Chapter Ten
Dr. Joy Felicia Vaughn
“Tell us about yourself Dr. Vaughn and explain why you’d be a fit for the head of academic affairs and student relations.”
I sat up with my ankles crossed over one another as my hands laid perfectly in my lap. My posture was straight, and my chin raised in the air as I smiled.
“Well my name is Joy because when I was born to a litter of seven, my father said I brought joy and tears to his eyes being the youngest of my siblings. He knew I would do great things,” I stated as I looked around the cold office.
The images and paintings of the First Family were all over the place, leaving its mark on the history of the school.
“I come from a family of familiars from the deep south, and we have a long history of serving some of the witches and warlocks when needed or asked. My father worked on different farms, and my mother would clean the houses and apothecary shops of witches. I’d sit there after school with my books while she assisted with spells, cleaning, and eventually that became my first job. ”
I smiled at the memory.
“I am the first to attend college and seek a doctorate degree here at Thee Drew Collins University. After years of serving the academic community, I see there is a new for reform and a neutral head. The Underground is heading in a direction we have never seen before. The First Family has always been the leader, the solution, and the fix. As a new generation comes up, the face of the mythic community is changing. After the incident at the white church, the idea that Drew Collins is still being led by the prestigious Dr. Holmes makes people uneasy.”
I stared at the paintings of Dr. Holmes and his siblings, admiring the family portrait that looked centuries old.
Gaia stood above all with her white hair spread out like vines and her arms out over her apparent family.
There was no one else in the room during this interview.
Just me sitting in the chair with my bag by my feet and four decorated walls.
“I believe the longer Drew Collins relies on the First Family, the more it will lose its credibility. Dr. Holmes with all due respect is no longer a trusted leader in this community. Although my family is not as elite as his. We do not come from wealthy backgrounds but humble beginnings with Sunday gatherings, second hand clothes, and stories of how witches create magic for bedtime stories. Everything I am today, is because of where I come from.”
It became silent as I briefly closed my eyes before smiling. This is what confidence looks like. It’s not overly loud or possessive, not too cocky…but informed and intelligent.
I took a sip of my coffee as I stared at the family photo on my desk.
Eyes just barely peeking over the rim, I smiled against the mug before inhaling the aroma.
My mother stood in her Sunday best attempting to hide her cat’s tail while my father stood proudly by her side with the head, the ears, and face of a fierce black feline.
A hard-working man who sacrificed a lot to get me to where I am today.
I glanced at my coffee maker, seeing the enchanted machine move on its own as I watched the creamer be poured. I learned a few different spells in my day, so I was able to spice up my office. The sudden sound of the intercom on my desk went off as I listened.
“Dr. Vaughn, Xavier Martin is here to see you for his appointment?”
“Send him up.”
I brushed my skirt down as I reached for my bottle of water to take a sip and swish around just as my door opened.
Xavier Martin, light as they come with natural pink lips and dark features.
His thick brows, broad shoulders, and growing beard started to come in as he adjusted his tie when he stepped into my office.
He smelled a sweet, husky masculine scent that made my skin crawl.
You’d never know he was violently attacked by a vampire.
“How are you this evening?” I asked as I motioned for him to sit down on my couch.
“I’m doing alright,” he said with a faint, but sultry deep southern accent.
“I see you’ve recovered from your injuries…” He stared at me as I leaned forward on the desk. “It’s been a week since the girl has gone missing.”
“Guilt,” he replied, tone blunt and direct. “She will have to answer for what her family has done. Although she didn’t do it, her family stepped in her place. I think that coach knows…her friends all know where she is. She’s not missing. They’re hiding her.”
“Maggie Grey is the only one responsible for your attack. Not anyone else.”
“She didn’t do it,” he said.
I giggled with my finger dabbing my lips. I see I was going to have to use a bit of nudging.
“You are from the Southern Five,” I expressed. “The most famous witching family in America.”
I could see his eyes darken with interest at the mention of his family’s name.
“I’m not really high on that totem pole apparently,” he retorted. “My family seems to think otherwise. My efforts have been largely ignored.”
“Because you are not targeting the right person…” I said.
“Maggie Grey is not seen as a threat. She is seen as the it girl…the one they aspire to be. I hear how my staff raves about her grades and the teachers that love her inquisitiveness… They adore her relationship with the werewolf,” I said with a snarky tone before leaning forward again.
“You have to target her. She is the one who attacked you after all.”
I saw the sudden flash of fear in his eyes.
“She isn’t the one who did it.”
“She is,” I stressed before standing up. “Maybe not directly but why else would she leave? Why else would she suddenly disappear?”
I walked around my desk to stand in front of him as he looked up like the poor lost soul he is.
“She is the last standing First Family that was in the public. The rest are either long gone, dead or refuse to come out in support of Dr. Holmes…they are becoming extinct… You, Xavier,” I whispered as I stepped closer in between his legs.
I reached for the zipper on the side of my skirt to pull down.
His nose flared, seeing his attraction and arousal grow as he parted his legs wider.
“Are a Martin… The stories I heard about your family growing up…”
I slid my skirt down with my lace panties before stepping closer to straddle him on the couch.
His hands instinctively came to my waist to hold as my body slowly shifted.
Rows of black soft fur fell over my skin like waves as my nose extended and the thin black whiskers tweaked.
I was in my full ailuric familiar form as my head gently rubbed against his chest and cozied up against his neck and face.
“You have the chance to take over the entire Underground.” I pulled back and looked down at his face.
With a gentle twitch of my ears, I inhaled as the fur folded back revealing my brown complexion and brown human eyes.
My hand was in between his legs when I cupped him in the center already feeling my effect.
“You were attacked by Maggie Grey,” I whispered against his lips before we kissed. He gripped my waist, lifting me up before bringing me back down on his hips. “You will tell everyone she did it…and they will believe you…because they deserve to know the truth…”
I inhaled sharply at the sudden sharp pain of him pushing inside of me.
I hadn’t realized my tail was still out until he grabbed it for a pull as the thick muscle curled against his hand.
Gasping, it didn’t take long to reach my peak as my head whipped back while trying to catch my breath.
Xavier was seconds after me as he picked my body up for a lift and released on himself instead.
I laughed before getting up and adjusting my clothes and fixing my short hair that felt all over the place.
“You are a Martin…this is what you’re meant for,” I said as I wiped my mouth where my lipstick smeared. Xavier stared at me with a growing smile. “Don’t look at me like that…I got caught up in the moment.”
“I like that though,” he said as he squeezed his lips together to wipe the rim where we kissed. “Have…have you heard from Danielle?”
“She is missing as well…whatever name she wants to go by. She is not a factor in this,” I waved off as I stood in my mirror against my wardrobe trying to fix my hair.
I glanced at Xavier, seeing his guilty expression over the girl impersonating her sister.
“I am holding a conference soon to inform students of the latest and state of things in the Underground. Maggie Grey will be arrested the moment she returns to the Grounds and questioned. Anyone that is associated with her will be taken in too. I can’t have her going around attacking more of my students, now can we? ”
Xavier slowly smiled as he stood up and adjusted his tie before reaching down to zip up his pants.
“When is our next meeting?”