Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 173: Monsters

Chapter 173: Monsters

"A massacre?!" Samantha’s pupils dilated as she turned her head to look at Helena, and the woman simply nodded to her inquiries, her expression grim as she could recall the peril that happened all those years ago when she was first assigned to work on the borders of their Kingdom.

"Prince Alistair had been assigned to train with a few soldiers during his younger age– it was his first time leaving the Palace to join the new recruiting members as a novice. Back then, he had been struggling to control his thirst for blood, he was a wild vampire whose bloodlust couldn’t be satisfied, no matter how many times he was fed. The next thing we knew a missive had been sent to the late King, stating the massacre Prince Alistair had caused to his teammates, and, sadly enough, it resulted in the loss of many lives. He kept no one alive, they were all dead, drained, and he admitted to the royal court that the death of his teammates was his doing."

Hearing this side of Alistair’s past, Samantha could feel goosebumps react on her arms and shoulders. "He caused a massacre?"

"He couldn’t stop himself even if he wanted, a result of being a wild vampire. More reasons why anyone born to become a wild vampire are killed at birth, but the late King changed that. However, His Majesty took pity on him since he confessed to his crimes, and not to mention that he was naturally born to kill. The chains you see on him were used to control his thirst and bloodlust, it was either he chose to wear those chains for the rest of his life, or he gets killed, cause without the chains, I’m afraid his yearnings for bloodlust will be re-awakened." Helena summarized the whole truth concerning why Alistair always had those chains on him, but even so, Samantha felt sorry for his predicament.

No matter how happy one may seem, there was always a sad story behind every smile. Who would have thought the carefree Alistair was going through so much? Not to mention his dark past?

"What about the scar on his face?"

"That was also part of the punishment he received for his crimes, shockingly, it didn’t vanish, but turned into a scar." Helena mused as they took a turn along the corridor, and when they made it to Alistair’s chamber, Tobias and his Mother were already there to help him.

Alistair sat up on his plush mattress, his fingers clenching against the bed sheet while his bloodshot eyes spoke of his silent fury. Without his chains, Samantha noticed the shift in his aura, and his eyes– they were a shade darker than the ones he normally possessed, his elongated canines were visible when he clenched his teeth. For a fleeting moment, they locked gaze, and when Samantha felt she might fall victim to his bloodlust, he averted his gaze elsewhere.

"Why did you take it off?!" Samantha could hear Lady Agathe cry to her son, her tears slipping from her eyes as she observed the painful marks on his skin. "Don’t act like you aren’t aware of the consequences for doing something so stupid, what if you went out of control and the past had to repeat itself?? What then?? Alistair Chevalier look at me when I’m talking to you!"

His Mother demanded in a slightly raised voice, yet he ignored it. Samantha knew his actions were hurting everyone but... if they could also see that their actions were hurting him too. Despite his Mother’s words, Alistair simply refused to look at her or anyone, but that was until Helena stepped into the room, and when all eyes moved to see her walk in, she quietly reached for the chains beside Alistair’s bed, picked them up and handed them to him.

"I’ll send someone to get your bath ready, a physician will be here to dress your wounds. When all this is done, you have to put these chains back on." Helena didn’t yell or force her orders on him, it was a mere request that had Alistair looking up to meet her understanding gaze. She knew it was hard for him, his emotions were vulnerable at this point, but if he wanted to stay alive, he had to wear them for his own safety.

And for how long? Only time can tell.

Samantha had never seen Alistair look so dispirited before, she could see his eyes were glazed with tears as he received the chains, to everyone’s relief, but before he could stand up to go have his bath, a knock came in.

"Am I allowed to enter?" Ivan’s voice had everyone averting their gaze from Alistair to him. When he stepped inside, his eyes moved to Samantha before falling on his cousin who had been beaten without mercy. Although his relationship with his cousins were delicate, that didn’t mean he would sit back and watch them suffer like he once did.

He had just returned when the news of Alistair got to him. He barely branched anywhere else and headed straight to Alistair’s chamber, unaware that he would find the whole family here. Moving forward till he was standing at the foot of Alistair’s bed, his gaze scrutinized his cousin’s condition, his lips pursed before saying.

"I’ll speak with Uncle." He reassured Alistair, "you haven’t hurt anyone, so it was unnecessary for him to punish you for taking off the chains."

"Don’t bother," Alistair scoffed bitterly, a depressing smile curving his lips as if he just heard a pained joke. "He hates me anyway."

"Your Father doesn’t hate you." Lady Agathe simply corrected. "Do you not remember–"

"He’s tired." Ivan cut her off, "if all of you don’t mind I’d like to speak with my cousin, alone. This is an order, not a request." His tone held finality, and even if he hadn’t specified it, no one would have been able to refuse his orders.

"I’m staying." Tobias uttered after mixing the hot wax. "Someone has to apply the wax for him. His wounds will take longer to heal if we don’t attend to it quickly."

"Fine, the rest of you, can you give us some privacy?"

Bowing their heads in response, everyone else left the room, and the door was closed shut behind them.

Lady Agathe quickly wiped her tears and turned to look at Helena with a grateful smile. "I don’t know how you managed to convince my husband into releasing my son. I feared he was going to kill him for real this time... after giving Alistair does scars on his face I was worried that he would–"

"Your son is fine now." Helena gave her shoulder a comforting pat. "I can understand that he is not in his right frame of mind. Hopefully when Ivan steps out, we’ll get enough information about how he’s feeling. For now, I think it is best if you return to your Chambers and get some rest. I’ll be heading out for something important and will make sure to see you in the evening before I leave."

"Oh...okay, I guess you are right, all this has made me exhausted." She tried to smile through her tears. "I’ll... I’ll leave now."

Samantha and Helena watched as her figure vanished through a corner. Helena turned to Samantha, "I have to be somewhere presently, you have kept me company and I appreciate all your good efforts today. You should also return to your Chamber to rest, and I shall see you in the evening as well." Patting Samantha’s shoulder, she turned to leave.

Samantha’s gaze lingered on the door, and she was really concerned about Alistair. The look on his handsome face was difficult for her to erase from her mind, and of course he would feel like taking off those chains... if she had been in his shoes, she’d rather die than have herself bound to those thick chains. It would be better to end her life than carry on with such inexorable punishment.

"I hope he feels better." She quietly murmured before taking her leave as well.

Later in the day, Lucy and Maurice were playing a game of Tavla in his guest room, and since Alain’s room wasn’t far ahead, his parents had allowed him, with all pleasure, to spend time with them.

Samantha’s gaze seemed distant as she recalled everything that had happened, but when Alain’s adorable face popped before her eyes, she couldn’t hold back a smile as he looked at her questioningly.

"Yes Ali? Do you want to say something?"

The little boy shook his head, and his gaze returned to the table in front of them. "Do you know what my Poppa is?" He asked innocently, and when Samantha shook her head, he leaned close to whisper. "My Poppa is a vampire in our home, like that grumpy uncle."

"Grumpy Uncle..? You mean his Majesty?" Samantha inquired from Alain who nodded his head in response, and Samantha tried not to laugh at his analogy. "So your Poppa is a vampire?"

"People called him a monster because he isn’t human like them." Alain murmured as he picked a biscuit from the plate on the table, "they are afraid of him, but my Momma told me that people will always be monsters. But what type of monster one becomes is entirely up to them."

"Hmmm.. so is your Poppa a monster?"

"Yes! A very good monster!" He grinned, "he comes in my dreams and saves me from other scary-looking monsters!"

Samantha returned his smile as she ruffled his fluffy dark hair. Listening to Alain relay what his Mother had told him, Alistair’s reaction to her presence in his chamber immediately crossed her mind. He had seen her in his true form, but he didn’t show any signs of harming her.

If he didn’t attack her without the chains, was there a chance he could control his urges without them?

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