Chapter 34 — Cunning Way

Nick blinked as sunlight streamed into the room through the window. The sunlight was so dazzling to his eyes that he had to open his eyes even though he had only fallen asleep an hour ago. He couldn't close his eyes because of his conversation with Alvaro and Ardo yesterday afternoon. He didn't seem to care, even in front of his two best friends. However, when he was alone, the things Ardo feared filled his head. It wasn't himself that he was worried about, but the figure of his mother that was bothering him. The mother, who meant so much to him, was in the worst condition. If Black Shadow came to hunt them down in the Castle, Nick was sure his mother would put up no resistance.

Nick immediately got up from lying down. He waltzed into his mother's room with a glass of blood in his hand. He knocked on the door when he arrived in front of his mother's room, then opened the door and entered the room without waiting for a response from his mother first.

Nick exhaled tiredly when he found the figure of his mother still curled up on the bed with an empty stare toward the ceiling.

"Mom, how long will you continue like this? Did you love that man so much that it became like this just because he left you?" Rose didn't move. Her eyes remained open, staring at the ceiling of the room.

"Drink this blood, mom. You haven't eaten for a few days," he added but still didn't get a response from Rose. Feeling irritated at his mother's strange behavior, Nick put the glass filled with blood he had been holding on the nightstand near Rose's bed.

"Oh, okay, Mom. I give up. I will meet the man and persuade him to return to life in this Castle." Instantly Rose blinked her eyes. Then she stared enthusiastically at Nick.

"Is it true? You're going to go to Rowan and talk him into coming back to Mother's side?" she asked with a smile. Nick nodded even though his heart was throbbing in pain at this moment. He had to endure the bitter reality again that his mother loved Rowan so much. But for Nick, it would be better for him to risk his life to meet Rowan than to see his mother's sad condition like this.

"I went to Alvaro and Ardo's house for a while. I will ask them to accompany me." Rose nodded enthusiastically with a smile on her pretty face.

"I will coax him back for Mother's sake, but you must promise me. As soon as I come back here, I want to see that Mother has drunk this blood," Nick said firmly, pointing at the glass filled with blood he had placed earlier. Rose followed the direction Nick pointed at and immediately nodded her head again.

"Mom will drink it. I promise."

"Good. Then I'll go first. Mother, be careful in the Castle. Take good care of yourself, Mother."

"Yes, Nick. Hurry up and go see your father," she shouted happily, making Nick exhale again lazily.

Nick finally stepped out of his mother's room. He stepped steadily out of the Castle. Initially, he was worried about leaving his mother alone in the Castle. Still, considering that Black Shadow only did his actions at night, he also thought it acceptable to leave his mother as light as it is today.

The location of Alvaro and Ardo's house was indeed not too far from the Castle, so it took him only a short time to arrive at the luxurious house. Nick entered the house he had been to quite often without knocking on the door.

The atmosphere in the house was tranquil and still, making Nick frown in surprise.

"Alvaro! Ardo!!" he shouted, calling his two best friends.

Several times he shouted the names of his two best friends, but the two pure-blood vampires never showed their noses. After chuckling several times because of the annoyance that had started to grip him, Nick finally decided to climb the stairs to the second floor, which he knew was on the floor where his two best friends' rooms were located.

The first place he went to was Alvaro's room. The door was open, and Nick entered the room without hesitation. However, what he found made his eyes widen in shock. He ran over to Alvaro's figure, lying stiff on the floor.

"Alvaro," he muttered when he saw Alvaro's lifeless condition with one crushed eye and a gaping hole in his left chest.

"Unlucky!!" he grumbled angrily with his hands clenched tightly. He got up again and ran out of Alvaro's room. This time he headed for Ardo's room which he found empty.

"Ardo!!" he shouted, calling his best friend's name, hoping the name's owner was safe.

Nick walked around the house until he finally found Ardo's body which was no less pathetic than Alvaro's body he had found earlier. One of Ardo's legs had been crushed. There was a bite wound to his neck and a sharp stab wound to his left chest. Nick could only clench his hands as tightly as possible when again he found his best friend had been killed.

He immediately thought of his mother, but he now has a bad feeling. Ignoring the bodies of his two best friends, he didn't even look like he intended to put them in a pure-blood vampire's cemetery. All that was on his mind right now was hurrying back to the Castle to ensure his mother was okay.

Nick is a pure-blood vampire recognized by all Dawson Clan vampires for his prowess. He could run fast, so he took only a short time to arrive at the Castle. The first place he went to was, of course, his mother's room. The bitter reality for the umpteenth time he had to accept when he did not see his mother's figure in her room. His anxiety turned into immeasurable fear. The figure of Rose for Nick is everything. Apart from being the mother he loved so much, this woman was also the only woman he had ever fallen in love with. The feeling of love that Nick has been hiding from everyone. No one knows his love for his mother except himself.

"Mother!" he shouted after he came out of his mother's room. He ran around all the rooms in the Castle with a mouth that never stopped calling his mother. His search was interrupted when he heard strange noises, like the sound of objects falling in a room.

He rushed into the room, which was pitch black. He pressed the switch so that the room was suddenly brightly lit. He was currently in a room he had often used to torment his prey. In that room, he often had parties with his three best friends while torturing the women he would eat. It was also in that room that he had often tortured Cliff before. Even Ariana died in that room too. The pole Nick used to tie Ariana's body was still in the room.

He looked around the room but didn't find anyone except for several sharp weapons stored in the room, now scattered on the floor.

Nick stepped deeper into the room with two eyes that kept searching every corner of the room. But suddenly, a rope wrapped around his hands and dragged him towards the pillar. The rope moved by itself, wrapping around and dragging his body so tightly that even Nick couldn't let go of himself. The rope continued to move on its own until Nick's body was now perfectly tied to the same pole where Ariana had been tied before.

Amid the confusion engulfing Nick, his ears caught the sound of someone's footsteps walking toward him. Nick looked straight ahead, and immediately his eyes widened perfectly when the owner of the footsteps was now standing right in front of him.

"Y-You? So you're still alive?" he asked with his eyes still sparkling, staring at Cliff.

"Hello, Brother. Don't you miss your brother," Cliff said as he showed a big grin.

"Hahaha… stupid. I'm sorry why I didn't just kill you with my own hands at that time. So it's true that you're a vampire nicknamed Black Shadow?" Cliff shrugged as he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.

"According to you?" said Cliff, tilting his head.

"You hate me. I can understand. But why did you kill Niki too? He didn't do anything wrong to you."

"Because he is your beloved sister, he must also die."

"She is also your sister, bastard!!" shouted Nick angrily when he remembered the death of his beloved sister. As for Cliff, he just laughed in response. There was not a hint of guilt or remorse on his face.

"You have also killed my three best friends, Vampire Hunter, and all the Dawson Clan vampires. Tsk, tsk, bastard, are you even planning to kill me now?" Cliff paused. He studied Nick's face carefully. Nick's face didn't look afraid of him even though he already knew that the figure of Black Shadow was Cliff. This upset Cliff because what happened to Nick was far from his expectations. At first, Cliff thought Nick would react in fear like the other vampires he had killed.

"Listen, don't compare me to them. Do you know who you're dealing with? I, Nick Dawson, no vampire can beat me. All vampires are afraid of me."

"Hahaha ... more precisely, you are a cowardly vampire good at hiding your feelings. You think I don't know. You've always had the ambition to kill your father. But I don't remember you daring to do it. You, Nick Dawson, the cowardly vampire. Hahahaha..." Cliff laughed loudly until his laughter echoed in the room, successfully inviting Nick Dawson's wrath.

Nick's face reddened, and with one kick, he escaped from the ropes that bound his body. With a quick movement, he lunged at Cliff. Pinning him on the floor and hitting Cliff's face, still covered in dried blood, beat him repeatedly. But even so, Cliff didn't stop his laughter at all. He was silent and did not resist, as if he had deliberately let Nick beat him.

Nick, who witnessed Cliff's reaction, got even angrier. His pupils started to dilate. He prepared to release his natural ability to kill Cliff.

"You're not worried about your beloved mother? Didn't you find it anywhere?" Two successful questions discourage Nick from using his natural abilities on Cliff. He gripped Cliff's neck tightly with a red face, unable to hold back his emotions anymore.

"Where's my mother?" he asked with a muffled growl.

"Get away from me. Then you will meet her again." Without a word, Nick obeyed Cliff's words. He got up and moved away from Cliff's body. He didn't even put up any resistance when the rope he had managed to release earlier now wrapped itself around and tied him to the pole.

"Disgusting!! You even stole Niki's natural abilities and my three best friends," said Nick, sneering at Cliff.

"Where did you hide my mother, illegitimate child?!" The corners of Cliff's lips revealed a smirk when he saw Nick, who couldn't move just hearing his mother was in danger.

Cliff stepped closer to a door in the room. Then a woman came into the room while clinging coquettishly to Cliff's arm, successfully making Nick's eyes widen in disbelief.

"What did you do to my mother, you bastard?!" shouted Nick, not understanding when he saw his mother's condition, which he thought was very strange.

"You forgot the ability of one of your friends?" said Cliff. He walked steadily towards Nick, who was still tied to the pole. He also ignored Rose, who continued to cling to his arm. As for Nick, he was shocked when he remembered Ardo, who could make someone act weird like Rose now.

"You hypnotized my mother?"

"Yes, exactly. In her eyes now, I look like her beloved husband or the father of both of us, Rowan Dawson." Nick was stunned, his eyes bulging and mouth gaping wide in disbelief. A lousy premonition clung to his mind.

"What are you going to do to my mother? Don't hurt her!!" Cliff laughed again, seeing how scared and worried Nick was right now. It was that look that Cliff had hoped for on Nick's arrogant face.

"My brother who claims to be the greatest vampire, when in fact is just a cowardly vampire who always hides his feelings and desires. Maybe you've been able to fool everyone all along, but not me. You think I didn't realize you fell in love with your mother?" Cliff grinned when he saw Nick's face, which was starting to look panicked.

"You wanted to kill Rowan Dawson not simply because you wanted to take his place as clan leader. But you also want to take his wife, who is none other than your mother. You always wanted to have your mother. Have her as a woman you want to make your wife." Nick swallowed hard. He was surprised that Cliff realized the feelings he desperately tried to hide from everyone.

"Earlier, you asked what I would do to your mother. Good question." Cliff paused. He wrapped his arms around Rose's body and hugged her tightly. Meanwhile, Rose, who saw Cliff as Rowan, looked very happy because, for the first time, she was treated gently by the man she loved so much.

"I will make you feel what I felt three years ago. I will make you feel pain when the woman you love is hurt, tortured, and abused before your eyes." Nick's eyes widened ultimately. The memory of three years ago, the savagery he did to Ariana, suddenly popped into his head.

"Don't you dare hurt my mother. I won't spare you if you touch even a finger!!" Nick shouted with a red face. He was angry, worried, and scared right now.

"Mother! Realize he is not your husband. He's not Rowan, but he's that bastard you hate. Mom, wake up!!!" shouted Nick as loudly as he could. He would do anything to make Rose realize that the figure hugging her wasn't Rowan but Cliff.

"Too bad she won't hear your voice because, apart from hypnotizing her into seeing me as her husband. I also hypnotized her so that her figure would not be seen in her eyes. Of course, she would not hear your voice either."

"Damn you, Cliff. I will kill you. This time I will kill you with my own hands!!" Nick prepares to use his natural abilities again but stops after hearing Cliff's threat which is like a bolt of lightning for him.

"If you release your natural ability, then your mother will die right this second," Cliff threatened as he brandished the dagger in his hand right before Rose's left chest.

"Be a pushover, Nick, and watch what I'll do to your mother. You will feel what I felt the first time you saw you taint Ariana in front of me. I will also do that to your mother."

Cliff grinned triumphantly while Nick started shaking. He didn't want to see what Cliff would do to his mother in a moment.