^^Warning: This chapter contains mention of violence, the use of drugs for coercion, and talk of sexual abuse and abortion.^^
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By nine at night, Nisha had gone to bed and Nana wasn't far behind her. I had already gotten my copy of the house and car keys from Nana which meant, with the womenfolk asleep, it was time for me to do the dirty work.
Still, I couldn't help but lick my lips in anticipation as I pulled back out of the driveway and into the road. My destination was a short stretch of distance away, only about half an hour's drive.
When I pulled into the parking lot of the deserted building that appeared to have at one time been a small diner, I was met by the sight of a black sedan waiting for me.
Instead of boiling in rage, the ice in my blood grew ever colder, nearly stopping my blood flow entirely. But what did that matter to me?
'Finally, I can see the bastard who dared…!'
I had to stop my thoughts there or I was going to freeze the car, parking lot, building, and probably a good mile radius around me. The less stuff I destroyed the better. Cleanup was always a hassle and expensive. Sure, I could afford it, but I didn't like spending money on things I knew I could have avoided.
Slamming the car door shut with a little more force than necessary as I got out, I was met by a forties-something man with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. "Duke Frost, it's wonderful to see you."
"Everything is set up, correct?" I raised a brow in question, voice cold.
The man nodded firmly. "Of course, Your Grace. I forced him to ingest a griffin feather, so anything you ask he will answer truthfully. I have also made sure to set up a perimeter as well, as a precaution. By the way, my name is David Rokuo, Captain of the HWDR's seventh division."
I licked my lips, smiling thinly. "Thank you for your impeccable service, David. What's the information about the target?"
"Calvin Meyer, twenty-two, a full-blood *amarok* with powers on the weaker end of the scale. During our research, we discovered that he was dating Miss Caldwell for roughly six months before they became intimate. Digging deeper we found that the total amount of relationships he had actively while dating Miss Caldwell was seven. Further investigation revealed that Miss Caldwell is actually the thirty-sixth pregnancy Mr. Meyer has fathered."
David paused while a brief grimace of disgust over the target's information slipped through his professional mask.
"At least twenty of the pregnancies have ended with a large sum of money offered in exchange for going through with an abortion. All twenty of the pregnancies we've currently managed to investigate ended with the mother taking the money. I currently have some of my people still looking into things but this is what we've discovered so far. "
I could hear the sound of my teeth grinding together as I fought not to start screaming and raving like a lunatic. "...I wish to be alone with him for now."
Nodding, David smoothly stepped out of my way, bowing deeply as I passed. Numb to such actions from those who served me, I didn't even blink, striding with long legs inside the abandoned diner.
Waiting for me, tied up to a single chair in the middle of the dining area, was the man I was going to kill tonight. I smiled softly in delight as I observed the confusion and rage coming over his face.
"Who the hell are you? Do you even realize who you're messing with, fucker? Do you?!" Calvin, the corpse, screamed at me as soon as I walked inside.
I chuckled good-naturedly, feeling my mood soar at my opponent's helpless rage. 'Division #7 doesn't mess around! Is that *jorogumo* thread? He'll certainly have a tough time breaking out of that.'
The corpse had black hair that was very straight, stopping just past his jawline. He had a russet skin tone, along with vibrant green eyes that were currently narrowed in rage. His face was set in a way that was decently good-looking, but for the nasty expression. On a scale of one to ten, he'd probably fall around a seven or eight for most women.
'Let me guess, Nisha thought this was the best she could do?'
I glowered back at the corpse when the thought flew by. If she had no memory of me, sitting at a twelve, it made sense she'd think seven was the absolute peak for her.
"So, dear Calvin, how do you want to play together this evening?" I asked in a sweet voice.
Blinking, obviously confused by my swift shift from irritation to niceness, Calvin frowned. "You'll be getting me out of these restraints, that's what," he muttered firmly.
"Sorry," I grinned widely, "but I have some questions I need to ask you first."
Shaking his head, Calvin spat in my direction, missing horribly. "Fuck you!"
Stepping closer, I continued to smile sweetly. "So, other than *amarak*, do you have anything else in your bloodline?"
A look of disgust came over Calvin's face as he glared at me hatefully. "Of course not! My family is from the proud Meyer clan, which is directly related to the Ataneq. My relatives are important members of Other Realm nobility! You'll regret this, *trash*!"
I couldn't hold back the snicker that slipped past my lips, grinning like mad as I approached closer by a few more steps.
Unnerved, Calvin leaned back as far as he could manage in the chair. "...W, what's wrong with you? Why are you laughing right now?"
I waved a hand lightly in dismissal. "Nothing important, so let's continue. As long as you answer all my questions I'll make sure your family won't think you're missing."
He raised an eyebrow in confusion, face reddening as he revved up to scream at me some more. But I held out a single finger to shush him and asked my next question. "I heard that you were dating someone called Nisha. Did you love her?"
Green eyes glittered in disgust as he spat off to the side. "*Love*?! Don't insult me! Human women are so much easier to manipulate since they don't know anything about the real state of the world. I'm doing them a kindness. Isn't it an honor that a powerful and important being such as myself would allow them to be used for my enjoyment? ...Are you trying to get revenge for her or something?"
His face suddenly lit up as he began to laugh in a taunting manner. "What, were you a childhood crush of hers?"
I grew still and silent, holding myself back so that I wouldn't kill him before I got all the answers I wanted.
Taking my silence for a correct affirmative, Calvin laughed harder. "She was so naive and innocent, it was hilarious wooing her all while she thought it was real! Still, I have to say she was quite a feisty slut once I got a taste of her. You know what they say about the quiet ones, right?"
My jaw clenched and unclenched several times as I fought down the rage. 'Gods, just wait. Wait until this fucker is no longer useful. Then I'll tear him to little pieces.'
Seeing my reaction, Calvin nearly giggled. "I don't understand why she wouldn't accept the money. A human's not worthy enough to bear any of the Meyer family blood."
'Why the fuck didn't you think about that *before* you started screwing her, then?!' I screamed internally.
"...Did you enjoy her?" I finally managed to ask quietly, voice strained.
Thrown off by my unexpected question, Calvin's delighted expression froze. "She was a nice screw two times a week," he shrugged, completely honest.
"Using drugs to keep her in line helped since she quickly started acting like a bitch as soon as sex entered the picture. As if *I* would actually marry some shit-stain human!" He shook his head in disbelief.
"Calvin...do you want to know a secret?" I whispered, inching closer until I was only an arm's breadth from the irate *amarak*.
Squinting at me as if he was partially drunk, Calvin looked hesitant for a moment before slowly nodding. "Yeah, maybe. If it's a juicy secret. But what I *really* want is to get out of this shit."
I smiled gently. "I promise, once we're through here, you'll be free of the spider thread. So," I stepped forward to lean my head down to whisper into his ear. "The secret is that I don't care if you screwed, abused, and threw away an entire continent of other women."
When I moved back, grinning lightly, Calvin stared up at me in shock. "Wh, what?"
I pouted playfully, rolling my eyes in disbelief. "C'mon, Calvin! You're an intelligent guy. Surely you can figure out what I mean."
He swallowed, his adam's apple working furiously as the first real sign of fear showed itself. Silently, a trail of sweat broke out along his left temple, slowly trickling down the side of his face.
His green eyes shot around in an unfocused and hazy manner in panic as he gazed up at my smiling features, his mouth opening and closing several times before he managed to find some words to say. "Um, s-so, you'll let me go? 'Ca, cause you don't care?"
I clapped my hands in slow applause. "Aww, so close and yet so very wrong."
Frowning, Calvin worked his tiny pebble of a brain furiously for a few more seconds. Then, gradually, a realization came over him, making his eyes widen as he gazed up at me in disbelief. "Y, you're crazy! For some lowly *human*? Really?!"
I bent down to make our faces level with each other, staring into his eyes silently for a full minute.
I don't know what he saw in my gaze, but his fear grew so great I could smell it lingering on his skin like a horrible cologne.
Breaking apart the silence, Calving let out a low sob, shaking his head fiercely. "I'm from a noble house! A royal house! Y, you can't do anything to me!"
I licked my lips, grinning in anticipation. "Oh, but I can, little Calvin Meyer. Here's another juicy secret, *just for you*."
Brushing back a strand of his hair in a tender, intimate manner, I whispered into his ear for a second time. "I'm Jack Frost."
When I moved back from dear little Calvin, all the blood had fled from his face. He began to sob in a loud, blubbering mess, his words becoming incoherent as true understanding came over his drugged mind.
A dark, completely insane excitement rushed through my veins, making me laugh out loud in joy.
*This* was a side of me that I could never admit or show Nisha.
A side of me that held no speck of 'humanity' in the slightest.
A part of me leftover from the madness Cold and Ice had driven me to, so many millennia ago, when I'd been transformed into the predecessor of the *hibernus cruciatus* a.k.a. 'Winter's cruelty'.
Even now, every one of my descendants had at least a trace —*a small spark*— of this madness.
How long ago had my name gone from being something I could no longer remember, branded instead as Jack Frost?
'What does it matter anymore?' I shrugged mentally. 'Anything past ten thousand years is too long to care about or count.'