The Tyrant's Pet

According to Dexter, the mission didn't even last for a minute. Everything just happened so fast that neither of the hunters who took the mission with him was able to grasp their deaths.

Dexter was lucky, was what he said, or the unluckiest one. Because, for some cursed reason, while all his colleagues were dismembered in a blink of an eye and dyed the very ground of the great hall of the imperial palace red, Dexter was the only one who didn't lose his life.

No. It wasn't because he was able to fight back, but because he was spared. After all, their target, the suicidal emperor of Haimirich, only needed one person to talk to, and somehow, he saw Dexter first and deemed him a little intelligent. Thus, Abel chose him with no further, deeper reason… or so what Dexter initially thought.

As for what sort of motive Abel put a hit on his own head was an obvious explanation: to die, however, that wasn't the reason. Back then, Abel had little to no hope of the sweet death he had desperately sought. He was already persecuted and executed, but he would always wake up.

The deeper reason Abel requested for that mission was far more twisted than vengeance.

Apparently, one of the very few "friends" of Abel was killed by one of the best hunters in the organization Dexter was part of. That "precious" friend, or so what Abel called him, had been Abel's favorite to torment at that time.

Therefore, losing that precious toy was enough to anger the twisted emperor.

In other words, Abel lured those hunters, knowing only the best of the best would take such a challenge in taking down a pureblooded vampire. He was correct. The small group of hunters was all considered elites who had slew noble vampires throughout their careers. Leaving one of them alive… could be a suitable replacement for Abel's toy.

Yes. Replacement. 

That was the entire point of the mission; the one who survived would be Abel's toy replacement. No more, no less.

And it was apparent who 'won' the title.

Dexter. 

Aries held her hand that was on her lap to stop its trembling. Dexter had told her the summary of how he met Abel before he escorted her back to her room. She had been thinking about it even when she bathed, and until now that she was sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard with a book on her lap, her hands on top of it.

Dexter might've moved on from it since he casually talked about it. However, the more Aries thought about it, the more this dread sank deep into her bones. She knew it was in the past and her love for Abel would never change, even if he was the cruelest devil.

"There's something more into it," she whispered, squeezing her trembling hand. Aries closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. She told herself to let the reality sink in first, but it seemed hearing bits and pieces of the backstory of these men was inevitable.

She couldn't stop all these pieces of information from bombarding her, nor could she ignore them. She had to adjust and prepare herself for what was to come.

Abel didn't live a normal life from the very beginning. It was safe to say Aries had to look for the worst. Her husband might be powerful and untouchable, but that also meant his enemies weren't as simple as she wished they were.

"I don't have a good feeling about…" Aries trailed off and shut her eyes when her vision shook once more. "... not this again."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, massaging her brows to soothe her throbbing head. There were many things to consider… and hers wasn't her priority.

"His Majesty didn't live decently and made countless enemies throughout the years, Dani. Actually, even if he didn't do anything, many people would still come at him to kill him because of the cursed blood in his veins."

Suddenly, Aries recalled Dexter's parting remarks, which sounded more like a warning. The marquess didn't want to pop her bubble, but he had to remind her they could never be complacent despite the peace now.

"That's right." She slowly opened her eyes and breathed out ever so slightly. "I should do something. I can't be a burden."

For someone who went through hell, Aries was aware of what people — vampires and humans alike — could do. Before, Abel had no weaknesses. He could die for all he cared; death never scared Abel. But now that she was a part of his life, she didn't want to be used by whoever to be leveraged to make Abel drop his sword.

Aries didn't want to be Abel's Achilles' heel.

Her eyes glinted, raising her head, and looked at the balcony. She bit her inner lower lip, squeezing her hand into a tight fist before loosening her grip.

"Abel…" she whispered, while her eyes softened with worry. "... what should I do, darling? I think I'm dying."

*******

Many years ago…

With Abel sitting on the step-ups toward the throne, hands sullied with blood dripping from his fingertips, his eyes glowed in a fiery red. He kept his gaze on the person standing in the middle of the great throne hall, ignoring the severed limbs scattered on the marbled floor which had flooded with blood.

"What do you think, Mister Hunter?" his deep, rasped voice echoed across the silent throne hall. "Shall we… become friends?"

The side of Abel's lips stretched from ear to ear, raising his chin, making his eyelids droop until they were partially closed. Dexter, who was staring back at him, trembled, experiencing fear he never felt in the past.

"All you need to do is survive whilst doing your best to kill me. I won't fight back." Abel cocked his head to the side, glancing at the figure standing in the dark corner of the throne hall. His eyes glinted, setting his eyes back to Dexter.

"If you do not want to, it'll be an eye for an eye." He tipped his head in the other person's direction. "After all, the person you killed is his beloved brother."

Dexter's heart thudded as his breath hitched, moving his eyes to the figure standing in the dark corner. When the latter slinked out of the shadow, a middle-aged man looked at him with a pair of cold eyes.

Gustav.