CHAPTER 74

[Argents House] 

Gerard, the 50+ year old hardened Argent patriarch, sat in his study with a few books in front of him that he silently flipped over after scrutinizing the data and its value in respect to their current situation. 

The door to his study creaked open halfway as Chris stepped inside the room to see his father still flipping books after ardently going at them for more than five hours now. 

"You're not going to get some sleep?" He said while resting his back against the wall as he trained his eyes over each of his father's actions. 

"I will get some sleep when I'm sure its safe to do so." Gerard said without looking at Chris' direction and continued flipping through the pages of the books while Chris watched, father and son saying nothing for over half an hour before Gerard finally closed the books on his table except one. 

"I examined the wounds myself of the decaying corpse and also read through the autopsy report. Couple that with your own observations and testimonies, I think we can say for sure that it is a vampire." Gerard said in a rare somber tone that pushed all his grandfatherly façade aside. 

"Given that all your reports clearly highlight the fact that it only appeared during confrontations, and also taking the behavior of their kind into account then we can deduce that it has a grudge against the Alpha." Gerard said as he thought of all the behavioral ticks and even the subconscious ones of the most elusive supernatural creature the world has ever seen. "The first thing we have to do is identify which vampiric species it belongs to before we start fashioning a weakness to it."

Chris just silently listened and made a note of everything Gerard was saying and only when he had finished did Chris speak out. "Just how dangerous are they?"

At his son's question, Gerard looked at the book in front of him and then closed his eyes in reminiscence of his past experience with the accursed species. 

"They are fast, agile, nimble, and above all very decisive when it comes to going for the kill. Everything about them is dangerous, from their fangs and claws down to their gaze, and just the fact that there are numerous different variants of the same species make it imperative that you find out the one you are dealing with and plan accordingly."

"You want my honest opinion on them? Simple. If you see them, turn the other way and run. You have no chance against them unless you are prepared."

Chris took in a deep breath as the weight of his father's words pressed down on his mind. Remembering how it had killed two of his men even when the entire squad of them were being cautious only served to further increase his apprehension of the creature his father was speaking of. 

Gerard's voice croaked as he stood up from the chair he had been sitting on. "Well, we can only plan our approach to kill it step by step but until then, I think it's time for me to catch my sleep and not be late for my new job as Allison's school principal. Haha, I wonder how she'll react when she finds out." He laughed again as he made his way toward his room to get some shut eye before the morning rays sneak in. 

Chris shook his head at his father's irony before leaving the study and going to his room to join his wife. Vampire hunting can come later. 

... 

""What the fuck?!""

Both Tristan and Allison's reactions were the same as they were left flabbergasted at the news that their former principal was just transferred and Allison's grandfather immediately resumed as their new principal. 

"I thought your family only deal in weapons and related firearms?" Tristan asked but the person he was saying that to was too embarrassed to look anyone in the face. 

No other picture could be painted from this action other than a clear tell that the Argents were finally serious about cracking down on any supernatural present in the school. 

For those in the know, i.e those supernaturally inclined, this move of Gerard was like a predatorial hawk openly stalking their safe zone – taunting them to make a move if they dared. 

Allison turned around and found Tristan and Malia looking at her with a blunt questioning gaze that made the entire thing more awkward since a large amount of the student body was also looking at her. 

"I had no flipping idea. No one told me anything." She hastily defended before any of them got the wrong idea, something she ardently hoped they didn't. 

It was quite funny how the Argent heiress, someone who lost all smiles during her training making her look like the perfect cold porcelain doll, became quite flustered when faced with the two judgmental stares of her two younger friends. 

"As long as your grandpa doesn't add more subjects to the syllabus then we cool." Being the simple minded one, Malia focused on the part that was at least in their control. 

Unlike what the students thought, nothing of importance actually happened with the change of the school principal as classes went on without any foreign element being introduced. 

Malia followed Tristan as he went for the afternoon lacrosse practice and on their way they came across Allison who was coming out of Gerard's office with a somewhat imperceptible stiff smile on her face. 

Gerard looked at the two teens that stopped as they saw his granddaughter and quickly reading the glances they shared, made a guess as to who they were. "Friends of yours?" He asked his granddaughter. 

Allison nodded and introduced the two of them to Gerard who finally realized who they were. 

"My son mentioned the both of you in some of our talks. I guess thanks are in order for helping little Allison here settle in without any awkwardness." He showed his gratitude with a grandfatherly genial smile that gave the impression of a typical neighborhood older generation. 

"Don't sweat it, gramps." Malia 'politely' waved off his thanks much to Allison's further embarrassment and Tristan's resignation. "We're currently heading to the field so…"

"Oh, no, don't let me hold you young ones back. Hope to see you soon." He waved at them but then remembered something and called them back as they turned away to leave. 

"I've been reviewing the student's academic performance and while I'm new and don't want to spoil my already low rapport with the students, I have to say that your grade assessment is severely lacking." He genuinely advised them. "In favor of impartiality, I would suggest that the both of you focus more time on your studies to avoid being held a year back, and disappoint not just your guardians but your friends also."

Allison looked extremely uncomfortable at this point as Gerard called out Tristan's and Malia's lacking academic results. 

"Have fun out there." He smiled at them and went back into his office, leaving the three of them standing there. 

"Uhm…"

"That guy definitely knows how to be blunt." Tristan remarked as he continued his way to the practice field. 

Malia huffed in displeasure, feeling a bit targeted by Gerard's 'advice'. "Allison, you're helping me out after school hours. And no, you don't get to say otherwise." She concluded while her victim just shrugged, already used to her friend's selfish demands. 

Tristan however was frowning inwardly after one of Gerard's words repeated itself in his mind. 

If he was reviewing their academic records, as the seasoned Hunter that he no doubt was, it wouldn't be hard for him to pick one or two clues from the teacher's assessments of certain students. 

Mainly Scott, Isaac and Derek's most recent beta, Erica. 

In case it wasn't said or stressed upon, the physical and psychological evolution a person undergoes to become a werewolf was very noticeable. As clear as a mirror image. 

The most damning thing was Isaac and Erica who were recently turned, AFTER Kate's burial. 

There was no way their change could go unnoticed by the students and the teachers, especially not when Isaac's father's death had the police involved as slash marks were found all over his dead body. 

"That bastard." Tristan cursed after remembering that Derek actually brought the both of them to his house. "There's no way Gerard doesn't have them under his sights."

His mind wasn't entirely on the game as his thoughts wandered towards the possible actions Gerard could take to draw the Alpha out. 

The reason he was this cautious of Gerard was because not only Satomi, but Elias and the other older members of the pack had warned him on numerous occasions to be wary of the Argent family patriarch. 

Sure he eclipsed whatever a human could be; stronger, faster, more durable and a host of other supernatural abilities. What they always never failed to remind him of was the simple fact that while they were the apex predators… 

The Argents were Hunters. 

Despite the overwhelming advantages supernatural creatures have over the entire human race, the indisputable fact remained that they were hunted and permanently forced into hiding by humans who called themselves Hunters. 

… The vampire species were said to have been hunted almost into extinction by humans. 

Just because he wasn't afraid of Gerard doesn't mean that he wasn't cautious of what the man could do. 

"Someone just increased the survival difficulty."

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