Asher looked up with anticipation when the door to the prison was opened. Ever since that conversation with his mother where she found out his identity, he couldn't wait to see her again.

This time there would be no pretense between them - no disguising his personality, manner of speaking just to mimic Raphael.

It would be the both of them, mother and her abandoned son Asher - with Raphael's face.

"Mom, you - " Asher trailed off when he discovered it was not who he was expecting at all - Ezekiel.

Did he somehow figure something out? Did he know Helen now knows about him?

Asher had a nagging feeling since last night that a vampire must have eavesdropped on their discussion and reported back to him.

"Why are you here? Where's my mother?" He asked the heartless vampire who wasn't bothered with the bitterness in his tone.

"I clearly underestimated you"

Asher's eyes narrowed, that sentence? He must know the truth already else he wouldn't be speaking like that.

"Upon my surveillance, you still found a way to disclose the truth to her"

"I need to see my mother," Asher said through gritted teeth. If he was free, older vampire or not, he was sure to inflict multiple damages on Ezekiel.

Ezekiel's mouth leaned to the side, amused. He raised a brow "Your mother? That sure sounds funny."

"I need to see her !"

"To do what? Manipulate her into releasing you so you could escape or bond with her?"

"It's none of your business what I do with my mother"

"I'm sorry but she's my mate before being your mother so don't expect to see her anytime soon - at least until I'm done with you"

"My God" Asher blanched from terror "What did you do to her?"

"Helen is my mate and that's my current weakness - no matter what, I can't harm her - so I put her into a peaceful sleep" he answered truthfully.

"What are you talking about? Vampires can't ….." Asher trailed off, his eyes slowly widening when realization dawned on him.

"You put her in hibernation, you sorted out help with a witch" he figured it out.

"You're right, there's so much wonder a tamed witch could do" Ezekiel acquiesced, "That way, my mate wouldn't be a hindrance to my plans neither would I need to hurt her to stop her from exposing this"

Asher was stunned, he stood unmoving as if his whole world just crashed.

Why was the universe so cruel to him? For years, he couldn't see the mother that birthed him, and when he did see, he had to pretend to be someone he wasn't. Now he could act like himself, she was taken away from him once again.

Asher had never had an interest in the Raven clan so didn't care to know about Ezekiel keeping a witch prisoner. He was a peaceful vampire who liked to stay by himself, his mother had been the only reason he had even listened to the little gossips at all.

If Ezekiel truly put his mate in hibernation, then his mother was in a state of inactivity. She was probably in a sleeping posture and torpid to everything going on around her.

"You're a monster, how could you do that to your mate?!" Asher roared, boiling anger was coursing through his veins.

He felt the urge to shred something, no, somebody apart; he needed to vent this feeling of helplessness mixed with rage.

"If we should talk about the monster here, you should refer to your father, Antonio. All of this wouldn't have happened if not because of what he did!"

"Stop pushing the blame on my father, he was not the one who forced you into hibernating your mate; that one's on you!"Asher retorted.

Both men were furious and staring daggers at each other. There was hatred in their orbs, keeping them in the same room was not a good idea but both seem to have a lot to say.

"Do you think my mother would forgive you for what you did to her? Helen would hate you for eternity if she doesn't reject you" Asher spat.

"No, she wouldn't reject me because of her son Raphael. As for forgiveness, I'll spend the rest of eternity with her to earn it so you should worry about yourself"

Asher shook his head, "My mother was blind, you loved her before you both became mates, right?"

A smile was etched on his face as he answered, "Yes, you're right. She has always been gullible in that aspect."

"You were always jealous of my father"

The more Asher studied his face, the further the truth came to life.

"I treated your father as a friend, he was like a brother to me. Unlike my quiet personality, he was the boldest and loudest amongst us; always the first to jump headfirst into danger"

Yep, that sounded like his father. Courageous and brash, though Antonio was smart, he was too prideful and pride comes before a fall.

"My mate Helen was the first to find your father injured and in need of help- "

"Mom told me so" Asher interrupted him, hinting he was already familiar with the tale.

Ezekiel ignored Asher, he went on.

"Then, I helped out in nursing him to good health. Our Raven clan had always had a tainted reputation because of our mischief so it was not every day we got to see new faces. You could imagine how happy I was getting to know a new friend from a different vampire clan.

"When your father recovered from that injury, we bonded easily since he had lots of interests that were similar to mine. Moreover, I had never had a sibling since I lost both parents to hunters who were quite widespread during that period, so it was refreshing having someone I could call my brother.

"Perhaps, because Helen had been the one who rescued him first, your father always had a soft spot for her. I took their closeness as nothing until the weird interaction between the both of them began.

"Helen and I had been friends from childhood so it was natural to catch on feelings for each other yet she didn't feel the same way I did. I kept mum in order not to ruin our great friendship, who knew that would be my greatest mistake.

"Before they told me they were a couple, I already had a knowledge of it. There was this strange twinkle in Helen's eyes whenever she looked at your father - an odd yet soft gaze she had never given me.

"My mate smiled more than usual at your father and began to spend more time with him than she would with me. They were so sweet together it annoyed me but I pretended to be fine - I had to be alright. This continued for a while until luck finally shined my way.

"Everyone in the Raven and Nicoli clan knew about their relationship and had put their bet on them being mates. But it came as a huge shocker when I turned out to be the one destined for her.

"It was a surprise to me too. I mean, your father and Helen were so lovey-dovey with each other that it was hard to believe that they weren't soulmates. That day, I laughed and danced the song of triumph, the universe finally was on my side.

"Only those in the Raven clan knew about the unexpected news and your father had returned to his pack to solve a problem.

"There was no technology then as of now to spread the news but we made use of carrier birds and of course, our *Legedis Benz; we vampires could walk quite a distance without tiring.

"But of course, who would spread the news to your father or his clan? Nobody dared, because we all knew how sensitive mate issues were.

"Your mother was in a dilemma, I wasn't left out either. Ruling on the way they loved each other, it was apparent once they met and sorted out the matter, I would be rejected- that was how much they loved each other. So I - "

"You intentionally seduced and slept with her to stake your claim," Asher concluded.

"It wasn't hard, the mate bond made everything easier. Just a perfectly planned kiss and she succumbed to me"

"Does Helen know about this?" Asher asked, finding it difficult to accept that his mother would continue with him after learning of this.

"Even if she knows, would that bring back Antonio? Don't delude yourself, Asher, your father is dead"

"But she could reject you, your days are numbered, Ezekiel"

He snorted, "Like I would let you walk free after hearing this"

Asher laughed at him, "What are you going to do to me? Kill me? Both of us know you can't end me as of the moment because you still need a way to reclaim your son's body"

Ezekiel was taken aback, how could he see through him? No matter what his son Raphael was planning, he would never let him live in Asher's body forever - that was a big shame to him.

"Torture me?" Asher continued his speech, "That still would not remove the memory from here" he gestured to his brain.

"So you would have to think of a better plan" he mocked Ezekiel.

"Who said I was thinking of those" Ezekiel snickered and for some reason, it made the hairs on Asher's fake body stand on edge.

"Come in" Ezekiel ordered.

A girl who looked the same age as his mate Lia walked into the room with frightened eyes and a submissive stance.

With one glance, Asher could tell what she was - a witch. Ezekiel did keep a witch captive - that was just many of his horrible crimes he would use against him once he was out of here.

"Erase his memory" he commanded her.

"But - " the girl tried to protest but the full scowl from the vampire made her bite back her words.

"You seriously can't be thinking of taking away -! " Asher was still yelling at Ezekiel when the girl chanted her spell that made him lose consciousness.

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Legedis Benz: Derived from Mercedes Benz. This denotes someone without a car and who walks everywhere