Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Cold stares of my roommate

It was Tuesday afternoon, and Ruelle sat by the cold stone window, her gaze drifting towards the clouds that had darkened over the past few hours. She knew she should be focusing on the ongoing class, but her mind wandered to her Elite roommate, Lucian Slater.

With him giving her his old books, she thought things would simmer down, but they hadn’t. Since she had returned to Sexton, she somewhere felt like he was much colder to her than before. It was almost as if winter had settled between them, and a sigh escaped her lips.

"Ms. Belmont," a sharp voice cut through her thoughts.

Ruelle blinked, her attention snapping back to the present. Mr. Garrison, one of her professors, looked at her with narrowed red eyes.

"I asked you a question," Mr. Garrison repeated, his voice low and chilling. "Or were you too preoccupied with your thoughts to pay attention?" _{ƒrēewebnovel.com}

A ripple of hushed laughter followed his words, carried mostly by the Elite vampires seated in the front rows, their sharp red eyes gleaming with amusement, along with a few human students who couldn’t hide their smirks.

What a wrong time to be distracted, thought Ruelle to herself. This is what happened when you thought about a male. Swallowing, she stood up to apologise,

"I apologise, Mr. Garrison. Could you repeat the question?"

A scoff echoed from the front row, coming from an Elite vampiress who leaned toward her friend and whispered, "Must still be saving up to get the books."

"Groundlings shouldn’t even be here; they waste our precious time," someone muttered, loud enough for the class to hear.

"Enough," Mr. Garrison’s voice cut through the noise, silencing the whispers with a single sharp word. When he turned to her, Ruelle’s stomach twisted, but she kept her expression neutral. He said,

"Since you have decided to rejoin us, Ms. Belmont," he said, his tone laced with sarcasm, "perhaps you would care to enlighten the class. Explain the three phases of human-to-vampire transformation, and specifically, how the second phase impacts psychological function."

All eyes shifted toward her, some of the students smirking in anticipation of her failure. After all, how could the girl who could barely afford textbooks know anything about vampiric transformations?

Ruelle’s fingers tightened around the edge of the wooden desk. Her mind raced, but not in panic. No, she had read about this. Lucian’s notes had been detailed and methodical. He had outlined the entire process, dissecting it with almost clinical precision.

"The three phases are physical adaptation, cognitive alignment, and emotional synthesis," she began hesitantly, and the smirks around her faltered. "In the second phase—cognitive alignment—the human’s brain starts integrating human and vampiric neural impulses. This phase enhances sensory perception, leading to sharper instincts and reflexes, but also causes a temporary mental conflict. During this time, the brain experiences a... disagreement between human emotions and vampiric predatory urges. If the fusion isn’t balanced, it can result in confusion, emotional instability, and even aggressive outbursts."

The room fell into a tense silence, with Mr. Garrison and Ruelle staring at each other while the other students looked on. One of the humans asked,

"Is that the answer? How does she know that?" The humans were keeping track of who had access to the library and who didn’t.

Except for Hailey and Kevin, no one knew that she had gotten her hands on something far more valuable than a second-hand copy from the library. Lucian’s books, filled with neat, precise annotations—his thoughts, his insights—had become her secret weapon.

"Very good, Ms. Belmont," Mr. Garrison praised with a small nod. "Though I suggest you focus more on the class and less on daydreaming if you wish to maintain such a standard."

Ruelle nodded as she took her seat again, with her classmates still on her—some filled with jealousy, others with confusion.