor Michael”
The quiet confession nearly shattered me completely.
I stopped moving immediately.
Too late.
The damage was already done.
Hagset stood slowly beside her, still holding his jaw.
“You need help,” he muttered toward me.
I looked at him once.
And every violent instinct returned instantly.
“Aurora.”
My voice sounded rough now.
Almost desperate.
“Come with me.”
She shook her head immediately.
“No.”
Then she stepped closer to Hagset instead.
And something inside me finally broke.
I moved toward them too quickly.
Aurora tried stepping between us.
“Professor Michael, stop—”
I reached for her instinctively to move her aside.
Too rough.
Too fast.
Aurora stumbled backward hard enough to hit the edge of a nearby desk.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips.
Everything stopped.
The demon vanished instantly beneath overwhelming horror.
Aurora stared at me with wide, shocked eyes.
One hand gripping the edge of the desk behind her.
My chest dropped violently.
“Aurora—”
I stepped toward her immediately.
She flinched.
That nearly destroyed me.
“Don’t.”
Her voice shook now.
Not angry anymore.
Afraid.
I froze completely.
Every instinct inside me screamed to fix this.
To touch her.
To apologize.
To destroy anyone who made her look at me like that.
Including myself.
Hagset moved beside her instantly.
“Are you hurt?”
Aurora shook her head quickly, but her eyes never left mine.
And God—
The disappointment there felt unbearable.
“You pushed her,” Hagset snapped.
I ignored him completely.
My entire focus stayed on Aurora.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Aurora”
The words sounded weak.
Pathetic.
Aurora swallowed hard.
“But you did.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
For the first time in centuries, I genuinely didn’t know what to say.
Because nothing could undo the look in her eyes now.
Aurora stepped back again slowly.
Toward Hagset.
Away from me.
“Miss Whitmore,” Tim said carefully, “perhaps you should go home.”
She nodded faintly.
Still staring at me.
“Aurora—”
My voice broke slightly on her name.
I hated that she heard it.
But she looked away first.
Not me.
Her.
Then she turned toward Hagset quietly.
“Let's go Professor Hagset”
Another knife straight through my chest.
Hagset nodded immediately.
“Of course.”
I watched him place a careful hand against her back.
Watched Aurora allow it.
And somehow—
That hurt more than the fear.
More than the guilt.
More than the blood on Hagset’s face.
Because she didn’t look at me again.
Not once.
The faculty hallway fell silent after they disappeared around the corner.
Tim stared at me like he no longer recognized me.
Perhaps he didn’t.
I stood there motionless, fists still clenched tightly at my sides.
The demon beneath my skin had gone quiet now.
Satisfied.
But I wasn’t.
Because for the first time since meeting Aurora Whitmore—
I saw genuine fear in her eyes when she looked at me.
And deep down—
I knew I deserved it.
- Writer
