In almost every story, especially the ones for children, there's a villain. Villains usually share similar characteristics -  they are easily recognizable by their ugly features, they are outcasts whose only purpose is to be eventually defeated by the hero. 

Witches, giants, wizards, werewolves- you name it. They are different, and thus deemed dangerous. As they can't be integrated to the society, they usually live in secluded places, such as forests or mountains. 

Now, to the main question: why do villains so badly want to harm the hero? 

Again, their motives are usually depicted as quite simple: they are driven by their oversized ego. They want power, more than anything else in the world, and  they are willing to eliminate anything or anyone who stands in their paths. 

Fortunately, in children's stories, heroes are always victorious and we all know how they live 'happily ever after'.

What about the villains? Tss, who cares?  Why do you ask? The villains end up dead or imprisoned. End of the story. 

Don't put words into my mouth. I am not saying that villains shouldn't be punished. I'm saying it's time for writers to stop oversimplifying villains. 

Behind every villain, there is an infinite pannel of reasons, motives, desires, fears and feelings who motivated their actions. 

Let's go back to the main question: why do villains so badly want to harm the hero? 

Call me naive, but I believe that, at the root of every devilish act, there's an old, well-hidden pain. 

Peace and Love is an amazing credo, but I guess it can't happen as long as healing old wounds is not our main priority. 

As a singer once said: "Hatred is a sorrow that got infected" ***

"Alex? Baby, are you with us?"

Vampires. Heartless creatures, cold blood, fear the light of the sun, drink the blood of their victims to the last drop. 

Another bag of bullshit. The stories I read as a child? Bullshit, bullshit. How can it be true when the vampire who is holding me close against him is so warm? 

Warm. That's the word that fits him best. 

Warm. Even when he's angry, even when his eyes and voice turn as cold as ice. 

Warm. 

"Traitor! Do you think we have all day?"

"Shut up, dog! Next time you call my mate traitor  will be the last time you ever talk."

"Dog? That's the best you could come up with? Oh, and in case you didn't know, your mate is also a werewolf, so I guess you fell in love with a member of the canine species.

"Nate, babe, I told you to reign in your anger. And you, bloodsucker, watch your tone when you adress my mate"

"Tss! I can take both of you doggies in a fight whenever"

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet on that?"

I slowly open my eyes, to find Kyle sending me a look of consternation and I know he is thinking the same as me.

We have to get ride of our mates for a while, or we will never be able to have a conversation. 

"Malik-"

"Guys-"

We both laugh nervously, mentionning for the other to start first. 

When Kyle doesn't say anything but keeps looking at me insinstantly, I take a big gulp of air and try hesitantly:

"Maybe it would be better if it was just Kyle and I?"

Of course, their reactions are immediate. 

"No way!"

"Alex! I am not leaving you on your own again!"

"Kyle, are you crazy? Have you forgotten who he is and what he tried to do to you? We're not leaving you alone with him!"

Ouch. I will pretend that didn't hurt. They are only saying the truth, of course. 

"Look, guys" Kyle huffs, sounding exasperated. "This is mainly between Alex and I, okay? This is not a story that should be told in a big committee. You can just wait for me in the living-room. I know Alex isn't stupid enough to try to hurt me when two angry, overprotective wolves are next door. Also, do you think I can't handle myself in a fight? I am still stronger than Alex, and probably than you too, Nate"

"But, Kyle, you're pregnant-"

"Yeah, and I will probably deliver right here and now if you guys keep annoying me"

"Is it really possible?" Nate asks, sounding a bit worried and I try my best to stifle back a laughter. 

Did he really buy that? Doesn't he remember a single thing about our biology lessons with the Alpha, back then when we were teenagers? 

"Okay, sorry, we didn't want to upset you. We can let you have a little chat in private, Kyle, if you're sure that's a good idea?"

Well, neither does Darren, apparently.

"It is" Kyle confirms in a firm voice. 

Okay, one last possessive mate to convince. 

"Alright, then" Malik eventually grumbles, as all eyes are trained on him. "But if I ever hear the slightest suspicious sound, I am taking your ass back home and that's final"

"You make it sounds like Kyle and I have an affair" I try to joke, earning myself a concert of growls and protests. 

After throwing a last anxious glance at their mate, Nate and Darren leave the room and suddenly the atmosphere is a bit more breathable. 

Not that I don't like them, I always respected them, although I used to be mad at them for the way they treated Kyle in the beginning. I still believe Darren is a good Alpha, and I know how much he loves his mates. Same thing goes for Nate, my favorite in the pair, because I like his sense of humor and easy-going attitude. He's much less intimidating than Darren, and the two of us used to be good friends. 

Yes, most of the good things in my life should be written in past tense.

Except for Malik, of course. 

"How did you manage to get in touch with Kyle?" I ask Malik, who is now reluctantly letting go of me. 

"That's a story for another time, but let's say that, for once, that stupid Lucas proved himself helpful. I might even spare his worthless life"

I chuckle and smile at my mate, expecting him to leave the room without further ado but to my greatest suprise and pleasure, I am suddenly spinned around and find myself in a mind-blowing kiss as he grips my head just a little too tight. 

The kiss feels less controlled, more desperate than usual. It makes me feel both sad, because I can feel his distress and fear of losing me, but at the same time, I find myself secretly enjoying it, because it shows me how much he cares. 

He cares, right?

"Whatever you've done, don't beat yourself too much, little Alex. I will always be there for you, I promise. This smug vampire isn't going anywhere" he whispers against my ear, after he finally broke the kiss. "And remember, I'm just in the next room. If you need me, just yell "FRENCH FRIES"

I laugh and nod, slightly blushing and wanting to tell him that I'm not worried and that he doesn't need to reassure me like a baby afraid of separation, but that would be a big fat lie and I lied too much in my life already. 

As soon as he closes the door behind him, I want to scream for him to come back.

I don't. That's what is called adulthood, I guess. 

I look back at Kyle, who now has a very smug expression on his face. 

"What is so funny?"

"Does he really call you 'little Alex'?" he asks, smiling at me innocently. 

"Sometimes" I admit reluctantly, my cheeks turning even reder. 

"Aw, so cute! And you like it!"

"I do not!"

"You definitely do! Aw, a werewolf and a vampire, looking so cute together! Who would have known?"

"Stop with your aww already! I didn't know being pregnant could turn a supposedly badass wolf into a mushy fanboy!"

We banter a bit, until Kyle suddenly turns more serious and goes straight to the point. 

"Look, man, it's nice to bond with you again and all, but somehow I can't help but feel that we are just buying ourselves some time. Maybe we should just skip the starters and go straight for the main dish."

"Will you stop with your sexual inuendos? " I joke again but this time, Kyle isn't so amused. 

"Well try. Now, go for it, Mister, before our mates barge into the room again"

"I- okay but I - I don't know where to start"

"The beginning sounds good"

I clear my throat, as if I was a storyteller hoping to captivate their audience, and not a traitor about to admit their wrongdoings.

"Okay, so you know the Alpha from our enemy pack? Adrien?"

"You're not seriously asking me that, are you? We were at war against them. Still are, kinda"

"You have a point. So, uh, I have known him personnaly for a long time. I saved his daughter from drowning once, and because of that, the day when he found me wandering close to the borders of his territory, he spared my life."

I can't help but smile a little at the memory, although I shouldn't. I should just hate him, but life is never that simple. 

"How close were you exactly?"

I look up at Kyle. He is nodding at me encouragingly, but his expression is more guarded, now. It makes sense, of course. I just told him that I was in good terms for years with one of our pack's main enemy. 

"V-very close. We used to talk a lot after that that incident. He was the first person who seemed truly interested in who I was, or what was going on inside my head. I got along with most of our packmates, but I always felt like- like I didn't really belong. Even with the persons I felt more comfortable with, like you, I was always the one listening. I always listened much more than I talked, because I felt like I didn't have interesting things to say. When I hurted, he was the only one I could talk to."

This time, Kyle's expression looks pained and I feel horrible for being the cause of such pain, especially when I still have no excuses for betraying him the way I did. Still, now that I have started my sad story, I have to finish it.

"I am not blaming you, of course. You had your own problems, plus I was the one who couldn't open up to others. Still, for a long time, being with Adrien felt like a dream. It felt so good to have someone I could talk to. He was always so protective, and as time passed, I felt myself being more and more drawn to him"

I am no longer looking at Kyle, and I talk as quickly as I can, wanting nothing more but to reach the end of the story. It's harder than I thought. I feel stupid, admitting to him how I loved a guy who wanted nothing to do with me. I was naive and needy at the time, mistaking my dreams for reality. So much for giving good advices to the others.

Still, the worst is yet to come. 

"He started to notice that I was no longer only seeing him like a shoulder on which I could cry. He was the one suggesting that we should try being together like- intimately. I protested, at first, because regardless of how appealing the idea was, it felt wrong. He already had a wife, and we weren't mates.

He got angrier every time I refused. He said that we were mates, that he could feel it and that he never loved his wife in the first place, that he just mated with her to have an heir. He said that I was all talks and no actions, that I didn't really loved him as I claimed.

I - I don't want to talk about it in details but we -we eventually mated, I guess, if you can call that "mated". He branded me, I still have his mark on me, but since we weren't made to be, I could feel the burn of his mark for months. The pain was beyond words. 

He told me that I deserved it, told me that now that we were mates, I had to do everything he asked. 

He was cold and the next minute he was nice. I was lost and I couldn't think clearly anymore. It was getting harder and harder to hide the truth from the rest of the pack. Some nights, the pain was so intense that I had to bite into a piece of leather to prevent myself from screaming. 

One day, he told me he wanted one last thing from me. One last proof of love, and then we would be together as a couple. The pain would finally stop. He told me about the pills, and how I should give them to you. I refused for a long time, of course, but every day he would ask again, sometimes threatening me to kill you in a much more cruel manner, sometimes begging me to do it and telling me how he feared I loved you more than him. 

One day, I don't even remember agreeing to this, to be honest, I was walking in the direction of our pack with the jar of pills in my hands. The plan was pretty simple: I had to give them to Miléna, and tell her to give them discreetly to you. I had to pretend that you were sick, and that the pills would help you. I knew you would thought that there were the new suppressants you asked me to find. You trusted me, and wouldn't have suspected the truth. 

At this point in my life, I wasn't capable of any rational thoughts anymore but still, in some corner of my brain, I knew I wrong it was, as despicable, weak and worthless I was becoming. So I changed my mind at the last second. I couldn't run away, because Adrien would know I betrayed him, too, and I still loved him too much for him to think that. So, I told Miléna to go to Darren and to tell him I wanted her to give Kyle those pills. 

She did as I ask, but Darren didn't kill me, like I had hoped. Instead, I found myself living on my own for years, incapable of escaping my own thoughts. The pain left by the mark eventually subsided, but I could never get past the others - the other pains I was feeling. The mental ones.

I know I have no excuses for what I did, I just thought I owed you the truth. I am sorry, Kyle. I really am."

That's it. I did it. I told him anything, or most of it anyway, as I am sure he can fill in the remaining blanks by himself. 

My expression might be neutral, but my hands, that I have kept hidden behind my back during most of my speech, are shaking. He doesn't say anything, looking at me as if he suddenly had access to every single hidden thoughts in my mind. 

It was weird to be so honest. I now feel like a book that has ripped itself open. The story that I kept untold for so many years has now been unfolded for his eyes to read and for his mind to judge. What will he do with it? 

"Alright" he finally says after a long time. 

I look at him in an interrogative way, not daring to do as much as move a single finger. 

"Let's go back to the living room" he adds and without waiting for my reply, he quickly leaves the room. 

I am left alone in the room, looking at a closed door.

A/N: So, time for the big confession, huh? Is that what you were expecting to read? Also, if you feel that there are still some things left untold, I do too, but I didn't want to conclude everything in one chapter. Alex and Kyle's relationship is complicated to say the least, and broken things can't be mend so easily. 

Also, please don't go hating my baby, although what he did was still wrong T.T

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, as well as your week-end! 

Sending you bits of Sun from Cairo xxxxx

*** The original sentence, which I poorly attempted to translate, is "La haine c'est un chagrin qui s'est infecté". It comes from the song "Le chagrin des anges" by Souleymane Diamanka. 

For those of you who might be interested, link to the video clip below :)