Chapter 5 Baracus Luna

THIRD PERSON POV

"You seem restless tonight. What's wrong?" Baracus looks at his partner over his shoulder before he turns to the view from the balcony again.

"I don't know. I can't think of a perfect word to describe this feeling at all. It's been far too long for me to experience this kind of sensation. The last time I even feel this ... this kind of pressure was when ..." Baracus let the feelings sunken in before he realised something terrible is coming to his way.

"When what?" His partner asked, curious.

"When my half-sister still alive. I'm sure you of all creatures still remember the former queen of Gotus." Baracus noticed how his partner eyes lit up upon mentioning about Imperia.

"I do remember about the former queen. It's too bad that the former king caught her using the kingdom's wealth for her own selfish need. She was a great queen. I still remembered how Gotus was such a prosperous kingdom." Baracus stare at his partner until she realised that she is currently talking with the 'king' of Gotus.

"Not that I don't like the way you rule the kingdom. It's just that the queen did a better job at it? Oh, come on! You can't deny her success. I was there when it all happened." Baracus sighs.

"For thousands of years, I've been trying to find a way to kill pureblood vampires. Those creatures who think they are better than others should follow my half sister's path towards damnation, but no, my stupid father wouldn't trust me to run his kingdom. Not without his trusted counsel." His partner rolled her eyes before hugging the king of Gotus from behind.

"Is that why you prisoner your own father inside a cave? Do you really think a once-great king like him would be able to stay within a cave?" Baracus smirks.

"Of course he will stay in the cave like a good prisoner he is. If he even tries to escape, I will destroy his precious family. His wife and daughters," his partner chuckles.

"Whom you sold to the scum of a human and let them be experimented on like guinea pigs. I must say you really have a talent to manipulate everyone to do your bidding. Too bad, you can't do the same with the way you ruled the kingdom. Of course, Gotus is still here but ... look around. This is no way to rule a kingdom. I mean, you let humans into the once-great kingdom and rule while you stay hidden behind the shadows." Baracus let go of his partner hands that wrapped around him and face her.

"Well, my way of ruling did bring us the wealth you wanted without the need for us to do anything." His partner cups his face before giving him a kiss on the tip of his nose.

"Gotus isn't Gotus anymore. They named it to Russia. While we lived in the laps of luxury, humans ruled your kingdom like they own it. You should be ashamed of yourself for letting such thing to happen, Baracus. I mean, the Luna family is no longer on top of the chain. Some royal family in Transylvania is. You're a disgrace, but a still love you." Baracus scoffs.

"Do you love me for the creature I am or for the wealth that I received from the way of my ruling? Whatever it is, you're still precious in my eyes as the rest of my partners." Baracus turns to the door when someone enters his room without even knocking.

"What is it? I hope it's something important because you're currently interrupting my time of pleasure." His trusted advisor nods his head before apologising for his rudeness.

"I'm sorry, your highness but this is far more important. I know that you are not the type of person who believed in divination, but our witch has spoken and what lies ahead is not in your favour." It gained Baracus attention for the first time in ages.

He is not the type of person who believed in magic and medium reading. He has evolved with the world as he grows with it.

"I know I should have asked for your permission, but I'm worried it might be too late so I have informed the leaders of the clan to be here as soon as they can." Baracus was not happy. His advisor keeps his head low, waiting for his punishment.

"What did the witch said about the future?" Baracus asked.

"Chaos, sorrow, hatred, vengeance is waiting in the future. It reminds me of when the former king exiled the former queen. I'm sure that everyone who went through that era knows how sufferable our kind was at the moment. My king, it's not my place to comment on your way of ruling this kingdom but ... as your advisor and a friend, we should consider preparing for the worst." Baracus once again turns at the view as he thinks.

His partner, on the other hand, went to grab another glass of blood from the decanter.

"I supposed you're right, wise advisor. I can feel something is not right, and I don't want to think for the worst. But as you said, we need to prepare ourself for the worst-case scenario. What should we do, in your opinion, about this?" The advisor bows and went to stand behind the king.

"We need to make sure that the council is on our side from start to finish. The calm leaders should be informed and also need to make sure that they're on our side. As much as I hate to admit it, you're not as great as your predecessors when it comes to ruling. If they retaliate, we should use force to make sure they know where they stand." Baracus rolled his eyes when his own advisor commenting on his way of ruling.

"We're back to using my father's way of ruling? To make sure he has every right to rule, he used the same method as you had mentioned. I remembered how Imperia desperately wanted to change the way we vampires ruled over our kind and the others. But sometimes, being polite doesn't get you the result you want. With that said, we should proceed immediately." Baracus's advisor nods his head and leaves the room.

"Would it be funny if the cause of this bad omen is actually your sister? To be frank, Baracus, if Imperia suddenly appear, I'm sure the rest of your mistresses, including me, will stay by her side once again. I mean, face it. She's more of a man than you are." Baracus was quite offended by his partner's words, but he knows better than to cause a scene with her.

For now, he let it go.

***

"Have you found us a place that we could call home?" Imperia asked Miss Kingston when she enters her home after a long day of work. Imperia raised an eyebrow when Miss Kingston sighs heavily as she slumps on the couch.

"I'm actually in hot water now. Without telling me, the curator went inside the vault to peak at our progress in deciphering everything. Long story short, he was furious because the corpse inside the sarcophagus is nowhere to be found. I can't actually tell him that the corpse is actually at my house drinking wine and fresh blood." Imperia shrugs her shoulder as she places the glass down on the coffee table.

"I hate to admit that I might lose my job that I work hard for just because of this." Imperia gave Miss Kingston a small smile.

"We can always ask Keres to tinker with his brain once in a while. If he's bringing trouble to my plan, I will do something. Don't worry about that. Now, let me ask you again. Did you find any place?" Miss Kingston reaches out for her backpack and finds a brochure she manages to get from the real estate agent.

"There is a few that's available. Of course, it did come with an extraordinary story behind it. Choice number 1, an abandoned villa that's overlooking the beautiful view of a lake. The pictures that the lady shows me was quite nice. Although, she also told me that before it's abandonment, it was used like a whore house." Imperia was curious about what the humans called a whore house.

"She meant a brothel. You know, for prostitution." Evangeline suddenly appeared at the door bringing more supplies of fresh meat.

"Why are you here?" Imperia asked.

"Hotep called me and said that she's hungry for meat. Although it was quite specific, I manage to find it at the local supermarket." Evangeline shows the plastic bags she's carrying.

"I thought we just bought meat? How much can such a small girl like her eat?" Miss Kingston asked, curious.

"She ever ate a whole grown dragon once, and she still has room for desserts. That's how much she can consume. But I don't blame her. She possessed a power, not even a pureblood like me can have." Imperia turns to Miss Kingston as Evangeline went to the kitchen.

"Second choice?" Miss Kingston nods.

"We have an old castle that was abandoned for quite some time. It was once owned by a duke who likes to build ... well ... he has a hobby of testing new object he made such as weaponry on slaves. I was told that some of his collection is still available inside the castle." Imperia isn't intrigued about owning a castle.

"Do you have any other option?" Miss Kingston shakes her head.

"To be frank, it's hard to find a place that you had described. If you want a palace, there aren't any available. If there is, it is either occupied by someone, or it's been destroyed." Evangeline once again gained their attention.

"Why don't I try to ask Daphne if she has anyone willing to sell their palace to you?" Miss Kingston beginning to wonder what is up with Daphne.

"I have to ask, who exactly is Daphne? She seems quite connected for some reason." Evangeline chuckles.

"Daphne is actually Daphne Chakarov Sommers. I'm sure you've heard of the Chakarov family before. They're the leading experts of bioarchaeology and even had their own research laboratory under their name. Daphne came from a well-respected family and also influential. Her family consist of political, doctors and even professors." Evangeline explained.

"Wait, she's a Chakarov?!" Miss Kingston was quite surprised.

"Her mother is a Chakarov. But after marrying her husband, she changed her name to Sommers. That's why all of Daphne's siblings, including her, has the Chakarov name as their middle name. To remind everyone of who they are." Miss Kingston still can't believe she's actually in the presence of a Chakarov.

"But Daphne doesn't like to expose that side of her family to anyone. She wants to do something without using her family influence. Daphne basically wants to make a name for herself without affiliate with the Chakarov." Imperia clears her throat.

"As much as I love hearing this, but will she be able to find me a home? I need a place to call as my main base before I start my ..." before Imperia can finish her sentences, she feels something lurking outside of this house.

She simply stood up from her seat and went out to see what's going on.

"Show yourself. I can sense your rotting smell from a mile away," Imperia looks over her shoulder when a figure suddenly appeared out of the shadows of the night.

"Hmmm ... would you look at that, a vampire? My mistress was right all along." Imperia finally come face to face with a male werewolf.

"May I asked who this mistress you mention about? Should I be worried?" The werewolf smile.

"You're not registered under any clan ... no insignia to show and even no familiar scent. Most clans have their own scent after being turned by the clan leaders like my mistress. You, however, scentless." The werewolf sniffs the air around him.

"And you're working under a vampire? What has this world done to the order?" The male werewolf was not happy.

"It's called diversity. According to the law that the council has written, any clanless vampire should be executed without any trial needed. But as what my mistress had said before, to be a great leader, it should never make a rash decision without knowing the truth. So here I am, vampire. What are you doing here?" Imperia shrugs her shoulder.

"Such an obedient servant you are. Your mistress is quite lucky to have you. I will not answer your question unless your mistress agrees to see me." The male werewolf knows he's not dealing with a normal half-breed.

He notices such a strong aura that resonating from this vampire as he gets nearer. If he hadn't prepared himself, his wolf probably is too wild to control. This is his first time meeting someone who possessed a power far higher than his own mistress. And his mistress is one of the leaders!

"Very well. You may have an audience with my mistress. But, if you decided to be an enemy, we will not hesitate to protect our mistress at all cost. Please, follow me." Imperia nodded his head and followed the werewolf into a portal.

"This should be fun," Imperia said, mentally.