6. Memories

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ryder says tentatively beside me.

"Fuck off!" I say.

I know him well enough to know he is not some lily-livered idiot. He uses that tone of voice whenever he thinks he can persuade me to do what I don't want.

He continues talking anyway as if he doesn't hear me telling him to get lost.

"I mean, whatever made you so furious you're growling can't be about Red?... "

He's reaching and pauses for me to confirm or deny what he just said but I ignore him still.

"It must be about your family then..."

"I don't have a family!" I furiously shout. Standing up to walk away so I don't end up strangling him out of anger.

God! How often do I have to tell this fool to stop referring to those people as my family! Blood relations alone don't make someone family. Vladimir made that known to me the day he cast me out to stay with Evan. And Evan couldn't be any clearer when he explained it to me in plain words.

As much as I hate to recall those moments of weakness that I had when I was five years old, I couldn't stop the nightmares from tormenting my nights. Where I'm standing away from Ryder, I tightly shut my eyes, balling my hands into fists in a bid to shut out the scene of my first encounter with the son of a bitch, but it's just not working.

The bastard's grinning face penetrates the wall I put up and looms over me. Now I understand why his freakishly large teeth reminded the little me of Fury, Vladimir's prized stallion.

''I see your grandfather finally found out the truth and kicked you out." His first words to me clearly sound in my ears as the scene of that day begins to unfold in my mind.

''That crazy old coot! He wants you dead but sent you to me because he needs a villain to carry out his dirty work...''

"Wh-what!?... Villain!?" I asked.

Seeing the confusion on my face, he crouched to my height and continued speaking as he looked into my eyes.

"You don't know what that means?" He asked and chuckled but his eyes held no amusement. They were as cold as a rattler's

"It means an evil man. Your grandfather sent you to me to be killed."

"Ki-killed!?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

That can't be!

Vladimir might not be the kind of man who wears his heart on his sleeve, but he's still my grandfather. Although I witnessed my mother cursing and fighting him to prevent them from taking me away, I still found it hard to believe that the man who took me hunting when I grew my fangs and taught me to hunt and kill animals with just my claws and fangs would want me dead.

But this man they introduced to me as my father looked heartless enough. He looked like he could kill me without batting an eyelid.

"But you-you're my father!" I stammered in a tiny voice.

He wouldn't kill me or would he?

"Father!?" He spat out, looking disgusted by me. "You are no son of mine, hybrid!" He growled. Hate for me clearly written on his facial expression and very clear from the manner with which he stressed his words.

I took a step away from him out of fear but he grabbed my collar and jerked me back forward

"Let me tell you something, little bastard. Your grandfather threw you away to die, what makes you think I would want you!?" He sneered.

"Nobody! Absolutely no one in this life would want an abomination like you! Yelena was stupid to allow herself get pregnant by a werewolf. She was in love, that fool. She thought we were in love but I was just using her for her venom." He chuckled evilly

"So if you're looking for who to blame, blame your foolish mother for falling in love and bringing you into this world that your kind are not welcome in..."

Tears sprang to my eyes as he ranted on and on. Even though my young mind couldn't comprehend some of the words he used, everything boiled down to that statement he made,

‘Absolutely no one in this life would want an abomination like you.’

Abomination

I heard that word before. I think, two days before my grandfather came to take me away. My cousin, Dimitri, shouted it at me when I bested him in a fight.

"My mom said you're an abomination! Your father is a rabid dog and your mother, a shameless whore who spreads her legs for dogs."

When I asked my mom about it, she just smiled and told me not to worry, she would handle it.

Abomination. Hybrid. Why did they call me that? Also, what did he mean by 'your kind'? What did I do that made them not to want me? Why did my grandfather send me away to be killed?

"Aww, don't cry." He said pitifully but his tone of voice mocked me. He wiped away the tears on my face with the tip of his finger. "You don't need to be afraid. All you need to do is buckle up and be brave for what is coming next."

"Huh!... Wh-what!?..."

"Have you sprouted your fangs yet? If not, then I have no use for you. Your staying alive would depend on whether you can give me what I was getting from your mother before she stopped seeing me." He said and suddenly commanded, "Secure him!"

One of the men rushed forward and roughly grabbed my arm.

"Just him!?" He suddenly shouted, glaring at the others. "Fucking morons! He is a fucking hybrid! An original vampire and werewolf hybrid! Forget the innocent look. If he has grown his fangs then that means he is the most dangerous motherfucker in this room. Who do you think the dart guns in your hands are meant for!? Me!? Fucking idiots!"

The one holding my hand immediately released me as if I were scalding hot and took several steps back. I looked from him to them in confusion. What was he talking about!?

'You're mistaken. I am a vampire! I am not a werewolf! I don't even know what a hybrid is!' I wanted to scream that fact out to all of them but fear and panic clamped my mouth shut when he grabbed the gun from one of his men and pointed it at me.

"No!..." I could only shout one word before I was severally shot and darkness took over.

Rider's loud sigh broke into my thoughts then

"Hey man– umm– my bad okay... I promise it won't happen again, alright, and..."

"Leave!" I say in a tone that leaves no room for argument.

"Okay." He says after a long pause and walks out.

The moment the door closes behind him I return to my chair and crash into it. Although, he already acknowledged responsibility for his mistake. I'm not in the mood to talk about anything right now, whether work-related or not.

Talks or the thoughts of my so-called family always leave me in a terrible mood, and I don't want to take my anger out on him. I hated myself afterwards the few times that happened.

We've been through a lot together. I don't know if I would be alive or be who I am today if he hadn't put his life on the line for me so many times. I consider him more than family. He is my blood.

My body begins to relax, and my anger slowly dissipates as the memory of the first time we met floods my mind. That day, like every other day after being sedated, I woke up to the smell of blood in my cell. You see, each time they extracted my venom, I got a little cup of blood.

"Your reward." Evan once said. Like I should be grateful and worship at his feet over the measly cup that also doubled as my food.

This particular scent of blood is different from the stale cattle blood Evan provided me with. The fresh, sweet coppery smell reminded me of home– my mother. My shackles rattled loudly as I swiftly sat up and looked around for the source.

"Please don't eat me!" A tiny voice mewled. I looked in the direction the voice came from and saw a badly beaten little boy crouched in a corner.

When did he get here? What is he doing here?

"Don't eat me, please!" He pleaded again in a shaky voice as I wondered about him.

Eat you!? Why would I want to eat you!?

I couldn't even reach him if I wanted to. The shackles around my waist and neck were only long enough to reach the bucket provided for my toilet use, but he didn't know that. His tear-stained eyes continued to look at me fearfully.

"I won't..."

My voice sounded terrible and I immediately stopped talking to clear my throat. Apart from groaning in pain, I can't remember the last time I spoke a word out loud. They always shoot me with their dart guns to make me docile whenever they come to extract my venom. Evan and his men did all the talking while I just stared like a zombie.

Although I didn't finish my statement, his eyes widened with surprise from the little he heard

"Re-eally? You won't eat me?" He asked hopefully

I sigh

"Yes. I can only drink your blood. I can't eat your flesh. I'm not a wild animal."

"Oh!" He said and sat up straight. Wiping the blood trickling down his nose with the back of his hand.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Both... Good for me and bad for you." I replied. Better to be truthful with him and not give him false hope

He looked confused

"H-ow?" He stammered

"I'm always hungry and you don't look like you can satisfy me. You're skinny and may die in the process. But I won't..."

"You won't!" He grabbed and echoed the words he preferred again. "Yes, you said that before so..."

"Not because I don't want to, little fool!" I interrupted and stood up to properly show him the shackles around my neck and waist. "I can't reach you and I'm too weak to do anything about it, so you're safe for now."

"For now!" He repeated.

I knew he had finally understood when he scooted further away from me.

Good. Get far away from me or I won't be held responsible for my actions.

I turned away from him and looked at the place where they normally leave my cup of blood but nothing was there. It was at that time that it occurred to me that Evan not only wanted me to kill the boy, he also wanted me to work hard for it.

Sick bastard.

I sensed the boy watching me as I returned to my bed and weakly sat down.

"What's your name?" I asked him. It's been a long time since I had a conversation with a real person. I might as well enjoy the company if I'm unable to drink his blood.

"Omega." He replied.

Omega? So he's a servant. No wonder he was beaten and thrown in a cell with me.

"What is your real name," I asked again. I've been Evan's prisoner long enough to know Omega is how werewolves refer to their servants.

"That is my real name. Omega" He said seriously

My eyes widen with surprise.

His real name!? Who gives their child such a demeaning name?... Shit, why am I even surprised by that with the kind of parents I have...

"They said you're a monster. You don't look like a monster to me." His voice broke into my train of thought.

This fool!

How could he still say I don't look like a monster when I just literally told him the shackles binding me were the only thing stopping me from draining his blood? He was obviously too innocent to understand that real monsters don't look bizarre and deformed. Real monsters are real people. They're family. They're your mother, father... The people who are closest to you.

"How old are you?" I asked

"Five." He replied.

Five! No wonder

His reply brought back memories of when I was also five and stupid with high hopes of my mother coming to get me. Those times I thought I could escape Evan...

"How old are you?" His question interrupted my thoughts again.

How old am I now? I wondered.

I wasn't sure about my age anymore. I was five when they brought me to Evan. After my failed escape plan, my dark, rat-infested cell was changed to this one. From pitch darkness, and a boulder as a bed, I got a light bulb that never went off and a thin mattress with a lice-ridden blanket for bed.

Being kept in a windowless dungeon with no sense of day and night had made me lose track of time. I knew I'd been there for a very long time and was no longer the innocent five-year-old boy. I just didn't know how much I'd grown.

"Okay lad, do you know what today's date is and what year we are?" I asked, hoping he could help.

"Hm-mm..." He nodded. "It's year nineteen, ninety-five. Today is Friday, the fourth of August"

I nodded, impressed by his sharp mind. I remembered I was taken away from my mother three days before my fifth birthday. I did a quick mental calculation and realized I turned eight years old three days ago. Strange.

"I'm eight years old," I told him and he smiled.

He was bleeding everywhere from the beating he got, plus I just told him I would have killed him if I weren't shackled. How could he still smile despite all that!?

"What is your name?" He asked as my eyes longingly followed the solitary blood trickling from inside his hair down his cheek.

My eyes met his and he smiled some more

"Hey! Your eyes have suddenly turned red! Are you an Alpha!?" He exclaimed, clueless about how I was yearning to sink my fangs into his neck.

"Will you be my big brother? I've always wanted one. We will be family and..."

What!?

No, idiot! I don't want to be your big brother! We will never be family! What I want is to drink your fresh blood...

Of course, he continued to talk and look at me with fascination

"Wao! Two of your front teeth have suddenly grown longer and pointy. How did you do that!?"

God! Is there no end to his foolishness?...

A sudden knock on the door snaps me back to the present right then

"Who?... Who is it?" I asked, looking towards the door.

It opens and the very subject of my thoughts returns.

I sigh

"Go away, Ryder! I don't want to talk to you right now."

"I know. Just that this is urgent." He hurriedly says as he walks into the room. He looks worried and I wonder why.

"I just got a call from the security post. A woman who claimed to be your great aunt is by the gate, waiting to see you."

My eyebrows quirk in reply.

"Theo said she smells like a vampire."