I opened my mouth a few times, gasping like a fish out of water, but no words managed to escape. I could feel the lump in my throat grow, threatening to choke me if I didn't get my emotions under control. But how could I? That was Nicholas. MY Nicholas. The one that I thought was dead for more than 200 years.
How was he here? Why was he here? Why am I just seeing him now?
I had so many questions, but like my voice, my mind refused to focus on anything more than the fact that Nicholas was standing in front of me right now.
"It's okay, Butterfly," whispered Nicolas softly. However, I was still able to hear him. "I am not going anywhere this time around. I gave you up once… but nothing will come between us again."
There was a slow clapping sound, breaking the atmosphere between me and Nicholas.
I turned to look at the vampire sitting across from me, still clapping. "Can't stand to not be the center of attention for even a second, can you?" I asked, a smirk on my face. "Well, Vlad. Ask, and you shall receive. You have my undivided attention. Now what?"
"Your attention? Who the hell said that I ever wanted your attention?" scoffed Vlad. He looked at me like I was nothing more than something stuck to the bottom of his shoe.
"Ah, but you have always wanted mine, now, didn't you?" smirked Nicholas, walking into the living room and sitting on the couch just to my right. "Hundreds of years have passed, and yet you are still the same. Should I tell you the answer I told you back then, too? The answer that caused you to pay someone to torture and kill me?"
"What?!?" I yelled, coming to my feet. Mathew and Dem quickly came to my sides, trying to calm me down, but nothing was going to be able to do that. The night Nicholas died was the beginning of the end of my life. I had never felt such pain, such despair. His death haunted me for hundreds of years… and now I come to find out that the very man I had a crush on was the reason?!?
The two men ignored my outburst, staring at each other instead. "Ah, so you found out that little secret, did you? I blame my vampire for that."
"Nice try," sneered Nicholas, crossing his legs in front of him and making himself comfortable. The four men that accompanied him spread out around the room, blocking the exits. If it wasn't for the fact that they were Nicholas' men, I would have been stressed.
Vampires and their human servants were still loitering around the living room and possibly the house. However, now that Nicholas was here, I had all the confidence in the world.
"But you were still very much a human when you joined those men that night in the forest. Poor, pathetic Vladimir. The one hated by his own parents. Your father always did say that you had a demon inside of you. It is clear that he wasn't wrong," continued Nicholas, the picture of ease and comfort.
I, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. I was nothing more than a burning fire of rage and betrayal.
'Kill him!' whispered my monster. 'You need to kill him now!'
'How quickly you change your tune. But don't worry, Vlad will not be leaving this house alive,' I snarled to my monster. I twisted my neck back and forth, trying to ease the tension in it and my upper back.
'Not the vampire! Kill the one you call Nicholas! He needs to die now!'
At her words, my entire world ground to a stop, and time seemed to freeze. 'I'm sorry?' I said, turning inside of myself to the world of the webs. On the other side of the monstrous web stood a figure dressed in a long, flowing black gown.
The woman, my monster, slowly walked toward me, reaching out her hand to take hold of mine. But I never gave her the chance.
'He is a demon, my child. He is here to kill you. To destroy everything that you are. You need to kill him. He is the one who tainted you long before I was able to join with you. You need to rid the world of him and all of his kind,' she said softly.
Realizing that I wouldn't let her touch me, she dropped her hand like a puppy dog that had just been beaten by its master. But if anyone had the right to be betrayed, it was me. How on Earth could I ever kill that man? My brother? He was… he was… everything.
'She is no longer going to be swayed by you, Moirai,' came a voice from the darkness. 'What are you going to do now?'
'I am her monster!' shouted Moirai. I tried to figure out where I had heard that name before, but all I could think of was that it was the Greek name for Fate.
'Yes, you are her monster,' agreed the voice. 'But you are not her. Like all the other monsters, you were brought into this world on a selfish whim and left to either take a host or die.'
'Fate never dies!' my monster yelled before turning to me. 'If you want Viktor to be one of your mates, your only mate, then you need me. His monster is my lover. If you want him, you need me!'
'What?' I asked. Not at all understanding what was going on. 'How?'
'You are something magical,' said the new voice, and I could feel a wave of calmness coming over me with every word she said. 'Something like the perfect storm… but that is an expression used much too often.' I could feel her chuckle more than hear it. 'But the fact of the matter is that you were not born human. You never were human. Moirai knew that, and that was why she entered your body.'