Morpheus had wrapped his hand around mine, covering it completely. His thumb was twice the size of my own, my hand minuscule and invisible compared to his. His body was like a heater, and the longer our hands were entwined, the faster I was becoming hot and distracted. Nervous. The connection between us was burning, the feeling of his bare skin touching mine was unlike anything I've ever felt before, and I didn't think I could ever get used to it.

My chocolate eyes stared at the ground, watching as my feet followed his, and the way our hands fit together.

In the middle of my chest, deep into the center of my ribcage, was my beating heart. Sparks ignited along my hand, sending tingles straight up through my arm, where it continued to travel all over my body. Claiming me the same way water would, slowly, but fully.

Mate.

For the first time since he's said that life-changing word, I didn't feel afraid, or cowardly, or uneasy. Instead, I was filled with feelings of being protected, safe, and secure.

It felt so unbelievably good.

A contented sigh escaped my lips as my eyelashes fluttered, pure bliss taking over my features. Maybe it was the fault of being greeted by someone as terrifying as he is, and knowing that there was nothing stopping them from tearing me limb from limb. I became lost in my own euphoria of finally letting go, no longer holding up a 'no trespassing' sign to ward him off completely, although, he never really took it seriously in the first place. But, my moment of satisfaction ended once his steps ceased and I was sent flying into him.

Morpheus turned his body to look at something on the wall, and I crashed into him without a warning. His arm squished in the middle of my chest, literally, and he barely even flinched, instead I was the one sent into a panic as I began peeling myself off of him. Quickly, I stumbled backwards as I moved away from his towering figure that I had accidentally moulded into the same way a retainer would latch onto teeth just seconds ago.

I ignored the way his lips twitched up. This is serious, after all.

He bent his head down towards the ancient picture, well, the painting. The middle of the frame held a tormentingly familiar face of a strongly built man, his lips permanently drawn as a tight frown, and his eyes glaring at whoever had the guts to stare into them. And, I certainly don't. The image was blurry, as my orbs of vision felt the need to hide the man from me, almost seeming like an act to scare me away. All I knew was that the sharpness of his jawline was enough to slice me to death. My form cowered instinctively as I felt a wave of ice spike my nerves, a menacing aura coming at me from both the front and the side that Morpheus was standing next to, so realistic and identical that even my spine curved. Morpheus shook his head slightly as he visibly mocked the portrait of the man, "He made too many mistakes during his time," he laughed bitterly. "And, they were never easy to cover."

Now, if I wasn't so nosy I would run for the hills, but curiosity always gets the best of me. Every. Single. Time.

"Who was it?" I asked, trying my very hardest to disregard the look of the man who seemed more alive than dead, nearly popping out of the frame. I angled myself to face Morpheus, yet he continued to focus on the painting, and part of me liked to be the one to scrutinize. He was deep in thought with whatever was on his mind. However, the feel of the man's eyes digging into my side profile kept me looking at my feet, noticing the dirt that covered the bottom legs of my pajamas.

I do not want to see what the rest of me looks like.

"In short, he's my father." At the sound of his relationship to the man my eyes snapped up to the painting. Of course, how did I not see that right away? As usual, my own paranoia had gotten in my path. In my defense, Morpheus had the exact same power over me in the very beginning, and still does, but not to the same extent as before. Carefully, I scanned the portrait for similarities, and they were all incredibly noticeable. I've seen his mother, not in the flesh, but definitely enough to know what she looks like. She's nothing but grace and beauty, not that Morpheus isn't beautiful, but she has ocean eyes and golden hair, her skin as pale as snow.

Morpheus was anything but.

"You look exactly like him," I gasped, still in shock about how they could be literal twins, and how I didn't realize it as soon as I caught a glimpse of the painting. The dark, full brown hair that the man must have passed down, the green eyes that could send fear into anyone with a mere glance, the natural glow of their skin, and then those bold features. Their faces were nothing but sculpted and chiseled. Conclusion, I now know why a Goddess wanted a piece of those deadly genes to pass down. "I knew you didn't look like your mother, but this is unbelievable!"

My mouth was open in awe, now suddenly able to gawk at the picture knowing that this was the man behind Morpheus. Yes, he still looks as scary as fear itself, but all I could think of was Morpheus. My thought process of 'frightening man to Morpheus might be a clone' was interrupted harshly when I heard him speak again, this time his tone was the one of surprise, "You've met my mother?"

"Only through a dream-" I frowned, correcting myself, or not correcting myself, "-or maybe a memory, one of yours I think, uhm, actually, I'm pretty sure it was one of yours."

His face lit up, and he moved his head back before rolling it to the side as he gave me a flash of a smile, his teeth sharp yet unthreatening. The grin real with no story of pain or torture behind it, just a simple, cheerful reason. Something new than what I usually witnessed. "It appears as though there's more than one God who's been getting to know you."

My appearance dropped. Blinking, my already huge eyes grew bigger and my lips disconnected with a short inhale of air through my teeth, a strangled noise escaping. Even my hair seemed to fall in volume. "Can you repeat that, please?"

"No need," he reassured, turning on the heels of his feet before walking back to his main bedroom, knowing that I would follow. And, I do. My feet move on their own as I copy his footsteps.

"What do you mean 'no need', there is a need! My need!" I reach towards him and the tips of my fingers lightly run along his hand, sending sparks from my skin to his. A reaction I would have never felt if it wasn't for him.

"That is another story for another time, my mate." Morpheus grins wider before sending a cheeky wink my way, and grabs at my hand again, pulling my short body forward until it's in line with his, walking side by side. My cheeks turn red as they start to burn. As fast as the conversation came, it had changed, "As you can see-" he pointed at the many portraits lining the walls with his chin, the farther we walk the older they get, and they all share the same power fueled expression, "-there were a lot of Alphas, a lot of years, and a lot of secrets."

I nodded along, "But, back to that other thing real quick-"

Morpheus squeezed my hand while he shushed me, "That is for another time. There are more pressing matters to take care of right now." He began again, as though I never interrupted in the first place, "However, the biggest disgrace was my father's. The rest of them were nothing compared to 'The Great Alpha King'-"

I couldn't help it, I just had to cut him off one more time before he went into his seemingly prepared speech. You could just sense it coming from the lowering of his voice, and the petty added on words. My nose turned up at the sourness of his tone, but I did my best to ignore that and let my own tone of shock lead the way. "Wait, he was a king?"

Giving me the evil eye, he answered, "No, that was his name. He was well known in this world for doing something that if it wasn't done, then everything of this life could have went differently." The hand unoccupied by Morpheus was gently tracing the wall, moving as we walked until we made it back to his bedroom, and he, as gentle as he possibly could, shoved me in front of him. He continued normally, while I tripped over my own left foot and nearly went flying at the floor if it wasn't for his supporting hold on me, "The war involving the vampires was quiet, it was easy compared to the one with the humans. And, for good reason. The belief is that they were all killed off, with my father behind the whole thing, but not many know that he failed in doing so. In reality, they were forced out of our lands, and for the rest of our lives, we protected our territories, and even human villages. Sadly, humans wanted more and they began moving into the land that we occupied."

"Vampires exist?" The question dawned on me, and the feeling of being useless filled me up. "They're not extinct?"

Morpheus made a noise of distaste, if he could have spit on the theory then he would, "Of course not. Everyone was so relieved when they thought the chance of getting rid of vampires was high, that they started thinking it was true. The tale goes that vampires were killed off easily, with no strength and no guilt."

"But, that wasn't the case, was it?" I asked innocently, already knowing the answer. I felt small at the new information. My mother was a history teacher. I was so caught up in the idea that they were extinct that I gave them barely any thought of being alive and well. I didn't even realize that the man attacking me was a vampire, I was that stunned.

How many people have been killed by them? To be only pushed to the side, for their cases to be labeled 'unsolved' or 'solved' with the lie of suicide or an accused.

During my bit of confusion, well, more like my time of stupidity, Morpheus had managed to step into the bathroom long enough to start the shower and get it heated. "No, it wasn't."

"Is that the end of it? That's all you'll tell me?" My mind was on overdrive, overwhelmed with all the new teachings, yet still craving more.

"Emery, I'm not one to keep my thoughts hidden, but I tried to keep them inside to not hurt your feelings, but for the love of God, please take a shower because I cannot stand that stench on you any longer."

I stared up at him, gaping openly at his words. "Did you really just say that to me?"

"Yes," Morpheus spoke truthfully as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm incredibly sorry, but we can finish this another time. You're in pain, and you're in need of a cleaning. Take that from someone who lived through a time when humans thought bathing was only a once a week, if that, essential."

Rude.

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