Midnight CEO

55.

CARTERS POV

I watched from the shadows of the forest as Leon paced back and forth inside the castle in front of me. He was obviously nervous about my next move as he yelled at some random vampires walking past him and threw up his hands in the air aggressively. I knew what that rage felt like inside. I knew what it felt like to feel so alone in this world that you would hurt yourself just to feel something other than anger. The sudden release of pain from a blade or a burn from a cigarette was a welcomed sensation from the insanity that consumed your every moment. I knew it wouldn't be long before Leon took that moment of release, and that was when I knew I had to attack. That was my only chance to get him when he was weak. It was the first step I had to take to ensure the end of this war with my brother. It was him or me. I wasn't afraid of my own death, but I was scared of becoming that monster again. I was scared of the darkness inside him and its power on me. I was afraid of Ebony seeing my true self again under the influence of that darkness.

I watched as Leon threw a table across the room and roared out with pure rage. He was clearly at the edge of insanity right now, and it was my only chance to take him down. I jumped up into the large oak tree growing just to my right and swung over to the branch hanging over a bunch of Leon's guards. They were joking about smashing the heads of my family, and I felt my anger grow inside me with every word.

"When I get a hold of that pretty boy son of his, I'm going to enjoy ripping his throat out." One laughed.

"I get that blonde douche." Another one laughed.

"Wait, isn't he dead already?" Another said, looking confused.

"Apparently not. Well, not until he meets me anyway."

"I get the pretty lady. She would look amazing chained to my bed. The things I would do to that body." He laughed smugly. "Fucken little whore."

I don't really remember what happened after I heard that sentence. All I know is that right now, I'm standing in a pool of vampire blood, picking bits of skin off my arm and picking out bone from my teeth. Ebony is right. This is really gross.

"They should be over here. I told them not to leave their post." I heard a voice approaching me and smiled to myself. I do miss hunting my enemies like prey. I felt like I was two hundred years old again. Those were the days.

"Where the hell are they?" The guard said, looking around.

"They got a better offer." I smiled in his face and snapped his neck with one movement. The sound of his bones breaking made me feel alive again. I quickly pounced on the other two guards and ripped them apart with ease. "Fuck me. This feels fantastic." I laughed, kicking a head out of my path and shaking off the bits of goo. "I'm going to miss this when I'm gone."

I kept repeating those words in my head. I've been around for four hundred years, and I still haven't done everything I want to do. I feel like my life has just begun. I thought I had everything I could ever want. I thought I was complete, and then she had to walk back into my life. The day I realized that Ebony Summers was back in my life was the day I realized my life had actually just begun. I knew she would be okay without me if it came to that. She is the strongest soul I have ever met, and I knew that someday she would move on and start a new life with someone else, and maybe that is a good thing. I can't give her children, and I know that someday she will resent that. She deserves the world, and if my end could give her that, I was honored to die. If I had to die tonight along with the darkness of my brother, then I had to accept that. If that is what it takes to defeat my brother tonight, then I would do it without hesitation. Ebony's safety is more important to me than my own life. I owe her that and nothing less.

I looked over at the castle once again and saw my chance. Leon was standing on a balcony, taking in big breaths of air as he dragged a blade along his arm. He tilted his head back as the release of pain from the blade edge took over his body. He was obviously intoxicated with relief as he closed his eyes and smiled slightly.