Halfway there... yay! Only 12 chapters left, and this story is almost finished by now... even more fun.

I feel like I need to truly ask all of Romania for forgiveness for what I am about to do in this chapter, and for future chapters. Trust me when I say this is not a reflection whatsoever on Romania as a nation (which is among the top European nations on my to-visit-list). I kind of read through Romania's profile on hetalia wiki, and I am near ashamed of the monster I turned him into.

Ps: Seriously, do not kill me for this chapter.

Bites, Blood, Immortality

Chapter 12

Is there no other way, to make this pain go away, to die and drop?

Blood can be quite a fascinating substance. It's iron, but it's liquid. It's red, even though that colour doesn't reflect on the skin. It symbolises life, but it also symbolises death. To many it is disgusting, but to them it is like tasting wine. So rich, potent and fulfilling.

Emil watched in dazed interest as a group of lesser vampires fed frenzied over the dying body of a young woman. He had not joined them, no, his Maker wouldn't allow it. He stood by his Maker's side, as said vampire watched as the carnivorous scene unfolded.

Said Maker sat on what seemingly looked like a throne. Vlad was not a vampire to hold back on expenses. It was a luxurious creation, carved in ebony.

"Are you happy?" Vlad asked with a thin smile.

Emil nodded.

"Come here." Vlad ordered. Emil obeyed, silently.

Emil sat down on Vlad's lap. The vampires stared at each other for a brief moment. Vlad smiled, before he leaned closer to the much younger vampire.

"Welcome home." he murmured, before the older vampire leaned forward to capture the younger vampires lips in his own.

The vampires on the floor were now observing them with interest. Emil was lightly clad in just white loose pants. Some of the youngest ones catcalled as Vlad stroke Emil's almost ivory skin. The Icelandic vampire replied with just as much pressure, tearing at Vlad's clothed body.

-000-

It just made him sick.

Lukas and Mathias were out hunting. As the circumstances were this was all they could do. Feed, survive, stay out of trouble. That morning Arthur had contacted them through Eduard, who had now reached the new hideout, and the Brit had to escape as well. He had been hiding with Francis, his brothers and Peter in a small village in Wales, before the Hunters figured out his hiding. The positive thing was that they all got out unscathed and unharmed.

But that did not solve a lot.

Lukas knew that the Hunters were looking for them. Thankfully, none of the Hunters had reached them here. Most vampires kept to some area with people, this place was far from it. The two vampires would occasionally, when human blood was absolutely necessary, travel south to hunt for human food, but they made sure to keep far away from the hideout.

They didn't want anyone to find out.

But today, they hunted bears. Lukas had spotted one the other day, and now it was his main target. A bear had enough blood for a vampire to sustain for a while. It was certainly not as fulfilling as a human target, but it would give them enough time to not get crazy on the train to Kiruna, which they decided to get on in a few days. They needed human blood, and Kiruna was pretty far away. It was also situated in Sweden, which would pull some suspicions from them.

Mathias suddenly stopped.

"I see it." he whispered and pointed towards a hundred meters ahead. Indeed, the large animal hadn't noticed them yet.

Lukas smirked and dashed forward, with Mathias following him closely. It didn't take long for two vampires to immobilize a bear, but it was still not the easiest of tasks. Bears were predators themselves.

Soon both vampires could be seen tearing holes in the fur. They both drank heavily. For a while only the sounds of the slurping and licking up drops of blood could be heard, before Mathias said.

"Should we find something for Berwald. He's gonna need feeding as well."

"Let's get a fox for him." Lukas agreed.

It had been an unanimous decision that morning that they all needed a proper meal. This had included a very reluctant Berwald as well. Living in isolation, especially when you had to stay quiet, meant less chances for a good meal. Normally Lukas tended to move between his house and the bigger cities, the modern day transport was a glorious invention.

"Do you think we will be able to drag him with us?" Mathias asked Lukas.

"We have to. He needs to feed as much as everyone. Besides, Tino would not forgive him if he would go mad."

"I figured as much." Mathias said, licking the blood from his fingers.

Lukas watched him. The Dane smirked back, walked close enough so that their noses were practically touching, then he kissed his Norwegian lover hard. But Lukas withdrew.

"Later, let's go back."

Mathias pouted making Lukas smile secretively. He looked back behind him, just in time to see Mathias dash forward. For a moment he was puzzled, until he realised that Mathias had seen a fox.

Lukas went after him. The capture was quick and uneventful, so they hurried back to the house where Berwald was waiting with the still unconscious Tino.

The entered the house, and hurried up the stairs to give Berwald his meal. At first the Swede seemed very reluctant to let go of Tino's hand, but in the end Mathias coaxed him to it. Berwald sat in another corner of the room, while Lukas took care of Tino, trying a few spells to hopefully get some signs of seeing the Finn recover.

But once more, nothing worked.

"Berwald, Lukas and I are leaving tomorrow for Kiruna. We need to feed properly, all of us. We would have hoped for Tino to come as well, but we might have to leave him behind."

"Out of the question!" Berwald said, glaring at him.

"Berwald, you haven't fed for days. You must be close to insane." Lukas reminded him.

"Still don't want to. Tiino needs me."

Lukas was about to reply back that the Swede was acting foolishly, when Mathias stood up. He returned minutes later with a huge pole axe in his hand. Lukas had a few weapons down in the basement from the old days, and axes had always been Mathias' favourite.

Berwald growled at him, but the Dane simply pointed the axe towards the Swedes neck.

"You're coming with us, whether you like it or not." Mathias simply stated.

Berwald snarled, but didn't move. Lukas had to admire the Swedes pride.

"See you tomorrow then." Mathias said with a smile. "Lukas, are you coming?"

Lukas sighed at the seemingly never-ending bickering, but followed Mathias out. He did however turn to observe Berwald stroking Tino's forehead affectionately. He felt bad. Tino, of all people, did not deserve this. He wondered how Emil was doing. He was very worried, Vlad was probably the most dangerous vampire still alive. Was he safe, was he killed. He could no longer tell since there was no bond between them. It was his fault, he should have been more open, should have embraced him like the brother he saw him to be. But he never did. He was never open. He had never tried to fully explain.

That night he allowed Mathias to touch him, to make him forget some of his worries. Pressure and pain was steadily growing, and all he wanted was to forget. He had lived peacefully for over 200 years, couldn't it just continue?

-000-

Kiruna is not the biggest of cities or towns in Sweden, but it holds in own charm. Every summer, the sun stays and remains, every winter the sun can be absent completely. It was small, slightly colder than the cities south, but people here were used to it. When Lukas, Mathias and a still reluctant Berwald got off from the train they eyed some of these people hungrily. It was almost time to feed.

Before they left, Lukas had been careful to make sure to hide Tino from any possible Hunters. The had buried him underneath a pile of rocks in his coffin. The rocks had been left from a blast that happened many years ago, when some humans had accidentally discovered why you should never pour something cold on something hot.

Lukas was sure Tino wouldn't wake up while they were gone. And thus he took it upon himself to drag Berwald forward, so that he could show them a good hunting spot.

"Well, this is your territory, not mine." Lukas told him. Berwald grunted, and lead the way.

There weren't any kind of brothels or really other night life activities in such a small place, but people did still move about. Berwald told them to split, find single people out for a late walk. Humans liked pets, and pets needed exercise, even at late evening, and that became their goals. Mathias was fortunate to stumble upon a woman, walking her dog. Berwald found a single man, on his way back from his girlfriend. Lukas found a jogger, and dragged the unsuspecting young man to a secluded part.

It took them a full night to feed. In his solitude Lukas had time to gather his thoughts, where nothing could distract him other than the pleasure of hunts. Nothing seemed to distract him enough however to imagine the scenes that had to happen with Emil. Ever since he'd been told that Emil was with Vlad his blood had been ice cold, and he turned in sleep, even though his body was technically dead while resting.

He knew he had to do something, but what? Chase after Vlad? Romania was most likely swarmed with Hunters. It was madness.

But he had to know how Emil was doing. He couldn't linger behind like this, not when he was responsible for turning the man. Truth to be told, Emil had filled some of the pain that was left after Erik had died. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he needed Emil, he was the brother he lost.

Lukas finished his meal, the jogger he had found slumped to the ground. But he didn't care.

"You'll forget about this." was all he said, staring with those hypnotic eyes into the man's. The man nodded, got back to his feet and started to walk dazedly to his home.

There was a crack behind him. Lukas turned, but it was just Mathias.

"Done yet? Berwald reckons we'll find more on the other side. We should get going."

"Mathias, I've decided." Lukas said.

The Dane blinked.

"Decided? Decided on what?"

Lukas sighed.

"I'm going after Vlad."

Mathias stared at him, then he did something Lukas had never seen him do before. He grabbed him, hugged him close as if Lukas was the last thing he could cling to.

"I knew you were going to say that one of these days. He really does look like him. I'm sorry." Mathias whispered in his ear.

Lukas wanted to hug him back, to cry. All the pain that had been there over the years seemed to well up.

"I'm coming with you. I won't let you do this alone." Mathias said softly.

"Thank you."

Hands joined they went to look for Berwald, who was busy keeping his eyes on a group of teenagers. All teenagers had fallen for his trance, so it was short work to get one final meal before the train would leave back home. They would need to return shortly, if not just to see if Tino had awoken.

Before boarding the train back, Berwald gave one last look over his territory. Being back in your own home was nice from time to time. Even if he was happy to return to the man that once saved his life.

-000-

It's rare for Berwald to smile so broadly, but when they returned to find out that Tino was indeed awake his face dropped every hint of sternness that the Swede usually had. Berwald had noticed as soon as they had returned. He could sense Tino's annoyance of not being able to open his lid. It made the Swede laugh, a very rare sight.

Tino was awake, starved, but feeling better. Berwald, now feeling better that his lover was awake, went out immediately to hunt. Mathias went off to one of the closer towns for some supplies. On their way back to the house Lukas had decided to tell him about their plans. The Swede hadn't said anything against them, just grunted and nodded.

Now Lukas told Tino, and the Finn had a few more things to say.

"Lukas, I think this is the worst idea anyone has had since Heracles tried to date a Gorgon. If Vlad took Emil, there is no way you can get him back. I may be younger than the rest of you, but even I know how strong he is."

"I have to Tino." Lukas sighed. "You don't know what it's like to nurse a Child. You haven't had one yet. I never intended to turn Emil, but my loneliness got the better of me. Now, I need him back."

Tino sighed.

"I guess it was Vlad or someone among his pack that attacked me then." the Finn said touching his still aching shoulders. The poison had done its job now, it had slowed down every prospect of Tino waking up. It had thankfully not killed him, which was always a possibility and none of them could figure out why it hadn't.

"I guess so." Lukas said. "Did you by any chance see who did?"

"Not really, it was very foggy. I guess it must have been some sort of magic fog. But, whatever attacked me it was flying."

"Bats then. Follows the pattern."

"Yeah, but Lukas... please don't go. It's absolute lunatics!"

Lukas sighed, and sat down beside Tino's coffin.

"Tino, remember when you had a family. You lost your fiancé, didn't you? Remember you went to fight those who had harmed her."

"Yes, but..."

"I lost my brother once. I didn't just loose him, I killed him. I have never been able to forgive myself for that. Then I met Emil, whom I first believed to be Erik again. I think I turned him because I wanted Erik back. But Emil isn't Erik. I don't know how souls work, but even if it is Erik's soul given a second chance by God, Emil grew up differently. Of course they would never be the same. Still, I have done nothing but to treat him that way. I need to change that. I need him back, to make things right. Or I'll be as bad as Vlad."

Tino snickered.

"Lukas, you'd never turn and pole thousands of people just for fun."

"No, but trust me. One or a few thousand, it doesn't matter. We have no rights after all to destroy others, and yet we do."

Lukas sighed.

"I'm still going. Now that I know that you are fine I can go as well. Berwald will care for you, we all know he will. And I need to do this. I need to know the truth of what is happening."

"Fine, but seriously. Be careful Lukas. You know how many Hunters that are out there, and they will be looking for you."

"I know. But don't worry too much. Mathias will come with me. I am sure we will manage. I will return with Emil, then things can finally calm down a bit."

"You still might have to deal with the others too, though."

"We'll manage. If worst comes to worst we'll just migrate to Greenland."

Tino chuckled.

"Was that supposed to be a joke. Lukas, since when do you joke?"

"Since when do you sleep in your coffin for days? You know, Berwald worried so much we had to drag him to feed."

"Fair enough, I guess."

-000-

The next day they were set to leave.

Lukas had to admit, it would probably have been better if either of them had bothered to learn more about cars, but Mathias was generally horrible with technology and Lukas had never bothered. Tino was the only driver among them, and in general Tino tried to keep up with these things. Lukas honestly didn't know if Emil had ever gotten a license, but he guessed he had. He was 23 when he was turned much later after all.

They had packed lightly. Just some money, a few clothes and other necessary things. Neither of them fancied the idea of camping, so they had decided to meld into the cities. Despite his fears, Mathias had agreed to take the late flight to Oslo. They knew Hunters would be there, but as long as they didn't act as vampires, the Hunters would most likely ignore them. So, they had an idea.

It was a high risk, but what could they do about it. They would be among humans, constantly, and not lift a finger. They would have to concentrate hard for this, after all the more humans the more likely they were to attack someone. But vampires tended to hunt along, and single out prey. It would be a good camouflage.

"Ready to go?" Lukas asked, taking his bag.

"Sure." Mathias said, hauling his own rucksack onto his shoulders. Tino was down to say goodbye to them. Both he and Berwald would stay at the house. It was, after all, the safest place they could stay in at the moment since it was isolated and the Hunters somehow had found their former homes.

Mathias waved as Lukas and he steered their path towards Tromsø. It would take a while to get there, and they had a flight to catch. The sun had just set, so they had to hurry. Thankfully, clothes and smaller luggage melted into shadows with them when they moved this way.

Don't ask how, they wouldn't be able to tell you.

The flight to Oslo took almost two hours, and once more Mathias didn't relax until they were back on the ground again. Mathias was funny that way. He had no problems with most means of transport, but once his body lifted from ground or sea he got immensely uncomfortable. Lukas could have sworn he was ready to kiss the ground.

"Finally... I hate planes. Whoever invented them ought to deserve to be turned and then staked." Mathias said.

"Sshh..." Lukas warned him. They couldn't speak in such terms, not here.

"Sorry" Mathias said, lowering his voice. "So, where do we go now?"

"To Sweden. Remember, Malmö is connected to Copenhagen by bridge. There are buses there that we can take to Germany."

"Good, so how do we get to Malmö?"

"Train."

"That's going to take hours, the sun will be up before we get there."

"Exactly."

"Which means?"

"We have no choice. Let's find someplace to stay. We'll need to leave tomorrow evening again."

Mathias sighed.

"This journey is going to take forever."

Lukas nudged him.

"We have no choice. Come on!"

Mathias shook his head, but smiled. This side of Lukas reminded him so much about the young man he once met.

Sadly, he also remembered some of the bad parts of his long life.

After all, it came to a point when Lukas near had killed him, in order to get away from him.

-000-

Denmark 1712

Mathias had no been looking forward to this day at all. He knew what day it was, marked it on his calendar. Sighing, he decided he hated fate. It was inevitable that it happened after all.

Their final night had been amazing. Lukas truly had the shape and form of Adonis, and Mathias felt so lucky that the Norwegian vampire had been his. He knew it had started difficultly. Ar first Lukas had blamed him for his turning, for bringing him away from the path of God, for turning him into a monster. Then Lukas mistakenly killed his own brother, and the Norwegian seemed to seal his own heart away in sorrow. But these last few years had been amazing. They weren't together just because of the bond they shared, no... they were together because of something much bigger.

Love

Not since he had been married, those days before he was turned, had he believed in such things. Not since those days she had birthed his sons did he truly believe in happiness. But those days were long gone now. She had died long ago, Mathias had been there to say his goodbyes. His line ended during the Black death, his final heir coughed blood and took one final harsh breath. For hundreds of years he had simply existed, carved his territory, created his borders and just been.

Lukas had changed all that.

And now he was about to lose that.

Any day, any hour, any minute now.

The bond never broke exactly one hundred year after a Child had been turned, but it was the general margin. Lady Mary of Britannia, when she still lived, had the record among them turning four young men. Arthur had explained that she was, before Aldric turned her, a mother of seven and she was lonely. She killed herself when her last child, Angus, turned on her.

Footsteps could be heard.

Speak of the devil.

"Mathias?"

Mathias turned towards the door. "In here." he said simply. Lukas entered shortly after, dressed in a blue coat, with a white shirt underneath and dark trousers. Lukas smiled when he saw him, a rare sight.

"You seem to be in a good mood today?" Mathias said, as the Norwegian vampire walked into his embrace. Soft lips met his own. Mathias kissed back, hungrily, parting Lukas' lips to allow himself to taste.

Lukas moaned, clinging to Mathias as if the Dane was made of the oxygen on Earth. Mathias mentally sighed, deciding to cherish these last few moments, and started to undo the Norwegian's coat and unbutton his shirt.

Cold air met the light skin, making the nipples harden. Mathias kissed downwards, wanting to bring as much pleasure as possible for his love. Lukas, who was completely enthralled, busy feeling as Mathias trailed downwards, closed his eyes and leaned backwards onto a table. Mathias tongue swirled around the skin, until it reached a nipple. Then he stopped, busy playing with it.

His hands trailed down the side and inside the trousers. Such things as boxers didn't exist at this point as it does today, so the Norwegian was bare underneath. Mathias noticed however that the Norwegian was wearing anything more than the clothes that could be easily removed.

The Danes fingers trailer circles around those parts that so desperately wanted attention.

"Mathias... please." Lukas moaned. Mathias hands withdrew, and rested upon the now clothed erection of his partner.

"Let's take this somewhere else." he murmured at Lukas' lips. Lukas nodded, and kissed his lover hard once more. The two hurried back to the bedroom, where they didn't leave until the next evening.

-000-

And the next day came.

Mathias woke up first as soon as the sun had set. Lukas was still out cold, their last night had been long and most sensual. Lukas was an amazing lover, and Mathias saw himself as very lucky.

He decided against getting up. He wanted to spend every minute with his love of the time they had left. He wondered when it would happen, he couldn't but to wonder when it would start. He could tell that his own bond was slowly breaking. Lukas would soon no longer be part of him. His instincts would tell him so.

Lukas stirred. Mathias smiled. The Norwegian opened his eyes, at first quite confused what he was doing in the bed and not in his coffin. But then he remembered, and a blush coloured his cheeks.

"Evening." Mathias said with a smile.

Lukas turned his head. Mathias chuckled. Lukas could be like this quite often, silent and mysterious, but that was just another thing he liked about him.

"Evening." Lukas murmured from the other end. It made Mathias smile even wider. The Dane leaned forward, kissed Lukas on the cheek before he started to untangle from the sheets. Lukas didn't move, but that was okay. It was his normal behaviour after a night of sex.

Mathias scooted closer to Lukas, and laid his arm around his waist. "Hungry?" he asked.

Lukas nodded.

Mathias smirked. He had a few servants in his hug castle, it was customary of him to do so, so he rang a bell and a few minutes later one of the maids entered.

"You called, my lord."

Lukas wasn't slow to act. The Norwegian looked at her, completely ignoring his lack of clothing. At first the maid blushed furiously, she was used by now to finding these two together, despite it being a sin, but the way one of her young masters looked at her, she couldn't look away.

"Come here." Lukas ordered, and she obeyed. When she was within reach Lukas bit her, lapped some of her blood away. Mathias watched him, with a smirk.

Lukas didn't take much, Mathias had taught him not to be too greedy. After a few more sucks he closed the wound, told her to return to the kitchen to order their meals, and returned to bed.

"You're getting better. It seems like you've finally gotten the hang of it." Mathias said as Lukas lay down beside him again. Lukas smiled.

"I guess I had a descent teacher." he said.

Mathias smirked. He was going to miss that smile.

"You wanna get up?" he asked.

"Not yet." Lukas said with a yawn. Mathias smiled even wider and draped his arm around his love.

Please, just a little longer.

Outside an owl hooted. A couple of bats flew by, nightlife had slowly begun. Mathias could feel the instincts within him starting to awaken once more. He could tell Lukas was shivering slightly, obviously noticing as well. Things were changing.

"Are you all right?" Mathias asked, though he knew the answer.

"I feel funny. I've been feeling like this since yesterday. At first I thought I had drunk bad blood again, but it's getting worse. I don't know why."

Mathias hugged him closer, a look of sadness struck his face momentarily, but Lukas couldn't see this. He was busy burying his face in Mathias' chest.

"It's okay." Mathias said soothingly. For the time Lukas relaxed a little, breathing softly.

'Fuck you nature' Mathias thought. It wouldn't be long now.

He could tell. Unlike him, Lukas would most likely have no control over it.

-000-

It is inevitable that it happens. Mathias even felt when it happened. The bond between them finally broke around midnight. It's a sound you cannot hear, but you feel it vibrating within you. Mathias gasped, the old ancient instincts awoke within him. His inner demon snarled at the familiar presence of an unwelcome predator in his domain. Mathias grabbed onto the railing of the staircase he had been heading up for. His hands seemingly created marks.

And then Lukas was there, in front of him.

Mathias had heard that many Children ran in the presence of older vampires, but he wasn't surprised that Lukas wasn't like them. Throughout the hundred years they had spent together the Norwegian vampire had done his best to always be on equal footing, to reach up, to walk beside him. It made sense then for Lukas to go for him when this time had finally come.

Lukas normally blue eyes seemed to be coloured red by hatred and instincts. He lunged at Mathias, who held his arm up to shield his face. Fangs bore and flashed as both vampires tried to aim, to maul the other. Kicks and punches flew by, most to be dodged, but a few hit. Mathias knew he would have bruises after this.

"Fight me!" Lukas snarled at him. All those precious emotions they had held had shattered, just like that. They circled each other, trying to find an opening, but it was not easily achieved. Mathias was older, more experienced and physically stronger. Lukas was still young and had less experience, but he was faster and could use magic, which was a rare feature among them.

"I don't want to hurt you." Mathias snarled back, but his actions spoke differently. He once more lunged at Lukas, who easily dodged and kicked him in the stomach. It hurt, but he could live with that.

"Fight me!" Lukas snarled once more. This time the Nowegian drew a sign in the air. The air around them started to glow. Mathias snarled, but backed quickly as a near transparent wolf appeared to attack him. The wolf vanished almost as quickly as it had been summoned, but Lukas still smirked. He got behind Mathias, and grabbed onto him. Bit down on his neck and drew blood.

Mathias fought back and managed to be free, but he was bleeding. Lukas smirked victoriously.

But Lukas had not been among the two vampires to rule north for nothing,and it was time for Lukas to know why. With ungodly strength he dashed forward to knock Lukas into a wall.

For a moment it seemed as if he had won, but Lukas got back to his feet. His body was bleeding, his skin bruised and one of his arms was bent in a funny way. Mathias could tell that his last blow had seemingly scared the Norwegian, because it didn't hold the same hatred anymore. Instead, fear grazed his features. Lukas was frightened, most likely he had realised he could not win.

The Norwegian vampire fled. Mathias hurried after him, but despite his wounds Lukas was still fast. Mathias also suffered some heavy blood loss, which made him slower, speed had never been his greater strength.

Lukas was ahead of him by a few hundred metres, when the Norwegian turned and stopped. Drawing his own blood he drew runes onto the floor, then he continued on. Mathias stopped as well, but not because Lukas had stopped, no. To his horror he realised Lukas had summoned one of the ancient Nordic giants, Mathias tried to fight off this giant monster, but the problem with apparitions is that they cannot tire. Vampires, despite their strength, will, just like humans, tire and Mathias was weakened.

After minutes of struggle the giant got through his defences and grabbed him with his tight fists, seemingly squeezing him to death. He knew he would most likely have died, hadn't it been for the fact that Lukas then had reached the borders to his territory. Magic grows weaker the further away the user is, and the apparition slowly faded. Mathias couldn't feel Lukas anymore. He lay broken, dying and exhausted at the entrance of his own castle. Tears welled forward as he realised that this was most likely the last time he would ever be truly near his love, and it was painful.

He had made Lukas immortal, so that they would always be together.

But instincts would force them to always remain apart.

-000-

Is there no other way, to make this pain go away, to die and drop?

-000-

I really am enjoying writing about Lukas for some reason. I just like to picture his old self as naïve, family friendly and so loyal to his religion, just to grow so much colder after Erik's death. I hope it is noticeable that Lukas did start to open a little once more after he had spent some years with Emil.

I feel like the most sadistic writer at times as well. I didn't intend at first to make Emil into a supposed "love" interest for Vlad, after all the time I spend downwriting him. But somehow it fit so well into my final picture, that I just couldn't help you. I seriously hope I haven't made any if you extremely uncomfortable. I've noticed that Hong Kong has been the popular pairing (why is beyond me). I honestly have no clue how I am going to do with Emil's future relations though.

And if anyone is wondering, Mathias knew all along that Lukas would have to leave him. No vampire couple can, in this universe, stay together without being affected by the territorial instincts that trap them eventually. That is why he can be quite... moody throughout his memories. He really does love Lukas, and I suppose Lukas loves him to. Otherwise I doubt it would be Mathias he somehow ends up partnering with every time something needs to be done.

The only vampire in this story that somehow has been slightly untouched by the instincts is Feliciano, and I am still trying to figure out why.