CHAPTER TWENTY
W
aking up in a cold sweat, his heart pounding and his mind racing, Dominic looked around the room. He couldn’t remember when these dreams started happening, just that they had been going on for as long as he could remember. At least two hundred years. He lay back on the pillow and closed his eyes; he knew what the dream was from. He remembered what his abb used to do to him.
“Dominic damn it, what is wrong with you? Can you do nothing right?” Haydar yelled while smacking his ebn’ in the head. “You are such a disappointment. All you had to do was kill her. How fucking hard is that. You’re bigger, you’re stronger and you’re a fucking Algula!” He hit the back of Dominic’s head harder; this time causing his neck to whiplash.
“Abb, I couldn’t. Nothing I can do to change that. The woman was nice and I can’t kill someone;
I’m not like everyone else. I’m not a monster like you.”
Haydar grabbed Dominic by the throat, lifting him off the ground and shaking him. “Boy, you listen to me. If you do not grow a pair of balls and take your place in this family, you will be out on the streets. You can go live with your bitch amma for all I care. Live up to your blood line! We are killers. We do not let people live. We seduce, we eat, and we kill. End of story. Stop sniveling like a baby. Derrik! Get in here now!”
Derrik came in from the other room and saw his akh being held up in the air by his abb. He knew what was going to come next, what always came next. He went to the closet and grabbed their abb’s most valued possession, his whip. “Here you go, abb.” Dominic looked at his akh; his arms started to flail, trying to free himself from his abb’s grasp. “Stop this, abb. You have to stop; you can’t do this! It’s not his fault. Don’t hurt him!”
Haydar tossed Dominic to the ground while he begged for his akh’s safety then signaled for Derrik to turn around. He cracked the whip in the air next to Derrik’s head. “Dominic, you want to be a leader? You want to control others? You need to kiss compassion goodbye. Maybe this will show you what compassion gets you.”
Dominic watched as his abb took the whip and cracked it against Derrik’s back. Derrik clenched his hands, cringing as his abb whipped him over and over. “Abb stop!” Dominic yelled as he charged at Haydar. Haydar grabbed Dominic’s shirt, pulling him to his chest staring him in the eye.
“Do you think I should stop?” he asked, spitting out the words. Dominic nodded and tears streamed down his face. “Derrik, take the whip now. Come over here. We are going to teach your akh how to be a man.” Dominic watched Derrik approach slowly and hesitantly, both of the boys’ souls breaking inside and neither aware of how to help the other. Only one of them was showing the fear they both were feeling. Haydar ripped off Dominic’s shirt, exposing his bare flesh. “Derrik, you are to beat him till he bleeds on every inch of his back. If you stop, you will be next.”
Dominic lowered his head. He knew his akh had no choice, but he hated him just the same for doing it. Derrik took the whip, and with a flick of his wrist, the snap in the air chilled the room as the flesh was broken and the first drops of blood were exposed. Dominic’s body shivered as the pain flowed through his bones. Haydar grabbed him and moved Dominic onto the whipping post. “You aren’t man enough to stand still without running are you?” Locking his hands in place, he went and sat on the couch and watched Derrik, the only ebn’ he could be proud of, beat his useless ebn’. Hopefully teaching him that compassion would get him killed.
Derrik felt the tears starting to form, but he fought himself. He knew if he showed their abb any weakness, he would be next. Taking the whip and swinging it over and over at his akh’s flesh, the singing sound of the whip in the air killed him as his arm started to tire. His akh couldn’t stand. Nothing on his back was clean; nothing was free from blood and welts. He looked to his abb for direction. “Derrik, go put the whip up and clean yourself off. We will go hunting later tonight.
“Yes, abb.” Putting the whip away, he left the room without looking back.
“You see what weakness gets you, Dominic? Pain. Nothing but pain.” Dominic couldn’t talk, his voice tired from the screaming and crying. Haydar took out his knife and waved it in front of Dominic. “A boy has to learn at a young age that he should always listen to his abb, so I’ll leave you a memory of today… Every time you see it, you’ll know I am watching, and I am always right.”
Haydar took the knife and pressed it into the flesh of Dominic’s left arm, engraving an H so he would always remember abb knew best.
Dominic opened his eyes, blinking two tears out as he heard the phone ring. Who the hell wanted to talk this early in the morning? Reaching over and looking at the caller ID, he said, “He really is the fucking devil.”
Reluctantly he answered. “Hello, abb.”
“Dominic, tell me you have the bitch locked up and in custody,” Haydar said through the phone, his tone full of venom and resentment.
Dominic took a few breaths, trying to organize his thoughts. “No, I don’t, but I know that Zayn has also lost her and doesn’t know where she is. I’ll get her, don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry? You have never had any skills that were useful, and you tell me not to worry? You were supposed to just stay back, and I’m sure somehow you fucked this up too for Hamza and Derrik. I just don’t know how. I’ll be there in 24 hours. If you don’t have her for me to feed on, I’ll be draining your blood in her stead.”
Dominic heard silence on the line. His abb always was one for the dramatic approach. He couldn’t ever do anything rational. He tossed the phone, relishing how it crashed into the wall. He wouldn’t need to communicate with his abb anymore. After he killed his bitch bent amty, he would kill his abb and take over the charge against the King.
Getting out of bed, he slipped on his pants then moved to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he saw the H on his shoulder. He slowly counted to ten, trying to regain his composure. He was glad Derrik was dead. He was a useless akh, always siding with the asshole. If they just let him do what he wanted they would have killed everyone back in 1777, but no, Haydar always had to do it his way, and Derrik always followed along. They had both blamed him, like he had control over mama dying. Like it was his fault she bled out while giving birth to him. His abb always reminded him how he was a let down from the start.
“You are nothing but a burden on this family! All you do is drain it of anything worth having. Get out of my sight. I don’t want you to come home for a week. Useless fucking ebn’!” Dominic looked up at his abb, not understanding what he had done wrong this time.
“But Abb, I didn’t do anything. Where am I supposed to go?” Dominic ducked as a bowl was hurled at his head. He heard it break against the wall behind him.
“She is dead because of you. You just had to be born. You have always been ass backwards. You had to come out that way. You killed my Sarah!” Dominic started crying. He looked for someone to help him, but no one was in the room.
“Abb, I’m but a child. Where do you want me to go?” He sniffled and wiped away his tears.
“I don’t care where you go, just get the fuck out!” Haydar grabbed Dominic by the collar and threw him out of the door.
Dominic heard his abb lock the door from the other side, his heart crushed. Ten years old, what was he supposed to do for a week out alone with no family?
Coming back to reality, Dominic decided the only thing to do was set a trap for his abb and Zayn, kill them both at once, then take over everything. There was no better way to take over than if both his male competitors were out of the way. He pulled out his computer to do research on the local area and where to best set the trap. He had to decide though… He knew one thing for certain; he was going to make sure his abb’s death was slow, bloody, and intensely painful.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
W
aking up with hair in his face and a hand on his leg, it took a minute to get his bearings. Nikole, the Princess, was laying in his bed, not just in his bed, but also on him. He wasn’t used to being around others, not after the war. It had been a few hundred years since he even wanted to talk to someone else, but now he had her in his bed and draped over him. Slowly, he moved her off of him in an attempt to make her more comfortable, accidentally waking her in the process.
“Mmm…morning,” she said in a cute and mesmerizing sexy tone.
“Good morning, Nikole. How are you feeling?”
She blinked her eyes open and noticed his violet-flaked irises. Smiling up at him, she froze for a moment when she realized where his hands were and that they were still in bed together. “I’m much better, but Alec, what are you doing?”
He paused for a moment, then realized that in his attempt to move her down he had positioned himself over her. His hands were placed around her body as he tried to maintain support as to not hurt her. “I, um, you had fallen asleep on me and I was trying to make you more comfortable since I was getting up, forgive me.”
She brought her hand up to cover her mouth as she yawned, still trying to take in the situation. “Hey, look, you moved your arm. That’s great. I bet you can walk today, if you want to try,” Alec said in an attempt to take the attention off of him.
Nikole nodded in excitement. “I would love to walk. Can we try it now?” She slowly started to turn her body to get out of the bed even though he was still holding onto her. He felt her start to move, but he wasn’t paying attention, as he couldn’t keep his eyes off her face and noting beautiful she was in the morning when she woke up. “Alec, you can let go; I’ll be okay.” He snapped back into reality, quickly releasing her, and got out of the bed himself.
Nikole was determined to get out of this bed. She moved the covers off of her, forgetting just how naked she really was. Alec sucked in a deep breath at the sight of her healed legs, sleek and splendid. Nikole’s right leg moved out of bed and slowly landed down on the ground, making contact with the floor. Her toes danced along the wood flooring as she tried to get a good footing. Adjusting her body, she shifted, allowing her left leg to dangle off the bed. Alec watched cautiously as he noticed the spark in her eyes he hadn’t seen before. She was excited, a true warrior who wanted to reclaim her independence.
“Do you want some help? That first step can be hard,” he offered.
She shook her head no. “I have to do this for myself, Alec.” She braced her hand on the bed, and with one motion, started to stand up. Both feet planted firmly on the wood, she straightened up. The smile on her face was breathtaking. Her teeth showed, fangs and all, as color came to her flesh, lighting up the room. Nikole moved her left leg and started to step forward. It happened in slow motion…Her falling. Alec moved quickly to catch her, but missed her by inches as her body hit the ground hard. “Shit, Nikole, are you okay? I never should have let you do that alone.”
She pushed his hands away. “Alec, I have to do this on my own. Please.”
Alec moved back, but not too much, as he watched her struggle to stand on her own. Drawing on her inner strength, she pushed herself up on her arms and braced against the chair Alec had in the room. Pulling with what little physical strength she had, she was able to move to a kneeling position. She saw the door. She was going to walk out of this room if it killed her. She looked up to Alec and smiled. “Just a bit further, no?” She laughed to herself as she brought her left leg up from under her and pushed off it. Standing and holding onto the chair, she breathed deeply and tried to take another step.
Alec moved to her side and offered a hand. “Just for support. No help, I promise.”
Nikole took his left hand in her left hand as she felt his body come behind her and his right hand brace her right elbow. She looked over her shoulder back to him and began to talk but he interrupted her. “I just don’t want you to fall. You can do all the work; just think of me as a brace.” Smiling at him, she nodded a bit before looking back to the door. She moved her right foot and slowly started to take her first steps out of the room. Alec barely held onto her as she crossed the fifteen feet from the bed to the door. As they walked out of the bedroom, she looked at his living room and kitchen. She was blown away by the design.
“Did you build this place? It’s amazing.” She loved how the loveseat sat facing a huge picture window, displaying a view of the lake. The woodwork and carpet coordinated, reflecting the rays of sun fill the home with warmth and light. The natural coloring, the light shades of tan and brown, mixed over the cream walls. The two of them made their way to the sofa. Alec helped her sit down on it. Her hands ran over the light brown leather. She had a hard time absorbing the sight of everything. “Alec this place…it’s fascinating.” He sat down beside her, watching her take in the different things around the room.
“I built this place in 1975 shortly after I bought this land from your akh. I’ve slowly upgraded it with the decades as more modern items became available, but it’s my sanctuary. It’s off in the distance, not easily found by people. It is…” he paused and exhaled slowly, thinking he needed to choose his words carefully. “It is the only thing I have left in this world that is worth caring about. I lost everything when we all migrated to the States, so this is where I hideout and keep to myself.”
She knew how he felt; she had lost everything too. Moving her hand over to his and grasping it, she gave him a look and softly said, “I am sorry my amm took everything from you. You have been so generous in helping me. Can I repay you somehow?”
He shook his head looking at her; he didn’t understand why he cared so much. “No, but thank you.” He ran his finger over to her cheek and brushed her soft skin. Moments passed. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Did he take her home or keep her? There was just something about her that made him boil inside and want to burst with joy. He didn’t understand what it was. He didn’t even know her.
“Why don’t I call your akh and arrange for him to meet me somewhere to take you back?” He didn’t want to give her back, but he couldn’t keep her. He couldn’t have anyone else again. Not after last time. “Give me his number and I’ll call.”
She hesitated for a moment. “Can’t I stay one more day?”
“No. I don’t have people over. I told you, this is all I have since the war. I’m sorry; I’m just not used to being around people.”
She nodded, understanding what he meant. The war of 1777 had destroyed so many families. Maybe he’d lost a lover or a child? She felt a bit ill thinking of him having a lover. She looked up at him again and smiled as best as she could. “Of course, that is very rude of me. I am sure you want your home back. Thank you for taking care of me and helping me. I can never repay you.”
He could tell he’d upset her, but he didn’t know what else to do. He wasn’t used to this, used to people. He realized he hadn’t checked her wounds yet. He took her hand in his and brought her arm to his lap. Removing the bandages, he saw everything had healed and minimal scaring from the knife wounds showed. He felt some relief, knowing she would be okay. He wished he could do more for her.
Nikole, unable to predict what this man was going to do, pointed to his cell phone on the table. “Can I please use the phone? I’ll call Zayn myself.” Alec handed her the phone and watched as she began dialing. How he wished he could trust himself enough to let her stay the one more day she asked for. How he wished things had been different for him. Why did he have to be cursed with this inner demon, the ones that haunted him from that night in Zahle with Haydar? He sat back and listened to her talk to her akh.
“Zayn! Zayn, oh Gods!” Nikole cried into the phone.
“Nikole! Are you ok? Where are you?”
“Yes, yes I am fine. Do you remember the guy you sold the training center to, Alec? I’m at his place; he found me and gave me his blood.”
“Damn it Nikole, you don’t know if you can trust him. I’m getting you out of there, we don’t really know him.”
“Zayn, calm down. I am safe and I trust him.”
“The men are ready to fight and get you to safety. We will be there in no time. Nikole; I won’t lose you again, we are ready to kill!”
“No, I don’t need you to bring guns. Just come pick me up. Do you know where he lives?”
“I thought he wasn’t even in the States anymore. Last Nasir and I heard he went back to the homeland. Are you sure you are safe with him”
“What do you mean you thought he left the country? Zayn you are talking too fast calm down. Just come and get me.”
“Okay, we will be there in a two hours. I love you, and I’m so glad you're safe. Be careful, Nikole...”
“I will Zayn, see you in two hours. Oh and love you too!” She ended the call with her akh and looked up at Alec. “Well, Zayn will be here in two hours.”
Alec got up and walked to the window, opening the blinds. “I just got home a month ago and haven’t checked in with anyone yet. Come on, let’s clean you up and get you dressed. I don’t want your akh to think I did anything disrespectful to you.”
She stood from the couch, wobbling a bit, and started to walk slowly to the bedroom. She felt Alec come up behind her, supporting her weight. She was grateful he had taken her in, but she didn’t want to leave, and she didn’t know why.