Alex’s lips twitched, definitely not wanting to agree with Zeke even though he understood what Zeke was trying to say.
“F*ck!” Alex cursed. Troublesome things just kept coming like falling dominoes. They were all coming at him at once! They were not giving him a moment to solve one problem before another one came tumbling down on him. What the hell was going on? Was the world so damn against him?! It was like all the gods who used to favor him were against him now!
“Abigail would cry again if I did that. She ran away and I only talked about the possibility of marrying someone else. What would she do if I did this too?” Alex shook his head.
“Then, how about you ask for her blood instead? The reason why none of the women can satisfy you anymore might be because of her.”
Alex’s gaze at him turned sharp. He looked shocked at this suggestion and his face became hard.
“She’s not a meal, Zeke,” Alex told him, firm and serious. He was even glaring at Zeke like he would attack him if he ever mentioned that again.
But Zeke wasn’t bothered. “It’s not like she’ll die from it, Alex. Just a taste might do. Besides I’m pretty sure she would rather let you drink her blood than go through with the other options,” he explained. “If you don’t do anything and you end up going on a rampage, you know she will be the first to come to stop you. Don’t forget what she did in the forest and what you did to her.”
“How did you even know about that?”
“Alicia told me.”
Alex bit his lips, looking down again. His hands started trembling. He knew this feeling all too well. It was starting.
“Stop being stubborn, Alex. You will regret it if –”
“Shut up, Zeke. Leave,” he ordered, not looking at him.
Zeke sighed. Although he didn’t look surprised anymore. He had been dealing with this troublesome creature for a long time now, after all.
“Fine. Do what you want. I am not going to waste my energy on you this time, Alex,” Zeke countered and he finally left, leaving Alex sitting by himself, seemingly in deep contemplation.
Zeke landed on a slanted roof, away from the watchtower, and glanced back once more when someone spoke from the shadows.
“Are you sure about this, Your Highness? What if he destroys the palace?” One of his men was also on the roof, scratching the back of his head.
“He won’t. Abigail is in there. He will most likely go to the forest so make sure not to lose him, Riev.”
“Oh, you’re not coming? Are we just going to watch him?”
“Yes. Don’t do anything. Let him do what he wants. I will stay here and watch over Abigail.”
“What if he goes to the city and kills people?”
“He won’t.”
“But Your Highness… Are we really just going to watch? Won’t it better if we at least entertain him? We could at least distract him so that he doesn’t end up going to the city?” Riev’s eyes were sparkling, like a child excited to fight the superhero he had always looked up to.
But Zeke immediately killed those sparkles with just one glance and Riev was quick to drop his head. “I understand your highness. We will not do anything. We will just watch,” he said like a good soldier and Zeke finally leapt away, leaving the poor Riev sighing in despair.
“Idiot. When will you learn? When did anyone ever manage to negotiate with His Highness other than Alexander?” someone piped up behind him and Riev could only sigh again.
…
Back on the watchtower, Alex was aware that he was being watched. Zeke’s men were not just anyone. They were even stronger than Kai or Xavier because those men have been trained by Zeke since they were young boys. The final test for them to actually make it to Zeke’s elite force was to survive a fight against Alex himself.
Alex had fought with those men and since they already knew everything about him, his moves, his speed and even the extent of his power, somehow, they actually managed to survive. Since then, they have also become one of Alex’s entertainments. They were formidable and strong like their master, Zeke, after all, when they all came at him at once.
Letting out a sigh, Alex smirked and lifted his hand in front of his face. He stared at the ring on his finger. It fit him really well and he couldn’t find any signs that it wasn’t made for him. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he stood up.
He didn’t know what to do but what Zeke said bugged him. He never once imagined drinking Abigail’s blood. That never ever crossed his mind. But when she was with him a while ago, he stepped away from her because… because he had looked at her with that intense hunger. He couldn’t believe it but a new kind of desire had awakened inside him, one that wanted to taste her blood. And that was something he could never accept. How could he do that? To his Abigail?
He felt like he was going mad. None of this ever bothered him before. He never once even thought about this thirst. It was just something inevitable to him before, just a natural craving. But now it suddenly became complicated as hell.
Was this thing called karma finally catching up to him? Were all the things he did in the past now coming back to haunt him in these forms?
The thought of it made him want to laugh out loud. But he didn’t because his thoughts returned to Abigail as he lit up the candle sitting on the table.
He smiled, knowing that she had made all this for him while he was unconscious. His eyes turned red again, but he remained unmoving and his gaze just focused on the fire of the burning candle.
The tiny fire reflected in his red eyes and they burned along with it. The next moment, Alex saw himself in the middle of a burning place, holding two toys in his hand as he smiled before he threw the toys away.
