||IF ONLY||

Chapter Thirteen

The next day, the trio awoke on the floor where they had drifted off. Evie's head in Mal's lap while Carlos and Briella's head lay in Jay's. They had gotten lectures from the adults before returning to the boys' dorm where their two closest friends laid into the three. Mal and Jay were amused as the three were being scolded the entire afternoon and they ended up curled up on a chair and watching. They fell asleep while the trio were being scolded and Bri, E, and Carlos just laid on the floor next to them and fell asleep.

Now, at ten in the morning, Bri's multiple alarms went off. She had set alarms on each of their phones knowing they tended to sleep through their alarms. The noise immediately woke up Mal and Jay, who quickly turned off the alarms. It wasn't surprising that the alarms had only woke them up since the three on the floor tended to sleep through a lot, only waking up when they wanted to. Mal sighed, shaking Evie awake as Jay tried to wake up the two heaviest sleepers. Carlos and Bri were two peas in a pod when it came to their sleep. The two would curl into each other and refuse to wake up most mornings.

It was both adorable and frustrating but Bri tended to be easier to wake up since she would shoot up once reminded she had something important to do. If she didn't have anything to do, you would have better luck moving a mountain. Carlos would follow after Bri whenever she woke us in a rush but if she wasn't then he would just curl up with her and ignore Jay, Mal, and Evie. Jay sighed as he pulled the two up onto his lap, their legs brushing against each other as they hung between Jay's spread thighs. He whispered sweetly to them both as he tried to bribe them awake. 

He reminded Bri that she had to visit the Isle today but the girl grumbled angrily and shoved her face in his neck. Carlos murmured something as he woke himself up, it seemed today was just one of those days. It was rare but there were days Brielle would refuse to wake up no matter what and even Carlos would have to wake up to get her awake. Carlos muttered something sleepily and he shook Brielle. The two other girls approached them and sighed at the sight.

Carlos sat on Jay's left leg, rubbing his eyes with one hand with softly shoving Brielle, who was not sleepily cursing, to wake her up. Jay just sat there sighing trying to get Brielle awake as well. There was a gasp from Jay as he felt her bite down on his shoulder and attempted to get her off by the back of her neck. It wasn't new for her to bite them, but typically when she bit them, she wanted to leave some kind of mark. They figured it was her way of claiming them or showing some aggressive affection but right now, it felt like she was trying to eat his arm.

He cursed as he held the back of her head soothingly, her jaw slackening as she relaxed. He brushed the back of her neck and felt hair growing there. That was new. He turned to Mal with a concerned look. "What?" Carlos asked sleepily.

"I think she's... turning?" he said questioningly, "Remember how she's affected by the magic in her bloodline? Her neck is full of hair and I can feel her nails digging into my back." The curl had wrapped herself around Jay when Carlos had gotten up. Evie approached slowly. 

"Bri? You ok? We're right here," she said as she gently grabbed the girl's hair. Brielle allowed her head to be pulled back, revealing wide doe eyes paired with some sharp fangs being bared at them. The VKs wondered what had triggered this as it only happened when she was upset. The girl/beast stared at them with wide eyes before a knock was heard at the door. Brielle snarled angrily and the four didn't know what to do.

"Come back later!" Mal yelled, not wanting to leave and answer the door. They heard Doug's voice yell back words of confirmation before footsteps trailed off. What triggered this? The VKs didn't know. If they figured out that the excess magic from that cookie was still too much for the girl, maybe they could've helped. They wouldn't be able to figure out that this would keep happening until the girl's body expelled as much excess magic as it could.

"We can't let anyone see her like this," Evie said.

"She's going to the Isle so this shouldn't happen there. We just have to get her there first," Mal said and they agreed. They helped Bri into the shower, her body covered in hair making it a bit difficult to wash her off.

"Bri we're gonna put you in some casual clothes and then we'll properly dress you whenever this goes away ok?" The girl/beast nodded at Evie's words. They rushed to get ready, needing to leave now before anyone burst in to get Bri. Covering Brielle Beast in a blanket and making the excuse that she was a bit sleepy and cold still to anyone who passed, the VKs successfully made it to the limo. Brielle stayed quiet, surrounded by her darlings, ready to go wherever they were taking her. The VKs pushed her into the car quickly.

 The VKs didn't know they were supposed to go with her so they were surprised when the guards just let them in the car, no questions asked. They quickly put up the screen that would separate them from the driver. They were happy they had managed to get the Beast into a big shirt and some pants. Her bag for the day had been packed since the day before and her outfit was in a duffle bag that sat on Jay's lap. They heard the driver say they were entering the Isle and turned to Brielle.

A sigh of relief was released when the girl glowed a bit and turned back into a human. The boys stepped out as the girls fussed over Brielle, making sure no one would bother them as they rushed to get the girl ready. Brielle was confused about what was happening as her hair was being pulled into a ponytail, clothes were being pulled off her and different clothes were being pulled on. She didn't even remember getting up this morning.

Mal helped her pull on the cargo pants and bodysuit chosen for her while Evie rushed to do her hair and makeup. Brielle had made it clear she didn't want anything too preppy or royal for her visit to the Isle. The Isle was still dangerous and while she could fight in a dress she would prefer pants for the day. When the three girls stepped out of the car, Brielle was still a bit disoriented from what had just happened. She didn't even notice the people surrounding the car as she stood tall in her combat boots.

She did not notice the magic of the love spell seeping into the hearts of three individuals. If only she had noticed their sudden lovesick looks toward her or had noticed how less intensely she felt for the four VKs in front of her. If only she felt the difference as she looked around the area. If only.