Chapter Twenty Seven ▪︎

hey had been driving for a while. Dahlia was twiddling with a rubick's cube in the passenger seat and Alexander was driving carefully.

"I'm bored." Dahlia sighed and threw her toy in the back seat.

"We can stop to get something to eat." Alexander suggested.

"Oh, can we try something local?! Wait, do they eat cats? I heard that somewhere around here they eat sharks, cats, dogs, bugs and even crickets! Can you imagine eating a cricket! That is so gross." She laughed excitedly.

"I think you're talking about China but a few hundred years ago." He laighed along with her as he pulled up to a restaurant on the side of the road.

It seemed empty enough for them to dine inside.

It had been two days on the road and Dahlia was already loosening up to him. He was trying his best to make her holidays fun.

It was also two days 'til Christmas. He felt horrible for ruining her birthday by having to clean an old house and then having to leave it before they even got to enjoy it, so he promised himself to make it up to her.

He had fireworks in his trunk and everything he might need for camping. They were driving to the deserts of Australia, where they could see the Milky way clearly due to no light pollution and the fireworks would hopefully be beautiful for New Year's.

He was excited and nervous, two feelings he hadn't felt in a while.

He entered the restaurant after Dahliaa, having opened the door for her.

She went straight to the counter and looked at their menu.

The vampire employee was obviously in awe of the vixen in front of him.

Thanatos made it known who she belonged to when Alexander's eyes were replaced with blood red. The aura escaping him was poisonous, leaving every vampire in the diner wondering who the strange man with silver hair was.

Dahlia, of course, didn't notice a thing. He sometimes wondered how she could be so clueless, knowing her family trained her to be the exact opposite.

"I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate syrup on top and a cherry milkshake. What would you like, Alex?" She turned to him with bright eyes.

"Coffe." He answered shortly. He loved the nickname, but didn't comment on it.

"Black, with milk, creamer, sugar, honey or what? You can't be so vague, it's hard enough for us baristas." She scolded him.

"A vanilla cappucino and two packets of sugar." He glared at the scared employee.

"I thought you were a 'strong black, no sugar' type of guy." She giggled at him. She was in a particularly good mood due to the lovely weather outside and the fact that it was almost Christmas.

"Can you also send a gingerbread man with the capuccino?" She asked.

"We're ou-"

"Bring her the damn gingerbread man." Alex snapped.

"Of course, sir." The man squeaked.

The couple walked to a table in the corner, the safest position Alex evaluated.

Their food soon arrived and they both enjoyed it thorougly. The gingerbeard man wasn't there, but Dahlia seemed to not care.

The bell rang above the door and Alexander looked up to make sure there was no threat.

Seeing the lycans, he almost snarled.

They snapped their head to him and walked back out the door.

"Do you know them?" Dahlia asked curiously.

"No."

"Did you put out some aura of yours or something?" She asked him as she sipped her milkshake.

"Maybe I did, so what? It saves me a lot of conflict and energy." He shrugged.

"I'm fine with it as long as we can walk without people parting for us. That would be awkward and would totally blow our cover." She reminded him. He immediately dropped the aura and rolled his eyes as he drank the cappucino.

***

"I never thought I'd say this, but my bum is sore from sitting." Dahlia grumbled as she streched upon leaving the car. They were in a very hot desert and it was Christmas Eve.

"I can massage it if you'd like." Alex piped in.

"I'll think about it, perv." Dahlia laughed. "What are we doing here anyways? The only thing we can do is talk to coyotes and maybe some shrubs."

"It's deserted."

Dahlia punched his shoulder for the bad pun.

"That's not even punny." She laughed.

Their laughter died down and they got to work in the heat. The sun was setting and the tempeture was dropping, making it perfect to work in.

The tent was soon set up and a fire was keeping them warm. Alex walked into the tent and came out with crackers, chocolate and marshmallows.

"Are those for smores?" Dahlia asked him.

"Yes, how did you know?" He asked her.

"My brother and I loved making them when we were kids. We played this game where we had to survive in the woods for like two days, sometimes overnight and we'd always sneak some marshmallows and crackers with us, but our father soon found out and punished us. I mean, he didn't really punish us, it was still all a game, you know?" He almost caught her lie.

Slipping up was something she couldn't afford. She was finally easing up to him, and he was a completely different person around her. She didn't want this to end because of her past.

"I know about your family, you don't have to hide from me." He confessed to her.

"What about my family?" She tried to act casual even though she knew it was no use.

"I know that the 'game' you and your brother played wasn't a game at all. I also know that the punishment was probably more severe than anything I would ever give to a killer. I know who he was and what he did, and I am proud of who you are, despite your childhood." He ended his speech.

"How..?" Was the only thing she could say.

"I have my ways." He replied simply, looking up to the starry sky.

"Do you know where Isaac is?" She asked hopefully.

His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"You didn't turn him, did you?" She asked, horrified.

"It was either that or I had to kill him. I could tell he was a good man, and there was no way I would kill someone based on whoose blood is in their veins."

"Where is he?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

"He's here. He is the Lord of Australia." He smiled at her.

"Is that why you brought me here? Was there really someone in my room or did you fake it just to get me here? What if I wanted to go somewhere cold?" She rambled in obvious distress.

"I knew you'd choose warm because I assumed you never heard of a warm Christmas. And I kind of faked it, but not really. There really was someone that trespassed into the realm so we did have to leave, but no, nothing rustled in you room. And I wanted to bring you here because it is interesting and him being here was a bonus. I just wanted to make you happy, I'm sorry for freaking you out."

"You did. I am very happy, thank you so much!" She gripped his cheeks and his eyes widened as he expected her to crash her lips upon his, but she instead leaned forward and hugged him tightly.

"Anytime." He squeezed out barely as she squished him.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd pop like a grape if I squeezed too hard." She laughed in pure joy.

"Very funny." He sarcastically replied.

"So, when can I see him?" She asked giddily.

"After New Year's." He replied solemly.

"Why so late?" Her face fell.

"He still has responsibilities and I heard he was dealing with something out of the country and would be returning on January 3rd."

"I'm still grateful I get to see him at all. I never thought he'd be a Lord. I mean he never really minded vampires, but he liked you far less than I did." She told Alexander as she leaned back to her former position, leaned against his shoulder.

"Tell me more about your childhood. I'll tell you mine if you want to." He spoke to her carefully.

"Are you sure? It might make you a bit angry at some people." She asked him.

"I'll try no to."

"I guess I could continue the story. My brother amd I never had a choice in our lives. Even on the rare times we did, it was like asking someone who to kill, their mother or their father. It was better when you had an order and you followed it, no questions asked and no strings attached. We had to train hard, to the point of passing out and waking up, then having to continue until you fell in a coma almost. Insteas of being easier on me because I was younger and a girl, father was extra harsh on me. He called me his gem or his secret weapon, saying I could seduce anyone into giving me whatever I wanted. He said disgusting things to me, even when I was a child. To him, we were war machines, not his children. He'd leave us out in the woods over the weekend, and we'd have to shower in the morning and go straight to school like nothing happened. At home we were abused and trained to be sick mindless assasins, and outside in the real world, we were a picture perfect family with a hardworking father and a housewife mother. We had to have straight A's and a B would mean a week in the basement. Oh God, the basement." She sobbed at the memory.

"Shh, you don't have to continue. I'll live if I don't know, I'd much rather have you enjoy Christmas than spend it in tears." He smoothed out the tears under her eyes.

"You don't even know how much this helps me breathe. Nobody knows this, not even other hunters. Dad would have been executed if anyone found out he was putting their next leaders in danger. Though I am grateful for it because it's why Isaac rebelled and I didn't stop him. It's crazy to think that we could kill a whole city at fourteen. I could have easily chosen to stop or even kill Isaac if I really wanted to. Maybe I would have if it wasn't for the day before. Dad gave us our first task, our first target. The problem was that we were kids who never had a childhood. All we knew were tales our real mother used to tell us in secret before bed, knowing dad would punish us if he found out. There was no way he could hurt her, he loved her too much. Maybe that's why he went crazy when she died. He remarried to the woman you now know as my mom. She was never bad to us, but she listened to everything dad told her. She was obsessed with him, much like he was with our mother. That's also the reason why she is completely broken now that he is dead." She stopped in thought, a small sniffle coming from her.

"This is worse than Lady's story." He spoke with a sad voice and a heart heavier than the whole galaxy.

"Who is Lady?" She asked him.

"A little girl I rescued before the Rome thing. She was a poor child and she was being punished severly as the rich men and women watched her. It isn't my story to tell, you're going to meet her anyways, she can tell you." He finished quickly, his heart swelling with pride at the strong woman he raised as his own sister.

"You told me you were going to tell me your story." Dahlia spoke through sniffles and small hiccups.

"Well, I didn't know this as I was growing up, but I was the bastard child of a spoilt king. It was always my mother and me, nobody else mattered. We lived in a small town on the outskirts of the kingdom, but my mother got sick. We had to move into town to get her proper ailment, so we did. I started to work in the king's castle and she would stay at home in bed. One day, I was dragged to the king. He started asking me questions and at some point, he called in a seer to be brought. The soldiers dragged in a crazy screaming woman, but the most memorable thing about her were her eyes. They were bright purple and they would change to gold when she was seeing something. He asled her if I was the man she was talking about and her face seemed affirmative enough for him to start laughing at me and insulting me, saying I was too weak and scrawny to take away his throne. Then I tried to reason with him, saying there was no way I would take his throne. The seer then continued her story and said that the king was my father and I was his eldest son. She said my mother was someone from the DeLaCroosse family and that she was to be married to the king, but she fled. I denied it, and the king, of course, got angry at her. She then took our hands and cut them, connecting us to her, and showed us her vision. It was the king and a younger version of my mother hiding in hallways and acting like two young lovers would. She died before we could see where I ruled over the throne. The king ordered me to be killed and for her soul to be cleansed by a priestess. They left my body in the snow and I woke up, stronger and hungrier than ever before, and with someone else in my head. I went to see my mother, but she was already dead. I guess the mother goddess had mercy on us and killed her before the guards got to her. I buried her and grieved before I killed the king. It was so easy to live when you were the strongest, I couldn't get enough of the thrill. Every time I killed someone, my heart healed bit by bit. The strangest part was the man talking to me in my head and telling me to drink blood."

"I never expected your story to be so sad... I guess we're both ruined, a perfect pair, really." Dalia laughed at her black humour.

The clock ticked for midnight and the pair enjoyed their first Christmas celebration together, hoping to live through many, many more.