Viktoria’s POV
I scanned the books, and I wanted to be careful with them as they didn’t look fake old. They were really old. As I pulled one off the shelf and I felt the texture of the cover, I dropped it on the floor! A shiver ran down my spine as I looked at the book. The cover was made out of skin, not leather! It wasn’t human, and it wasn’t an animal. I couldn’t place what kind it was, but it was definitely skin! I carefully picked it up and shivered as I put it back. I would have to be more careful and was lucky that the book didn’t tear or get damaged. No longer able to slip my finger over the backs of the books for fear I might touch something else I didn’t want to know about, I tried to read some of the titles, but I could see these books had been handled a lot.
I wondered where they would have been stored in the library and who would have spent so much time reading them. I found one that had to do with the history of the first beast and made sure the cover was animal before I pulled it out. I could deal with animal leather. Finding a seat, I made myself comfortable and started reading the account of one of the royal council members.
“September 15th, 1789
For many years, I’ve pondered the idea that our fearless leader is much, much older than any of us can fathom. I even wonder if he is not perhaps a woman. There are many things that do not make sense, but it seems as if I am the only one who thinks this way. I have to keep my thoughts to myself or others may turn on me. However, how else would the first male have been born if not through a woman? But I digress. Today, we experimented on the beasts again. Combining the blood of a wolf with that of a human to create the perfect combination of a large predator that can protect us but is tame enough that we may control it.
Unfortunately, our specimen didn’t survive. It lived longer than its predecessors, which is progress, but it is not yet good enough. There is a wolf pack deep in the mountains of Croatia that looks different and acts differently than the norm and I have requested that some be caught and brought to me. Our time is fast running out and I can see in the eyes of the natives that they suspect something. Soon, our prey will become hunters and we will not stand a chance against their numbers. Maximus has ordered that no new vampires be turned. He wants us to try and breed with humans. His scientific mind is incredible, but I do not see why there is a need for us to do this, since vampires that were turned at an older age are so much more beneficial to our security. Being unable to walk in daylight is also fuelling the human need to portray us as monsters. They are a strange species. They want to be safe and saved from us, but they also create all these impossible myths and monsters that could harm them. None of which actually exists. Their irrational fears are what seems to drive them.
I will have to wait for the new wolf subjects to arrive before I go out to find more humans.”
I frowned. This was not what we were taught. Yes, the ancient created the wolves, but there was never any mention of human subjects being used! Our history teaches us that humans have always lived in harmony with vampires. They wanted vampires to feed on them since their venom was like some kind of drug that put the humans in a state of bliss for a few hours. I also couldn’t believe that there were more humans than vampires at some point. Vampires have always been the dominant species. Created by the saints to rule the world and take care of the weaker humans.
I put the book down on the table beside me and sighed, wondering if I really wanted to read all these lies. I was sure that if the ancient read these, he would lose his mind. He was currently in one of his hibernating cycles. I had never met him since he went into hibernation before I was born and, since it lasted a hundred years, I wasn’t sure if I would ever meet him. Sighing, I walked over to the window and looked out at the square. People were laughing and talking, and it looked like any normal village in the books I read. You would never think that these people could turn into vicious beasts. I wondered if their children could turn, and thinking about it I felt scared for the mothers of those children.
As I thought back to the convent and how Belinda treated me, I wondered how a young pup would keep his beast in check if he was …
“Are you hungry yet?” Fynn’s voice soothed what I was just about to think and the idea fell into the depths of my thoughts. I shook my head. “Not even for a snack?” He tilted his head to one side as if he didn’t believe me, but I shook my head again. “Well,” He sighed. “You have incredible control over your blood lust then.” He walked into the library and I remembered my little stunt from before! If I was really half vampire, they would probably think I needed more blood more often.
“Only half of me is vampire.” I took my seat and crossed my arms over my chest. I guess this wasn’t just about me getting to know them. They were probably just as curious about the dhampir who took over their place next to the vampires. “I don’t have the same blood lust as a full vampire. I can survive with both food and blood or just one of the two.” He sat down beside me and I could see his eyes flashing from the book back to me.
“So? What did you think?” He looked amused and I rolled my eyes.
“It’s all lies or the ramblings of a mad scientist. It wasn’t written by the ancient himself, so how am I supposed to believe it?” I frowned and he laughed. All our teachings were written by the ancient. There wasn't a single book that was written by someone else.
“How far did you get?” That question could have a hidden meaning and I squinted as I looked at him. He wanted to know how fast I could read, more than if I got to know more about their history.
“Not far. I couldn’t stomach the lies.” I crossed my legs and felt his eyes scan over my body. Goosebumps broke out all over my skin and I shivered.
“Are you cold?” He jumped up out of his chair and brought a blanket which he threw protectively over me. “I’m sorry, our home is pretty cool due to the fact that our blood runs a lot warmer than yours." He frowned as he said it. Vampire blood ran cold and the temperature really shouldn't have been bothering me. I wasn’t going to tell him that his eyes on me were what made me shiver and I pulled the soft blanket closer. “What makes you think it’s all lies?” He studied me as he sat down. I had just given him an enormous piece of information about the dhampir and he wanted to know what I was thinking.
“For starters, there were never more humans than vampires. Vampires have always ruled the world.” He laughed at me again and asked what the vampires were teaching us, to which I felt utterly confused. Standing up again, he opened a cupboard, and inside there was a large flat-screen television. I smiled as I hoped to see my father on the screen, but when he switched it on, there was something else.
Humans! Lots of humans! He went through what he called channels and I couldn’t believe there was so damn much! He stopped at what he called a movie and I gasped as I saw what they referred to as a vampire. We watched it and at the end, I was feeling infuriated! First off, vampires weren't pale! They weren’t dead as described in the movie, and they sure as hell didn’t shine! Only the royal males could walk in the sunlight, and no vampire I knew of, worked in the human world!
“Why are you showing me these lies!” I jumped up from my chair, feeling as if my world was spinning out of control. I wanted to get out of here! He was trying to feed me lies so I would turn on my people and tell him all of our secrets! Our teacher told us that beasts weren’t intelligent, but I could see that they knew how to manipulate one’s feelings! I can’t stay in this room. I felt the walls slowly moving in on me. As I felt myself start to hyperventilate, I felt his warm hand on my lower back and we moved outside. It didn’t take long for the fresh cool air to calm my heart and I glared at my capture. “I want to go home.” My voice was calm, but inside there was a storm brewing.
Viktoria’s POVAn incredible pain struck my heart as I uttered the words, but I fought it off so as not to show any weaknesses. I needed to stand my ground and demand that he take me back, but a smile started to form on his lips.“I’m sorry princess. We still have a lot to show you before you can leave, and in my opinion, you won’t want to leave once you’ve seen everything.” He gripped me behind my elbow and led me back inside. The dark wood used to build this place reminded me of our dungeons. The soft light inside makes it feel warmer than the dungeons thought. If I wasn’t here under these circumstances, I would probably have liked it, but all it did at the moment was make me miss home even more! I wasn’t even going to tell him to stop calling me princess since he seemed to enjoy infuriating me.We walked back into the library and he handed me the blanket before almost shoving me back into the seat. Taking the seat next to me, he opened the book I was reading before and started to r
Viktoria’s POVClearly, Fynn didn’t understand when I told him to take me home! I wanted to go back to the castle. To the people I knew and the truths, I was taught.Flashback“Today, your lives will change. You are no longer the children from the convent. You are now the dhampir in training.” I watched our fearless leader as she walked up and down the front of our platoon. My mother had told me so much about her that I almost felt as if I knew her myself. She wasn’t just our teacher. She was also there when our parents joined the dhampir. My mother had tears in her eyes whenever she talked about her days here, but I knew that my father chose her as his concubine, which took her out of the running to become a dhampir. Without telling me too many of the details, my mother explained that she was his only concubine and spent a month in the castle until they we
Viktoria’s POVI woke up feeling a little disorientated, but it didn’t take me long to recognize the room I was in. If I was at the castle, I would probably have met my father by now. I had no idea if he would actually know who I was, but a girl could hope, couldn’t she? I always carried a very small hope that he wanted to meet me just as much as I wanted to meet him even if he was the prince second in line to the throne. That was what I worked so hard for after all. Not the only reason, but still one of the bigger ones. I felt a little dizzy as my thoughts wandered over to our ranking system and if the wolves also had special females that were meant only for breeding and others, they turned to wolves. If I had to be that honest, I didn’t know much about them. Only what our books told us about where they came from and most importantly that they were beasts, not human.There was never any mention of children and there were clearly little beasts running around. How much of what I was ta
Viktoria’s POVI was feeling much better, but my mind was still all over the place and I needed some answers. Even if I didn’t ask them outright.“Okay, you seem to know almost everything about me but I hardly know anything about you and the beasts.” That was a bit obvious! Wasn’t that the reason why they kidnapped me? “Tell me in your words how things are different from what you think I’ve been taught.” I was hoping if we could just sit and talk about it as we have been talking now, I wouldn’t feel sick to my stomach!“What do you want to know?” He leaned back against the post of the bed and smiled, crossing his arms over his chest.“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “You were the one who kidnapped me. I’m sure you wanted me to know something. Unless you wanted to kill me.” My eyes grew wide! I didn’t think he would openly admit it!“Well for one, we aren’t beasts, but I think you’ve figured that much out by yourself.” He looked amused and shifted so he could sit more comfortably. “What els
Fynn’s POVThese damn vampires weren’t leaving us alone even after I had an agreement with their king! I walked up to the prisoner being held down by my men, but her scent immediately told me she wasn’t a vampire and I growled at my men!“Let her up!” I glared at them. They caught an intruder and didn’t take care to check if she was a vampire first! I ripped the cloth from her head and she glared at me.“Prince Victor sent me to make sure his daughter is still alive, but these animals won’t let me see her!” I had to fight not to laugh when she growled and it sounded like a young pup who had just found his voice.“I told the prince that his daughter would be safe. I also showed him video footage of the princess. What more does he want?” I crossed my arms and watched her squirm as she tried to break free. She glared at me for a moment before calming down. Explai
Viktoria’s POVWithout thinking, I went into fight mode, but Fynn blocked the first attack. However, I was probably faster than he anticipated as the second punch connected with his jaw.“OW!” He flinched looking surprised but caught my hand mid-air when it came around for the knock-out. “That actually hurt!” He looked surprised and I burst out laughing.“What? Did you think it wouldn’t, ‘cause it was meant to!” I was furious, and amused at the same time! What did he expect? That I wasn’t going to punch his damn lights out when I found out he had been keeping my family from me? “You have been going on and on about all the lies the vampires have taught us, yet you have been lying to me since I arrived! How am I ever supposed to believe a single word you say ever again!” I ripped my wrist from his grip and walked away fighting to catch my breath. The dhampir taught us to always keep our emotions in check, but since I wasn’t there, I didn’t see the damn harm in losing my temper completel
Viktoria’s POVMy mind went straight to our library. To the exact shelf, and book that I read a million times. I could imagine the feel and smell of the paper as I opened it. The first-hand account of how the ancient created the beasts. The paper in this diary was much older and I couldn’t imagine this being a fake. I couldn’t think that anyone would go to these lengths. I couldn’t stay in my seat and stood up just in time to see a group of older men leaving the main house. That must have been the reason Fynn left so quickly and looked so solemn. I wondered how my stay here affected his people. It couldn’t have been good. Now that I knew, my people had come to look for me. I couldn’t imagine … Those must have been the elders! I felt infuriated instantly. After what I had read about the ancient, it aggravated me that our destinies were in fact influenced by these old men! Men who didn’t know how it felt to be young in our time! Men who want things done their way.FlashbackThe smell of
Viktoria’s POVI could hear the sounds of boots walking on the marble floors of the castle corridors. I could smell the slight scent of citrus in the air that hid the other dreadful scents that clung to the palace walls from eons ago. I could see the beautiful clan flags hanging from every corner. The world I grew up in. The world I have loved since the day I was born. The world I never even thought could be such an enormous lie!“Are you all right?” Fynn’s voice broke through my memories and I smiled and nodded. I couldn’t very well tell him what I was thinking or how I was feeling. Yes, he had opened my eyes, but probably not in the way he wanted to.Viktor’s POVThe week couldn’t pass fast enough! For the first time in my very long life, it felt as if time was standing still. The same question I had been asking for days kept floating around in my thoughts as I sat in the small council meeting once again listening to my father lay down the law about the beasts. He was such a hypocri