A/N: 27.03.20

Chapter 21 will be out on Patreon tonight! ;)

Question: Do you guys prefer rainy days, sunny days or snow days?

I personally like rainy days, but only when I'm at home and in my warm, cozy bed **//

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Aleksei drove through the large gates and parked his car in front of the water fountain. He pulled out his keys and shoved them into his pockts before getting out of his Porsche with Roman.

"Are they gone?" whispered Micka, who could no longer feel hisright arm.

"Yeah, but let's wait another five minutes," whispered Astrid, slapping her right leg that had fallen asleep and wincing at the tingling, prickling sensation.

"So what's the plan?" asked Noah.

"We go in there, take as many pictures as we can and find Noé."

"What if he's dead?" asked Micka.

"Then we grab his corpse," shrugged Astrid casually. "Geo and Carl need whatever evidence they can get."

"I am so divorcing you after this."

"Glad it's mutual."

Astrid climbed over the backseat and landed on the cushion seats. She unlocked the door and ordered the boys to follow her. Noah and Micka tried to copy her but were much less swift and elegant. They bumped their heads and knees as they rolled over the backseats, tripping as they stepped out of the car and stumbling onto the ground.

"We're good, I'm good," they both said, getting back on their feet and straightening their shirts. Astrid didn't bother commenting.

They entered the tall castle that loomed over them, the grand hall more chilly than it was outside. The door creaked shut behind them and the three of them jumped, spinning around. But there was no one there.

"What was that?" whispered Micka, clinging onto Noah.

"It's probably just the wind," said Noah sounding doubtful, holding onto Micka's arm as well. While they cautiously wandered around, flinching at every noise around them, Astrid took as many pictures as she could with the camera that hung around her neck.

"This place is huge," grumbled Micka. "We're never going to find Noé at this rate."

"I suggest we split up," Astrid said. Micka snapped his head towards her.

"I suggest we don't split up," he countered. "Have you ever seen a horror movie before? They all go into some creepy house and one of the characters has the brilliant idea of splitting up, and then they all end up slaughtered one by one!"

"She's right, we have to split," murmured Noah. Micka turned towards him with wide eyes.

"You really haven't been a very supportive best friend these past few days Noah," he remarked.

"We need to find Noé and the best chance of finding him is if we split up. We all have our phones and can keep in touch," he explained. "We'll meet back at the car in an hour."

Micka closed his eyes and squeezed his temples, exhaling slowly. "Ten top ways to get yourself killed, that's what this is."

"I'll stay with you if you're scared to wander around alone," reassured Astrid.

"I am not scared!" But Micka's voice cracked.

"Do you have your phone?" asked Astrid, looking at Noah who nodded. "Alright, text us if you find something. We'll meet back at the car within an hour. Okay?"

Noah nodded. "Okay."

Micka groaned, running a frustrated hair through his blond hair. Noah knew that Micka was mad and was about to apologize for not going with his plan, but instead of yelling at him, Micka grabbed Noah and pulled him in, giving him a strong hug.

"You fucking take care of yourself, you got that?" ordered Micka, tightening his grip around his best friend. "And don't you dare die on me. I'll... I'll kill you if you do."

Noah smiled, gently patting Micka's back. "I'll try not to," he promised. Micka clenched his jaw and forced himself to let go of Noah, giving him a clap on the shoulder.

"I'll see you in an hour," he said gruffly. Astrid smiled at Micka's soft side but didn't make a comment, and the two of them went down the other side of the hall while Noah wandered down the opposite direction. Noah found a flight of stairs and decided to see what was on the upper floor. The path was lit with torches and lamps instead of electricity, just like during the medieval days.

But when he walked down the hall, he heard voices from afar. He frantically looked around before eyeing a room with an open door, quickly jumping inside and hiding behind a pile of boxes.

"I heard Nyx is holding a meeting," he heard someone say. "Where is he anyway?"

"He's with Roman. Apparently, they have some business to discuss," said another voice.

"Jeez, he really likes playing favorites, doesn't he?" muttered the first.

"Why else do you think he tolerates Aleksei's behavior?"

"What is up with Aleksei anyway?"

"I think it's the lack of human blood. You know, he hasn't drunk any for decades and it starts getting to your head. I wonder how he manages to hold back his cravings. I wouldn't last a week," snorted the second.

"Between him and Nyx, who do you think would win?"

"In a fight? Definitely Nyx."

"No way, I put my bets on Aleksei. Have you seen him a century ago? He was merciless, not to mention, terrifying. Too bad he gave away his crown though. And for what? Over a small accident that-"

"Shhh, someone might hear you."

The three vampires continued walking down the hall and Noah could no longer hear what they were saying.

Aleksei doesn't drink human blood? Everyone was terrified of him? Noah started to realize that he knew absolutely nothing about his husband. He then noticed the piles of boxes around him and pulled one towards him, opening it. His eyes widened when he saw the blood bags filled with red blood, just like the ones one would find in hospitals. He poked one but quickly retrieved his hand.

It was still warm.

Were these boxes all filled with blood bags? Why were they collecting blood in the first place?

Creeped out, Noah was about to get up and leave, but he heard more footsteps come closer and quickly ducked behind the pile of boxes, sinking into the floor to hide his head. He heard the door creak wider.

"Look at this," he heard a lively British voice chirp. Noah peeked between the gap of two boxes and saw a tall man with pale skin and long black hair enter the room with a group of other beautiful, almost surreal looking people behind him. There was no doubt about it. They were all vampires. "Months of hard work enough blood stocked to feed an army of vampires!"

"What is all this about?" asked Vixen, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I've had enough of these humans who think that they can rule the world, thinking that they can control us! Vampires ruled the Earth for decades before their kind overpopulated ours. They hunted down our friends and families, forced us to go into hiding, stripped us from our power. It's finally time we put these mortal back into their place and show them the true rulers of this world," grinned Nyx. "We'll create a new generation of vampires, fresh, young and powerful. Bran Prep High has thousands of prodigies, if we turned them into vampires, nothing can stop our race!"

"That's ridiculous," muttered Roman, who hated the idea of starting a war with mankind. "We'd have to feed all of the student's vampire blood and kill them altogether. As you've said, there are thousands of them."

"Don't worry my dear, I already have a plan," reassured Nyx. "We'll create a second generation of vampires. I've started digging up the coffins of my old friends, but it takes a horrendous amount of time to find and reanimate them. Not only that, but there aren't enough of them to win a war."

"An army of young vampires," snorted Aleksei, catching everyone's attention. "Have you ever seen a human turn into a vampire before? They lose control and their sanity. I'd understand if you'd want to train one or two vampires, but a thousand is simply impossible. You're only asking for chaos."

"They'll be driven by hunger," implied Nyx. "And with the amount of blood we have, we'll be able to discipline them. It'll be like training dogs. They do as we say and in return, we give them a treat. It's quite simple, really."

"There are over a thousand students, but not even half of them will be able to successfully transform. Vampire blood is deadly, they'll only have a 2% survival rate," Kayla said.

"Survival of the fittest."

"This is bullshit," sighed Aleksei, already bored with the meeting. "Can I go now? I'm tired."

"I can't do this without you, Aleksei," Nyx pressed. "I need the strongest and smartest vampires on my side for this plan to work."

"You have Roman," he replied dryly. Nyx studied Aleksei's face before letting out a small sigh.

"You can't tell me that you don't miss the feeling of being feared," he said. "The marvelous feeling of having power and being strong, killing the weak and crushing those who defy you."

Aleksei stood there silently.

"I mean look at you now! The constant irritation? The severe mood swings? The tiredness? Don't you feel like your body is going to drop in any second? That you hardly have the strength to even keep your eyes open? You're miserable, I can see it in your eyes. You've lost that flare in those blue eyes of yours," Nyx went on. "Or is your heart still broken by Rosalind?"

Everyone in the room stiffened at the name. No one dared speak of her in front of Aleksei, not even behind his back in fear that he might find out. But Nyx decided to see how far he could push Aleksei.

"Roman told me that you've found yourself a new human toy. A transfer student. Noah, was it?"

Aleksei's jaw tightened, his eyes hardening. He shifted his gaze towards Roman who looked apologetic.

"Oh, don't give him that deadly glare," commented Nyx. "I had to blackmail Roman to get the information. Is it true that you're interested in Noah?"

"No."

"Don't be like that," Nyx pouted. "High school crushes are normal! Innocent and-"

"Your point?"

A lopsided grin grew on Nyx's face, but right as he was about to answer, Noah's phone rang. Noah stiffened at the sound of the ringtone, quickly pulling out his phone to put it on silent. He received a text from Astrid.

: We found Noé. Meet us back at the car.

But a dark shadow dawned over him. Noah gulped as he raised his head. Nyx was now standing in front of him, smiling wider than he's ever had in centuries.

"Well, look what we have here," he chimed.

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A/N: Phones are going to be the death of us. Please don't forget to leave a vote to support this book!!! 💞

Aleksei is such a mood.

Do you guys have a favorite character & why? (It doesn't have to be from my book, it can be from any). I just want to know what type of characters people are into nowadays 😇