"…dad?"
Nadia stepped back until her body was pressed against the nearest wall. A wave of nausea had washed over and she could feel herself shaking from head to toe.
Never, in her wildest nightmares, had she ever expected a scene like this to unfold.
Her father—the refined and formidable CEO of Godfrey Industries. The man who had raised her, loved her unconditionally, held her tenderly when she was hurt or scared. Was now standing in front of her with blood dripping from his deadly fangs.
She wanted it all to be a bad dream, and the logical side of her brain told her that this was impossible.
People didn't turn into ravenous beasts and drink blood.
This was the stuff of fantasy novels and horror films. Not real life.
Her dad couldn't possibly be…
"Nadia, please."
It appeared that her father had now snapped out of his blood-crazed trace and he took a cautious step towards her, his arm outstretched. The goblet he had been holding clattered to the floor, spraying the remaining flecks of red liquid onto the antique Persian rug.
He reached out, perhaps hoping to offer a reassuring embrace, but Nadia instinctively jumped back.
"No!" She yelped, unable and unwilling to let the figure before her come any closer. A minute ago, this individual had been her father—but her frantic mind no longer knew what to think.
Her mind was telling her to flee.
Her mind was telling her that she was not safe around this creature.
As she looked up, Nadia he could see the pain and hurt in his eyes and, for a second, she caught a glimpse of the man she had always known. But, all too soon, her gaze fell back towards his bloodstained mouth. His unnaturally sharp incisors.
Nadia wanted to scream. And run. She would have rather been anywhere else than face her father like this. But her body remained paralyzed in shock and she found herself unable to flee.
So instead, she choked out the one thing that had been pulsing in her mind since this horrific scene had begun.
"Vampire."
Her voice was weak, barely a whisper, but she could tell instantly that he had heard her. Roman flinched, taking a step back and bringing his hand to his mouth once again, as if suddenly remembering what he had put on display. Frantically, he wiped the blood from his chin but, before he could respond to her accusation, the third figure in the room spoke.
"That is such a vulgar, anglicized word," her grandmother scoffed, tossing her sleek dark hair over her shoulder.
After offering her son the goblet, Olivia had made her way back to her chair to watch things play out. As she glanced in the older woman's direction, Nadia noticed that she did not look at all phased by what had just happened.
If anything, she looked bored, as if this was a tiring game that she hoped would end soon.
"We much prefer the term upir." She began again, offering her granddaughter a smile. "That is what we are called in the old country—and I've always felt it was a much more dignified word, free of all the silly pop-culture references humans have conjured up over the years."
Nadia had no idea how to respond.
Her grandmother was basically confirming the unbelievable truth—and her tone, amazingly, suggested that she did not see it as a big deal. She spoke as if she was explaining something as blasé as the weather or a recipe for chicken soup.
"There is no need to look so afraid, my darling." She continued, rising from her seat and walking towards Nadia. "As I have been trying to explain to your father for decades, being upir is not a curse. It is a wonderful gift. Strength, beauty, immortality. Most humans would trade anything for what we have been blessed with."
"We?" Nadia managed to squeak, not feeling any reassurance from Olivia's words. A part of her already knew that it was true, that she was part of this dark supernatural mess as well, but she still needed a harsh confirmation before she could truly begin to accept it.
Her father had turned into a bloodthirsty vampire in front of her eyes, and her grandmother was standing there talking about it like it was something they should all be grateful for.
Nadia could not possibly fathom how any of this was good. Drinking human blood…killing people…and god knows what else. She wanted no part of it.
"Stop, Olivia." Her father shouted. He still looked as if he was struggling to regain his composure but, apparently, he had recovered enough to speak once more. "Don't you dare say another word."
The blood had been wiped from his face, and his teeth had returned to normal, but there was still a terrifyingly deadly look in his eyes as he spoke.
Roman Godfrey was clearly angry, and probably dangerous.
"You had no right to come here and do this to us, you vindictive bitch." He growled, walking towards his mother threateningly. "I don't know what goes on in your twisted head, but we do not need your guidance and we have no interest in adopting your lifestyle. You have done more than enough damage already. Get the fuck out of town and leave my daughter alone. She isn't part of this and she never will be."
Although her façade faltered for a second, Olivia quickly squared her shoulders and replied. "Oh Roman," She began, waving her elegant hand nonchalantly. "You won't be able to play your little human game forever. Nadia is already feeling the hunger— it is only a matter of time before she progresses." Olivia paused and gave her son the once over. "And look at you—just as young and handsome as the day you turned. People must be noticing by now. You'll have to move on soon enough. Your little pet wolf will die, Shelly will be gone. Only the three of us will be left and I, for one, think we will be stronger together. I have residences all across Europe—we could enjoy life, together. Be who we were meant to be. Is that really so terrible?"
"Fuck you, Olivia." He spat back, venom in his tone. "Nadia and I will never—"
"Enough!" Nadia was surprised by the sudden strength of her voice. Both her father and grandmother froze in place as it echoed through the room, their bickering ending in mid-sentence.
The nausea and confusion had not abated and Nadia knew that she could not stand by silently as the others dredged up decades of bitterness.
She needed answers. And, most of all, she needed someone to tell her that everything would be okay.
"This is absolutely insane." The girl began, looking back and forth between the older Godfrey's. "Can you both shut up for ten seconds and tell me what the hell is going on? You're talking about me as if I'm not here!"
"I am sorry, darling." Olivia began calmly, stepping in front of her son. "Why don't we all take a seat? You're right, you deserve an explanation."
"I said no, Olivia." Her father cut in, his voice still seething with rage. "Nadia is not part of this, I will not let you drag her into your twisted little world! She doesn't need to know!"
"Are you fucking serious right now!?"
Nadia was not usually one to swear, but her usual manners had been all but forgotten in the circumstances.
A sudden wave of anger had washed over her as her father spoke and she found herself unable to keep it bottled up. She could not believe that, despite it all, he was still treating her like a child.
Still trying to shield her from what was going on.
Everything she thought she had known had just come crashing down around her and he still had the gall to claim that she didn't deserve an explanation.
A part of her already knew that life would never be the same again and there was no way in hell that she was going to let him attempt to maintain the status quo.
"You are a fucking vampire, dad!" She continued, turning towards her father, her eyes flashing with fury. "A vampire! You have fangs and you drank human blood like some sort of…monster!"
Roman's mouth opened in shock and she could instantly see that she had hurt him, but she was too riled up to stop.
"And, apparently, sooner or later, I'm going to become one too! But as shitty as all of that is, the worst part is that you knew. You fucking knew! And you've been lying to me my entire life. I feel like I don't even know you anymore! The dad I thought I knew would never do something like this."
"Nadia, it's not like that. I just—"
"I can't deal with this right now," she cut him off in mid-sentence. She was in no state to hear his stammered defence or shaky apologies. As far as she was concerned, he had messed up. Colossally. And there was nothing he could say right now to make her change her mind.
"I'm leaving. Don't you dare follow me."
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As soon as his daughter fled the room Roman Godfrey sank to his knees.
It had taken every fibre of his strength to stay standing during the past few minutes and, now that she was gone, he found the last of his willpower fading.
Breathing heavily, he placed his head in his hands, finally allowing a wave of hot tears to escape.
He didn't care how weak he looked at that moment.
How pathetic.
It felt as if his life—the life he had worked so hard to build and protect for sixteen years— was over. Deep down, part of him had always known that this day would come. That Nadia would inevitably find out and reject him for what he was. But he had done everything in his power to prevent that from happening and had always hoped that, somehow, he could hide the awful truth from his little girl.
But the time for hope had now passed.
Nadia knew.
Nadia had seen.
And he had recognized the unmistakable fear in her eyes as she had gazed upon his true form.
She had called him a monster and, as much as the word had stung, he knew that he could no longer deny it.
She was right—that was what he was.
He couldn't blame her for running away.
He had wanted to run away from himself ever since he had turned…
"Don't worry, darling. She just needs a bit of time to let it all sink in. She's a smart girl, she'll come around."
Roman heard his mother's vile voice and he jerked away as she attempted to place a "comforting" hand on his back.
He had learned long ago never to accept any sort of comfort from Olivia—she only offered support when she thought there was something for her to gain.
"Don't touch me." The man hissed, his anger propelling him back to his feet. He turned to face her, eyes still red with emotion.
"This is all your fault, you malicious harpy!" He spat, stepping towards her aggressively. "We were fine until you slithered back here and fucked everything up. Is this all one big game to you, Olivia? Does ruining our lives amuse you in some perverse way?"
"Dear god, Roman. Must we always go in circles?" The older woman retorted, refusing to back down. "I know you don't believe me, but I just want to be with my family. I don't see how you can fault me for that."
Roman scoffed. He felt as if he had heard these hollow lines before.
Undeterred, Olivia continued. "I know you think I'm a heartless bitch, Roman, but I'm not. I love. I have feelings. And I have felt alone my entire life." She began, her eyes pleading for compassion. "I've always known that the only way to quell that horrible emptiness was to build a family that I could spend the centuries with—and when I had you, I thought that my suffering was finally over. I know I messed things up between us, and I apologize for not handing things better. But I am your mother, and I think I deserve a second chance."
"You don't deserve shit." Roman shot back.
He had always hated her sob stories and, although a small part of him wanted to believe her words, he had been burned too many times to see this display as more than the same old routine.
"You manipulate and lie and murder." He continued. "You deserve to be alone."
Much to his annoyance, Olivia simply rolled her eyes at his retort. As always, she remained obstinately calm and dismissive.
"You've done all of those things too, darling. We are upir. It is almost inevitable." She reminded him, raising an eyebrow. "And it looks like you have managed to repeat many of my mistakes with your own child."
Although the verbal sparring with his mother had temporarily taken some of his attention away from the situation with Nadia, her words brought everything harshly back into focus.
As much as he hated to admit it, Roman knew that she had a point. When driven by his monstrous rage and hunger, he had committed his share of crimes over the years. He regretted them all, and hated himself for it, but that didn't change what he had done. And, despite the fact that he had never forgiven his mother for lying to him about who he was, he had done the exact same thing to Nadia.
No wonder his daughter was so overwhelmed.
So scared and angry.
He had kept a massive, life altering, secret from her—and he had attempted to maintain his denial, even after the truth had been put on full display.
He knew how it felt to have your world shatter to pieces.
And he knew how hard it would be to recover.
"You need to stop living in denial." His mother stated, snapping him away from his thoughts once again. "Nadia was attacked by a couple of thugs tonight, you know."
"What!?" Roman's head snapped towards her, the alarm apparent on his face. In all of the chaos, he had not yet asked how Olivia and Nadia had come across each other that night and, apparently, the explanation was not a pleasant one.
"Don't worry, I found her before they could truly hurt her. But it was a close call." Olivia paused, looking over at her son pointedly. "She managed to use her powers against them, actually. As I approached, I saw her look them in the eyes and tell them to back away."
Roman felt his stomach sink. "No," he murmured softly, his eyes wide.
As far as he knew, Nadia had never used mind control before—and, if Olivia was telling the truth, then she was probably right about Nadia's growing upirsim.
His powers had begun to manifest at her age as well. And they, and his hunger, had only grown stronger as he neared the end of his teens.
The thought of Nadia going through the same thing made him sick.
"No?" Olivia began again, crossing her arms across her chest. "You should be grateful that she has powers. It is your denial that is dangerous. If she had known the truth, known what she is capable of, she could have gotten away sooner. Protected herself. When she becomes full upir, she—"
"NO!"
Roman cut her off with a furious roar. There was no way in hell that he was going to let her finish that thought and something inside of him had snapped as he spoke.
He was already filled with a plethora of treacherous emotions, and this final statement was simply too much.
Before he fully knew what was happening, he had lunged towards Olivia, lifting her up by the neck with one unnaturally strong motion.
"She may know the truth, now. But she will never. NEVER, be like us." He growled dangerously, his deadly fangs bared, inches from his mother's ageless face.
Despite his display of superhuman strength and aggression, Olivia was not intimidated. With a swift motion that reminded him of her own impressive power, she broke free of his grasp and sent him careening down to the floor.
"Foolish boy." She cooed, towering over him with a sickening grin. "I always win."
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A/N- Let me know what you think! More of Nadia's reaction soon, and I promise that Peter will be featured!
Special thanks to angelsinstead for the lovely reviews!
