It's the next day, Neil and I finally had a proper meal and shower in what has apparently been almost three months. It wasn't something I bargained for but Blink let us stay in an actual room with a couple of mattresses. It's weird actually, in the nine years that I've been captive here, he's never let me stay in an actual room. I guess he's trying to be nice right now since he needs something from me.
"Niklaus?" Neil woke up.
"Hey." Niklaus showed Neil a slight smile. "How do you feel?"
"I didn't realize I'd miss sleeping in a bed this much. After three months in shackles it actually kind of hurts my back." They both let out a soft chuckle. "What time is it?"
"A little past 11am I think?" Niklaus got up from his mattress and walked to the barred window. It made him smile. "I forgot how blue the world is, it's kind of shitty that such a beautiful place belongs to someone like Blink."
Neil rolled his eyes.
"That's just how the world works." Neil joined Niklaus at the window and placed his hand on the back of his shoulder. "The strong always win."
"That's why we have to be stronger.." Niklaus looked at Neil through the corner of his eye.
*knock knock*
They heard a knock and keys jangling outside the metal stuffed door. The door opened and Blink called Niklaus out as a guard handed Neil a plate of food. Niklaus snatched a piece of bacon off the plate before walking out of the room.
"I'll be back."
Blink and three guards escorted Niklaus to a big room that he'd never seen before. There were two chairs in the center of the room.
"Sit." Blink gestured to one of the chairs and sat in the other. Niklaus sat.
"So, are you going to tell me the story now?"
"Yes, however before I do. You'll need to be restrained as to prevent you from killing me." Blink grinned and looked to the guards who then tied Niklaus to the chair.
"Figures. So, go on. Tell me my story." Niklaus jerked against the restraints to show Blink they were secure.
"Your story begins on the night where I forced you to shift."
I had pushed your buttons on purpose. You see, you didn't realize it at the time but I had been having my men put a controlling agent in your food, but I had misread the actions of the substance. It would only take effect when you shifted to your wolf, so I forced you to change. I'm sure you remember but it was your 12th birthday, the same day, that I destroyed your pack. At least, that's what I told you. When you were forced to shift the agent took affect and everything I told you to do, you did. I opened your cage and told you to show me where your pack was. When we got there, you brought down the barrier and allowed my pack to gain entry to your home. Your father tried his best to protect your pack but upon seeing you, your wolf, he broke. He begged your forgiveness for his strict ways, he begged you to answer him, to say anything. I told him that pleading wouldn't work, not in your current state. I told him what I did and how I was controlling you, and he lunged at me, to my surprise, you stopped him. I figured out you didn't need verbal commands, I just had to think about what I wanted and you'd do it. I ordered you to find your brother and you took us to the main house where your pregnant mother was hiding with little Neil. She shoved him out of the way and told that blasted witch of yours to hide him. The witch teleported him somewhere I couldn't find him. Your mother however wasn't so lucky, in anger I told you to kill her but for some reason you wouldn't, I guess even in your controlled state you could sense who she was. Seeing your hesitation she escaped. From there, I told you to kill the rest of your pack and you did, one by one you cut down your entire pack. Once they were all dead, we went in search of your brother. We looked for a week until I finally called off the search, I thought you'd be my little puppet forever but when we returned to the pack house the agent wore off and you ran through my home killing member after member. It took eight men to subdue your wolf and eight more to get you into that cell to be shackled. The next morning, you were back to your regular self.
Blink watched Niklaus's face, all the emotions going through his head: hatred, anger, sadness, regret, finally guilt. The tears flowed down Niklaus's face, it was no wonder he couldn't contact his wolf.
"Why would you do this?" His voice was filled with malice.
"You know why, I need your power so that I can obtain my ultimate goal."
"Your unrealistic goal of ruling the world?"
"I suppose." Blink chuckled.
"So that hunt you want me to do, do you know when it is yet?"
"Tomorrow, I've finished setting all the plans and so you leave tomorrow after lunch." Blink gestured to the guards to take Niklaus back to the room. "Sleep well, little wolf."
***
"Hey, how'd it go? Do you remember what happened that week? Is Shade back?" Neil was trying to get some answers from Niklaus.
"He told me what happened that week." Niklaus got lost in his head for a moment before Neil piped up again.
"So, what happened? Why'd Shade disappear?"
"Oh, um." Niklaus had to think for a moment. "He just said that I went berserk when I force shifted and that he did some ritual thing to make Shade dormant."
"Oh, really? That's all?"
"Yeah uh, he said he's not sure if Shade will come back because it's been so long." Gods, he hoped Neil believed him.
"Okay, well I guess it's getting late. I'm going to enjoy these mattresses for as long as I can. Goodnight." Neil laid on the empty mattress and instantly started snoring.
"Right. Goodnight." Niklaus mumbled. Neil didn't even give him time to say he was leaving tomorrow. Niklaus laid back on his mattress and thoughts of the day flowed through his head. He felt guilty for lying to Neil but it was worth not having Neil hate him for what he did to their pack, to their family. Neil was all Niklaus had now and he couldn't bare the thought of the only family he has left hating him. Niklaus rolled onto his side and thought of his family.
His mother's smaragdine green eyes and curled, honey-blond hair, his father's dark, honorable eyes and greying black hair, the baby sister or brother that he never got to meet. He thought of his pack that he had been with all his life, his best friend who always picked a fight, his neighbor who always watched him and Neil when his parents went away, the old man who'd carry him on his shoulders as he walked with the boys to the school. Once again his eyes filled with tears and hatred, tears of guilt and sadness and pain, and hatred to himself for destroying something that had been so wonderful.