Chapter Five
VINCENT
Wearing leather trousers and a bloody white shirt, the trespasser rested on the infirmary bed.
Carl, the academy’s doctor, had torn apart his shirt when he cleaned his wounds and patched him up. It seemed that the creature was allergic to silver like werewolves. His body had been brutally beaten and stabbed. It was a miracle that he was alive. Carl’s medical expertise also had a role in that. He was able to detect a deadly toxin and cure the rogue hunter before it was too late.
The headmaster was unsure of who he truly was. He had no identification with him.
Could he be Noah Keith?
No. Keith wasn’t so stupid as to come to Sanabria. It was Lycan’s old territory, and the alpha president didn’t tolerate rogue hunters. Not that the assassins who attacked that night seemed to care. It had been a good training exercise for his pups and Grace, though.
Rubbing his forehead, Vincent returned his thoughts to the pressing matter lying on his infirmary’s bed. There were no reports about Keith for the last two years. Rumors circulated that h? wa?, indeed, aliv? and causing havoc between the vampire hordes while also working as a gun to hire. If that was the halfling, he wasn’t technically a foe, but not an ally, either.
Why had the halfling helped them?
Vincent clenched his jaw. It couldn’t be. This was just a run-of-the-mill rogue hunter, and he’d be treated like one when he was cured and ready to leave.
Though, the blood tests revealed that he was a hybrid. Worse, his granddaughter seemed to be attached to the thing.
How could he send the rogue away if it broke the girl’s heart?
Not only that, looking at Grace’s eyes when she arrived with the male was like a déjà vu. His son had the same expression when he found Grace’s mom wounded and brought her home. Now, like back then, something was telling him that a tragedy was going to happen. Still, Evelyn didn’t have vampire blood coursing through her veins. The werewolf communities didn’t criticize her marriage to his son. It had brought honor to his family and blessed him with his granddaughter.
If that man was indeed Noah Keith, Grace’s tragic fate had been sealed. He had to do something to prevent his granddaughter’s suffering.
Meanwhile, Carl and Logan had left the room while Grace paced around with a gloomy expression as if someone had hurt her favorite pet.
“Why do you have to chain him? He did nothing wrong,” she protested.
Vincent had ordered Logan and Carl to restrain the prisoner.
“We have no idea how dangerous he is,” Vincent retorted.
Grace huffed and balled her hands. “He’s hurting, can’t you see?”
“And we fixed him. He’ll be fine,” he said the last sentence to reassure her.
She glanced at the rogue’s face. “He seems in pain.”
“Carl gave him a sedative, and he’ll be out until he’s fully recovered.” Edging closer, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “You should go to bed and sleep. You have classes in the morning.”
“I don’t care. I’m staying here until he wakes up.”
He frowned and rubbed his forehead. “Why?”
Her lips trembled before she pouted and folded her arms over her chest. “He’s in an unfamiliar place. He might be scared when he wakes up and realizes that he’s chained and alone.”
“Grace, he’s a grown-up male, not a child.” He groaned at her, harsher than he intended.
His granddaughter looked at him with tears in her eyes. “I don’t know how to explain this, Grandpa, but I feel that I might die if I stay away from him.”
Vincent snarled and gritted his teeth. “Stay here if you must, but don’t be foolish enough to remove his chains. Understood?”
Grace nodded.
***