7. Name

I sit up straight.

Great-aunt?!

The title sounds like the joke of the century, and I laugh, somewhat bitterly.

I am a man known by many yet entirely unknown. To some, I am simply Draco. Mostly, I am known by reputation– the faceless Rogue King, the mysterious land grabber, and many other names people whisper about.

Here in the Serbia Empire, I am Aleksandr Kresnik III, King of Srebragrad Kingdom. The new Head of the Dragon Dynasty, and successor to the Serbia Empire throne.

The Kresniks are humans. They are one of the four royal families of the Dragon Dynasty that rule over the Serbian Empire. Princess Katarina Kresnik, who was mated to the Vampire King, Vladimir Kuznetsov, maintained a good relationship with her family even after she chose to be turned into a vampire.

After her death, it seemed as if every member of the vampire royal family had decided to sever ties with the Kresniks. None of them ever bothered to make contact, including Yelena, Katarina's only daughter.

Katarina has been dead for more than five decades. Why would someone from the Kuznetsov family show their face now? Even if they've found out that I'm alive and about my new position in the Kresnik family, I don't think they would want to make contact this soon, considering Vladimir tried to have me killed. He isn't that thick-skinned.

"Nah! Someone must be playing a cheap trick to get my attention," I say.

Ryder chuckles.

"I know you don't believe that to be true. The speed with which you sat up in your chair when I announced her just now said otherwise."

He removes his phone from his pocket and opens it. After a few seconds of typing, he extends it toward me.

"I accessed one of the surveillance cameras at the guard's house. Take a look for yourself."

I know he can't be wrong, but I take the phone anyway. I nod when I see it's her indeed.

Alina Kuznetsov. Vladimir's only living sibling.

Back then, Yelena was closer to her than anybody else. Now she's smiling up at the surveillance camera as if she didn't stand by and watch while Vladimir cast me out.

Ryder clears his throat, obviously trying to get my attention, and I look at him.

"It's been seventeen years since we escaped Evan and faked our deaths. How did they find out about me now? We were always careful. Where did we slip up?" I ask and stand up, pacing around.

"Vladimir is a very proud King. Even if he has found out about my new position here, I don't think he would send her here to be reacquainted with me."

"Me too... Unless they've found out you're the mysterious man who's been duelling and taking possession of their territories."

"And how would they have found out about that?!" I snap in frustration. "Is there perhaps a Judas among you three?!"

"I take offense to that statement, Draco!" he snaps back, much to my surprise. "You're out of line!"

My brows arch in disbelief at his audacity. I don't use the difference in our social rankings against them, and I trust them not to take advantage of that.

He immediately realizes his mistake and begins to apologize

"I–I'm sorry..."

I continue to glare at him.

His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows nervously.

"I was provoked by your statement..."

"I am your King!" I bellow, and his head automatically bows in submission. "No matter what our relationship is or how much free hand I've given you, you do not speak to me in such a manner. Not even in private!"

"Yes! Yes, I was out of line. I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I'm sorry!"

He apologizes again and again, his head still bowed.

After a while, he raises it to look at me. Our eyes meet, and he smiles. I turn away from him.

The fool.

He sighs loudly.

"I know you have trust issues after what happened with the Blacks and Kuznetsovs. If they can do what they did to you, who wouldn't, right?" He pauses.

"Please know that I would never. I don't know about you, but calling you my brother means a lot to me. You and Red are the only family I've got in this world. I would die first before I ever thought of betraying you, Draco."

I remain silent.

"Red would never betray you either. We're in this together. She wouldn't hesitate to die for you. And Alf? Alf is your Seer, for crying out loud! He found you and brought us home to the Serbia Empire. He has never been wrong in any of his predictions. I don't think someone like that could betray you."

I nod, give his phone back, and return to my seat.

My mind is now occupied with how to handle the situation. As if he knows what I'm thinking, he asks the same question.

"How do you suggest we handle her?"

"Give me ten minutes, then get someone to bring her to the visitor's lounge. I want to know how she found out about me. Everything she knows and the reasons for her visit. I'll observe from here."

"Okay, boss."

Something crosses my mind as he turns to leave. He's an ordinary werewolf and no match for her in anything. She can get into his mind and read his thoughts. He would reveal all our plans to her without even knowing it. She can also kill him and teleport out of the place before I have a chance to get to her. He doesn't stand a chance.

"Be careful," I say.

He turns to look at me with a teasing smile.

I sigh.

"I'm serious. Don't forget that you're dealing with an original vampire. We talked about this before..."

"Yes, I remember everything we talked about. If I ever meet an original vampire, I shouldn't look directly into their eyes for more than ten seconds without breaking our gaze if I don't want them to know anything about me."

"She can also kill—"

"I also remember that part." He interrupts. "I'll be careful. I promise, so don't worry."

"I'm not worried. Either you're careful or you die! Pick the one that suits you."

He rolls his eyes at me.

As he leaves, I get up and head to the bathroom for a quick shower. When I'm done getting dressed, I sit at my work table and access the visitor's lounge surveillance camera on my laptop, just in time to see her being ushered into the room.

I nod to myself in approval when I see that Ryder has changed from his jeans and T-shirt into formal clothes.

"Lady Kuznetsov..." he greets with a deep bow. "Welcome to Aleksandr Kresnik Castle. I am Denis, the steward of this estate. Please, sit down."

"Thank you," she says with a smile before sitting down.

I nod again when I notice how subtly he avoids looking into her eyes for too long.

"To what do we owe the honor of this visit, my Lady?" he asks.

She laughs softly.

Unlike the other Kuznetsov females I remember, Alina's mannerisms have always been soft and gentle. As deadly as she is, I don't remember her ever raising her voice or acting violently.

"I thought my purpose for visiting was clear enough when I introduced myself at the security post, Ryder."

My eyes widen.

She knows!

"Ryder! Isn't that what you're called now? I felt it would be impolite to address you by the name you were given by the Black family, which I'm very sure wasn't Denis."

Dammit!

How much of our plan has she figured out?

As she speaks, Ryder stares at her as if hypnotized, forgetting to break eye contact with her.

She doesn't look as though she's interested in reading his mind, though. After addressing him, she immediately turns away and looks directly toward the surveillance camera.

"Nikolai!" Her voice catches. "I thought you were dead." She stops talking, opens her purse and pulls out a handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes.

It feels strange hearing her address me by that name.

Nikolai Milan Kuznetsov.

So named by Vladimir and Yelena. The boy who carried that name is gone. I am no longer a Kuznetsov. I am their enemy.

She clears her throat after wiping her face.

"You're probably wondering how..." She pauses. "It is because of the El Salvador territory that you recently took over. That is how I found out you're alive."

"Dammit!" I swear under my breath as I continue listening.

"Not long ago, we lost two of our Caribbean territories. Before then, we had lost Colorado, which was one of our largest territories. Of course, you know all of this." She pauses.

"Vladimir was beginning to get anxious. People would think him weak if they found out he was losing territories to an unknown masked man, so he put me in charge of finding out everything about you."

My jaw tightens.

"Although the territories were signed over to a Ryder Livingston, I couldn't find any record of him anywhere. I spoke with those who witnessed the duel. One of them, a female guard, told me that before the duel, while relieving herself in the woods, she overheard someone calling someone Draco..."

Fuck!

"Draconis..."

My blood runs cold.

"Your mother once called you that in my presence. When I asked her about it, she told me it means dragon. It's a special name to remember her mother's human family by. The Dragon Dynasty."

Fucking hell!

Fuck!

Fuck!

"We've not had any relationship with the Kresniks in a long time. I investigated to find out what they've been up to and discovered that the Srebragrad Kingdom of the Serbia Empire has a new king who will be formally revealed and crowned in six months."

She stops talking but continues looking at the camera, obviously waiting for my reply.

Is this all she knows? Does she know that I'm not just going to stop at taking their territories? I also plan on destroying them. If she knows, then what kind of demand will she make?

"You should know Yelena died fighting..."

I freeze. My trail of thoughts screeches to a halt.

Wait. What?!

I don't realize when I flash into the lounge and drag her out of her seat.

"Liar!" I grit out, slamming her hard against the nearest wall and pinning her to it.

I'm sure I heard wrong. She didn't just say Yelena died, did she?

I wonder as my eyes bore into hers that are already swimming with tears.

A strange feeling begins to build inside me, swirling and twisting my insides into knots. It doesn't take long for me to realize it's dread. Fear.

I hate Yelena for abandoning me, but somehow, the thought of her being dead fills me with dread.

"It's true!" she cries.

"Stop lying to me!" I growl, slamming my fist into the wall beside her face.

I feel my fangs push downward, ready to rip out her jugular.

"You think I don't know Vladimir quietly married her off to some Arabian vampire prince?"

Her tears spill as she chuckles bitterly.

"No! That was someone who looked a lot like her with the help of plastic surgery. A human Vladimir brainwashed and turned into a vampire because he didn't want people to find out his daughter had turned against him."

She swallows.

"According to the law, the punishment for challenging the king to a duel and losing is either death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment, depending on the person's reason for the duel. The House of Lords agreed her reason was valid since it was out of desperation to keep her son."

Her voice cracks.

"She was sentenced to five years of solitary confinement in Mandible Castle."

I feel a stabbing sensation in my chest. My hands become flaccid, and I stagger backward, watching as if from another world as she crumples to the floor.

Yelena didn't abandon me.

She was imprisoned.

"I went to get her when she was released. She had lost so much weight and looked like a shadow of herself. The following morning, I woke up to discover she had left in the middle of the night. She left a note saying she was going to get you and would never return..."

She chokes on her last words.

"And she didn't!"

Her voice breaks completely.

"My Yelena never returned!"

She sobs. "Her dead body was brought back. She died in a custody duel with Evan Black. She was not fit to fight, but the bastard fought her anyway!" Her shoulders shake violently.

"She never returned," she whispers.