Ashlyn's POV

As the rest of the pack speculated, I witnessed Lucifer engage in a combat with one of his pack mates outside in the frigid air, through the glass.

Since the day I was brought here, I've recognized it was to demonstrate how powerful the alpha was and how easy he could defeat his foes.

It didn't take long for Lucifer to have his opponent tossed to the ground and incapacitated. The other speculators applauded, lifted him up, and sang his moniker.

"Lucifer! The canine!" They continued to chant.

I sighed as I drew away from the window. I hoped and prayed that he'd forget about me by the evening. I hoped his success would occupy his thoughts, but I was mistaken.

A few minutes later, the picture of my thinking casually sauntered into my room.

"Turn around," Lucifer said in his dominant male voice, and I did as he said, moving to the mattress, my face away from his. Lucifer Saunron is the lycans' alpha male and the one who owns me.

He had told me to turn around and satisfy his personal wants before he was done with me. I was growing accustomed to his way of life.

He did not dally ravage me and bring himself to pleasure.

He roughly pecked at me as I felt him release inside of me.

With two more strokes, he pulled out of me and pushed me off. I almost hit my head on the mattress stand.

I did not bother to look up at him. I already knew the expression on his face; a disgusting one. He was always disgusted at me after we were done with it. And it was the only time he was less hostile. What am I saying? Even on the mattress, he was a brute! I was nothing but his slave. His toy, and this was not who I was before, but I've come to terms with the fact that this was my new life.

I curled up on the mattress with my hair covering my face, and then I heard the door slam. He was gone.

I tucked away the hairs around my face, and, for the first time since this onslaught began, I did not shed a single tear this evening.

I pulled from the mattress and went for a wash in the bathroom, letting the water run through my skin. His touch was forever embedded in my skin, no matter how I tried.

A few minutes later, I was out of the bathroom and donned a simple evening gown. I picked up the one he had earlier discarded and kept it away. Then I heard thunder rumbling across the sky as the wind blew in through the curtains. I walked closer to the window, getting lost in the dimness as the rain dropped.

The thunder that rumbled across the sky gave me goosebumps, and I shuddered from a bit of fear. Still, I did not move from the window. I kept peering through the curtain and watched huge droplets of rain cascade down the windowpane.

This same evening reminded me of the evening I felt betrayed by my family. Mostly my father, whom I felt, would do anything to get rid of me.

This same evening I had what I thought was the most brutal fate of my life. A fate I would have done anything to change in the past. A fate I would have preferred to be hanged than live with.

Dimness has always seemed to be where I find comfort and soothing. I'll spend evenings reminiscing in the unlit and crying my eyes out most times. He consoled me all the time. I've come to love dimness more than even light. Maybe this was one of the perks of being a vampire. But I doubted it. I was beginning to think I found it exuberant when my fate decided to change.

I smiled. Hello, dimness, my old friend. I've come to have a conversation with you again. The silent cold wind that blew past me as always whenever I wanted to pour out myself assured me that he was listening.

Where would I start? I've always started with my name. I sometimes feel he forgets, and I needed to remind him or maybe remind myself who I was.

Dimness, my friend. I'm Ashlyn Ambrosia, and this is my story.

I'm not your typical kind of girl. I am a vampire, born as one into a family of master vampires who can control anyone connected to them or even through a crimson liquid oath. Vampires do not procreate, but I was a whole different breed. I am a hybrid. My father is a part vampire and a part werewolf.

My mother was a human until he turned her after the birth of my younger brother.

In a town where vampires rule, it was easy to live and be free to reveal the monsters in us. Haunting grounds were using not that far from home, but I was not one to hunt. All my life, I've been scared to snap life out of people. I was the only weak in my family, and my siblings took it as an opportunity to make a mockery. I was the clown in the family that was made jest most times.

It was not a nice thing for me because I always ended up crying, which made them mock me the more. I tried my best one time during a hunting spree, but I could not. Even the sight of crimson liquid or smell could not intoxicate me as it did with them; not even the racing pulses or heartbeats moved me.

That was just one of my experiences. Once again, a human already bitten was brought to me with crimson liquid spilling out of her neck. My canines grew longer. The beast in me threatened to surface, and I expected her to, but she cowered.

I could not devour her like every other person was doing with their meal. Instead, I ran away, unable to carry out the task before me, and since then, my brothers would not let me be. My parents sometimes partake in their jests and sometimes scold them.

Father would always say, "Vampires have no fear of taking lives; neither do wolves." And everyone would agree with him, including his mother.

Sometimes I wonder if she was actually human before. Her eagerness to feed on other humans got me thinking otherwise. She lacked a great deal of compassion when devouring or draining them of life.

Let me make something clear. I am a vampire, and I do not feed on humans does not mean I do not drink that kind of liquid. I do. I'm a vampire, after all, and there's this raw hunger inside of us that we need to quench. I needed to sustain myself. But for a while, I abstained from it, and I do not know why.

Bags of that liquid are usually stored away during times when it is hard to feed, and that was where I get my own liquid from. Father always gets them from the hospitals, and I never knew how until much later.

A shop had even been set up in the town where it was sold, and they were never out of supply. It was a strange town for travelers but a normal town for us.

Most vampires in this town were not related. Even most of the children were not conceived by their parents. The ones who conceived and could procreate were the ones whose father had sired. All still, vampires and hybrids were under the command and total control of the father.

My father, Khalid Ambrosia, was the king of our town. Whatever he says goes, and he must not be refused. How a guy as brutal as him met my mother and fell in love was a mystery I've never come to know. As an egocentric vampire king, he had many enemies and few connections.

His greatest enemy is the lycanthropes. Let me rephrase that our greatest enemy was the lycanthropes. Ever since we vampires moved and settled in the land, it has been one threat letter to another. They claimed the land belonged to them and that their father never sought their permission before settling down here. He needed to perform certain rites before he could finally claim the land as his.

But father, as a proud and stubborn vampire, did not pay heed. For many years the letters kept coming, and then it changed. They did not want their father to seek their permission anymore or even perform any rites. They wanted father and all the vampires in town to evacuate the land. This particular letter was sent as a warning to father, but he called their bluff.

The next letter came, and father still refused. He did not believe the lycanthropes would carry out their threats. If they could be sending threat letters for a decade without doing anything, then they were empty barrels making lots of noise. That was his thoughts.

I, for a fact, never knew the battle coming was going to change my life and course of destiny forever.

°Royal Mile, Edinburgh, 1925°

"The lycans have sent yet another message." One of the guards said to father. I was fortunate to be at his presence. Father was barely seen except he wanted to be.

He had summoned me and I knew the discussion was going to be about my weakness to draw blood.

A frown creased on father's face as he took the letter from his hand. He tore open the envelope and perused the letter. He tore the letter into tiny bits of pieces and looked away from the guard.

"Set up a defense and a barrier to prevent the lycans from getting into this town." He ordered with fire in his eyes.

"Yes my lord." The guard said and left.

"But father,why don't you just give in to their demands?" I asked him with quivering lips.

He turned sharp eyes at my direction. I knew interfering in the politics was a big turn off for my father but I could not help it.

"A vampire never bows down to anyone." He said."Would you rather allow the subjects that you have sworn to protect,die than bow down to a threat that can be easily curbed?" I dared again to speak.

"That's the word Ashlyn,'curbed'. It can simply be curbed. I do not need to bow down to some lowlife lycanthropes." He said in a determined and proud voice. But he did not know what was coming. Neither did any of us.

"But father," I began but he cut me short with a look of fury in his eyes. He was quick to anger.

"Enough," he bellowed. "This was not why you were summoned before me. The political affairs of the land is strictly none of your business." He said to me and I lowered my head.

"Yes father." I mouthed apologetically.

He waved it aside. "Your brother tells me that you have yet again failed another task given to you,is that true?" He asked authoritatively peering into my eyes despite knowing what the same answer would be. Did his sitting in the throne chambers everyday affect his memory?

He was beginning to get irritated by my inability to feed on humans and I've been suspicious of it since his lack of patience towards me grew immensely.

I sighed. "Believe me,it is not my fault father. I really tried," I started saying but he cut me off again.

"You're not trying enough!" He said raising his voice and I felt my heart break.

"But, father," I tried to defend myself.

"No buts, Ashlyn, no buts. Ambrosias do not give excuses." He said and I nodded.

Just then,mother appeared through the doorway. She was either here to do one thing. Cool things down or set them ablaze.

"Do not yell at the poor child." She said in that rich voice of hers. I stared at her with a look of surprise on my face. What's with the sudden change today? I wondered.

"She needs an iron fist. I have been too lenient with her on this issue. I breed fierce vampires with the fire to draw blood in their veins. I breed omega deities not weak vessels like this one." He said very harshly without any consideration that I was right before him and hearing it all. I tried to hold my tears in check but I was failing.

"Khalid, stop. You'll make her cry." She said noticing my trembling lips. I could not tell if she felt compassion for me or she was making mockery out of my weak state. This was my mother. Someone I should be close to and trust but I was not. I trusted no one in the family except Darius my oldest brother.

"What have I always said about vampires?" He asked me.

"Vampires," my lips quivered. "Vampires are not afraid to kill." I said and he nodded.

"Excellent. I want you to sit,meditate on those words and let them sink into that head of yours." He said and I nodded and felt a streak of tear betray me and slip down my cheek.

"And wipe that tear off your face. It makes you look more pathetic." He said looking away from me.

"Yes father." I said with a slight curtsey and left his presence. I quickly dabbed off the tear that slipped from my eyes with my index finger and many others threatened to surface as I walked out of the house.

Why was I the only one in my family who could not feed on humans? The question has always haunted me and yet I could get no answer. Sometimes I wondered if I was truly my mother's daughter or I was adopted. But my striking facial resemblance with my mother proved I was a part of the family. But then why?

Why wasn't it Joshua,Otis or even Darius that was this way? Why me? I kept asking myself and as usual I got no response to my many questions.

In a very rare situation,father joined us for dinner which surprised me and I hoped and prayed I would not be the subject of discussion. Before us was platters of venison,roast lamb and haggis. Also,a bottle of whiskey,vodka and a jug of blood to balance it all up. These were the perks of being an hybrid. We could eat what we want but sometimes the vampire side of us is more dominant than the werewolf side and we'd end up throwing up whatever we put in our mouth aside blood.

I saw Joshua walking towards us with bloodstained lips and shirt. He had gone out for the day and was just returning. He was a ruthless vampire. His victims never survives his onslaught. Sometimes he gets reprimanded by father but I knew beneath his cautions he was very proud of him. Josh was the exact replica of him. His deity he bred.

"Hey family," He said casually,pulling a chair to sit.

"How many times do I have to tell you Joshua? Always put on a clean shirt before coming to the table." She scolded him.

He smirked and shrugged her off. "What's the need? I'm still going to get it stained again." He said and he was right. He was still going to get all messy again. That was how he was.

"He's right Lucienne. Cut the young man some slack." Father intervened. Darius walked down the stairs in his usual gentleman style. He was the noble stag of the family and always had my back. He was reserved yet deadly.

Then Otis walked behind him too. The baby vampire of the house just as reckless as Josh but with a slight twist. He was a total womanizer and only two years younger than I.

Only father was a thousand years old vampire in the house and probably the oldest in town.

"Why are we gathered so early?" Darius asked in that luscious voice of his. I admired him a lot . Sometimes I wished he was not my brother. I wished we did not share a siblings relationship but something steamier. But then that was all we were. Just a brother and a sister and looking at it from this angle,maybe I was blessed having him this way. A brother. A brother protecting his little sister.

Mother's clearing of her throat jolted me out of my reverie.

"Your father and I have come up with something." She began.

"On how to stop the impending war?" I interrupted looking bright eyed at both of them.

Father and Josh furrowed their brows and shot daggered glares at me.

"Father will never bow down to the lycans. We are vampires and we do not pay sublimation to anyone." Joshua said. Did I forget to add he took over father's egocentric attitude too?

"That's not why we have gathered Ashlyn. We're here for your sake." Mother said and I paused in my moment of reaching out for a glass of vodka. I had a feeling I was about to hear bad news.

"Oh," I exclaimed softly having a guess where this was heading. "If this is about my inability to feed on humans then," I began but mother waved it off.

"This is not about that," she said rather impatiently. Sometimes I wished father never turned her. She was the perfect, gentle and understanding mother. We were very close until her dark side broke us and drifted us apart. She was no longer understanding about my weakness. She wanted me untamed. Untamed to be a cruel vampire. That is what we vampires were all about. We were something beyond the extraordinary.

"Let's get to why this assemblage is for Ashlyn." Otis said getting impatient too. I knew he could not wait to get upstairs to continue his feasting and fornication with the touring ladies he had got hold of and that were in his room. Feasting and fornication. To Otis,that was life.

"We have decided to get Ashlyn married." Mother dropped the bombshell keeping us out of the suspense that had grown.

"What?!" We all exclaimed.

"Who am I going to pick on when she leaves?" Joshua asked and I stared in dismay at father and mother trying to force back the tears that had sprung up and wanted to drop.

I was too emotional. Even I hated that about myself.

"You cannot do this." I said to her.

"Who is she getting married to?"Darius asked calmly.

"Your father's second in command son." Mother said indignantly.

"Oh." Otis huffed making jests of me.

"You cannot do this to me mother. How could you plan such a ridiculous thing with father?" I asked her in anger and fear. I hated Eli Manning with everything that was in me. He walked in the air with his feet never touching the ground.

His ego was the biggest I have never seen in young men. His pride was like that of a thousand peacocks and indeed more!

"It has been settled. Eli has even displayed a likeness for you." She tried to justify her outrageous decision.

"She cannot marry Eli Manning." Darius said in the same authoritative voice as father that strikes fear in the heart of anyone before him.

"Why?" Mother and Otis questioned at the same time.

"Ash is no longer a child to be told what to do. If she does not want an intimate relationship with Eli,no one shall force her." He said and I breath a sigh of relief that at least someone in this house had my back.

"Ashlyn needs an iron fist to mould her into her real self." Mother said. Now I understood what this was about. They were shipping me off to Eli so I would no longer be their problem to handle. I felt like a cartel about to be sold off.

"Mother is right. When was the last time Ashlyn drank blood? It's been almost a year." Joshua said dangling a cup of blood in front of me. "Look how pale you are sister. You're getting weaker by the day. Have a taste of blood hmm?" He said smirking. He was right. I was trying my hardest to stay away from blood to see if I'll get hungered and then drain every source of life out of a human but I was failing in that too.

"If she could not develop vampire characteristics under father's iron fist,what is the guarantee that she'd bend over Eli's will?" Darius asked getting upset. An heated argument ensued.

"Enough!" Father's voice thundered in our ears and we kept quiet. He has been quiet since mother brought up the discussion and now he demanded to be heard.

"This marriage shall take place and that's final." He said. He stood to his feet and walked away and mother followed.

"We always have to gather for stupid things." Otis said rising to his feet too. How could my younger be this cruel to me too? In a flash,he was out of the room.

"Goodnight Mrs Manning." Joshua said with a smirk and a mocking bow and he too was gone.

I burst into tears and went up to Darius. "Please don't let them get me married off. Please Darius,please." I pleaded and he held me amidst my tears without saying a word.

•

The thoughts of wedding Eli Manning still rang in my head the next morning and the tears that had dried off Three AM this morning started afresh. The hate I had for Eli ran deep in my blood. An hatred that a young woman should not possess but I could not help it. He disgusted me. Why? Eli was very rude,proud, egocentric like I've said before and worse than Joshua. If I cannot possibly tolerate Joshua,how can I tolerate a man like Eli? He was also very disciplined. Too strict to the core. I believe he can beat up woman. He was such a brute.

One of the maidens assigned to me walked in and I quickly wiped of my tears. My tears of blood. One rule I followed was never let the commoners see you cry.

"What brings you here?" I asked her.

"The Lady asked me to get you ready." She said looking down.

There was no friend in this house. Mother did not want any one of us close to the helpers and so different helpers were assigned to attend to us everyday.

I once liked one particular vampire who attended to me everyday and when mother found out,she fired her. Her penalty was death but with my constant pleading and cries,she was let go. Never to return.

I believe mother thought I was in the act of lesbianism. That I had suddenly joined the ladies that were sexually attracted to only ladies but I was not. Mother's thinking was tinted. I would not blame her either for that.

"For what?" I asked her.

"Lunch with the noble commander's son." She said. I frowned. Eli Manning. I took a long look at the clock. It was only Ten AM. What was the need to go out and have lunch with Eli? Was mother having human thoughts again? What would we be doing when we cannot eat like normal people? My vampire side was suppressing due to my restraint from blood and I could hold food in my stomach for a long time unlike Eli who was very active in blood sucking. He'd throw up the moment the food gets in his stomach.

"Mi'lady?" She called and I turned to her.

"Take your time." I said to her. That was me agreeing to get prepared. I knew better than to go against mother's orders.

I was dressed in a while flowing satin dress with long sleeves that were out curved at my wrist.

I stood in front of the mirror. I was looking like a lamb dressed up for sacrifice.

Mother walked into the room with a smiling face. "You look beautiful my princess. Eli would marry you once he sets his eyes upon this beauty." She said. I shrieked in horror. I did not try to mask my anger and sadness towards this engagement.