Vampire King’s Little Killer

Brotherly: of or relating to brothers. : natural or becoming to brothers : affectionate.

Tessa

When Nero told me that they had my half-brother in their dungeon I was shocked, thrilled that I could finally close that nagging feeling and get back to my life, my work. I’ve been bored and I needed to feel the thrill of the chase and see the fear in my victim’s eyes.

“Don’t go too crazy on him, we still need to get the truth on who’s behind his constant pursuit of you,” Nero, my sweet sexy king reminded me as I followed him down the narrow steps of the dungeon.

“Wow, you guys really had the vampire cliche down to the eerie hallways and dungeons,” I whispered to no one specifically as my eyes roamed to the dimly lit passage. Nero was in front of me, while his dramatic youngest Prince, Vesper, was walking pompously behind me and Aldrich stayed close on his tail.

“Your half-brother is staying in our best accommodation in the dungeon. He’s shackled, but I think I saw some bruises under his shirt,”

Though I was not facing him, I could already imagine Nero rolling his eyes when he stopped and waited on Vesper’s explanation.

“No, Father, I didn’t peek at the half-breed. I don’t get off on that stuff. Aldrich can attest to that matter.” He smirked insinuating something clearly different than what daddy Nero was asking him to explain.

Nero shook his head and ignored him before he started walking again until we finally reached the bottom of the stairs. He went straight to the first door on his right and stepped inside, assessing the situation before he let me in. The space was dark until he flipped a switch then the room lit up though not by much. But it was clear enough for me to see the face of my half-brother who had my dad’s hair color, eyes, and his perfect sharp jawline. Lowell stared at me with anger in his eyes. Then he tore his gaze from me and landed his eyes on Vesper and Aldrich.

“You,” he struggled to get up, the chains rattled, he certainly didn’t care about the blood that was trickling from his wrists as the metal cuffs of the shackles cut through his skin. My half-brother was shackled, with long chains embedded in the wall behind him. He was dressed without his shoes and was kneeling on the mattress laid by the dirty dungeon floor, desperately trying to pull himself free of the chains.

“Careful there brother, I don’t want you to bleed out before I get my answers.” I sat down on the chair that Nero had dragged from the corner of the room. He stayed by my side while Vesper was by my other side. Aldrich stood by the door while I could feel his eyes on me and the shackled man in front of me.

“I don’t have to answer anything, you need to let me go. I have stuff to do.” He growled through his teeth while still kneeling on the bed.

“Uh-huh, don’t pretend that you don’t know who I am and why I am here. Why you’re taken here,” I was pressing down my anger. How dare he tell me what I can and cannot do. Not even Nero gets that privilege.

His spit landed on my cheek and I finally lost it, when my fist landed on his nose. The cracking sound of his nose breaking was too satisfying for my ears. Though it was diluted by Vesper’s dramatic gasp as if he was watching his favorite juiciest family drama on television.

My eyes locked on the bratty prince and I raised my eyebrow at him, challenging him to let out another mockery of how I’d handle my little brother.

“Oookay, step-mom, chill, have it your way. I’d just like to point out,” the vampire actually hold his pointer finger at me, making me take my focus from my brother to Nero’s youngest son. “You need him to speak, and with his bruises, I don’t think he’d be talking much with the rate of violence you’re putting him through.” He explained then stepped forward and shredded Lowell’s t-shirt, showing off the ugly bruises on his stomach and chest.

I heard that werewolves heal faster than humans, but seeing what was left on his body I’d assume that the pounding he took was not as casual as I thought. Damn. Someone did this to my half-brother.

“Who dared come for you, before me?” That was the easiest question I threw at him since I was furious that someone gets to hurt him before I do. But then he laughed while wheezing, clearly struggling to breathe with his broken nose. His blood dripped all over the mattress.

“You wouldn’t want to know. With your rich family and even richer vampire boyfriend. You have your happy life in front of you. Go on, kill me already. I’m so done with this.”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

He must’ve picked up when Vesper called me his step-mom, which was eww… I certainly need a longer conversation later with him.

But still, I couldn’t neglect the truth in Lowell’s voice. I’ve been dealing with people since I joined the Albanian crime organization as their assassin. I’ve been Dovolani’s best interrogator who doubled as his favorite assassin since I’ve killed almost all of his enemies while appeasing the killer instinct in my brain.

I leaned in closer and held his jaw in my hand, forcing him to look me in the eyes. That was when I saw it, the fading bruises on his face. Another strange feeling crept inside me. It was new. I needed to know why.

“You want me to kill you, why?”

“Because I’d be dead either way.” He let out a tired breath and sits down on his heels, not caring how the shackles dig deeper into his wrists.

“Oh, come on, he’s wasting all that blood and I’m still hungry!” Like a petulant grown-up man, Vesper whined, raising his hands in the air before he leaned back to the nearest wall and crossed his arms on his chest, and pouted.

That was not the scene that I was expecting in a vampire dungeon with a half-breed werewolf with very old-looking shackles and chains firmly fixed onto the wall.

I sat back in the chair and let Nero put his hand on my shoulder to ground me. Through his eyes, I could decipher that he was telling me to take it slow and so I did. Being a good girlfriend and all. Besides, Lowell was chained and he was not going anywhere anytime soon.

“Back up and tell me, everything.”

“I’m an abomination, mom was in love with your dad. I’m a half-breed. Have debts. I needed the money. So I need you.”

There were so many things Lowell had left out. When I gazed at Nero, he knew exactly what I was asking him to do. I wanted the full story, to get the truth out of him. I was too curious and since Vesper told me to take it easy, then daddy vamp was going to help me.

Nero’s handsome face looked so calm when he held my half-brother’s face in his hand. Their eyes met and Lowell was already falling under his spell. Damn, Nero was too good at this compulsion thingy. I was almost swayed to bare my feelings for him all over again.

But my confession was stopped short when my brother started talking.

“Mom was thrown out of the pack the day she was discovered that she was pregnant with me. We lived a happy life, just the two of us.” Lowell smiled, still under the spell while his eyes gazed at the dirty wall as if he was remembering his past. “She loved me, we never needed anything else. No one else. Up until one day she was diagnosed with MS and my whole world crumbled.”

Tears fell down his cheeks, though he seemed to not realize it. Nero looked at me and I told him to continue digging. And so he did question after question. Lowell replied and my mind was conflicted. Again, those nagging feelings that I’ve never experienced before. It was so strange.

From his story, we know that my little brother came to my dad for help and was rejected. Even when he came to his uncles they treated him badly. But my heart grew heavy when he talked about going to the Russians. I know exactly how the Russians operated on people who needed money. It was why I steered clear of them when they offered me a job. One time, I almost crossed paths with a job including the Russians and I remembered vividly that it was not pretty.

“I’ll give you the money, and you’re not going anywhere,” I told him when I couldn’t take any more of his life story. It was too goddamn depressing and I needed to get out of the dungeon. Fast.

I could hear Nero instructing Vesper and Aldrich to move my brother to a more comfortable accommodation. I quicken my steps while my hands twitch from all the anxiety Lowell had given me. I’ve never needed to punch someone so bad that I needed to hunt some evil Russian loanshark and put them six feet under. That would not be a good thing to do. I know that they are an organized crime syndicate, meaning that they will find out when a couple of their guys had gone missing and one day it was going to bite me back on the ass.

“Little killer, talk to me,” it was not a question nor a suggestion and I know he’d make me spell it out if I kept quiet.

“These Russians, do you know them?” I asked, my hands were clammy. I was seconds away from running out the door, getting on my bike to find those damn underground cage fights and introduce those tugs to the new machine gun that Daddy Nero got me a week ago.

“I know where they are, yes. You wanted revenge for your brother?”

It was a strange question. Me, seeking revenge for my half-brother? The same half-brother who wants me dead?

“I’ll get my lawyer to transfer the funds to them. But next, I want those people who hit him, people who deal with his loan and who pressured him to fight for them.” My words were raw. I did not anticipate my half-brother to spill everything. I mean his life was a walking sob story after his mom died. And my god, that man had the shittiest luck.

I hated that he had to sell himself for something as little as food and utilities. I hated that he had to be the punching bag for the Russians. And I wanted to kill his uncles and obviously, now I want to eliminate my dad from the face of the earth for not giving him the money that he needed.

“Argh! Come on, either we fuck or we hunt. Which one do you think I should do?” I asked Daddy Nero since I know my decision will be clouded by my anger and I need him to balance me out.

“Hunt, then fuck,” he said calmly when he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my shoulder.