Magus Bloodlines.-Chapter 38. Return to the Dorms.

A few days had passed and Gavin was released from the hospital and back on the academy grounds. His parents did eventually show up, and there was a touching conversation between them and Principal Shepard. His grandfather promised to look after Gavin thoroughly while he was at the academy and do his best to keep him out of trouble. Erza also told them she was being allowed to enlist at the academy to keep a closer eye on their favorite troublemaker. The entire conversation made Gavin feel like a lost child with no will or intelligence of his own. He was eighteen years old, a powerful shifter, skilled in magic, and here they were talking about him like he wasn't even in the room with them.

He kept quiet while they planned out his future and his life, knowing he would make the choices he had to when the time came to fulfill the mission that Koray had requested from him. Find the other alpha-shifter clans, protect them and right the wrongs of the past. Yeah, easier said than done, Mr. high king god. Gavin grumbled in his own thoughts. He still had no idea how he was going to locate any other alpha-shifter clans, let alone find them, get them to trust and follow him. Plus, how was he supposed to right the wrongs of the past? Did the god expect him to go on a warpath against the world government to get blood justice for the lives they took centuries ago during the purge? Gavin wondered about many things while he sat on the couch in his dorm room. He was hiding from many of the students at the academy.

It seemed they all wanted to say greetings and well-wishes to the one they recognized as saving the first years during the assault in the arena. In many of their eyes, he was their champion and had unparalleled strength. Even Bradley, the one who bullied Gavin relentlessly the first day, was cordial and respectful. Although, from fear or respect, Gavin still wasn't sure. But it was a nice change of pace to not have to worry about that one coming at him from behind anymore.

While Gavin was in the hospital, the academy went through and finished the ranking trials for all the students still on site. Jackson was sporting a rank five on his arm band. Apparently, he was able to use wind and water magical elements and was a quick learner. The staff believed him to have high potential with quick thinking and creative input in his spells.

Gavin had been assigned a rank eight upon his return. The staff reviewed the footage of his battle against the army and the leaders in particular and felt this was the best way to move forward by judging his skills. Helena was granted a rank four for her magical abilities. She was a little upset about that as she received the results.

Erza came out from their shared bedroom and sat next to Gavin. It was Saturday morning and they were the only two awake. Jackson and Helena had apparently stayed the previous night over in her dorm and hadn't returned yet. Erza frowned at Gavin as her bare feet padded over the hard cold floor. She was supposed to start her own classes with Gavin on Monday morning. For now, Principal Shepard had granted her a rank three rating on her arm band with her little knowledge and practical skills in magic. The good thing about the lower ranking, is that they can always work hard, train harder, and increase their ranking at various events hosted throughout the year.

"Hey, stop brooding over there, or you're going to turn into a statue," Erza said as she sat across from him in the nearby chair. She wore her soft fuzzy shorts and a red tank top that she hadn't changed from the night before. She crossed her legs in the chair as she glanced at him.

His brows were furrowed in concentration. His eyes looked like they were a million miles away. He startled for a moment out of his thoughts as he looked at her. He hesitated for a moment before he replied. "I think there is something I should tell you, something important."

Now that got Erza's attention. "What's so important that you haven't told me?" she asked him as she leaned forward, giving him her full attention.

Gavin was considering many things and many ways to approach this topic with her. She would be only the second person, only one other than Principal Shepard that he had mentioned this fully to. "Do you think the gods really exist in our world?" he asked her. He sat back on the couch, his back against the back of it as he studied her reactions.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise at the last question she expected to hear. "I'm not sure. Part of me thinks that there has to be beings that exist in the world with abilities and powers that mankind would consider god like. Alien beings, so to speak that have visited and done things here on the planet since early civilization. But I'm not sure if I believe that the gods actually exist fully." She answered him honestly after a moment of consideration.

"I can assure you, they do exist. Atleast some of them," Gavin said glumly as he looked at her. He noticed her raised eyebrow and glint in her eyes. He definitely had her interest now.

"Go on. You can't just say that and leave me hanging." she urged him to continue with a wave of her hand.

"That first night, the night of the ambush. A lot more happened than it appeared. After I shifted and lost consciousness, one of the God's grabbed my spirit, or mental self, or whatever you want to call it. He brought me to him and had a conversation with me." Gavin said as he began to explain the entire details and information learned from Koray. The alpha-shifters, the purge, and the eventual task that Koray had given to him to complete.

Erza sat back stunned by all that information. "What makes you think that it wasn't all just a dream? That you didn't just imagine it?" She asked him quietly as she kept her focus on his facial expressions.

Gavin grimaced at the question and admitted, "He gave me something called an AI system. It's code name is Veronica. Somehow Koray bonded Veronica to my DNA or consciousness or whatever you want to call it. She speaks frequently in my mind, helps me with my shifting, and other skills I have. It is with her help, that I am able to keep a constant eye on my mana points and such." Gavin said in a rush of words that only seemed to confuse Erza more.

"So this god like being, just gave you this quest, and gave you this AI system in the purpose of fulfilling the quest?" Erza asked softly as she tried to digest his words.

Gavin nodded. "He said it was a way to help me get stronger. That certain functions of Veronica would be locked until I reach certain thresholds of strength," Gavin said in response. Truth was, he was still trying to get used to Veronica in his mind. "She's also why I was able to grow so much during the summer. She is like the ultimate cheat code system," Gavin said with a laugh.

He remembered how stunned they all were at the progress he made over the summer, learning how to control his shift and magical abilities. He had wanted to tell them all then about it but had listened to Veronica and stayed quiet for the time being. He felt now was the time. With Erza here, she could help him in all kinds of ways by completing the task Koray had given him.

"Only two people know of Veronica and the task Koray had given me. You and my grandfather," Gavin said quietly as he watched her. It was almost as if he was afraid of her reaction. That she might suddenly reject him. Maybe think he was too much a freak to deal with this kind of crazy.

"Well, ain't that some crazy crap," Erza said as she let out a loud, drawn out and overly dramatic sigh. She so felt like messing with him right now. She could tell by his body language that he was nervous about all this. She grinned as she said. "Well, I can't date someone that is apparently on a holy mission. That just gets too complicated," she said as she noticed the fear and anxiety in his face. She let him fester on it for only a moment before she winked at him and said, "Chill out wolf boy, you aren't getting rid of me that easily."

Gavin grabbed one of the couch pillows and chucked it at her. "That was so not funny," he said as she laughed loudly and grabbed the pillow as it hit her.

"Oh come on, it was a little funny," she said as she held up her index and thumb with only a small space between them for emphasis on little.

Gavin growled and said nothing about her attempted joke. "So there we are, I have nowhere to even start looking for this kind of information. So for now, I plan to just go through classes like a normal student. Use my time here to get as strong as I can. Maybe something will come up over the next few years, and I'll find a lead on one of the shifter clans and have an idea of where to start," Gavin said as he sighed. This was beginning to be a larger headache than he could have imagined when he agreed to this.

"I can make a few calls to the girls and some others and see if anyone recognizes the term alpha-shifters. Maybe someone will have a lead for us there," She offered as she thought about it. She heard some vague references back when she was in middle school. But nothing about how many, which ones, or anything specific that she could use to start with.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea," Gavin said.

Suddenly, the door opened and Jackson entered with a laughing Helena behind him. Both of them looked showered and fresh as they shut the door behind them. Jackson walked over and gave Gavin a fist bump as he greeted his roommate.

"About time you get home dude. I was beginning to think that you were going to spend all semester in that dang hospital room," Jackson teased him.

Gavin grinned as he returned the fist bump and laughed. "Nah, you would get all lonely without me," he said but then paused as he looked at Helena behind him. "But then again, maybe you wouldn't," he said as his voice trailed off with a knowing smirk on it. Gavin could tell by the scent, even though they had showered, that they had been very active that morning before they came over.

Helena blushed and didn't reply as she saw the faintest hint of red in Gavin's eyes for a moment at his comments. "Well, someone has to keep Jackson company or he won't leave all the females alone. Do you really want to hear all that complaining about a single Jackson running the halls of a coed dorm building?" Helena asked Gavin as she took a seat next to him. Gavin didn't miss the look of annoyance on Erza's face as Helena sat close to him on the couch.

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Jackson protested loudly at her words for a moment. "I'm not that bad, you apparently stuck to me," he said defensively. He wasn't that big of a horn dog okay. Just mildly annoying at times.

Gavin laughed, "Boy, I lost count of how many times you approached females during the walk over to the arena before Principal Shepard's speech," Gavin said in laughter as he pointed out the flaw in Jackson's logic.

Jackson bristled for a moment, then deflated as he grinned. "Okay, you may have a point there," he said in defeat as he laughed.

"So, do we know anything else about the group that attacked us?" Gavin asked suddenly. The tension grew in the room as all the happy vibes seemed to disappear and everyone tensed up as the topic was mentioned.

"Principal Shepard said it was a hate group after shifters," Helena whispered as she looked down at her hands. "He says they most likely came to kill any shifter student or staff member they came across." she said, a tear slid down her cheeks as her fists shook in her lap. "But they ran away like the cowards they are because of two powerful shifters that day," she said as she looked up.

Her face was haunted by the memories of the lives she took that morning. But she didn't regret it. Her friends and loved ones were at school. An alpha wolf requested her help and she complied with the orders she was given in the middle of the battle. If she hadn't, a lot more lives would have been lost.

"Right. We need to find more information about that group. If they attacked this place once, they most likely will try again," Gavin said quietly to the surprise of everyone around him.

"You can't be serious? Hunting the enemy yourself? Have you lost your mind wolf boy?" Erza screamed out in fury as she stood up from the chair. Her eyes were glowing yellow as she raged against the idiotic boy in front of her.

Gavin gritted his teeth and forced his wolf down as he took the brunt of her anger. "What would you rather us do, Erza?" Gavin asked her quietly as he met her gaze. "Would you rather wait for them to grow their numbers and attack the academy again? What if they hurt you, or Helena, or anyone else next time?" Gavin asked her as she refused to back down.

"So your answer to only a possible scenario is to hunt down a powerful, well-armed group that has known extremist beliefs. You plan to hunt them down and single-handedly wipe them out?" She criticized him as she stepped closer, her eyes glowing brighter in her anger.

Jackson and Helena moved to the side. The last thing either of them wanted was to be in the middle of this fight. It was like when parents fought in front of their kids. Terrifying.

Gavin ignored the other two as he stood up and faced Erza's wrath. "This is the third time I have been involved in incidents revolving around them," Gavin snapped at her. His own fury was ignited and his eyes glowed an ominous red.

Erza noticed his eyes and his own fury and stopped for a moment. He never got angry with her, let alone raised his voice towards her. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly as she looked him in the eyes.

Gavin took a deep breath as he fought down his hatred and anger towards that group. It wasn't Erza he was angry with. It was that hate group that took his biological family from him. His clan. Everything. "These are the same people that attacked my clan in the mountain passes. The same group that attempted to kidnap Aria and Lyla. Then they decided to attack the academy where I just so happened to be going. That's three times, three operations that I happened to have been involved in to some degree. Don't you think that's odd?" he asked her quietly as he pointed out a little-known piece of information.

Jackson and Helena stood off to the side, surprised by the information dump. They were smart and kept quiet while Gavin and Erza talked. "They were the ones that took your family from you?" Erza asked quietly, the pain and horror in her own voice evident for all to hear.

Gavin nodded as he told her about the end of the battle. How his grandfather had recognized the one that led the attack, and how the one named Cedrion had boasted about killing a clan of werewolf shifters eighteen years ago.

"That's horrible," Erza said as she covered her mouth in absolute horror and anger.

"Exactly why I intend to hunt down every last member and slaughter them all," Gavin said, his eyes burned bright red now. He was done playing games with these people. This was the third time he was involved with them. They had his interest. The mission for Koray could wait until he gathered the right bits of information. For now, Gavin would hunt and kill them all.