Hellbound Heart

LAST NIGHT

Sebastian was all alone in the castle's wine cellar when Alexander found him. He was slumped over and moping around with many bottles of wine already emptied and lying all around him.

To put it nicely, he was not looking good. To put it bluntly, he was a mess. A complete mess. He had been drowning the past few days' sorrows and regrets in alcohol - ever since that night.

He could still remember it so clearly. So vividly as though he had just experienced it only minutes before. The image of him choking Izabelle. The tears that rolled down uncontrollably from her eyes. Her, coughing for breath as she lay there crumpled on the ground. Every bruise and wound on her skin were still freshly imprinted in his mind.

It was a new nightmare for him. One that was far worse than the previous others. He would have willingly endured any damages upon himself. But if it was her who suffers... it was impossible.

"I know it's going to be as hard as hell, but... pull yourself together, Sebastian." Alexander told him. Sebastian knew Alexander was just genuinely concerned about him and Izabelle. But Alexander would never understand. He could never. "Your wife needs you."

"No..." Sebastian replied, shaking his head as a bitter and cold smile curved across his lips. "Izabelle doesn't need a man like me... the very man who had hurt her and nearly killed her. I am the very last person she needs from here on."

"Sebastian... that's... What had happened was not your faultâ€""

"Enough... please..." his voice broke as he cut Alexander's words off. "Didn't you know about what the humans say? That once a man lay a hand on his own girl, he'd do it again next time too..." Sebastian pressed his forehead against the heel of his palm as he chuckled brokenly. "I know I'll hurt her again, Alex. One way or another, she'll get hurt again because of me... or worse... with these..." he looked down at his trembling hands. "With these f**king hands of mine."

He buried his face into his palms. His body was trembling. He had never allowed anyone to see him like this, except for Izabelle. But he could not hold himself together anymore.

"That's not going to happen, Sebastian..." Alexander trailed off and closed his mouth when Sebastian shook his head again. Clearly refusing to believe him.

"What was it that's not going to happen again?" he bitterly scoffed, gulping more wine down in an attempt to numb his feelings. "You won't even allow me to go and search for Elijah and kill him." He then stood, turned his back from Alexander and yelled at the wall. "I know... f**k, I know!"

Sebastian knew the risk of chasing after Elijah and killing him. Elijah had been holding onto the greatest threat not only to the vampires, but also to the entire kingdom of Viscarria.

For years, Elijah had been keeping so quiet. According to everyone, Elijah had been the perfect obedient one for so long. He had barely caused any significant troubles at all. He was fond of the humans and was even obsessed with studying. He did nothing for so many years but just studied. They said Elijah had wanted to learn everything and he never seemed to have any plans on stopping himself from going to school.

However, according to Alex, his brother Ezekiel still had him closely monitored in secret. Alexander had admitted he had even asked Ezekiel to stop doubting Elijah. Because he had sincerely thought Elijah was truly harmless.

They said Ezekiel had never caught Elijah doing anything suspicious. He had hidden his motives all these years. Or more like, Elijah had waited patiently to make his move. He waited until Ezekiel was gone.

Elijah had then taken over one of the world's internet providers and created a bomb-like system that could be detonated with just a single move from him. It was not a literal bomb but to the vampires and Viscarria, it was the same as an atomic bomb. It was a bomb containing loads of information and evidence including videos and everything that could prove the vampire's existence without a doubt. He had gathered them in secret for many years and now he was just one tap away in spreading all of that information throughout the entire world.

In short, Elijah held the key to detonating the possible destruction of the vampire race or... causing war to break out between humans and vampires.

They had simulated so many scenarios once Elijah detonated his bomb, and not one result could be considered even mildly good. They knew that this would only lead to destruction or worse, an apocalypse for the vampires or for the humans.

This was why for so many years, Ezekiel, his brother, had worked so hard in keeping the existence of vampires unknown and still secret to the whole world.

When Alicia still had her powers, Elijah was apparently still being cautious but he again made a huge mistake five years ago. His attempt in getting his brother, Ezekiel to return to his family had failed and as a result, Alicia lost her powers.

That was the day Elijah had started to really execute his plan. And when they found out about it, it was too late to undo it. They could only hope to mitigate the effects of Elijah's move.

Alexander and the witches had started to make plans years ago to counter this problem. And Alex still believes that Elijah will not just detonate the bomb on a whim. He had reasons they still were not privy to, and as long as they did not corner him to the very edge, Elijah would not do it. Not yet.

They thought they had time.

And he thought he would never... feel anything again.

Sebastian knew now what Elijah had been waiting for. He was waiting for him to find someone he'd love more than his own life and see and desire the light again in his eyes. He had waited so long, just for him to find a reason to live and fight so that when he managed to snatch everything away, he would be shattered completely to dust. So that the ending would be more satisfying for Elijah.

He needed to change the tide of the game now before it truly became too late.

He needed to give his Izabelle up... because right now, that was the only way to save her from thi

s hellish nightmare.