BEAST ACADEMY 2: LET THE QUEEN RISE

Twentieth Chapter

Listen to 'Carry you' by Ruelle ft. Fleurie

Eveline's POV

We traveled God knows how many days before we saw the port of New Orleans.

It's been like an eternity since I was here...since I found Reece and others...and since I ran away, not even looking back.

"Here we are..." muttered Bern, who stood by my side and who looked around with happy eyes. "This is where it all started..." whispered young Lord from my other side, making me grin as he took his cold hand in mine. I met with his hazel eyes and before we could make out right here, Bern called out, "So! Let's move our asses and get a hotel...a nice hotel, I hope our Lord can afford this privilege?" the blue-haired guy moved with his eyebrows while looking at me and Reece.

"Of course, Bern, anything for my best shifters" replied Reece, with the same tone and facial expression making me chuckle and when I did, I found Bern's gaze on me. I looked at him questionably before he shrugged and took me by the elbow like an overprotective friend, making me squeal and look around for help.

"Okay then! See you at the hotel, snails!" he waved at our friends who already stood on the deck with their backpacks.

Eleanor annoyingly massaged her temples before replying, "F**king speedster, do you want to leave us here?" poor El was all sweaty and her pale skin was a little greeny due to her sea-sickness.

Bern took our backpacks and shrugged, giving our raven-haired wonder-woman a wink.

"Hey, Elsher, be careful with Eve--" Bern didn't let Reece finish as we already ran away and even I couldn't react.

Bern was holding me by the neck with one hand and the other hand was lying on my stomach. This is the only thing that I remember after arriving at the hotel and, for me, it was like a couple of seconds of blurry vision.

"Woooohooow" I nervously let out a chuckle and then rubbed my face and eyes, still feeling dizzy.

Damn, now I am having a migraine! I didn't feel like this even after Zachary's teleportation, and at that time I didn't know that he would teleport me.

"Ohh, Berny, don't you ever use this atrocious ability on me" I murmured in my hands that closed my mouth to prevent vomiting.

Elsher loudly let out a laugh, "Oh, Cam, my ability is not so bad, you just don't feel what I feel. You don't see everything in slow-motion...trust me, if you were a speedster you would love your ability" he ruffled his turquoise hair and smirked, checking my condition.

"Come on, let's go inside," he hugged me by the shoulders and trailed me inside the jazz-styled hotel.

***

The hotel was rich but simple. The lounge floor was fancy and people were lying on the sofas while drinking different cocktails. Too bad we didn't come here to relax...

When I was checking out the surroundings, my blue-haired friend was already talking to the lady behind the counter. I couldn't even ask or choose the room when Bern had already received two bedrooms-apartments.

"You have money?" I asked him when he came to me.

"No, I said that a sandy blonde guy would come soon in beige-colored clothes who would pay for us and I am sure that in all New Orleans there is no man that wears beige color every single day," said Bern, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"I can't disagree," I nodded as we went up the stairs.

***

The lady gave us two keys from our apartments that were opposite each other.

"Why don't you just take one large apartment?" I asked Bern as we went inside.

After hearing this, he swiftly turned around on his heels, "You want everyone to be in the same room? Dramatic Ava with Levi and furious Eleanor with Lark?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows as if the answer was obvious.

"Well, uhm..."

"As I thought. Plus, I am sure everyone will want to split up into two groups." he went further to the bedroom that was located on the right. The design of the apartment was simple and old. I am sure it doesn't cost much. The furniture was looking poor and there was no extra stuff like paintings or flowers or any other decorative s**t.

"What about you?" I asked, taking my backpack from him.

He narrowed his eyes, "What about me?" I shrugged, "With whom do you want to stay?" Why the hell do I feel awkward? I mean this is Bern! He shouldn't make me uncomfortable!

A smirk crept up his face. Damn it, Elsher, don't get me wrong.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" he tilted his head on the side while staring at me. I tried to look anywhere except his eyes that were mocking me.

"Pft! You can stay wherever you want! I probably will stay with his grace, so," the best protection is an attack.

When I mentioned Reece, Bern's expression changed slightly to annoying.

"It depends. I will stay where Eleanor will not stay." again he is back to annoying Bern.

"Why do you always try to stay away from Eleanor?" this is the question that I wanted to ask a long time ago. What is this hatred between them?

Elsher widened his eyes and slowly went to the living room. "You better not put your little nose into this s**t, Cam." I trailed after him and he stopped near the mini-bar. Of course, this is important if he wants to have a strong drink.

"Come on! I am your friend! Don't you trust me?" I tried to catch his eyes as he bent down to the small fridge, searching for something.

He snorted, "Friend." it was not a mock or a question...it was a fact that he stated to himself as if he tried to accept it. He even stopped moving, resting his hand on the fridge's door.

"Well," after some seconds, he recoiled with a bottle of whiskey.

Wait...whiskey?! Since when there is whiskey in the minibar?

"First I need a drink." he went to the sofa and sat on it before opening the bottle of an amber drink.

"Don't be dramatic Berny, spit it out." I rolled my eyes and he glanced at me as he brought a bottle to his lips and took a huge gulp.

"Ugh...disgusting drink! Who the hell put it in the minibar?! I will not pay for this." he grimaced and rubbed his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

"As if you would pay. I will tell Reece that he shouldn't pay for the whiskey," I replied with a smirk, receiving a respectful grin from the blue-haired guy.

"Anyways...Prepare for the long story, Cam" he took one more sip, this time not grimacing.

"I am ready for the whole damn Brazilian TV show." I sat comfortably on the leather sofa and took the bottle from his hands, making a huge gulp. "Oh, God! It is tastes atrocious!"

He chuckled before saying, "El and I...we...sort of uh...had a relationship." he grimaced as if embarrassed and scrunched his nose.

"Dear mother! Berny! You could charm our powerful lady, bravo!" I laughed, patting his back.

"Oh, shut up, Cam" with this I laughed twice harder.

"Yes...now I regret telling you" he murmured, taking another sip.

"Oh, relax, I am just messing with you. No, really, you and Ellie?"

"Stop. It wasn't a lovely relationship, as you think. It was a hard time for both of us and we both needed a...lover at that time." pure honesty from Elsher...his expression was casual, almost as if he didn't care and it was in the past.

"So...You were just hook-up buddies?" I eyed him suspiciously.

He hardly inhaled, "For me...nothing more and nothing less but...for El..." he took another sip as if it was an answer.

Damn...so Eleanor loved Bern and the words she said to Bern when we were leaving...

"You broke her heart?" I softly questioned and that's when he nodded. He admits it. But don't feel guilty about it. Why should he? The feelings weren't mutual.

"I was a mess back then. If you met the past me, you would freak out and probably kill me. Even my brother hated me, huh," I tried to picture the past Bern who was a real wanker. Who didn't care about others' feelings and was broken on the inside.

"Why were you like that?" I asked.

He hesitated for a moment but then replied, "Ricky and I were the first ones who came to Benedict's Household...we were the first orphans...the experiment...Reece's uncle..." he took a breath as if trying to calm his inner beast. "He didn't know how to act towards orphans...let's say we were his experiment and...he took orphans just so that they grew up as his loyal soldiers. Ricky and I were not a gift, we fought, we stole, we even beat the young Lord...So, one day, Lord Willer had enough. He decided to punish us if we did something he didn't like...The punishments were...very severe. Of course, Benedict decreased the roughness of the punishments throughout the time but..." Elsher closed his eyes and I saw a vein form on his forehead from the pressure, "But no one will take away the scars..." he opened his eyes and there was nothing except for the pain that he tried to forget...he tried to heal.

Damn it...I hate Benedict more and more.

Bern was smiling bitterly and his smile was full of hatred. Can't believe he went through this.

"How old were you?" I asked very softly, as if scared...or maybe I was.

"Four...and Ricky...three" dear God.

I inhaled through gritted teeth and swiftly took his hand in mine without a second thought and said, "I am so freaking sorry that you went through this...alone with your younger brother. It explains everything..." my tears rolled down my cheeks as I pictured little Bern and Maverick, who didn't know another life. They couldn't run away...they just accepted their fates and tried to survive at any cost and tried to become stronger. I was an orphan too, but I was adopted by good and caring people and never received violence.

"I-I...How are you staying this strong? How are you living after all this in his house?" I asked in disbelief.

His hand was still in mine and I saw pure confusion when I took his hand in mine. He didn't recoil. He just looked at our hands.

"I live there for my family...for Ricky, Reece, Ava, Penelope, Lark, Levi, Nathaniel, and as much as I don't want to say it...Eleanor, they are my family. They are the only ones that have helped me to live and move on...forgetting the past." he looked up and his eyes traveled to my wet cheeks, before I could react, he removed tears from my cheeks with his speed.

I looked at him questionably, "I hate to see you with tears," I smiled and inhaled through my nose, "Do I count as your family now?"

Bern smiled and looked at me with eyes full of care and gentleness, "You became part of the family when you told your broad story at the ball, Cam."

We looked into each other's eyes before I understood that he was tilting forward.

"Bern!" I didn't plan to recoil so fast and roughly from Bern when he lived his memories all over again. I stood up from the sofa and when I removed my hands from his he didn't hold on to them. He didn't force himself on me...he let me go.

I widened my eyes and breathed heavily.

God...I only now understood what the hell happened.

"Damn it..." I muttered, going through my hair and glancing at Elsher. "You have nothing to say?" I questioned coldly and a little angry.

He shrugged, "I am not sorry and I don't regret my moves, but I should say that I wouldn't do that if I wasn't drunk." so calm...so freaking calm!

"Huh!" I gaped at him and shook my head. "s**t, s**t, s**t! Why?!" I yelled at him.

But he only took a sip of the atrocious drink.

"Stop drinking this s**t!" I snatched the bottle and put it on the kitchen counter.

"Nice move, Cam, ask me anything while I am drunk and you will receive only the truth." he arrogantly put his hands behind his head and yawned.

"Why do you want to kiss me? Especially after telling me that Eleanor liked you and what her words meant?!" I was on the edge and he didn't mind.

"Think Cam, why do people want to kiss the other person? Plus, I didn't say that Eleanor liked me, she had depression and I was near her, she just wanted me by her side always and I didn't want anything more than what we had...She meant that...I never felt love towards someone...I mean...I never run after a girl or tried to catch her attention...all my life poor life I was single and I didn't mind but when I told Eleanor that I am not seeking for the relationship she concluded that it's all because f my arrogance" he said in one breath as if talking to himself, not to me.

"And the real reason is?" I asked, taking an opportunity.

He inhaled, "The reason is I didn't know how it is to be in love...I tried but...poorly, nobody understood me, no one talked to me, I couldn't find a girl who would first talk to me and be my friend...before"

No...please...don't confess...don't you dare confess.

I didn't have confidence in asking forward...I just stood there, eyeing the drunk friend.

"Okay...I think that's enough conversation for today...you better go to bed" I muttered, and before Bern could reply, we heard how the door opened and a bunch of people entered inside, and the room immediately filled with laughter and conversation.

"Hey, there!" greeted Lark, "I bet you already took the best rooms, huh?"

If only they knew what we did while they were gone...

"Yeah!" exclaimed Bern, "I already took the room with the best view!" how easily he changed, his expression and voice as if he wasn't even drunk.

"There is a second apartment. If you want to go," I said, searching for Reece.

I need only him...only him to talk and see.

Hey, guys! I hope you enjoyed it and take care! Comment, xo.