A Shade Darker ✔️

{Chapter Two}

The Elite

June 4th, 2017

Mike

My eyes open with a gasp of fresh breath and Liz's cold fingers on my forehead. I blink and stare up at the high ceiling at which I remembered falling asleep to. I remember Liz's fingers on my forehead, the portrait of my father on the wall. Nothing had changed. Everything looked the same. Have I only been asleep for minutes? Days?

Liz's eyes show hurt and I wonder what's happened. I slowly gain my strength, my muscles and joints all stiff from my sleep. I sit up, my legs dangling off the side of the marble slate.

"I'm happy to see that you have awaken without complications...my king" King? Since when was I her king? Since when was I a king at all?

She see's the confusion in my eyes and her face looks sad. I have seen many sad looks on the faces of other here in the colony, but I have never seen tears. No emotion ever seemed to come to their eyes.

"Our father is dead because of a human. He ventured outside the colony and was killed with a stake. We will mourn him, dear brother. But as this happens, you must know that to no surprise someone else must take the name of the king. And with no surprise, brother, father has left the name to you. For you are strong and obedient. You have a mind of which his other kin do not suppress. He had made the choice wisely, which is why I must wake you from your sleep" Her words sound rehearsed and I wonder how long it has taken her to awake me.

I breathe in, then out.

"What is the year?" Already I could feel the heat protruding through the walls. It must be summer, but the date I could not fathom.

She looks at me under her eyelashes.

"The year is two thousand and seventeen, your highness" I found myself getting annoyed with all the "your highness" and "king" stuff. I was not used to this.

And to have slept for two hundred years left me in the past, not up to date with today's problems and ways of life.

Liz bows her head before beckoning me to follow her.

The tunnels below our castle I remember held the Elite's, the women chosen for us royalty to serve as our mistresses. Now I was to be the most desired alpha in the colony. A shudder runs along my spine, the taste of blood yearns throughout me. I needed a drink, someone to feast on. Just a sip.

There's a scream below our floors and I raise an eyebrow at my sister.

"A new Elite, I assume?" I ask, my arms behind my back as I walked stiffly to where she was leading me.

Liz leads me down the hallways to where my father's old room used to be. The walls decorated with his clothing and photos. Surprisingly, I felt no mourn for him. I only felt remorse for myself and the power I now possessed.

What was I to do with it all? How would the other react?

Liz turns around to meet my gaze, her red eyes glancing at the floor. She frowns as if remembering something.

"Ah, yes. The Elite's. Another reason for you to awake, your highness. You are now the most powerful and desirable male in our colony. I will make sure the women picked for you today meet your expectations. Only the most beautiful and well mannered for you, my king. Now come, for you must be dressed up to your name and out of these obsolete clothes. They do not suit you for the women you are about to be presented in only a few hours" She sees my frown, the excitement not present on my face and offers a reassuring smile as she opens the door to my father's room which had now become mine.