~7-Down The Memory Lane~

~This chapter contains graphics of awful memory lane. Be ready~

~Kael~

It is in fact true that I'm a maniac—a barbarian. I've been tagged many names but none of them has ever dug my skin as much as the Human Rhett's words do, and he didn't have to say much. 

All he had to do was to open his mouth and speak words against me. 

My aura reveals my annoyance as I storm into my room. I'm boiling in rage, my fangs bleeding the inside of my mouth and my claws digging the skin of my palm. But for some reason, I wouldn't show this anger to the one who arose it. 

You'll think that my monster is ready to tear Rhett's head off, but no, he's amused. I'm the one who's teased—no, taunted by a human. The beast inside me, however, likes the challenge. He adores the puzzle the human pawn throws afront us. 

Inside my room, I look down at my pants. To be honest, I fear the zip might worn out at my hardening cock. 

"Fuck. It can't be." I'm battling an internal war. The scene back at the dungeon flashes across my sight again, making me growl into nothingness. 

Damn you, Rhett. How could a human make me feel this way? It's disgusting. He's completely wrong when he said I look at him sensually. I will never. I'll never be attracted to a man. 

Not even when naturally, he's not feminine presenting unless he shows off those sassy moves of his. "But you cherish that soft, bubble ass of his, don't you?" My monster taunts me with the imagination. 

Fuck, that ass literally poked out of his tight boxers—packed like freshly baked cakes. 

No, I can't have these thoughts. I head towards the bathroom right away to take a cold bath. As the water drips down my body, my fingers rubbing my skin, slowly gliding past my nipples, a warm sensation flows through me. 

Again, my mind swirls towards the human Rhett. I can't get him out of my head. I struggle not to touch myself till I finish bathing. I can't remember the last time I ever watched my own reflection with much affection, but staring into the mirror this time around, I watch my physique: my hardened muscles, V-line, tattoo, dimly glowing eyes, and abs. Suddenly, I find myself alluring, urging me forward to jerk off while I imagine the one who drift me into this acknowledgement. 

In a long time, I see myself again. He reminds me of the pleasure my body craves, but it's wrong. Absolutely disgusting. 

I force my cock into my briefs. My cock barely fits inside, already twitching—it's semi-hard so I curl the cap so my bulge wouldn't be too revealing then I place a baggy chinos on. As I make my way towards my study, I make a mental connection with Valois, hastily stating in a husky tone. 

"Bring me a jug of blood, Valois." 

In my study room, I sit back on the leather chair and close my eyes. My hands rub my scalp and again, my mind reels off to the second encounter. I messed up, never should a human have known about my past. Why did I even think that would scare him? And he had to use it against me, speaking about my sister! How dare he?

If anything, I should have his head rolling down his back, his blood gushing out like the shower. 

"Oh, to see you lost in thoughts. That's surprising." Mentions Valois as he takes a sit. I roll my eyes, but he's right. I didn't notice when he entered. He furthers. "So, what's the concerning matter you'd like to discuss?"

"What?" Valois is a lot of things: smart, witty, and the best adviser any vampire king need, especially in the vampire court, yet I remain stunned he read me. 

"I know you, Kael. You need the blood to keep yourself high. Something bothers you. Let me guess, Rhett?" 

Of course, he caught me. "What do you know about him?" 

"Quite a lot. Depends on which part you want to know, sire." Valois teases. The ghost of a smile settles on his lips. 

Preparing to ask my question, Valois dashes to the little bar in one corner to get us a wine cup. "Tell me everything, but firstly, how did you meet him?" 

He passes me human blood in one of the cups while he applies lemon juice atop his own. I'll never understand why he does that. 

"The alumni group. He was still an aspirant at the time. I messaged on the group that I needed a roomie and he volunteered. Of course, I chose him because he seems interesting...and he's hot." I groan and roll my eyes again, resting back on the leather chair. Deep down, I know Valois is correct. "He's a tech guy, fending for himself, and as a sapio, he's got the brains I'm attracted to. Well, not romantically anymore, though."

I didn't let Valois's words settle before I nudge in my spite. "But how could you be attracted to such a dude? He's masculine-presenting, yet he can be annoyingly feminine. He speaks highly informal. He throws his hands around when he wants to annoy you. He asks the most mundane questions. He doesn't seem to fear me. And he flaunts his gayness around like its some pride." 

I stop suddenly when Valois start to give me the eyes. The "what the fuck" expression. "So, you're not concerned he could be a spy but concisely angered by his way of life?" 

"What? No. That's not what I meant."

Valois sighs, gulps down his entire drink, then begin. "Precisely 54 years ago, you saved a little boy caught in the middle of a country's war. He had suffered immensely, and you recognised that when no one else did. The thirteen-year old boy determined to serve you. When you bestowed immortality upon him, he realised life is feeble. It is meant to be lived. Questions upon questions, none to be answered. Even us, vampires, must have an end, someday. I understand your tightness, Kael, but you allow it continue to blind you."

He continues, "you're my sire, and you gave me a new chance at life. I came from a highly religious country where I couldn't ever reveal my sexuality but eventually, I did when you gave me that chance. I'm queer, like Rhett. I fuck dudes..."

"But yours is different. You do the topping, or whatever it's called. He seems like he does the bending."

"Oh, so we place boundaries there now?" His finding me funny lowly annoys me. Why does he not share my irritation? "And why would you assume Rhett does the bending?" I wave those off as rhetoric, allowing him to resume. "I fuck everyone and anyone. I have no restriction, and you know that. I wonder now why Rhett's matter concerns you? Perhaps there is more you haven't said." 

I glare at Valois and he chuckles. Using levitation, I bring the jug closer so I can pour myself another full drink. 

"Whatever you plan to do with Rhett, be quick with it. Do not let him suffer too much. I don't approve it, sire. He's not a spy, I know it. Erase his memories and allow him go back to his life as a human." Valois rakes his hair back to place. "He's gay? He's white? He's annoying? That's all excuses, Kael. In all honesty, you punish him for no reason. Marcellus sees him now and we all know Marcellus."

True. Marcellus is a tracker vampire. Once he finds an interest in something, he never lets it go. You can say that's why even after a century, he has never backed down from being a pain in the ass. 

Valois stands up to leave, nearing the door when he finishes. "In three days, we have a meeting to attend in the vampire court. Marcellus will use Rhett's matter against you. An uprising war with hunters is soon coming. I vouch again—do not involve Rhett any further."

"Fuck!" I sneer as soon as Valois disappears from the room. Left alone with my thoughts, I grab a pen and throws it against the opposite wall, causing a dent. My chest heaves up and down, my anger brewing like a boiling water. My eyes are blind at the rage elevating. 

"And if your sister were here—if she was the kind of human I imagine her to be—she would utterly be disappointed..." Rhett's voice sinks in again. I caused her death—my beloved sister. No, I cannot cause Rhett's own too. For reasons unknown to me, he reminds me of her. The affection, the possessive, the need to be around him...just like I felt for her.

My chest start to tighten, not from rage but from a train of thoughts down the memory lane. The following second, I'm speeding through the hallway, out of my court, and into the woods. The kingdom is surrounded by a wild forest that leads up layers of mountains and in-between the heart of streams, all aiding in magically hiding it from human sight. Never had it been founded and never can it ever be. 

My vision bats inside the forest, voices reaching me from inside my head. 

"Master, it's...it's you. What're... you doing?" 

"Do not utter a word."

"Please, don't do it again. It still hurts from last time. Please..."

"If you scream and wake up my wife, I'll have your vermin sister pounded by my dogs then cut her up into pieces to be thrown into the lake. I owe you and every part of your body..."

No! I have long hidden these memories. They can't come back now! My feet pick up the race, this time to the cliff of the mountains, inhumanely racing up the rocky grounds. 

"Turn around and cover your mouth!" 

"Master, please! Please! It hurts! Please. Don't...I...please..." 

'But he didn't listen. His strong arms tore off the boy's underwear, exposing his behind'.

"I beg you, master! Ah, it hurts! It hurts...."

"Let that be a reminder that you'll always do as I say or every night, this is how I shall treat you!"

I increase my speed, jumping off the cliff, not caring how far it is from the ground—at least 6,200m high. My body crashes into the ground, breaking the earth and then continue running towards the stream. My weight is much lighter now, aiding me in racing atop the water. Behind me are splashes, the waves almost splitting the water's body as though it's going into halves.

I cannot see. No, I'm back to that past. Like I'm living it again. Those nights of torment. It wasn't once. He did it many times. I bled countless times. I was ruined, humiliated, feasted upon, tattered, and traumatized as a boy. My body was tarnished. 

"Fuck, it's so tight... argh..." 

And he never stopped. Not even when I was heavily bleeding! 

"Obadele. You can't walk well ..oh, my God! You're bleeding and dry. What happened?" I remember her tender voice. 

And so I vowed, one that I failed to keep. "Gift, my precious little sister. It was all to keep you safe. I promise, remember?" 

"Raaargh!" My anger reached its very limit and I hop so high into the air, it's as though I flew. Landing on another mountain, I land a hefty punch that shakes its core. I'm breathing hard when I'm done, my body finally starting to calm down. 

"I can never be free," a genuine tear slide down my left eye. "I'll always be haunted." And this is why I shall continue to kill them all. All of them. The entire world. They all caused me eternal pain. 

An intrusion follows my mental barrier. It's Valois. Picking the link up, he stammers. "Sire, it's the human."

"What, Valois?"

"He's...he's...he killed himself." 

My eyes widen, my entire body frozen in shock. The mind-link is still on when I race back to the kingdom and behold, the smell of Rhett's blood knocks the air out of my gut followed by my entrance to the dungeon. There, I see him spread on the cold floor, unmoving. 

"No..." I murmur under my breath. 

Rhett is covered in his own blood. I can't hear his heartbeat. He can't. He can't be. No!