Chapter 19, Part 1
**A/N- Well babies, this is part one of the last chapter before the epilogue, part 2 will follow soon. Thank you all for traveling another journey across the pages with me to read, vote, and comment on Stavos and his twins story. I appreciate all of you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. xoxo Dianna**
Stavos...
(Beastly Stavos------->)
We spent three nights and two days smack dab right in the middle of London's bustling city centre at Dimitri's flat that he owned here. We were steps away from Big Ben, and I was amused to the point that I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from laughing out loud about the fact that we were supposed to be discreet. We were supposed to be hiding until we were ready to strike out against the ancients and take them down. But trust Dimitri to hide in plain sight, so here we are in the heart of London thumbing our noses at the old bastards.
I stood on the balcony of Dimitri's home and I contemplated everything that Nikolai told me over the past few nights as he regained his strength. His tales and visions of the horrid actions and the extents that those sadistic sons of bitches had gone to over the centuries to strike fear in the hearts of the covens here in order to keep them in line made me want to vomit. It broke my heart when my cousin, my last blood relative, sobbed his out apologies to me and explained the things that he had to do. The missions he had to carry out for them to keep himself safe. My blood boiled when he confirmed my theory was confirmed about who really was responsible for the death of their former leader and his family.
Once the council had figured out that Nikolai didn't carry the same level of power nor had he mastered the teachings of my father in the dark arts of magic, they turned him into a mindless assassin and a scapegoat instead and he was tired of the senseless killing. Nik explained that no matter how he washed himself, he still couldn't get the blood the those he murdered off of his hands.
It all came to a head for him months ago when one of the elders submitted to his mateless madness and after close to a millenia of living alone without someone to anchor him, he gave himself over to the true death. He took his own life by plunging the last of the daggers my father had cursed with black magic straight into his heart. The deceased ancient had left the council weakened with his death. He was one of the only three pure-bloods still remaining in their organization.
There was I time I held great pride in being a pure-blood myself, Dimitri as well, but this fiasco and those power hungry bastards are trying to make me rethink that. Now they were scrambling to hold onto control that they no longer have over the vampires as a species. They are so desperate to keep their antiquated feelings of leadership that they came up with the brilliant plan to do whatever it was necessary to get me and my talents on board with them. Nikolai even shared the plot where they were going to try and kidnap my mates and and use them as leverage to bring me to heel.
Turning my face into the frigid wind, I closed my eyes and inhaled the frost laden air into my lungs. Everyone expected and were preparing for some epic battle with the ancients. Some kind of good versus evil clash of powers, but in reality the council's reign of terror is going to come to an quiet end, their evil cleansed by fire, and their ashes returned to the earth were they originated from.
The one part of myself that I have never shared with anyone, the darkness that dwells within my blood, the blood of a pure-blood vampire male versed in the practice of dark arts. I am not going to need an army of vampires, nor am I going to need anything other than my speed, my stealth, and my mind to accomplish something I should have taken care of years ago. My father had trained me well in mastering the black magic only some pure-bloods were capable of wielding. Taking a deep breath, I turned and made my way back into the warmth of the house. I was just as guilty as those old bastards were, I had sat back and I had selfishly thought that if I distanced myself from them and left them well enough alone then they will remain on their part of the world and me in mine part of the world.
Never once did I give a thought the fate other coven's that were still within their grasp, even my own mate's parents were victims of their tyranny while I sat back and did nothing. Well the time has come for me to do something, and I was going to unleash a part of myself that I never ever wanted to see the light of day or the darkness of night. This horrible beast that dwelled just below the surface of my skin. My fear was that once I give him freedom, and I remove his restraints that have kept him under control most of my life, will I be able to subdue the monster again? It nearly killed me when he broke free right after the death of my family. The darkness had consumed me to the point that I cursed the very land that I grew up on with death. Anyone venturing there would die an agonizingly slow and painful death human and paranormal alike, no questions asked.
After that heinous act, I had to get away. I had fled to the most remote area that I could find and I did something similar to what Nikolai had done. I had to bring myself to the brink of death and starvation to regain my control over the beast, and when I had accomplished that, when I had him back in his cage. That was when I rose, I dug myself out of the earth and as weak as a newborn babe, I had to feed off small game until I was strong enough to hunt. I slowly came to terms with myself and shook off the stain on my soul from using black magic. I had returned to Dimitri and his family and as always had taken me in with open arms.
It was with great resignation that I opened my mating bond to my beautiful mates, and I immediately felt their worry as well as their anger towards me for cutting myself off from our link in the first place. But I needed to clear my head, I needed to purge the murderous, and hateful thoughts of wishing death and dismemberment on those who have wronged me and mine that spread over my mind like an oily slick of black sludge. Never will I willing share this kind of ugliness with my angels. Nothing this dark and this putrid should ever come anywhere near them. So it's with a heavy heart that I am going to have to tell them what I am going to do, now as the time, and I wanted them to understand the reasons that I may not return to them right away after taking down the council. Maybe never if I lose my fight with my inner beast and he succeeds to keep me in the darkness forever.
I wanted Dimitri and Gustav to know that they needed to hunt me down if that should occur and that will need to kill me for I will be purely evil. Nikolai knew enough of our faimly's history with the practice of dark magic to know how to achieve my death, and how to sever the bond so my mates won't follow and die right along with me as true mates usually do. This was the main reason that I needed to do this alone, it was the only way to finally rid the world of the ancient's reign of terror.
Reaching out to my mates and my family and friends, I asked them to meet me in the living room and I slowly made my way there. The minute I stepped through the entrance of the sitting room, Ayden and Ahron flew into my arms and I could tell that they have been busy the last few minutes since opening the our bond that they have been reading every thought and memory in my head that they could find, so at least they were semi prepared for what was coming. I can also tell from the stubborn tilt of their identical chins that they were gearing up to argue with me, but I just held up my hand and stopped them before they could even start voicing their concerns over what I was gearing myself up to tell them.
By the time I said what I had to say and explained the entire situation to all of them, I found myself pined to the wall with a snarling vampire snapping his fury in my face. My mates where each handing off a bulging arm as they tried and failed to pull Nikolai off of me. I was about to give my cousin a nudge when he yelped and jumped away from me as he rubbed the back of neck. I looked around him to see a pouting Ayden, his giving off a curl of smoke. I had to press my lips together from the put out expression on NIkolai's face, Ayden's little zaps really did sting, I will be the first to admit it having received one or two of them myself.
"So you are just going to disappear into the night, conjure up a monster living within you that wants to remain free and evil and take on the ancients all by yourself. Then if you succeed in ridding us of the menace that they have been since God created dirt, you are going to go off and die to regain control of the beast, and if you don't you want me to tell your best friend how to kill it leaving your mates to mourn for you forever." Nikolai heatedly summarized what I was going to say, but with more tact than what came out of his mouth. I couldn't help but scowl my displeasure at the son of a bitch. My babies had paled down the point I was really concerned for their well being. The fucker could have moderated his words. I rushed forward and gathered their trembling forms against me. Their slender arms wrapped tightly around my waist and I could feel their despair and their worry blaze across our bond. I could've fucking punched Nikolai in his damn mouth for scaring my little loves.
I continued to glare daggers at him as I tried to soothe my mates the best that I could while we were in public that is. Irina came over and ran her hands through my mate's, her nephew's hair. "It doesn't have to go down the way you are expecting it to go. I agree that if you use your energy and your dark magic to subdue and overpower the ancients, it would be a whole lot better with less of a chance for anyone here to lose their lives with as it would be with the a possible full on challenge with the ancients. The element of surprise is a very good idea, but have you considered that the darkness, this beast that you will set free wouldn't happily go back into his cage to please it's mates just like your light, your darkness is also mated now and will respond to them by giving them whatever it is they wanted. You would do anything they asked of you, you don't think that it will too?"
Ahron and Ayden's heads whipped around and looked at me with so much hope shimmering in their eyes. I hated to disappoint them, but...
"Oh Hell no, you are not going to go all protective and stubborn on us now. We already know that you would rather have Dimitri run a stake through your heart than for us to see you like that and we are putting our foot down. If you block us then we will go into that castle with bells on and flood and set fire to the entire place. We will cause an earthquake the likes this world has never seen before. If you are so damned noble and determined to do this by yourself then let us help you from behind the scenes. We are your mates, and just as much as you want to protect us and keep us from harm, we want to do the same thing for you. We have had this conversation already." Ayden literally screamed in my face. Ahron was pushed up right behind him and they both had me backed up against that damn wall.
"It's worth a try rather the alternative choice, stay open to your mates. I am sure it won't be a walk in the for any of you. Let them try to bring you back from the dark when it's over. I have all faith in you man." Dimitri stated as he stood off to the side of the room with his big beefy arms wrapped around Caleb's slim waist.
I could tell when I was severely outnumbered here, so I just nodded my head and my mates rushed me, snuggled themselves under my arms, and pressed themselves firmly against my body. I looked up and met the eyes of my family and gave them a grateful smile before I dematerialized out of the room taking my mates with me.
I set them back on their feet next to the massive bed in the guestroom that we have been occupying in Dimitri's home. "I love the both of you so much. God you don't know how much."
My little ones, yanked me out of my clothes and they pushed me onto the bed. I slid into the middle of the large bed and opened my arms to the loves of my life, but they had other ideas as they stripped and every delectable inch of their bodies was on display for my hungry eyes. They each chose a side and they pulled me up into a sitting position, and their thirst hit me like a freight train.
Stretching out my arms, I gathered them closer and I tilted my head back as their soft lips made contact with my heated skin. "Take what you need from me, my mates, I am happy to provide for you." My cock grew hard and the warm wet tongues traveled the length of my throat, Ayden licked across my Adams apple white Ahron sucked on the sensitive flesh right below my ear. By the time they both struck the vein at either side of my throat, I groaned long and deep as my cock exploded. Thick ropes of ejaculate shot across the sheets and I felt the warmth of my mate's release ooze over my hips as the rubbed themselves off while they fed.
I eased back from my mates and I let my eyes roam over their stunning features as their chest heaved from the exertions of our pleasuring each other. Their beautiful pink lips were wet and slightly parted as they attempted to breathe and come down from their sexual high. Their sated gaze caught mine and they both shifted themselves until they were kneeling in front of me. My little loves tilted their heads back and so prettily offered me their throats as they ran their soft hands over mine, encouraging me to drink and draw strength from their blood. I took my time as I gathered first Ahron into my arms and drank from him, and I repeated the action with Ayden. Their blood was like ambrosia, the most addictive nectar that has ever passed my lips.
I made sure to settle them as close to me as I possibly could and I drew on their heat and the absolute faith they have placed in me. They are my life and the reason I live. Eventually their breathing even out and they went limp against me. I continued to rub soothing circles across the silky skin of their backs. I emptied my mind and just breathed their alluring scents deep into my lungs. I basked in their very essences and I let their presence calm me as I mentally prepared myself for the fight lying ahead of me. A fight that has been a long time in coming, please of their is a higher power out there, let me come back to my mates, let me not fail them. That is all that I ask.