Chapter 237 — An Uninvited Guest

Chapter 237: Chapter 237 — An Uninvited Guest

~ Raven ~

Raven stared at the stranger for several seconds, trying to understand why a vampire was standing in the middle of Valerius when the delegation wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow evening.

He certainly didn’t appear concerned about being discovered. If anything, he looked rather comfortable, standing near the entrance with his hands loosely tucked into his pockets as though wandering around a werewolf academy in the middle of the night was perfectly ordinary.

What irritated Raven more was the faint amusement on his face.

The bastard had apparently spent enough time watching her practice to identify what she was doing wrong, and judging by his expression, he was enjoying her surprise considerably more than he should have.

"Are you going to keep staring at me?" he asked eventually, tilting his head slightly.

Raven blinked before folding her arms. "I was actually wondering what the hell you’re doing here."

"Watching someone struggle with a rather simple movement, apparently."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

The stranger gestured toward the training court, looking entirely unbothered by her irritation.

"Your turn. You’re shifting your shoulders before your weight has settled properly, which is why you keep losing your balance."

Raven frowned, partly because she hadn’t asked for another explanation and partly because what he was saying sounded annoyingly reasonable.

She’d already noticed that something was wrong with the transition, although she hadn’t been able to identify exactly what caused it.

Still, that wasn’t the point.

"I didn’t ask you to watch me."

"No, you didn’t," he agreed easily, a small smile appearing on his face. "I was passing by and happened to notice."

"Passing by?" Raven glanced toward the entrance before looking back at him. "You’re a vampire."

The stranger looked down at himself briefly, then raised his eyes toward her again.

"Very observant."

"Oh, for Goddess’s sake."

Raven was beginning to understand why Isolde had described the visiting vampires as insufferable.

She’d been hoping that particular opinion was influenced by the woman’s obvious dislike of losing to them, but it seems there was some truth to it.

"Yes, actually, there is a problem," Raven continued before he could make another irritating remark. "The vampire delegation isn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow evening, so I’d appreciate knowing why one of you is wandering around our academy without an escort."

He considered her question for a moment before giving a casual shrug.

"I wanted to have a look around."

Raven waited for him to elaborate, but when he offered nothing else, she raised an eyebrow.

"That’s your explanation?"

"It’s a rather straightforward one."

"You’re telling me you just decided to come here early?"

"More or less."

Raven stared at him, wondering whether he genuinely failed to understand how ridiculous that sounded or simply didn’t care.

Considering how comfortably he was standing there, she suspected the latter.

She knew enough about the Concord to understand that visiting representatives weren’t supposed to wander around Valerius before their official arrival.

There were arrangements to follow, security procedures to observe and probably several dozen rules Instructor Berry would happily spend an afternoon explaining.

Yet this bastard appeared to have ignored all of them because he wanted to look around.

"Does anyone even know you’re here?" she asked.

The stranger glanced briefly toward the entrance before returning his attention to her.

"Do all of you always take everything this seriously?"

Raven’s eyebrows rose.

"All of us?"

"Werewolves," he clarified, sounding almost disappointed. "I’ve barely arrived, and you’re already asking questions about permissions and escorts."

"Well, forgive us for having rules. Some of us actually live here."

He laughed softly, apparently finding her answer amusing, and Raven found herself growing increasingly irritated by how little concern he showed for the situation.

There was something unusual about the way he behaved. He didn’t seem particularly interested in impressing her, nor did he possess the guarded politeness Raven had come to associate with most powerful noble heirs.

He spoke as though he had absolutely nothing to worry about, and somehow that made him considerably more annoying.

Raven studied him more carefully.

His white hair reminded her somewhat of Cassian’s, although it was worn less formally, with several loose strands falling near his forehead. His features were striking, and the pale complexion that contrasted with his crimson eyes made it impossible to mistake him for an ordinary werewolf.

He also appeared to be around the same age as the Cardinal heirs, which made Raven wonder whether he was one of the representatives Cassian had told her about.

Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing. Cassian had explained their abilities and fighting styles, but they’d never discussed what the vampire heirs actually looked like.

For all she knew, this stranger could be an important noble or simply another member of the visiting delegation.

"What’s your name?" she asked eventually.

The stranger raised an eyebrow. "Would knowing my name make you less suspicious?"

"Depends on the name."

He smiled at that but made no effort to introduce himself.

Instead, his attention drifted toward the training court, and Raven could almost see him losing interest in the conversation.

"You know, your movement would probably work if you stopped trying to rush the turn."

Raven stared at him.

"Are you seriously changing the subject?"

"I’m offering advice," he replied, gesturing toward the section of the court where she’d been practicing. "You clearly know what you’re trying to accomplish. Your problem is that you’re moving before your body is properly positioned."

Raven opened her mouth to tell him she hadn’t asked for another lesson, then stopped herself.

The irritating part was that he was right about one thing.

She had been struggling with the movement for nearly half an hour, and although she didn’t particularly appreciate being observed by a stranger, his explanation sounded almost exactly like the problem she’d been experiencing.

The vampire seemed to notice her hesitation.

"Try keeping your weight on your supporting leg until you’re ready to turn," he suggested, demonstrating the transition with a small movement of his own. "You shouldn’t need to recover your balance halfway through."

Raven glanced toward the court.

She wasn’t particularly pleased about accepting advice from somebody who’d apparently entered Valerius without permission, but she also wasn’t going to ignore something useful simply because she disliked the person saying it.

"Fine," she muttered, returning to her original position.

She repeated the movement, concentrating on maintaining her footing until she was ready to complete the turn.

The difference was immediate.

Instead of stumbling through the transition, she managed to shift her weight properly and complete the sequence without the awkward hesitation that had been bothering her.

Raven stopped, surprised by how easily the movement had come together.

Goddess, that had actually worked.

"There," the stranger remarked, watching her with an expression of mild satisfaction. "Much better."

Raven turned toward him, frowning when she noticed how pleased he looked.

"Don’t look so proud of yourself."

He laughed.

"You’re welcome."

"I didn’t thank you."

"You were considering it."

Raven rolled her eyes, although she couldn’t deny that his advice had been useful.

Unfortunately, it didn’t change the fact that he was somewhere he probably shouldn’t be, and she wasn’t about to let one helpful suggestion distract her from that.

She moved toward her bag and retrieved her Linkslate, keeping the stranger within sight as she opened the academy’s contact directory.

His gaze followed the movement.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding someone who can explain why there’s a vampire wandering around Valerius before the official delegation arrives."

For the first time, his expression changed slightly.

It wasn’t fear or even obvious concern, but the amusement faded enough for Raven to notice.

"Is that really necessary?"

"You haven’t told me your name, you won’t explain how you got here, and apparently nobody thought to accompany you," Raven replied, glancing up from her Linkslate. "What exactly do you expect me to do?"

The stranger considered her for a moment before giving a quiet sigh.

"Look, I haven’t disturbed anything, and I don’t intend to cause trouble. There’s really no need to make this more complicated than it is."

"Then you won’t mind explaining yourself to whoever is responsible for the delegation."

His gaze lingered on her, and Raven had the uncomfortable feeling that he was deciding whether arguing with her was worth the effort.

Eventually, he stepped away from the entrance and began approaching.

Raven immediately straightened, her fingers tightening around the Linkslate.

"What are you doing?"

"Relax. I’m not going to hurt you."

"That isn’t particularly reassuring coming from someone who won’t even tell me his name."

He stopped a few steps away, maintaining an expression of almost careless patience.

For a moment, Raven thought he was about to offer another ridiculous explanation, but instead, his crimson eyes settled more directly on hers.

"You’ve had a long day," he remarked quietly. "There’s no reason to concern yourself with me."

Raven frowned, uncertain why he’d suddenly changed his tone.

His voice hadn’t changed much, but something about those words made her pause.

She’d been searching for someone to contact on her Linkslate, yet suddenly the task seemed considerably less important than it had a moment earlier.

Perhaps she was making too much of this.

The stranger hadn’t threatened her, and he hadn’t actually done anything except wander into a training court and offer advice.

If he wanted to leave, why not simply let him?

Raven’s fingers slowed against the Linkslate as she considered putting it away and returning to her training.

It seemed reasonable enough, especially considering how late it was.

Then she frowned.

Only moments ago, she’d been determined to contact someone, yet now she was considering allowing a complete stranger to walk away as though nothing unusual had happened.

That wasn’t like her.

The vampire was still watching her, his expression remaining calm.

"That’s better," he murmured. "You can get back to what you were doing. I’ll find my own way out."

Raven almost nodded, but an uncomfortable pressure suddenly stirred at the edge of her awareness.

She froze.

It was faint, barely more than a strange sensation brushing against her thoughts, but there was something disturbingly familiar about it.

She knew what it felt like when somebody attempted to interfere with her mind.

The Dreamwalker had made certain of that.

This wasn’t quite the same, however. There was none of the crushing pressure she’d experienced when that bastard forced his way into her consciousness, nor did the world around her begin changing into something she couldn’t trust.

Instead, the sensation was quieter, almost gentle, encouraging her attention to move away from the stranger and settle on something else.

But Raven had experienced enough supernatural interference to recognize when a thought didn’t feel entirely her own.

Her fingers tightened around the Linkslate as she slowly raised her head.

The vampire was still looking at her, waiting for her to put the device away.

Raven felt her irritation return, only now it was accompanied by something considerably stronger.

Anger.

The bastard was doing something to her.

She took a step backward, allowing her essence to circulate through her body as she glared directly into his crimson eyes.

"Get out of my head."