Lincoln's P.O.V

"Please," The woman begs, her arms tightly bound around her child. "P-Please don't do this."

I brush my wrist across my chin, collecting the blood dripping from my chin on my skin while I look around the clearing around us.

The second was ripping through all he could find that moved, once it had a heart he ensured it wouldn't beat again. The third didn't seem to enjoy her kills quite as much and the fourth, only two days present, seemed to stick a bit before she delivered her kills, but she got them done.

Tears still ran down her stoic face, that would stop by the seventeenth day.

You couldn't see most of the bodies, the fields covered the massacre. Though the tall, once green grass was now a sea of red that sept into the ground, bleeding into the soil the same way these wolves bled now. The terrified screams and mournful cries rode the wind, filling my ears with the sound of the sorrow I'd caused.

No. I didn't cause this. 

There was laughter too. 

Vile, immoral laughter that made my skin crawl and my brand pulse in response to the ones who'd put it there, the ones who owned me. They were enjoying this, watching their creations carry out all they ever imagined, watching us tear down their stunned enemies.

I saw it in each of their eyes before I took their lives from their bodies, that fearful look as they stared into my bloodshot eyes, not knowing what it was that killed them.

Lowering myself to this werewolf's level, I find the same look in her eyes.

I didn't know my eyes were red until the made more and I saw the blood irises, no one but us had eyes like these.

They, like our brands, showed others we were something different.

"Y-You don't h-have to do this," She pleads as she curls her sobbing child closer to her chest.

I do. I don't want to, but I do.

I try to tell her but the words don't come out, they never did, unless it was to one of them.

Not wanting to elongate the inevitable, I make her death quick and the child's even quicker. If they saw the child, they'd take it and that would surely be worse than death.

I couldn't imagine anything was worse than this.

-------------------

I open my eyes to find Kalem's smaller frame squeezed against me, my arms caging him tightly as raged breaths brushed my chest in a rush. 

I realise, in a treacherous moment, that I was holding him the same way that woman held her pup.

Startled by the very thought, I unwind myself from Kalem and try to put some distance between us as my mind struggles to place me back in the present, after my unwanted mental visit to my past. 

Kalem, fully awake and perfect, wore eyes strained by his worry, worry he harboured for me. Before I can let that warmth calm me, he sits up to face me as I run a shaky hand through my hair.

It was wet with sweat like the rest of my skin that was slick with the evidence of my eternal ghosts. Closing my eyes, I try to settle my skittish thoughts that threatened to make my still heart race in an effort to escape the things and people I'd already buried centuries ago.

Small, soft fingers slide over my shaking ones, taking them in a careful hold that makes me shudder. I open my eyes to look at the source, Kalem offers me a gentle smile that said so much, none of which was filled with judgement of any kind. 

As I stare at him silently, captivated by those kind, hazel eyes, his other hand raises to palm my cheek and when I flinch slightly, he hovers for a moment before continuing his gentle caress.

It takes me a moment, but my mind wields to his soft caresses, recognising it as Kalem and not the ones who'd created me only to enslave me. As I calm, Kalem brings himself closer and closer until he finally climbs into my lap and brings me to rest against his chest.

Sinking into his arms, I wrap my arms around his small body and breathe him in deeply. 

Those times, those dark times, were centuries ago, it was over now I'd made sure of that. 

I broke my chains.

"Did you have a bad dream Master?" Kalem asks softly, his familiar voice sending a wave of comfort over me.

"Yes," I answer and he holds me a little tighter.

"I'm sorry," He says sounding genuinely pained by the thought. "I hate bad dreams."

"Me too," I reply with a weak chuckle as I rest my head to the crook of his neck, he smelt like home, he was home. "They're the worst aren't they?"

"The worst," Kalem agrees quickly bringing a smile to my lips. 

"But having you here, with me, after them, makes it a little easier to deal with after," I admit as I pull back to look at my boy. 

Kalem blushes faintly at my words but smiles brightly at the words that stroked that part of him that wanted to be needed by his Master. I lean in and press a kiss to his lips, closing my eyes to savour that sweet taste of honey that always rested on those perfect lips.

"You make everything better love," I groan once we part and Kalem giggles against me. "Let's go back to sleep."

"Are you sure Master?" Kalem asks with a small frown. "If you're not ready to see those bad dreams again, we can read our book for this month o-or start my cleaning for the day a little earlier and you can help me."

The offer makes me cringe with dread, my entire soul-shaking at the revolting thought of getting out of bed to go clean at this ungodly hour in the morning.

"I'm sure," I reply with a tight smile as I lay back down with Kalem curled against my chest.

"Okay Master," Kalem agrees with a short yawn. "Maybe in the morning."

"Maybe," I reply sarcastically, pressing a kiss to his head while rebuking the very thought.

Kalem quickly falls back to sleep, soft snores escaping him as he slept against me while I stared blankly at the ceiling. 

It'd been quite some time since I'd had a nightmare, I'd never fallen that deep into my slumber for my mind to concoct one, much less one that wasn't a figment of my imagination. 

I'd almost forgotten the sting they left behind. 

There was no way I was letting my eyelids shut now with images of my earliest years on this planet so fresh in my mind, so close I felt as if I'd be pulled back to relive them at any moment. 

I could almost feel it. That number that been dug into my skull to mark what I was created to be, I felt it's familiar burn that I'd lived with for centuries.

Number 1. We didn't have names, weapons or rather slaves, didn't need names.

Familiar hatred pools in my veins as I recall all they'd made me do, all the lives I'd torn down while they'd cackled from a distance and I thought, not for the first time, of how I should've better savoured their deaths. 

I'd rushed it, fuelled by decades of pain and torment, I'd ended their lives much faster than they deserved. They should've suffered twice as much as I did, as we did and then three times over.

The forgotten memory of Diablos and the others makes my body tense with discomfort, he'd suffered as well as many of us did. It made some shrivel of pity surface, one that I quickly distinguished when Kalem drew himself a little closer to me.

No amount of suffering made what he'd endorsed amongst our kind acceptable. 

Solidifying myself with that thought, I let my mind run in the direction it had in the past few weeks. I'd strengthened the castle, made it my stronghold. I'd spent the time reacquainting myself with all the clans that still operated though barely hanging on, and with the details of the treacherous history of our kind I'd not paid much attention to.

It was time now to act.

------

"I will try my best to come back to you as quickly as I can," I promise Kalem as I hold his face in my hands. Though I was sure it wouldn't be more than three days, I didn't want to promise it only to make him worry if I ran into more obstacles than I accounted for.

"Okay," Kalem replies sadly, his hazel eyes holding mine with clear dismay. "But you'll come back?"

"That I can promise," I reply and Kalem smiles a little as he rests his hands over mine. "You'll be good for me won't you?"

"Yes Master," He promises as he shifts his body in the manner that told me he wanted a kiss, so I oblige before he can ask for it and make it last. Kalem whimpers into the kiss as he parts his lips for me, letting me explore his mouth, tasting him while I leave my own flavour in his mouth. 

I break my punishment to pull him into a hug and thankfully, Kalem lets me. He'd been surprisingly strict with keeping the rule that I was growing to hate with each passing day. I thought he would break sooner than I would, but Kalem hadn't and every time I tried to pull him to me, he pressed a hand to my chest and shook his head no.

It was entirely dreadful.

"No more than five days," The elf says to Malcolm as he holds his chin up by the end of his thin finger, his golden eyes leaving no room for argument.

"Five days," Malcolm replies, his body a willing prisoner to Aias' gaze that held him perfectly still.

Aias studies Malcolm's face for a few long moments before he lets his eyes run down Malcolm's body as if to memorize every inch of it. Malcolm shivers under his gaze, his body responding in every way as Aias took his time. When his now pleased eyes found Malcolm's submissive, grey ones once more, he smiles slyly and presses a kiss to Malcolm's lips.

"Remember who you belong to Pisen," He whispers against Malcolm's lips before pulling away from him completely leaving him lost and pining for more before he straightens and nods shakily.

"Sometimes I wish I could claw my eyes out," I groan as Malcolm steps away from the smirking elf to grab our bags.

"Let's go," Malcolm says ignoring me as he heads past me and through the door.

I squeeze Kalem for a second more before I part from him with one final kiss and then another, by the time I find the strength to pull away, Kalem is smiling clearly satisfied from the door.

"Love you," I say to him and his face almost tears as he jumps on his toes.

"I love you too Master!" He exclaims happily making me laugh gently as I turn and head to Malcolm's car. He was already waiting behind the steering wheel, so I slide into the passenger seat and immediately groan in disgust at the scent of elf and sex that hung in the air.

"You could've cleaned or aired it out at the very least," I spit as I lower my window, trying and failing not to gag.

"But then I wouldn't be able to drive with his scent around me," Malcolm replies with a small frown of confusion. 

He really could be an idiot sometimes.

Looking out the window as he pulls out of his driveway, I find Kalem and the elf watching us from the doorway. Kalem waves frantically at me while Aias leans haphazardly against the frame with a look of amusement that said that he was more than aware of the state of the car. His spreading smirk was confirmation that he knew just how much I was suffering and that he was enjoying it.

"Byeeeeeee!" Kalem calls as we drive away, I watch him in the rearview mirror until I can't any longer and lean back into my seat to face the road ahead of us.

"You think they'll be okay?" Malcolm asks as he leans into his seat.

"Aias is an elf," I say because we both know that was enough to counter whoever would dare to approach them in our absence, "and Kalem is... Kalem. They'll be fine."

There wasn't a single cell in me that wanted to part from Kalem, and for multiple days at that, but it had to be done, the sooner the better.

With a lot of work and time, Malcolm had managed to get a location on the Anouk Clan through some old contacts that owed him a favour or two and feared his relationship with me enough to not deny him the intel he had requested. 

The Anouk Clan moved frequently, it was how they lasted this long with their dwindling numbers that weren't enough to fight off Diablos or any other who thought to disband them in effort to strengthen their hand in our world. 

They weren't necessarily strong or even influential for that matter, but they were a start. With the Anouk Clan at my hand, operating behind me, I could start building my ranks and forming my clan with a clean base. They were weak but could be strengthened, with training and structure, they could grow to be formidable.

We just had to get to them before they moved again, and seeing as they were currently said to be trailing the border of Canada, we had to move quickly. We couldn't possibly make it by foot or car, but I knew a witch that would help us get to them, we just had to get to her.

Though I detested witches with every bone in my body, the Amorenia witch was indebted to me and it was time she paid her dues. 

While Malcolm and I were making our first serious move to taking control of our kind, Aias and Kalem would be continuing the search in trying to figure out what exactly he was. When I, in less detail, told Aias and Malcolm about the impressive strength Kalem had displayed in bed, the elf's eyes had narrowed to slits as he listened.

I was beginning to suspect that he had an idea or two of what Kalem truly was, but couldn't conjure a reason as to why he wouldn't share them. Other than his guesses being something terrible he didn't want to believe, but that didn't make much sense either, so perhaps I was looking too deeply into something that wasn't there.

"I can practically hear the gears in your head turning," Malcolm voices pulling me from my troubling thoughts. "Either you share what you're thinking or you start talking so I'm not bored."

"Because I was created to entertain you," I reply sarcastically, glancing lazily to Malcolm whose eyes were focused on the road.

"Quite literally," He replies, his lips curling up with an approving smile. "It's nice to see that you're finally understanding your true purpose."

"You're a simpleton,"

"Don't self-project," He replies and I open my mouth to reply but stop when I look around curiously, my mind picking up landmarks that were opposite to the direction we were supposed to be heading in.

Sitting up, I look out the window to be sure before I focus a slightly nervous Malcolm in my gaze.

"Malcolm," I call and he swallows as his places both hands around the steering wheel. "Do you want to tell me why we're heading the wrong way?"

"No,"

"Malcolm," 

"So I thought, 'hey, this is like the first time in twenty decades that we took a trip'," He starts with a hesitant chuckle, his eyes darting to mine for less than a second before he looks to the highway again. 

"This isn't a road trip or adventure," I say through clenched teeth, failing to keep my tone calm. "This is a serious matter that's keeping me away from Kalem, keeping us both away from home."

"Yes true," Malcolm agrees speedily. "But like, isn't three stronger than two?"

I pause then, not quite understanding his words as my mind tries to catch up to what he was implying.

"And I knew he'd fucking kill us if he knew we did something like this without him," Malcolm continues mindlessly, carrying on his tangent without a second thought. "So I thought, why not? We haven't seen him in a bit and he's c-"

"Wequie?" I question with a mental and physical groan when my brain finally catches up. "You want to bring Wequie."

"You make it sound so bad," Malcolm replies pitifully. 

"Because you and him together are bad," I reply and he smiles fondly as if remembering some memory that replayed differently in my mind. "How is he going to possibly help us?"

Outside of Malcolm, Wequie was one of the only other beings in this realm I could tolerate and consider to be a...friend... sort of. I came to know the troublesome incubus through Malcolm soon after he finally won me over to be his friend and I regretted it very soon after, the pair often found us in more trouble than I preferred to deal with.

It wasn't that I hated Wequie, he wasn't the worst person in the world, I hated what he was. 

His genes often led him to make impulsive decisions that created more stress than I was ever ready to deal with. When he was able to control himself, he wasn't that bad.

"That's just insulting," Malcolm replies looking at me with a disappointed expression. "He's smart and much quicker on picking up things than the two of us, he will be of help. And more than any of that, he's our friend."

Somebody had been watching reruns of My Little Pony...

I grumble instead of replying because I couldn't truthfully argue against him there.

"He better not be far off course," I warn, already giving in. 

"The address he gave me is less than thirty minutes away," Malcolm supplies quickly, his entire body relaxing as he begins to shift with excitement.

He rather enjoyed Wequie's company, understandably so seeing as he was one of the few beings in this world that liked all there was to Malcolm.

True to his word, in less than half an hour we find ourselves outside a run-down, seemingly empty motel that brought frowns to both of our lips. Thankfully Wequie spears us the task of looking for him, his small frame came running towards the lean machine before Malcolm had even parked the car.

"Adventure number two-hundred and fifty-six!" Wequie cheers the moment he slides into the back seat, slamming the back door behind him. He pushes himself into the middle and sits up to bring himself next to the two of us. "Who would've thought we'd see another one after number two hundred and thirty-three."

"Do not," I warn, not wanting to relive that day even mentally, "and this is not an 'adventure', it's serious."

"Yes, yes," Wequie mocks as he leans forward, curious fingers searching through the cupholders for God knows what. He digs around and pockets the things that interested him. "I promise to not make a mess of it, but I'm still thinking of it as an adventure... just a serious one."

"You smell like a prostitute," Malcolm comments kindly as he reverses smoothly. 

"You always say the sweetest things, Malcolm," Wequie coos sounding touched, he wraps his arms around the seat to give Malcolm his best version of a hug. "I've missed you! Why can't you be so kind Lincoln?" He questions as he detaches himself from Malcolm to invade my space.

"Because your version of kind words is warped and twisted," I reply, covering his face with my hand before I shove him back into the back of the car. 

"You're such a specist," He complains while his fingers begin to play with the light switch at the ceiling of the car. "How would you feel if I told you drinking blood makes you a pervert?"

"I wouldn't care," I reply and he rolls his eyes with clear frustration. 

"Just give him a compliment Linc," Malcolm says seriously despite the way his lips quivered as he tried to hold back his laughter. 

Malcolm was truly a little shit.

Looking at Wequie in the rearview mirror, I find him looking back at me with his true form on display, his pointy ears sitting tall and waiting as his tail flicked the light switch back and forth in place of his fingers which were unwrapping a stick of gum.

"Wequie... you look like if... ugh," I close my eyes and release a breath before speaking the words I knew he wanted to hear, "you look like if you just had....uh amazing sex... with multiple men... and women... of different species... happy?"

"Very!" He squeals, beaming happily at me as he lays down across the backseat, satisfied enough now to leave me alone. "So, Malcolm told me a little bit of what we're doing, anything I should know about this Anouk clan? How do you even say that by the way? Ahhh-nuke? Like a nuclear bomb?"

"They don't have an appetite for incubi so you're safe," I reply as I sink further into my own seat. "If things are to turn violent, I'm not opposed to you using all of your... abilities."

"So this is serious serious," He replies with a snort as he shifts around, struggling as always to get comfortable or settle for that matter. 

"It's for Kalem, why else would he leave his castle," Malcolm jabs and Wequie joins him in taunting laughter.

"You friendless hobo," Wequie snickers and I look out the window, letting myself zone out while the two of my closest 'friends' continue their childish jabs.

Only three days and you'll be back with Kalem.

Just three days...

-------------------------

I love Wequie. Everytime I write about him, I start laughing because I know he's going to give Mekhi hell looool.

Thoughts?????

Did we like the look into Lincoln's Past?? Thoughts on that? What about his first move to becoming Plythen? If you don't know what that is, or how clans work, read my Vampire 101 chapter in my notebook.

Also, I am soooooooooo excited to write about Kat, even if it's just a little bit. I miss my bitch😭😭.

Vote up and comment if you enjoyed this chapter!! I liked writing the interaction between Weuqie, Malcolm and Lincoln.

I think I'll be updating this book again before Delicate, but I'll probably release a Patreon chapter before that. 

Well, until next time,

Byeeeeeeeeee Humansssssssssss