Akiro’s Point of View“Aki... please say something.”I swallowed the lump in my throat, then I blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes. My heart feels so heavy at the revelation. I knew something was bothering him from when he first told me about his true identity, but I never thought it was like that. It was hard to comprehend that for the past months that we'd spent together, he was actually scheming something behind my back when I had already told him my only answer. I am firm in my decision to choose my grandparents no matter what, and I’m sure Heli knows it because we have talked about it several times already, and I said the same answer every single time.I try to find it in myself if I am mad at Heli, but I can’t find any anger in my system. Deep inside my mind, I understand why he’s desperate to bring me to his world. He and I had lived different lives and different cultures. I can’t say I agree with their ‘mate’ thing because it seemed like their l
Heli’s Point of ViewI let myself drop on the ground, my heart pounding so violently against my chest. My whole body was on fire, limbs trembling from how fast I ran away from Akiro before he could even finish what he was about to say.My chest tightened painfully at the reminder of what my mate was about to do. He looked angry as he said those words, so I wanted to attribute it to that. He didn’t like what he heard from me and, in a fit of anger and pettiness, he carelessly threw those words away. If I hadn’t run away, all my efforts this whole year would have gone to waste.But that didn’t make it less painful. I headed back to the palace as quickly as I could despite how much I just wanted to bury myself in alcohol. I can’t afford to waste more time. By now, nearly a day had already passed in the human world. I need to return within the hour.I wasted no time in heading towards the royal chamber. Without knocking, I entered my eldest brother’s room.“I need your help,” I said, ign
Third Person’s Point of ViewAkiro absentmindedly washed the dishes once he returned inside their house after walking his friends out. Despite not doing anything besides eating, drinking and talking with his closest friends, Akiro still enjoyed his birthday. Though inside, a large part of him felt empty because this wasn’t the celebration he had imagined several times for the past month.In his mind, there was a certain brown-haired man with intense ruby eyes that should have been with them, should have been seated beside him on their couch while his friends relentlessly questioned the said guy.And when his friends leave, he’ll finally make that brown-haired guy his boyfriend. He wanted the day to be special for the both of them.But things didn’t end up as how he hoped it would be. They fought, spouting words they both didn’t mean, and Heli left so abruptly without even saying goodbye to Akiro. A closure would have been nice at least.“W-WHO ARE YOU?! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE, HELIOS?!”
Third Person’s Point of ViewHeli would rather swallow the pain he felt when Akiro said his mind wouldn’t ever change than to let his brother see his true feelings after what he heard. He doesn’t want to give his eldest brother the satisfaction of seeing him crushed and hurt by his own fated mate. He knew the bastard Crown Prince would never let him hear the end of it, especially after decades of knowing him as an ultimate playboy of their kingdom.Aside from that, he also refused to show emotion in front of Akiro. He could see the guilt in Akiro’s eyes, and despite feeling his own guilt for whatever they were about to say and do, he didn’t let himself be swayed by his mate’s beautiful, expressive eyes.He’d rather bear Akiro’s anger than not have him at all. It didn’t mean that he wasn’t in pain for betraying his mate’s trust.“Mister Freniere. If it was only up to us, we'd let you bring your grandparents with you into our world. We know how important family is, so we understand why
Third Person’s Point of ViewHale was silently watching as his brother doomed himself to a probable lifetime of loveless mateship. Maybe not loveless, but definitely not as good as he has with his Carmela. He doesn’t agree with his youngest brother’s plan to force his mate, though he couldn’t really blame him for resorting to force. If Carmela didn’t willingly come with him, Hale was sure he’d do the same thing as his brother was doing. He couldn’t imagine a life without his beautiful Carmela, who was the only perfect mate that matched Hale. Maybe that's what Heli was feeling, so he couldn’t let go of Akiro even though their connection wasn’t as deep as when Hale was just courting his mate. Though it was pretty clear to him that his brother had fallen so hard already that it led him to do impulsive things. Hale could see that Akiro likes his brother too, but it seemed his familial love is his priority. That’s why, despite looking so disappointed that they really couldn’t bring his g
Akiro’s Point of ViewAs soon as we landed somewhere in their world, Heli wasted no time in pulling me away. He dragged me faster than I could’ve cursed him. I didn’t even see the faces of the people in the place we landed on! There are lots of them, and I could only assume they were Heli’s family.Heli’s pulling with his vampire speed, completely forgetting the fact I am not a vampire. It’s only a miracle I haven’t slipped or fallen on the carpeted floor. He’s moving too fast and we just traveled from another dimension. My stomach starts churning uncomfortably. “You can’t even let me recover?! That was nauseating!” I furiously yelled at Heli who was still dragging me away to who knows where, oblivious of my current predicament. This jerk! He’s been so attentive, caring and a gentleman to me in the past months. How the hell did he suddenly lose all of that?He didn’t answer, nor did he even react much to my annoyance. I tried pulling away from his hold, but it was too late. We had al
Heli’s Point of View“Conditioning yourself for the worst?” I didn’t have to look up to see who it was. I already heard them coming from a distance. “No. Just calming myself down,” I replied. “I had to fucking restrain myself from the effects of marking him up. It wasn’t fucking easy.”All my siblings took a seat on the couch in our private sitting room, surrounding me. Their expressions varied from worry to serious to curious. I mentally rolled my eyes, already having an idea why they’re here and who made them do this.I shot my eldest brother a glare. He raised both his hands, as if surrendering. “You’re tough, brother, but it’s your mate who spoke those painful words. I think this gathering is warranted.”“I’m fine,” I grumbled, averting my gaze from them. But they’re scattered around the room, so I still ended up looking at one of them. My eyes met Heather’s red-doe eyes. It visibly softened upon meeting my eyes, and I couldn’t deny how that look made my heart clenched painfully
Akiro’s Point of ViewI woke up blearily, feeling like I had been hit by a full brick on the head. When I tried to stretch as I yawned, I realised then that I couldn’t move my body. For a moment there, I paused, recalling what I did to be this exhausted to the point K couldn’t move my body.And then suddenly, the memories of what happened yesterday came crashing down my mind at once. I wasn’t prepared for the sudden landslide of memories, so I crumpled on the bed, holding my head as I tried to regain my normal breathing.“Sssh, it’s alright, darling. That’s right, follow my lead...”Despite my confusion, I still followed the voice I heard. The hand raking through my hair helped to calm me down. It took a few more seconds before I regained my normal breathing. I blinked several times, my eyesight cleared up. Only then did I see it wasn’t just one person who was there with me.There were seven other people with us. Three men and four women. The one who helped me was a woman with red hai
Third Person’s Point of ViewAkiro smiled as he continued staring at his sleeping mate. They’re cuddled in their bed with Heli’s arms wrapped tightly around Akiro’s waist. He couldn’t pull away because the vampire’s hold was tight even while sleeping, so he was left with no choice but to remain lying down on Heli’s arms.And Akiro is absolutely not complaining. It’s been a while since he stared at Heli’s face, and it felt like he'd forgotten some of the vampire’s features. So right now, all he did was to commit every detail of Heli’s face to his memory all over again.Akiro was so preoccupied that he failed to notice that Heli cracked an eye open and immediately caught his mate staring intently at him. There was the look of— dare he say— fondness and admiration in Akiro’s eyes that made Heli’s heart flutter.He took advantage of his mate’s obliviousness. He shamelessly stared back, enjoying the sight of Akiro’s morning look that he had been secretly cataloguing inside his mind. Even w
Third Person’s Point of View“Work, huh?” Hendrix grinned at his youngest brother, who was sitting on the couch across from him, and was actually pouting as he glared at nowhere. But if anyone pointed it out, Heli would deny it and freeze their mouths until Heli decided to take pity on them.“Can you believe that? I can provide him with everything he needs and wants if he just tells me what it is, and then he can live comfortably. But no, he wants to work,” Heli said, disbelief clear in his voice. “He’s an independent man, Heli. He’s not used to just sitting idly in the corner while someone serves him everything on a silver platter. He wants to be able to stand on his own without relying on anyone,” Hadrien’s mate— Thaia— softly said.“Unlike the rest of us who had a similar lifestyle in our human lives and here, it’s quite easy to adjust. But for Akiro, who’s different from us in every possible way, it will be hard for him, and he might have more demands to make before he fully adju
Third Person’s Point of View“You didn’t tell me the Emporium is for elite vampires! How am I supposed to pay for all of these?” Akiro whined upon seeing the prices of all the clothes and pants he picked, as well as the knitting materials and the newspapers he picked for his grandparents.Heli frowned at him. “You don’t need to pay for anything, Akiro, so you don’t have to worry about the price.”“But how about those knitting materials and newspapers I took for grandma and grandpa? This costs a lot!”“Like I said: you don’t have to worry about the price. We’re a royal family, Aki. Money is not a problem for us.”Akiro looked away, pouting. He doesn’t like that he’d owe Heli such a large amount of money, but it’s not like he has a choice. He has no money. He doesn’t have work where he can earn—An idea formed in his mind. He turned to face his mate, his expression giddy. “I’ll find a job!”Heli raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”“I’ll find a job so that I can save money, and then I can
Third Person’s Point of View“FUCK! AKIRO!”Heli extended his arms forward, reaching towards his mate who was getting pushed away by the crowd of vampires trying to get near the youngest prince. Akiro’s face dissolved into panic, his arms flailing around in an attempt to reach Heli’s hand. But with all the stronger vampires pushing him away, he wasn’t able to even touch the tip of Heli’s fingers.“Heli!” Akiro exclaimed, his heart beating frantically as their distance grew farther from each other.He could hear the prince yelling profanities and his name, but he couldn’t see him anymore from the crowd of taller vampires obscuring his view of the raging prince. It made him nervous not only because he was surrounded by vampires he didn’t know, but also because he was sure Heli might throw a fit if he got seriously injured by the stampede.Heli would surely blame himself if he saw Akiro get hurt, and Akiro would like to avoid that if possible. It wasn’t the vampire’s fault after all. He
Third Person’s Point of View“Are you sure you don’t want to bring some knights with you?”Heli turned to his mate, who, in turn, shook his head in response to the Queen. “Heli’s with me, Your Majesty. We’ll be fine.”The Queen looked like she was about to protest and continue to insist, but a large hand rested on her shoulder, effectively stopping her from talking. She looked over her shoulders and met her husband’s ruby-red eyes that were telling her to let the children go. She sighed.“Fine,” the Queen finally relented, seeing that even the King agreed with the boys. She looked sharply at her youngest son. “Take care of your mate, Helios. Eyes on him. You know how the town is.”Helios scowled. “Of course, I will. You don’t have to remind me of that.”“I’m just making sure.”Helios just huffed, then he turned to his mate. “Come on.”Akiro bowed politely to the King and Queen, then he hugged his grandparents. “We won’t take long.”The Queen knows it would be Akiro’s first time to lea
Heli’s Point of ViewI sighed deeply when I saw the room was still empty after being inside the bathroom for nearly half an hour already. I plopped myself on my bed, staring at the door as if it would magically make my mate appear if I just stared hard enough.It was half an hour past the two hours he said, and he still hadn’t come back. I can’t help but feel restless about it. I’m aware I am being clingy, but can anyone blame me? My mate and I haven’t been on good terms for months, and I really missed just talking to him and enjoying his presence. It was a luxury I took for granted.Even though we talked already, it didn’t mean all our previous issues had been resolved. No. It would take more than one talk for us to resolve our issues and put it completely in the past. But right now, we’re alright, and I just want him beside me. When ten more minutes had passed, and he still didn’t return, I decided to go and check on him. But just as I stood up to get myself new clothes, the door o
Akiro’s Point of View“Listen, Aki. Don’t think this is your fault, alright? None of this is on you. I’m the very reason of your suffering, so it’s only right I do something for you,” Heli quickly began before I could even say something. “I... am selfish; I admit that. I know that. I couldn’t let you go even if I saw how much you’ve suffered from living here and away from your grandparents. So I thought of the only thing I can do to keep you here at the same time make you happy, and I don’t regret anything. All the risks that come with this decision? I wholeheartedly accepted it, and I had prepared myself for the worse. I admit that it made me nervous and afraid, not for myself but for my people. But when I saw you smile genuinely for the first time since I’ve brought you here, every doubt and fear in my heart disappeared instantly. Aki... it was worth it.”The sincerity in his eyes and voice made my chest hurt in a good way. It feels like his very soul was touching my heart. How can
Heli’s Point of ViewIt was worth it.It’s been a while since the last time I’ve seen Akiro’s genuine smile. His smile that holds so much joy to the point of being contagious...I wanted to slap myself for taking that away— for being the reason he slowly lost that beautiful smile of his that I loved. For being the reason why he withered to something I almost can’t recognise. It feels like a grave sin, taking the brightness out of Akiro’s life.So this plan that I collaborated with my parents, is worth it. Even if it means risking my life. That’s the least I could do. Besides, I trust our people here in the palace. They’ve been working here for longer than I’ve been living, maybe even longer than Hale’s life. I decided to go to the training room to blow off some steam. When I entered the room, I saw Hale practicing with the swords. He whirled around when I entered. And just as I was about to ask if I could join, he suddenly appeared in front of me, taking me by the collar of my vest a
Akiro’s Point of ViewI stared at the flowers spread out in the palace garden, admiring their beauty, then I zoned out once again.It’s been a frequent occurrence for the past weeks. I keep drifting in and out of life, as if someone’s pulling and pushing me to consciousness. I didn’t even know I was zoning out in the middle of a conversation. I just found out about it whenever any of my companions would shake me out of my thoughts.I feel bad whenever I unconsciously do it, but the others don't seem mad or offended. In fact, they even looked concerned, but I just kept brushing off their questions.Because really, what can I say that they don't know already? They know what I feel, but they can’t do anything about it, right? They can’t help me. Their false placation doesn’t help anymore in easing the pain in my chest. No reassurances that they will help me adjust to this life or that I have someone who still cares for me can make me feel better.Everyday, I feel like I’m withering away