Family Issues

Kal's P.O.V

"Shit…" Kal cursed under his breath, realizing that if he had left way earlier than he did, he wouldn't be in as much trouble as he was now.

Not only could he sense some wolves on his tail, he still has to safely get across the border before sneaking into the palace and his room where he was supposed to be since he had been grounded for days.

"You should have left her there," Kal thought to himself, but the second he recalled Hurai'a tear-streaked face and the image of the rogue wolf, his named body hovering over hers, he felt the urge to kill him all over again.

His fingers dug into the palm of his hands as he raced as quickly as he could pass the forest border of their kingdoms, heading in the direction of the palace.

Using the servant's entrance was the easiest part because he was wearing servant robes, while making sure to flick his hair forward to cover his forehead tattoos, a sign that he was pure blood and a member of the royal family.

Within minutes, from the servant's quarters to his room was a short journey, with him breathing a sigh of relief the second he stood in front of his door, turning the handle to enter and change out of his ordinary clothes to his princely ones.

If he hadn't been in a hurry, Kal would have been perceptive enough to tell that something was off, but he wasn't since the second he got in front of his door having removed his guards before leaving, he opened the door and entered,

Karl froze as he looked up to see his father standing in the middle of his vast room waiting for him, with a blank expression on his face, and his younger brother, Geran standing beside him with a huge grin on his face, his arms folded behind him, eyes glinting with expectation of the events that were about to unfold in front of him.

Talon though, Kal's personal protector who was also the same age as him was in the corner of the room, kneeling with his head bowed but still, the visible bruises on his face were visible enough for Kal to spot them from his position at the door.

"Shut the door," King Locan commanded in a level tone, that couldn't be identified as a shout, but loud enough to communicate that he wasn't there for fun.

Without saying a word, Kal, nodded, shutting the door behind him while waiting to be berated by his father.

But before his father could even begin, his brother, Geran was the first to speak,

"You look like a mess. If anyone saw you, they'd see you as nothing more than a disgrace to the royal family...”

“What? Did you kill a pig or something?"Geran finally asked when he noticed the speck of blood on his older brother's clothes and the slight stench of blood on him even if he couldn't identify who or what it belonged to.

Instead of speaking and replying to what his brother just said, Kal instead kept quiet, the smile on his face growing the more he watched his brother's expression turn into a nasty scroll the more time passed without him saying a word.

"Leave us…Geran," King Locan, their father finally said breaking the airy silence in the room, and as much as Geran looked like he would have liked nothing more than to argue and plead his case of why he shouldn't go, he knew better than to do that since their Father was not only their father, but their King and his authority couldn't be questioned.

"You too, Talon," King Locan said just as Geran was stepping out of the room, instructing Talon to follow him, but just before Geran passed beside Kal to leave, Kal finally spoke up in a low whisper that any good vampire wouldn't have any issues picking out his words,

"Touch him, and you'll regret it," Kal said in an extremely cold tone, his eyes blazing red even if his back was turned to Geran who couldn't see his face,

Geran merely scoffed before finally walking out with Talon quickly following behind him, not at all sparing a glance in Kal's direction who also didn't even behave like he was aware of his presence.

The moment the door was shut after them, King Locan spoke again, peering down at his ten-year-old son who in most ways reminded him of himself, and also of his mother whose stubbornness was only second to his own

"You should hide your weaknesses better or at least make him stronger. His strength is not lacking but he's too loyal. Geran most likely figured it out the second he saw him without you," Kal heard his father say, a little surprised since he had been expecting to be rebuked but instead he was been lectured on his princely priorities.

"Father…" Kal began prepared to give a half-assed excuse before giving a full apology. The last thing Kal wanted was for the King to spend his precious time with him when he had many more important things on his mind.

But before he could continue his father interrupted him, walking closer to Kal where he stood beside the huge doors of his room,

"Your first wolf kill. I'm proud of you," he said placing one of his hands on Kal's shoulders as Kal struggled to keep a neutral expression on his face as much as he wanted nothing more than for his father to leave.

"The more you do it the easier it gets. There will come a time when we will destroy their kingdom and they would be nothing but slaves beneath our feet," his father boldly said as if declaring facts from a future he had already looked into, while Kal simply nodded his head in agreement, glad to finally see his father pass beside him, in the direction of the door,

The handle was turned, and the door was opened but just before he left, King Locan had one more thing to say,

"Regardless, you are grounded for two more weeks for disobeying my orders. You could not leave the palace but now I forbid you to leave your room," King Locan decreed, in a loud voice that carried well enough for Geran his brother, and the servants in the corridors to hear, before stepping out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

Karl said nothing. Not even a murmur, with nothing but a blank expression on his face.

The only thing that showed a trace of the boiling emotions he felt inside was the blood dripping from his palm, past his knuckles, and to the floor, as he stared at his huge and empty room which was to be his home for the next two weeks.

With Kal doing his best to stamp out any remaining embers of rebellion that threatened to raise back up in his heart.

"I guess two weeks can't be compared to three years, "Kal muttered under his breath, choosing to wait by the door for Talon's return.