Chapter Forty-seven

Mihai

He stood in front of the sink, washing out the dishes that had piled up due to the slight depression he had slipped in. For a once-acting king, he was hardworking and could clean the place himself. He despised untidiness and was always washing out the dishes, he didn't like to see crawly things like cockroaches or worms. It was a weird fact about himself that he never told anyone.

He felt an itch in his beards and he scratched at it, digging his fingers into the thick and black hair that seemed to have tangled. He scratched his skin and winced at the pain he got from tugging at the tangled strands. Mihai looked less presentable, and it was going to remain that way for a long time, he felt he had no purpose in life.

The scrubbing of a soup bowl seized when the hair at the back of his neck rose like there was a magnetic force propelling them. His ears twitched and his heart pumped blood furiously into his veins, tugging on his cords of alertness. He snapped his gaze up, looking out the window over at the dimly lit street, and glanced around, noticing the gentle swaying of the trees that surrounded his house. He shrugged, suspecting it was just his paranoia kicking in, so his eyes went back to the soup bowl, and he continued scrubbing it before rinsing and using a kitchen rag to wipe the inside.

Abruptly, a shadow flitted past the window, and he darted his eyes to it, tasting danger at the base of his tongue. Goosebumps trailed their way up his arms and his sense of smell heightened. He sniffed around, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"Something is off," he whispered, and his fangs elongated with wrinkles of domination, spreading all over his forehead.

Mihai sat the bowl on the sink and balled his palms into fists as he never took his gaze off the dark street. Suddenly, another shadow dashed past his window, and he stood alert, watching the shadows like a predator watching its prey.

A few meters away from his house, he sighted a tall figure in a villain's coat, standing beside his waste bin with a shovel hanging from his hand and the full moon shined down on him, absorbing the malevolent aura that emitted from his body. Mihai sniffed the air, trying to recall where he knew that scent from. Suddenly, the figure lifted his feet and began to pace around, dragging the shovel on the ground, making a nerve-wracking sound.

The lights flickered and Mihai snapped his head up, watching the light's brightness reduce with each flickering till it went off, making a popping sound. The dark lord stood in what he had grown accustomed to–darkness. His eyes drifted to the window, and he squinted them when he could no longer see the figure. Abruptly, a gust of wind blew his face, almost throwing him off his feet as he felt a hard impact on his shoulder and he staggered, ping-ponging his gaze around.

"Who are you?!" Mihai exclaimed, jumping and standing at alert, ready to sink his claws into the flesh of whoever it was. Breathing heavily, he watched as a shadow darted out of the kitchen. "Who are you?!" He exclaimed.

Mihai glanced around, taking slow strides out of the kitchen and into his living room. His palms became clammy, while his claws turned back to normal fingers and a lump weighed his throat down when he noticed the living room's temperature had dropped and was unusually cold. The lights flickered and he ignored the bulb, not wanting to take any chances of being attacked for looking up–he clenched his jaw and put on the fiercest demeanor he had, of course, he was fierce, he is the dark lord, the prince of vampire... Except that he was banished and now a nobody but did his father know about this?

Instantly, the light bulb went off, snapping him out of his trance and tugging his danger string.

Abruptly, a loud thud sounded from the other side of his entrance door, and he snapped his head there, sizing up the wooden barrier. The thud filled the place again, shaking the door and resonating through the walls, his fangs lengthened, and his brows were knitted into a deep frown. Mihai stood watching the door. Fists clutched in a fit of rage waiting for his attacker to make the first move. A gust of wind carrying the scent of a vampire entwined with bloodlust burst in from his open windows.

Mihai prepped himself, wary of the threat he sensed outside.

In one insane second, a loud crashing sound followed by a figure, not much taller than him but emitting bloodlust and killing intent detached the door, sending it to crash heavily on the floor. The cold breeze slid into his sitting room and frolicked with his earlobes. The figure in a black coat pushed his head backward, letting out evil laughs from his mouth.

"Ioan?" Mihai let his teeth return to their normal length, allowing his arms to hang beside his body as his inquisitive face changed into that of confusion and immediately switched to anger. "Ioan!" He gnashed his teeth, curling his fists and clenching his teeth.

"Hello, bastard." Ioan's smile could be heard in his groggy voice and Mihai tightened his dental bone as if he would break it.

"What are you doing here, isn't the palace enough for you?" Mihai questioned, veins popping on each side of his neck. "You finally got me banished so what else do you want?"

"You." Ioan snarled. "By the way, I didn't get you banished."

"Liar!" Mihai growled, his fingers slowly turning into talons as he prepared to sink them deep into Ioans neck. "How we are relatives is something I still don't get."

"Says the banished outcast." Ioan slurred, laughing like thunder as his eyes changed into a darker shade of red. "I've been waiting for this day all my life," Ioan said, baring his fangs and floating off the ground as he raised his hand and rolled his palm into a fist. "The day that I'll kill you with my bare hands."

Mihai's jaw ticked as these words registered in his brain and he shook his head, "I am the dark lord, no one can kill me without-"

"Dark lord my white ass!" Ioan choked on a laugh, balancing on the floor to catch his breath. "Dark lord but you can't get married to Gwen cause she'll be dead. You're an incompetent fool!"

"How dare you?" Mihai inched closer to Ioan, only a whisper away from his face as he struggled to keep his anger at bay. His body shook visibly as he stared into Ioan bloodlust eyes.

"You're a weakling, just like your father." Ioan spat on Mihai's face and that was what he needed to let his demons out.

Suddenly, Mihai threw his fist at Ioan's face but missed, punching into thin air as Ioan transformed into a bat and flew into the forest. With his heart-pumping anger into his veins, Mihai jumped up and his body shrank as he changed into a bat. He flapped his wings, screeching out of anger and flying into the forest, listening to the heartbeat of Ioan and following where it sounded loud the most. From afar, he sighted a brown bat flying deeper into the forest, and he followed suit, feeling the rush of wind into his nostrils.

Suddenly, Mihai halted, flapping his wings at a spot when he sighted Ioan's back from behind a bush. With full speed, Mihai launched at Ioan, both of them rolling down the hill like fur balls. Instantly, they turned back into their human form, throwing punches at each other and hissing like snakes.

The full moon cast its light upon them, and owls hooted, watching two brothers fight with their heads turning three-sixty. Mihai drove his fist hard into Ioan's gut, earning a cough of blood from his thin lips. He sank another punch into his stomach, sending him flying in the air and hitting his back against a tree from the impact of his blow. His chest heaved as he marched to Ioan and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him off the floor with fire burning in his eyes.

"She should have killed you when she had the chance, loser." Ioan glowered, sending a big ball of saliva onto the face of Mihai. Mihai wrinkled his nose, feeling the sticky substance slide down his nose and he parted his lips to growl ever so loudly that the birds in the tree they were in front of flew away.

"I’m going to kill you." Enraged Mihai seethed through clenched teeth.

"Wimp." Ioan laughed, blood staining his teeth bright red, and Mihai furrowed his face, pushing Ioan hard against the tree. Mihai jumped up and swirled, swinging his fist and releasing it mercilessly to land on Ioan's face, but something happened–Two huge hands grabbed him from behind and pinned him to the ground, growling like demons and reeking of bad blood. Mihai struggled, gasping when he sighted his two blood brothers above him, holding him down. He wiggled like a worm, getting bruises from their claws as the struggling caused their nails to sink deep into his skin.

"My turn." Ioan bounced up, flexing his muscles and popping his neck. He popped his knuckles then jumped on Mihai, digging punches into his face. Mihai grunted, feeling the pain spider web his entire face and the back of his head as he balled his palms into fists, still in shock that his brothers were a part of it. He suddenly went numb, releasing his body and letting the punches plummet through his face as he got lost in his void of negativity. Everything flashed in front of him, the growls around him sounded distant and he stiffened, feeling a hole in his tender heart. Suddenly, a face with puffy, bloodshot eyes flashed in front of him and he twitched, recognizing it to be that of Gwen.

"Please!" He heard her scream and he spasmed, feeling her cup his face as she begged for him to change his mind.

"Regina," he managed to whisper.

"She's in love with a better man, a man who isn't a murderer." Ioan seethed and it dragged Mihai out of his trance, but he was still numb to the pain being afflicted on him.

"I am not a murderer!" Mihai yelled, vibrating under them and clenching his jaw.

"I might just take her for myself, she has a nice ass and I'd like to taste her." Ioan licked his lips seductively and Mihai peered his eyes that grew darker with each passing second into that of Ioan.

The youngest of them released his grip on his arm, while his eyes betrayed him by showing the fear that had captivated him as he spoke, "I told you guys this was a bad idea, I told you guys not to listen to her!"

"Shut up, wimp. Hold him," The other brother said, struggling to hold Mihai down.

Mihai wrapped his palms into a fist and felt a burst of adrenaline rush through his veins as his heart drummed in his chest. He bared his fangs and in one insane second, he pushed his body up with eyes that blazed like a furnace. The force that emitted out of his body sent them flying in the air and landing harshly on the ground.