_16_
As Cara departed, a few seconds later, Kiel strode out of his hiding — well, basically not, making his way towards his nephew with a void expression.
Lothanna and Kiel stood in a tense silence, the air between them charged like the electric crackle before a thunderstorm. Kiel's eyes, dark and piercing, locked onto Lothanna's with a look of cold fury.
Lothanna, ever the composed one, held his ground, meeting his uncle's stare with a level gaze. "Is there something you wish to say, uncle?" He asked, his tone even and controlled.
Kiel's response was a low growl, his fangs beginning to elongate as his eyes flashed with rage. "You think you can protect her from me?" he spat, his voice a dangerous whisper. "She is nothing but a mewling, pathetic human, and you would throw away centuries of tradition to defend her? This is madness."
Lothanna's expression hardened, his hand reaching instinctively for the silver dagger sheathed at his side. Kiel noticed Lothanna's action but pretended not to — not as if the half breed can gain any advantage on him if he decide to attack.
Lothanna is only a three decades old — compare to him who has seen few centuries.
"Madness or not, I will not allow harm to come to her." He said, his voice a low, dangerous purr. "You may be my uncle, but do not forget that I am the Alpha here."
"So, what if this is your empire, little nephew?" Kiel asked, his tone awfully calm and even — but his eyes says otherwise. "What are you going to do, kick me out?"
"Of course I can, I own this place, Kiel, this is my home!" Lothanna almost half yelled. It wasn't a reminder — either to himself or to his uncle — and he was trying to claim possession either. But...
Kiel, crossed at Lothanna's word, seized him by his shoulders, but his grip wasn't strong on the younger vampire. "You don't own this place, Lothanna, this is your human father's!" He told him as he shook him lightly. "Your place is where you're rejected — you're far from being one of this pathetic humans!"
It was as though Kiel's words stirred something inside the latter, as he paused for a moment, his facial expression falling. "I belong nowhere other than here in this castle, Kiel." He uttered, his tone collected.
"You...!" Kiel sighed, unsure what to say to Lothanna. It will be easier to convince the coven than his nephew.
"You don't know what it's like, Kiel!" Lothanna growled, his fangs bared in a feral snarl. "You've always belonged there, among those pathetic and monstrous being. But me? I've spent my life straddling two worlds, never truly fitting in either."
Kiel rubbed his temple slowly, as though he was trying to rub off the headache that was never there. "You can't just stay here till forever disguising yourself as a human either!" He blurted out repulsively.
"You can't just come in here and all of a sudden, you start ordering me on what to do! I'll stay here till forever..." Lothanna said, sneering at his uncle. "— and I'll stay here to protect Cara for as long as I can. So, please, just stop!"
Kiel, having the same afterward effect, sighed slowly. "I can't, Lot." He admitted, this time not in a fierce tone. "The urge only grow wilder when I sense her around — it's like her scent alone trigger my thirst! I'm barely holding it in!"
"For as long time as you stay here, uncle, you should keep holding it in." He told the older vampire — and it wasn't a warning or threat — more like cajoling. "Till you completely fight off the urge!"
The tension between Lothanna and Kiel was evident, like a coiled spring ready to snap at any moment. Kiel's words hit hard, striking at the heart of Lothanna's conflicted identity as a half-breed, struggling to find his place in a world that saw him as an outsider.
"You forget what we are, what we are capable of, Lothanna!" Kiel growled, his eyes still flashing with anger. "You think you can keep her safe forever? Sooner or later, our hunger will get the best of us. It's in our nature — and you think I can control that forever?!"
Lothanna stood firm, his expression steely. "I know what we are, Kiel." He said, earning a creased brow from Kiel.
"And I also know that we don't have to give in to our baser instincts," Lothanna continued, his voice a quiet intensity. "We can choose to be better, to be more than just the monsters that humans fear us to be. And I choose to protect Cara."
Kiel let out a low, bitter laugh — a sermon coming from someone who would do anything to trample on humans? Isn't he the same half breed who's is busy hunting human, and forcing them into bring his army?
"Better? You want us to be better?" He said, the words rolling out of his tongue like a deadly poison.
"We are better than those pathetic humans, Lothanna — we've always been." Kiel retorted, his voice dripping with scorn. "We're faster, stronger, more intelligent. We live for centuries, while they wither and die like flowers in the winter." He paused, his gaze hardening. "And you would give all that up for her?"
Lothanna's jaw clenched, his hand still resting on the silver dagger at his side. "I would give up eternity for her." He said, his voice low but resolute. "Because I have a choice, Kiel."
Kiel scoffed out loudly. "A choice?" He said, mirroring Lothanna's words. "What choice...?"
"She's my wife, Kiel!" He yelled at his uncle, his breath haggard. "And it's my choice that I choose to protect her!"
Kiel snickered, a dreadful grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "She's your wife, yeah!" He told him, his gaze hard and compelling. "But she's my mate — and I do whatever I want with her...!"