Dark Passions ✔

Chapter 19: Broken

Klaus sat in front of his father; completely empty and numb inside. He recognized how his body filled with a surge of ice. Ice, that was so delicate, that it'd would break with one touch, and that's how Klaus's heart felt and it always felt like this since he could remember. He thought he overcame this dread a long time ago, but it seemed he hadn't. He failed getting stronger it seemed, which wasn't much of a surprise to him. He knew he had demons that haunted him. No, that was wrong. Klaus only had one demon that tormented him, and he was sitting in front of him right now.

Klaus faced his father with the whisper of a prayer of his goddess on his lips, otherwise who knows what he would've done. Unlike when he was a kid, he wasn't going to get beaten, but that didn't mean that Klaus was spared from feeling his father's hatred.

Klaus stared into his father's sunken gold eyes that were blood-shot red; full of fury and rage and disgust, like they always were. Robert always dressed in a suit, but this suit appeared disheveled and improper, which Klaus didn't understand why because Cedric was a very vigilant worker for Robert. Apart from those red eyes, Robert's skin seemed as if it hadn't met the sun in years. Pale and icy-cold skin has masked his twisted expression. He smelt of heavy cologne that only veiled the stench of booze. But Klaus smelt his father's favourite whiskey from behind the cologne. It wasn't a pleasant scent nor was it comforting at all. Instead, a flood of memories drowned inside his mind.

Klaus remembered how frightening his father used to be to him as a kid. His resilient and robust built hadn't deterred with old age. His wolf's pheromones were as powerful as Klaus sensed them as a kid, which was one of the things Robert always used on Klaus to pressure him to yield. Robert's towering height, firm shoulders and neatly cut hair was all still the same. However, something seemed off about him. Klaus felt a weakness; a sick flaw that distorted those horrific eyes.

"Cedric told me the news of your mating," said Robert, his voice nothing but callous.

Klaus's gut sank and he closed his eyes looking away from Robert. "You heard correctly," he replied.

Robert's eyes narrowed on Klaus. "You got a mate," he ridiculed. "The child that killed his mother can't have a mate."

Klaus didn't have the voice to fight anymore. He didn't want to speak; to feel; to be understanding of his father's torment anymore. "It's been over twenty years," Klaus sighed tiredly. "I would think that you made peace with mom's death." Like Klaus had slapped Robert by using the term 'mom' in front of him, that's how Robert reacted.

Klaus was forbidden to use that term in front of Robert. But that never stopped Klaus, even if Robert would have beaten him to death each time he had.

Robert recoiled. "Maybe if your mate dies, then you'd understand-" it was sudden when Robert started to cough sickly. Out of the goodness of his heart, Klaus was close to passing the glass of water, but he bit back the urge. Robert instead poured himself water and chugged the content desperately. His eyes watered and his voice grew coarse. "I pray that your mate dies, like mine did."

Klaus clenched his jaw. "You're going too far," he gritted out. Klaus didn't care what was said to him, but not to his mate.

His father sneered. "You think you deserve a mate after you killed mine?" he asked like he was astounded by Klaus. "You're disgusting. I want you to know what it feels like to lose your mate and suffer as much as I did."

"That's enough!" They both gaped up and found King towering over them. Klaus's stomach flipped and he almost wanted to push King out of the building because he didn't want King anywhere near Robert. "Get the fuck out of my face if you know what's good for you!"