Chapter 56

After the shower i change into a pair of joggers and a thin t-shirt, shoving some socks on my feet to keep them warm whilst we eat. As usual, Mihai wears a button up shirt and some trousers, his hair neatly combed whilst mine hangs in waves below my shoulders. We really do come from opposite worlds.
He's used to being rich and in control, I'm used to fighting for everything that i want. We are not the same, we are completely different, and yet, we work together remarkably well.
I couldn’t imagine anyone else helping me through the ceremony tomorrow evening, because even though Luthor will be there, he is a stranger to me. I know nothing about him, or what he wants from me. Sure, he might just want to know his daughter, but people always have selfish reasons for doing things, and i want to know what his are.
Not just because i want to kick his ass either, but because if we are ever going to have any sort of relationship with each other, i need the truth.
Nathanial never told me the truth, and he will pay for that. He'll pay for helping the council destroy my mother and use me for all those years. I was nothing but an experiment to them, they wanted to see if i would change.
They wanted to know if I'd become a Nati like my father, and i can’t help but wonder what they’d have done to me now if i never met Mihai.
I have a suspicion I'd be dead in a ditch somewhere, forgotten and abandoned. Murdered by the people i thought loved me.
Did Nathanial ever even care about me, or was i just a tool? I suppose i can ask him when we next meet. Though when we do, one of us isn’t leaving alive.
I jump when Mihai places a plate down in front of me, “You think far too much about things you can’t control, love.” He says, sitting down beside me at the table.
We are in the large kitchen, surrounded by white walls and black cabinets, it gives off the sort of vibe that matches my mood. Though i suppose Mihai likes it dark. He's sort of like a goth man without all the tattoos and piercings.
Yet, he’s still hot as fuck, and strong too.
The plate has steak, potatoes and green beans on it, and he also hands me a glass of milk, though I'm not sure why it couldn’t have been coffee.
“Milk?” i ask, frowning.
I really need the caffeine right now, and milk ain’t going to cheer me up, no matter how much it’s supposed to help with bone structure.
“Yes.” He says, “You barely eat enough to sustain a child, let alone a grown woman, i thought this might help you get some more calories.”
He pops his elbow onto the table and lays his cheek in his hand, watching me with a smile.
“And you didn’t think to pair it with coffee?” i ask, ready to slaughter him.
I'm violent without my coffee, it is not something I'm particularly proud of, but it makes my anger a whole lot worse.
It also makes me grumpy and sleepy, i can’t cope without it.
Mihai laughs a little and then frowns when he sees the murderous look on my face, “i noticed you drink a lot of that stuff, next time i will pair it with coffee, i promise.”
I nod, satisfied that he’s learned his lesson, then i sig into the steak, involuntarily moaning at how buttery it tastes. It's like heaven exploded in my mouth. It isn’t too bloody either, it is exactly how i like it, just a little bit of pink.
“So good.” i groan, taking three more bites before i stop for a breath, “How does an undead creature make better steak than a professional chef?”
“Well, for one, I'm not exactly undead, I'm still as alive as any human, i just live longer than any of them, and so will you.” he grabs his own glass, filling it with a red liquid from the fridge.
I don’t need to ask, i know exactly what that is, and I'd rather not think about it whilst I'm stuffing my face.
I point at the glass in his hand, “You literally drink blood, that’s the sort of thing only creatures of hell do.” i say, “you know, blood sacrifices and stuff?”
“I guess your right about that.” He says, taking a long gulp, “But it’s better than only having eighty or so years to do everything you can before it’s lights out, and you spent a good portion of them as a child with no control over anything.”
Fuck, he’s right. I hate it, but he’s right.
Though i guess I'll have an unnaturally long life too, if the hunter council don’t kill me before i can destroy them.
I'll never destroy all hunter’s, they’ll be some who escape, or grow to hate the Nati, but getting rid of the council gets rid of their influence and power. No more paying off the government or the police. They'd be classed as criminals.
Part of me wishes my brother’s would come around and want to see me again, but i know it isn’t possibly, our relationship is as dead as they want me to be. They'll never let me go, it’ll be either me or them, and I'm not about to give up my life for their hatred of the Nati.
“You’re doing it again.” Mihai shouts in a sing song voice, prodding me in the ribs with his fingers.
I shove his hand away, “Doing what?”
“Thinking about things that you can’t control.” he replies, shaking his head, “You should stop worrying about it so much, let me handle the messy stuff.”
“The messy stuff used to be my family, Mihai, i can’t just forget all the years of my life because they decided i am better off dead.” i snap, going back to my food and angrily stabbing potatoes. “They were all i had, for a long time, and even though i was going to leave them behind, i knew they would forgive me eventually.” i sigh, “but they’ll never forgive me being a Nati.”
I'm not much of a sentimental person, but I've always been a big believer in family and the bonds they have.
I guess i was wrong, really fucking wrong, my family doesn’t care about what happens to me, they’d kill me their selves in Mihai gave them a chance. I may as well be dead already in their eyes.
All i have now is a father who i barely know and brothers and sisters who live God knows where. All of them are strangers to me, just as i am to them.
I'll never have the same bond with them as i had with my human brothers, never.
And I'm not sure i want to, i don’t want to go through this kind of pain again, and you can never be sure who will betray you.
Blood only matters to those who believe in its value, and i don’t, not anymore.
My family is dead, all i have now is Mihai, and even he gets on my last nerve.
He fucks good though, that’s one thing i can count on.