Chapter 107 Shadow
Seconds before Melissa caused an explosion that sent everything backwards, Richard felt that power from her. He didn't know if it was because of their connections as mates but Richard realized that her wolf and his wolf were opposite sides of the same coin. He wasn't as capable as she was, but his ability to use darkness had always been something that helped him hide and shielded him. But her powers, it made her present, noticeable.
That moment enlightened him of what he should be and what he was, he wasn't her protector, not necessarily as he would realize now. Melissa doesn't need protection. He was her shadow, the man that would pave the way for her without anyone realizing it. The man who would always be by her side silent and unnoticed because, does one really ever regard a shadow.
This realization seemed to connect him with his wolf the more and he knew within him that at that moment he'd grown stronger. Even though he'd been given a dose of quicksilver this newfound strength seemed to have made him invulnerable to the present amount in his system as he felt power surging through him. He breathed a new air as this wave of realization hit him and braced himself for what was to come.
Then chaos ensued.
The entire glass window shattered, the vampire blown back by the scream from the Luna of Dunham. The waves continued sending fault lines through the walls and the entire building shook. Melissa alone stood as everyone else was on the floor.
She was overflowing with power- A power she knew she had no control over, so she decided to direct it against the monstrosity whom for the first time she felt fear from. It wasn't necessarily right that he was suddenly afraid of her, she paused and decided to watch him act. Beatrice had told her in training, don't ever rush when you are doubtful, lest you throw away a golden opportunity. She stood still and watched him react.
He scrambled up and dusted his coat then faced her with a smile that didn't match his emotions. "Little princess actually has little secrets," he said. "You think pushing me against the wall and shattering some glasses will scare me?" He asked, and then chuckled. "I am called Hades by the way," he said. "It is a moniker I picked up over the centuries," he smiled.
Richard stood up, cracking his neck. "Hades," he said from the side. "I have heard of you," he dusted pieces of glasses off his body and started to walk forward. "Melissa, get Margret, Bratroce and the old man out of here," he said.
She looked at him. "Richard…?" She wanted to protest but he didn't let her speak.
"Keep yourself in control, Your Majesty," he kept walking, not even glancing at her once. "This one is mine," his claws crawled out of his fingers as he walked diligently towards the vampire.
Melissa took that as her cue but she telepathically informed him of what she'd discovered. "He is afraid of something in here, I don't know what, but it isn't me," she told him via their mindlink
"I know," Richard replied using the same mode of communication.
The emotions leaking from Richard was a determined one and a confident one. She nodded to him turned away and telepathically told him. "Do not die," she tapped Margeret who was hiding at the corner of the wall. "That is an order," she then picked up Beatrice and gestured to Margaret to get Avalors.
Beatrice was conscious but it seems Hades had gotten her to expend most of her energy. That vampire was so strong, Melissa was sure it wasn't anything natural. But considering that when he spoke of himself, he regarded time in centuries, it means he was old, very old. The older vampires get, the stronger but still their strength never piled up to a wolf's, their speed on the other was on another level.
Yet Hades was more of a monster that he couldn't be stopped or even moved by the combined strength of four werewolves. She was worried about Richard's safety, but she knew he wasn't full so she hurried downstairs. Not once severing their telepathic link, she needed to be there with him every step of the way.
Richard on the other hand was just half turned and he was smiling, sipping out his powers bit by bit. "Hades, you were one of the survivors of the early purging right?" He asked with a smile. I am guessing you have been surviving by hiding in the shadows, scurrying around sewages like a rat, afraid of being hunted down," he said with a smile. "Last time your name made an impact in history, you executed your own king at the behest of a wolf,"Richard continued his story moving closer. "You have always been a slave but now, I am about to send you to the underworld, permanently!"he smiled.
Richard was an avid reader and the name Hades had appeared once or twice in his history books, not one of the names he liked anyways. He was a coward and a cheat. Vampires were blessed with long life, or cursed with it anyways because nothing good ever happened to them in their history due to their greed and pride.
"You know so much about me, are you a fan?" he asked.
Then he stepped forward at last towards Richard, coming at him with an unreadable speed but Richard had anticipated it and that was his trap. Just at the moment he would touch him, Richard stopped using his powers, sucking it back into him.
Hades stopped mid way as the sun burned right through him, he tried running backwards but Richard jumped on him and held him back. He'd figured out his weakness the moment the glass shattered on to him. The glass were in a way reflective and they bounced sunlight off, one wouldn't notice the darkness as the bulbs mimicked the sun's brightness. The moment the glass broke, he scampered to a position where there wasn't any sun. So he tried to act as though there wasn't anything wrong but Melissa had confirmed his suspicion by the information she gave him.
All vampires are susceptible to the pure energy of the sun. So he'd used his darkness to shield the sun a bit, reducing his intensity and making him think he was safe, all he needed to do was kill him immediately he stepped out and he'd worked right into his trap.
"I am Richard, the demon wolf," he said into his face as he turned into ashes.