A lone car drove down a frozen lane. The path was so curvy and treacherous that they had to go slow.
The tires screeched now and then, crunching the layer of ice that was forming on the roadways.
These were the only sounds soothing his anxious soul. Nicolai closed his eyes tightly, holding back the puke that was rising in his throat.
"Whoa, whoa kid, are you going to throw up!" his dad glanced back. His muddy grey eyes were looking at him with worry. "Umm we will be there soon kid. Just hold on for a bit... is your stomach okay now..."
"Y-yes... I think so...okay i take that back…." he held his stomach tightly. "dad stop the car....."
"Tsk can't, it's a curvy road. It's too dangerous to stop here. Try to hold it back or.. or... wait a bit.." he hurried searched through the dashboard and came out with a plastic bag. "use this!" he happily handed it over.
Nicolai peered at his dad's wrinkled hands and then at the plastic bag with a small sigh. "T-there's a big hole in the bottom of your bag..." even so, he took the offered bag and kept it just in case.
He knew the accident was prone to happen so he carefully lowered the window halfway letting the cold wind gush inside the car.
His eyebrows almost froze off in the cold.
"Shit I'm freezing...." his dad glanced back through the rearview mirror with a soft smile.
Kieran, one of the seven vampire elders, was his father. He had that natural vampire-like look with his pale skin and very beautiful grey-colored eyes. Unlike the description of vampires in fantasy novels, his father was not eternally young. He looked about forty with his hair turning grey, his skin wrinkling.
"You cold kid? Come on, raise the window you might freeze to death," he glanced back with a bright smile.
"We are cold-blooded, we can't, freeze dad," he rolled his eyes.
His aged dad let out a small chuckle. "I know you are going through your teen against phase but don't torture your old man with your attitude kid,"
"I'm not going through a phase. I'm an adult and I expect you to treat me so,"
Nicolai was spiteful. This place was not where he wanted to be. He got into a great college yet his father insisted that he would move in with him all the way to the other part of the world. His reason, he was too young to live alone.
It sounded like bullshit to him.
"You're a youngling, and you can't change that. Unless you find a magical growth serum or something I'm still going to treat you like a child you are, my little vampire," his old man mumbled softly.
Nicolai did not glance his way.
"Nicolai, I can't leave you alone at the coven. You know why."
Nicolai grumbled. "I know. I could have stayed in a human hostel. I can eat human food. I can do anything and everything humans can. My identity makes it easy for me to blend in...."
"There is no further discussion buddy you are staying close to me and that's that," he handed him a small Starbucks grande cup.
Grumbling, he took a sip out of it. The bloody tasty filed his palate along with a slight bitterness. "It's gone bad." He just placed it in the cup holder, sighing loudly. "can we get a froyo?"
"a froyo? Yeah, maybe.... if we find a restaurant or.. Anything nearby,"
"Great so we don't even have fast food here," he leaned back with his legs raised in the back seat. "I hate it here...."
His old man slowed the car down a bit and glanced back. his eyebrows were scrunched up in worry and his wrinkles were making a full show. His warm grey eyes peered at him with worry. "You will make new friends. Just open your heart kid," he reached out and tapped his thighs.
"With whom? With the wolves? Dad, they hate us and we hate them. they are our enemy! How do expect me to become their friends!" he pushed his hands away. "worse you even moved us to godforsaken place. There is no froyo! I bet there is only one diner in this town that too with shitty burgers."
He knew he was being a whiny bitch... but he couldn't help it. he really wanted to go to Yale university along with the 'humans' but his father decided it was not 'safe' for him to live along with them and dragged him over to a small town in the arctic.
Yes, the arctic. There was nothing but ice miles and miles as far as he could see.
The sun was never out, and it fucking snowed every single day.
Even though his body could handle it, he loathed the sight of ice.
"you will do fine. The wolves won't treat you badly all thanks to your daddy dearest's position. As for this town, you will come to love it. Us vampires have been living in cold climates hiding from the sun for a very long time. It's refreshing to see the white expanse..."
Nicolai plugged in his airpods and drowned his father's nonsense with mellow music.
Something about this place made him feel anxious and nervous. Up until they got down from the flight everything was fine and dandy but as soon as he stepped on this frozen land, something.. something felt off.
His heart was pounding.
he placed a hand over his chest, wishing for it to stop beating.
Vampires never had a betting heart, but he was a normal one. a half-breed to be specific. His mother was human and his father was a pure-blooded elderly vampire. They fell in love and had him. his mother passed away from childbirth and left them all alone.
He loved his father a lot... but sometimes he felt like his father could not understand the human part of him.
Kieran gave him a worried glance.
"I'm fine... it's just my heart has been beating very fast. Maybe I have high blood pressure from drinking all those bad blood,"
"Maybe it's all those cheeseburgers and pizzas finally showing effect"
Nicolai pouted. "Maybe who knows..... i don't know dad, this place has a weird vibe to it. It's making my stomach roll,"'
"I can feel it too." Came his silent reply.
Nicolai sat up straight. "We are not just here for research right? you're here for something else."
"yes, we are here to keep the Arctic wolves under control. We have been assigned this area to overlook,"
Contrary to the belief the wolves were not free. They were still monitored and under the control of the powerful elder vampires. His father being one was tasked to overlook a territory as well.
In the past few years, the wolves have been acting weird. They have been acting more courageous and smug as if something was going to happen.
Nicolai was curious about that too. One day, he snuck into his father's study and snooped through his documents. The only thing that stood out were the words 'alpha king.'
"Is.. is this about the alpha king?"
His father suddenly went silent.
"So the alpha king is not a myth?"
"Don't talk about that, Nicolai. Don't ever mention that in front of the wolves! You got that?" he suddenly said in a stern way.
Nicolai froze. "Yeah okay.. Fine. I won't talk about it.."