prologue
"Hey," Noah called. he was a vampire, from among the first generation pure-blooded. he looked like he was 26 or less, but he was more than that, he had a huge figure, he was tall and light-skinned, he had jet black hair which he wrapped into a loosed bun, Grey deep eyes which looked vibrant and more inked, a piercing long nose and thin lips. he was wearing a grey suit which complimented his eyes and a brown overcoat.
The other person in the room came out to meet him, "What is it, Noah?" said the man, he looked average in height, dark-skinned and his Iris looked brighter than Noah's as he was only an average vampire.
"The coven said we should only get Elliot and all the evidence against him, leave my sister and her kid out of this," he said, he bit his lips lightly, licking the blood from it. he had been thinking so long, he wasn't sure he wanted to do this.
"I heard you the first time. search the kitchen cupboard, he wouldn't hide things so far, it's a small house." the other man replied before disappearing back to the bedroom to keep on his search.
Noah fixed his hands in his pocket, strolling around the house whilst searching for anything that might lead them to the evidence they were looking for, but he did not touch anything. in fact, he did not like that the elders sent him here. Elliot was his brother-in-law, even though he wasn't on the right path.
Outside the building, A man held his son's hand and was accompanied by his wife, who held the child's other hand, "C'mon Joey, mommy will make you some sweet cookie and your favorite, blood tea." she said with a wide smile on her face. reaching the house, he saw that the lock on the door was not the same as he had left it. he frowned, raising a suspicious brow, "ok Joe, wait out with mommy, I'll check the house first." he knelt in front of the child, kissing him on his forehead, doing the same to his mother while she closed her eyes, she whispered to him, "What's wrong Elliot?"
"I think a thief broke in," he whispered quickly.
He brought out a small pocket knife, walking without a sound from his feet till he made his way inside. he was right, the lock was melted, it was done by his kind.
He got into the house and found no one there, just a few things that were scattered in the Living room. he sensed the strong smell from vampires, they were still present in the house. he made his way to the room, finding Kelp, a man who worked in the same department as his brother-in-law from the coven.
He adjust his face to a smile, not wanting to throw the first strike, "Finally, the elders sent someone to visit. what you do want from my humble abode Kelp, a drink? tea?"
The man was silent, he threw the documents he was holding on the bed, "I am sure you heard me? the coven doesn't want to make trouble with me, do they? I heard they only sent councilors when there's a problem." he strike a conversation with the man, acting ignorant to his crimes.
"You're under arrest, Elliot Bower," said Kelp, he brought out a cuff from behind him, showing it to Elliot, it looked different than how the normal cuffs would look.
Elliot chuckled, "I think that's a go from your side." he suddenly vanished from his spot, standing behind Kelp with his claw-like fingers which suddenly appeared piercing Kelp's throat, "Move quickly, c'mon, don't waste my time." he urged the man, walking him to the living room.
"How did you find me here?" he asked, when the man refused to speak, he tightened his hold on his neck, choking him slowly. Kelp Tried to breathe through his mouth, opening his mouth slowly.
"Who did you come here with?" he asked with a sharp voice this time.
"Councilman... councilman Noah." hearing Noah's name, his face cringed a bit but he adjusted it back to a smile.
Looking around, he called, "Come out, Noah, I know you're here. let's talk."
He tightened his grip on Kelp once he heard footsteps from all the sides of the house like someone was crawling on the wall and the ceiling. Elliot looked around, but he saw nothing.
"What? you got scared so quick?" asked Noah, Elliot could finally see Noah's shadow lurking behind the curtains.
"Don't come close..." Elliot warned. Noah finally came into light. Seeing him, Elliot tightened his grip on the man.
"I'll kill him if you come closer." he threatened, his mouth was wide open, closer to Kelp's throat, ready to sink his fangs and take a bite.
"Noah? councilman Kelp? what are you both doing here?" asked the bothersome voice of Elena, Noah's sister, she had just come in with her child, seeing the scenery in her house,
she drew her child closer, she did not want him to see his father threatening to kill a man.
"Elliot...?" she called his name, he moved back along with the man, "Ask your brother to leave!"
she wasn't getting anything clearly so she turned to look at Noah, her eyes questioning him.
"He is under arrest for fraud and along with the other crimes he has committed against the coven."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I-"
"He's my husband Noah! your brother-in-law." She explained, hoping he'd listen to her.
"You can not come here to take my husband."
Noah was the youngest amongst the elders of the coven, if he was sent here to pick Elliot, it meant Elliot had done something really bad.
"I am here to take him with me. it will be best if you stay out of this," he said, he had a guilty look on his face, but it was not in his place to mercy Elliot just because of the relationship they shared.
"He was found sharing pieces of information with rogue vampires and after the investigations, the coven found out they are working on some project which is supposed to make a different kind of vampire breed, Elliot planned to use your son for the first experiment which would take place in the next two months." he exhaled hard, "You don't know this man, Elena."
"I do, he's my husband for fuck sake Noah!" she roared.
Noah looked at his innocent nephew, Joey, it was hard to capture Elliot in the presence of his son, Elliot was more tricky and he knew that better than anyone.
"If you agree to go with us peacefully, I promise no harm will come to the both of them, you do care about them, don't you?" asked Noah
"what if I say I do not?" he laughed bitterly, Noah gestured to Kelp and the councilman tried to free himself from Elliot's hold and then Elliot sank his teeth in his neck, sucking out his blood before tearing out his veins with his teeth, making the man holler in pain before his body burnt to ash.
"Elliot...!!!" they both echoed, he had no remorse on his face, he threw Kelp's ash on the floor.
he moved to his wife quickly, seizing their son and putting his pocket knife in his neck, the blade cut through the little boy's skin slowing, making him bleed.
"Elliot, you're hurting our son, Let him go!"
"Shut up! don't say another word, else I'll kill him. what did you expect from me? to live after your pure-blooded family like a dog and wait for the bone they throw? they would never give me a good spot in the coven, why not earn mine? I'll kill the boy if you come over, stay back, Elena..." he played with her name.
"Don't do this Elliot, we can talk about it-" He pushed the boy aside about to run away when a bullet landed on his thigh, it belonged to the special gun created to weaken vampires, but he wouldn't give up so quickly, And if he wanted to escape successfully, he would have to take Noah down.
Elliot Turned to Noah, gritting his teeth in pain and anger, he pounced on Noah, scratching his face and neck, Noah tried to pull him off which made them somersault on the couch, "Elena, Take Joey away!" yelled Noah.
"Not so fast," Elliot disappeared, standing in front of Joey, he drew out a gun, blowing out all the bulbs from the room turn by turn.
"Haha, let's see why the elders would pick you over me, show me what you've got councilman!" he agitated Noah, it wasn't much of a problem to see in the dark, Noah's eyes followed Elliot at every step he took, he kept on pointing his gun at him, he was not ready to continue this little race with him so he planned on shooting his knee to weakening him down before dragging him alive to the council.
"Noah, don't hurt either of them," Elena begged, but he knew better than to let Elliot escape.
Elliot need his son a lot more than anyone knew, first of all, he was his ticket to escape, and secondly, he was the key to their great experiment. If he would get out of here, it had to be with the boy.
when he saw Noah aim his target and ready to shoot, he threw his silver blade dagger up, sending lighting which confused Noah, he did shoot, but not the right person. his bullet landed on Joey's forehead, the boy went up in a quick flame before turning to ash...
"Joey! no!"
******
He woke up sweating and panting hard, he found a silhouette standing in front of his door until someone switched on the light.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
she looked slender and an average height for a woman, she looked like she was in her mid 30's, but she was older than that, she was his elder sister.
"Why did you do that?"
she moved to his bed, sitting beside him, "It's been years since the incident took place, and I just felt like you forgot about them. Today marks Joey 15 years, but he's not here to celebrate with us." she smiled bitterly.
he sighed, he knew where she was driving to. "You know, if they were both here, we would go out and get a lot of stuff, making joey happy all day. I want a family." she broke out.
"You want to get married again?" he asked curiously. "That would be great." he chipped in.
"No. I want my son back. you'll give him to me." he was surprised at her words, he thought she had promised she would never bring this up again.
"You-..."
"Yes, Noah. you made me a promise, you told me you'd do everything to make me happy, you promised you'd give me back my happiness you stole. I want you to give me a son of your blood. prove you're not impotent and Fuckin' get someone pregnant so they'll give me a child!"
he was silent.
Chapter 1
"I want you to give me a son of your blood."
"Huh?" he asked, his brows knitted in confusion. she suddenly fall down at his feet, "Please Noah, do this for me, I feel like killing myself, I don't have a husband, neither do I have a child. you took everything away from me, remember..." she wiped her eyes with a deranged smile on her face, "You said you'd do anything to keep me happy, you killed my son and husband, and now I'm asking you for this small favor, please don't turn me down." seeing the way she was pestering him, he finally gave her some hope, "I will think about it, I'm not making you another promise I can't keep Elena,"
they had talked about this a lot of times and it always ended with him rejecting her idea. he would tell her that he wasn't married and so he can't get children, but this time he decided to give it a try.
He got up from the bed, picking a random shirt from the cupboard, he made his way to the door and was about to leave, Noah turned back to his sister, "Don't Fuckin' try that again, Elena! you're messing with my Brain." he warned before leaving the room.
she believed he must have forgotten the death of her family and did not feel the guilt anymore she had to make him remember, by messing with his dreams to make him remember what happened that night.
******
"How have Things been in the company?" asked Noah, he entered his office, scrolling through some files.
The young boy with him moved closer to the desk. "Everything's fine, Boss."
he thought for a while before speaking, "I need you to do something, Call Doctor Inder, tell her I want to speak to her urgently, she should book an appointment for later. he nod and hurriedly left the office.
...In The Doctor's office...
"You said your fangs are itching so much lately?" asked the doctor, he nodded. the lady brought out a small cup that had a red substance she was mixing since Noah arrived. she moved over to Noah, "Open up, widely." she commanded, he did that and then, she took some of it and fill it around his teeth, concentrating on his fangs.
"You've hardly taken in human blood in months, it must be the cause of the itching... pay someone to supply you blood, perhaps it reduces it. let's see first."
"How do you feel now?"
"Better. Inder? what did you mix in this, I can perceive blood, but on another thought, it isn't blood."
"It's a special care mixture for vampire's dentures. you'll be fine in a few days... you can leave." he got up, putting back his coat on retracting his fangs and then feeling it with his fingers, it turned better.
"Well, that reminds me, I have something to ask you, it's about surrogacy."
"Don't tell me it's for you?"
"It is Inder. Elena wants a child and after all these years I finally agreed to do this for her. I am not married, but I want to give her a child."
"You can leave your seed in one of these whore you fuck." she chuckled... "How bad can that be?"
"You know I would never give my sister a child with a whore. I don't want children, I dislike the thought of those little things ruining around my mansion," he shrugged at the thought of some pair of little feet paddling down the steps in the mansion and intruding in his space, "doesn't mean I'll have one with a whore when I want to."
his appearance darken, she gulped down, did she take her joke too far?
The room suddenly turned quiet with the doctor chewing on her lips for a while, when she noticed Noah was still starting at her, he had an obvious look on his face, he was waiting for an answer,
She picked up her cup, taking it back to the sink to rinse the content out,
"Well, You'll have to find an egg donor, then the hospital will provide you a surrogate mother to carry your child."
"Find one who would agree to stay with me. we'll have to keep a close eye on them till the child will be born."
"Really? are you that special?" she raised her eyebrow with her arms crossed around her chest, "my bloodline is! I can't take risks."
"well, I don't work in that area, I'll refer you to one who does." she smiled weakly... "You do know the mother has to be a vampire right?"
"I'd never forget." he grinned before leaving the office.
Flashback...
"Noah Quinn." the man announced, as soon as he heard his name, he appeared in front of him. the man looked closely at the vampire who looked no less than 20 human years.
"Appearance: 6 ft tall, White-skinned, jet black hair, a pair of grey eyes, pointed nose. Generation: first pureblood
Strength: Teleportation, telepathy, (SHC)" the man looked at him for a second time, it seemed unbelievable.
"Spontaneous Human Combustion?" he asked, he looked awed by the young man, he turned the paperback, looking at the picture on it and comparing it.
"It goes the other way round."
"I know, you're special." he complimented, Noah scratched his back head with a wide grin on his face.
"Well, there's nothing more to read, your weaknesses aren't recorded." he passed the paper to Noah and let him go through.
.............
"Mr .Quinn." the man commented.
"Good day sir." Noah looked around the room, noticing how so much darkness was around them, the windows which were opened did not do much helping. he found a huge flowerpot by the side, although vampires love art, this wasn't art, it looked weird and it smelt so many blades.
"I am well aware that you have done a lot for the coven, at your age, you've achieved more than some older vampires. we have a new job for you, and we're counting on your to do this right."
he didn't let him speak before passing the documents to Noah. he continued to speak as Noah scrolled through the file to find his brother-in-law on the most wanted list. his lips turned 'O'
"Elliot...., He worked for the coven from the time he turned ten, and just two years ago, he was accused of Treachery against the coven, working with rogue vampires currently, and our source has made us believe that they are up to something, some new experiment, we don't know much though." the man readout.
"I'm sorry, I can't take this." he rejected.
"It's not in your place to reject, it's an order." the man's voice turned sharp, his eyes piercing into Noah's. Noah shifted his gaze from the man.
"When you were recommended by the elders, I thought you were competent, but it seems like your emotions are holding your growth, you don't seem hungry for more power and a good spot in the coven, I can see that." he got up from his seat, moving to the curtains and closing them. his hand feel the blades he usually hid behind the big flower pot, the one Noah had noticed the moment he stopped his feet here.
"Why? Elliot is your sister's husband, he is related to you, I know." He drew out the first blade which Noah picked the sound of it, the man threw it to him in the dark, he was quick to move away from it with a surprised and confused look on his face. was this man trying to annihilate him, "Wow, you have keen eyes, even in the dark, Try If you'd catch this one," Noah was thinking it was a test, but this time the man threw a poisonous blade at him, he seized the blade in mid-air? this type of blade was able to give a vampire a third-degree burn if it touches their skin.
"Do you want to kill me?!" he barked.
"See for yourself," he drew out more than three knifes this time, throwing all of them to Noah. in an attempt to dodge all of them in the dark, Noah got a small cut from one. he yelped in pain, "You are good, but you have to work more on yourself if you want to be able to catch Elliot." he snapped his fingers which made all the curtains open and tie themselves up.
"We already have the current location of Elliot, but if we would be sending you, you'll need a
lot more training, from one of our finest. Elliot was raised in this very court and after all, that we did for him, he decided to bite the hand which fed him."
"I don't feel the burn," Noah said, more of asking, he stared at his hand so long until it start to notice the wound cover-up, his flesh inching up together until it became glued and so did the blood, vanish.
"The knife which cut you was not poisoned, the second one was. one thing, you have to learn to use your aggression to your advantage, instead of pouring it out foolishly," he said.
Chapters 2
Jasmine:
"You're back?" asked my cousin, she had a blackened face, I knew something was up. she moved from the bed to rest her back on the dresser.
"Is there a problem Lily?" I asked, trying to inhale calm air, I knew there was one,
"Mother is calling you." she sneered, she unfold her arms, swinging them while walking out the room.
I dropped my bag in my room quickly, making my way to my father's room. his wife was seated there, legs crossed on a large-sized bed.
"You forgot to greet, girl," she complained. she was already giving me a look of disgust.
"Sorry," I said nervously, bowing my head.
"About the laundry, what punishment should I give you?" she asked me, she was eating the fruits in the messiest way. I honestly wondered why my father would marry my mother's younger sister after her death...!!! he could have gone a bit farther to search for a new wife...
and about the laundry, I purposely skipped them, my lateness at work was becoming a problem and another reason to get sacked by Scott. he has always wanted to send me away, saying the shop doesn't have so much money to keep on paying more than two workers and considering the past beef we've had, I was definitely on his list.
"Sorry... I'm sorry." I bowed my head again, trying to not meet her eyes, and then I remembered I had some things to tell. my eyes boom with excitement while I released the word.
"Mother... I just wanted to tell you-" I started slowly, taking in every expression of hers so I know when to discontinue. she's always mad at me, always looking for something to blame on me, if that would get her a ticket to finally throw me out of the house.
"I've made inquires about the university at the beacon, I even paid the fees for the entrance exams which would commence in the next three weeks." I checked my pocket quickly, bringing out the list of admission papers, "Here it is! not to forget, you and dad promised me once Lily enters her third year in the uni, I will be able to attend a university too."
she licked her hand quickly and collected the admission list from me, looking at it quickly before passing it back to me. "About that," she pitifully twitched her lips and then I knew something was wrong, "You're not going. your father has so many projects at hand, and I'm not sure he would be able to waste money on unimportant things now."
She called my education unimportant! Lily is! not me.
"So-"
"So, you could try again next year, rewrite the entrance exams. I honestly don't see why you need to attend college, we've done a lot for you by letting you attend high school, feeding and clothing you all these years, isn't that enough for a girl without a mother?"
"It's not." I bit my tongue when I realized I let that out, "What did you say... girl? are you been ungrateful? you Ingrate!"
"I'm sorry, I did not mean it, mother. I am grateful for the life you have given me until now... I was just saying, Lily entered college 4 and a half years ago and she's-"
"Shut up! don't ever call my daughter's name like she's of the same status as you! your mother died of a disease, leaving you with nothing! nothing more than this!" she raised a small locket piece in her hand, jiggling it.
The sapphire locket belonged to my mother. that was the only thing I could boast she left me but it was out of my hands, she made me sell it to her for a meal.
The thing was that, Ever since they were little children, lily's mom always had something against my mother, she wanted whatever she had and she made sure to get it. her mother stole my Grandpa away, and so did she, stealing my father. She was not a good person at all, including that daughter of hers.
"Aunt I-" She didn't let me finish, "Why are you still here?!" she barked, "Go out of my room!" I turned around, running away while holding the tears about to burst from my eyes, I looked around the house for a quiet place, there was none, the twins were in their rooms, I and Lily share a room and she would laugh at me if she saw me crying in the room, all the other spare rooms in the house were locked and the keys, with lily's mom.
I picked my jacket, knapsack, and shoe, Leaving the house for a while.
There was a lake at the back of our home, my favorite place to go.
I took miniature steps, going to stand in front of the lake, it was quiet as usual. I watched how the water moved softly, it had no worries, at all and my life was the opposite of it. I inhaled the fresh air, taking off my shoes carefully and folding my pants to knee-length, and then I walked barefooted to the water. just as I expected, the water had a warm temperature. I stayed by the side for a While, praying for my mother's spirit.
she would usually take me here while she was alive, she told me this was the best place to connect with her when she finally goes beyond this world.
I suddenly feel her inspire me, lifting the burden from my heart. I needed to sketch out something. I jumped out of the water, going to pick my knapsack and searching for my phone.
My phone was cracked and it malfunctioned occasionally, I hit the side on my lap, shutting one eye and praying it works this time. I just got a flash of something I needed to draw out, my mother's wedding dress, I wanted to remodel the design, and save it for my marriage, if I'd have one,
She made me promise to wear the same dress on my wedding day.
it worked!
I smiled at the half blanked screen, I started to sketch out the dress, from the bodice to the lower part, the ball, and then the hand. perfect! I exclaimed.
I suddenly heard the loud chirping of birds and the shaky bushes at the other end of the river, it almost felt as if I saw someone's figure there
"Who's there?" I yelled, my voice was thrown back to me in an echo. "come out, I'm not scared of you..." I sound weird. no one came out nor answer, and so did the noise, it went vanished.
I looked at the pale tint of orange patches in the sky, it was already getting late and I should be back home at this time, preparing dinner.
still lifting my face up to the sky, a droplet of rain fell on my face, it was starting to shower, although it didn't looked like it would rain at first.
I dust my butt of dries leaves, touching my cheek, the tears magically disappear, and my cheek as moist as ever. I picked out my best smile, they would never see me in pain. I jogged back to our house. the night lights were automatically on, the night was fast approaching.
I knocked on the door once, I didn't feel too good, the air was cold, "Open up Luna! Luke?" I called the twins, they didn't hate me as much as lily and her mother, but they still disliked me.
when I heard no answer and the air still as quiet as ever, I put my knuckles on the door to knock again, it got opened from the inside. Janet, my stepmom, had a sinister look on her face, "Oh, you Finally came back?" her voice wasn't soft, but it wasn't the usual harsh tone either.
Lily was behind her with her arms crossed, twirled her body around, twisting her braid with her index finger while chewing something. they were both up to something, I can perceive that.
"We made a final decision, my whole family and now, we've decided that we don't want you around our house, Jas," she called my name. Lily was giving an expression for every word her mother said, making me a puppy dog eye.
"Huh? I-" I tried to push past them, I wanted to see it father, it was the first time I needed his help, even though he never cared for me, he did promise he would never throw me out of the house!
"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, acting clueless. Lily pulled me out of the house, pushing me to my feet.
"Ow..." I circled my fingers around my sprained ankles.
"Didn't you hear what mom said? are you deaf? we no longer want you here." I think the noise called my father's attention, with the way he appeared at the door, he looked clueless.
"Clark, she's disrespecting me again, this is why she must leave." Said Janet. he looked from her to me, helplessly, "Jasmine, you should respect your mother, it's best for you."
"But I didn't-"
"Oh, she's challenging you now, see!" she cut in.
"Janet, let her be." he tried to touch her for her to calm down, she turned fleetingly, elbowing his chin, "I don't want to hear anything Clark! this is the height of it, she disrespected me by walking away from me while I was still talking to her! every day, I report this imp to you, but you do nothing, today I'm finally taking action, no one will stop me."
He looked brainwashed by her stories, hell, she report to me every day. and at the same time, guilty, perhaps the fact that he could not do anything to save me. I saw the twins struggling with more of my things, dragging them out, including my mother's teenage dresses which I wore occasionally, "Luna, Luke, fling those trash away!" They used all their mights, pushing the broken luggage bag, it flew open in mid-air, and so did my stuff inside. Blueprints of my dream store and a collage book for interior designs for my dream store got wet in the drizzling rain, the muddy puddles swallowed some of my sketches, blanking the pages with their color.
She pushed my father behind her, holding the door with a sound warning, "Now read my lips, Jasmine, STAY AWAY FROM ME AND MY FAMILY." she read it out loud, claiming the house my mother soiled to build, including the man she married and he was speechless.
She pulled the door vigorously, closing it on my face. it was over, I lost to the both of them.
I picked as many papers as I could from the ground, evaluating them with the current stained look they all had, some were still useful, stained only at the end.. I gathered the useful ones, fixing them In my file book to dry later before picking my clothes, they all need a thorough cleaning. if they weren't muddy before now, the rain which was getting heavy, splashing water from the puddles successfully ruined them.
I sighed, pressing the water from my hair and pushing it backward so I could see clearly and concentrate. once I was done arranging all the stuff I wished to take with me, then I remembered I hide some cash recently. I quickly opened the zipper, surfed through the clothes, and then found my money, hopefully, Lily and no one else saw them.
I pressed my lips on the wet notes, kissing them. they were my lifesaver, not much of that though, but enough to save me for the rest of the week.
I Exhaled heavily, picking my luggage before walking out of the gate, I could not help but look back once more, I had some good memories with my torn-out Family, my Mother, Father...
Lily was peering at me through the
large windows with a smile on her lip and a facial expression of, 'You lost, I won.' she did promise me that I would be out of the house before I even knew it.
Seeing her smile, irked me more, but I was out of the house and she was still in there with her mother finally gaining hierarchy over everything which naturally belonged to my parents. she waved me one last time with a smirk on her face before leaving.
Now I had more pressing matters, Number one, where would I stay???