I'm terribly sorry for the delay! I tried to get this ready earlier but as you can see I failed miserably... I'll try to post on a regular basis but there are slightly too many variables. Well, here it is now.

Chapter 2

A thin curtain of steam that came from the bathroom hung in the warm air. It had crusted the bedroom's mirror, so that Wolfie had to wipe its surface with his palm. A pair of tired green eyes gazed at him from a pale face that was as normal as possible. Childish features, chubby cheeks, wet, dark hair. Nothing impressive.

Wolfie stared at his topless reflection and reached for the towel he had thrown on the table. He turned the radio next to it louder, as the verse started. He'd barely noticed the music in the background during the shower.

"End of passion-play, crumbling away, I'm your source of self-destruction", he sang along ruffling his hair to make them messy. He dressed up in a white dress shirt and pulled a dark grey sweater on it, stopping to fix the tie. When he was ready, he took a moment to look in the mirror again, wondering what would happen on that day.

"Master, master, where's the dream that I've been after?" Wolfie sang to his reflection, now so quietly that his voice couldn't be heard over the music. He waited for the song to end before sighing deeply and switching off the radio. He gave himself one last glance and headed downstairs.

For the past few days Wolfie had spent some time after school wondering whether he would have the courage to go to the Mirror room or not. He wanted to, there was an invisible string pulling him towards it, but he was scared that someone might see him. That would ruin everything and Wolfie wanted to avoid trouble. That day, however, he had made up his mind and he was finally standing in front of the Blood Mirror. The last time he had been in the room was when Vlad had disappeared and then showed up with the real powers of the Chosen One. That day Wolfie had seen a little black dog in the Mirror. What he saw now was no different.

A sigh escaped his lips as he stared at his reflection. Ridiculous. He could have been a wolf, but no, he had to be dog. And not even a big dog. Some kind of a duster for bat's sake!

A sudden shout upstairs made Wolfie startle. He gave one last glance at the dog in the Mirror and hurried away, closing the door behind him. He couldn't risk to be caught in there, or his could kiss his plan good-bye.

"Renfield! RENFIELD! Is there anybody in this building?" Count Dracula's voice greeted Wolfie as the young cross-breed rushed in the great foyer.

"Uncle Count!" he shrieked stopping a few feet away from him, grin reaching from ear to ear. Count Dracula turned around and looked at him like he almost always did; indifferent. Wolfie wasn't his son, after all. He always acted like he didn't care, but Wolfie knew that deep inside Count Dracula cared for him.

"Wolfie, where on Earth is Renfield?" the Count asked in an irritated tone. Wolfie shrugged. He hadn't seen the man in such a long time he had started to think that he was alone in the building.

"Haven't seen him today. Neither yesterday", he said, pushing the question aside to ask a few himself. "Why are you here, uncle Count? Has something happened? Is Vlad okay? How is he doing? And what about Rajani? How are they?"

Count Dracula silenced him by waving his hand impatiently. "Everything has its time, Wolfie", he just said, still looking for his servant who apparently was either hiding, or just lost. It wouldn't have been the first time.

"What about Ingrid, uncle Count?" Wolfie asked. The question seemed to irritate the Count a lot, but he simply pointed somewhere behind Wolfie's back.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" he muttered and then he was gone. Wolfie frowned and turned around to meet Ingrid's icy blue eyes looking right at him, perfect red lips curved into a beautiful grin. She was leaning against the handrail of the stairs, arms crossed across her chest. As always, she was wearing black, skinny clothes that accentuated her flawless body. Wolfie hadn't known her before she had turned sixteen and sometimes he wondered if she had been very different before that. The Ingrid Wolfie knew was a perfect Queen of Darkness, as beautiful as Vlad was handsome. Maybe the reflection had made her change her looks. Maybe it would do something to Wolfie too - if there even was a reflection waiting for him in the Mirror.

"Ingrid!" Wolfie called out and ran across the hall with his arms wide open. Ingrid didn't move even though she had plenty of time to flash somewhere far away, and allowed Wolfie to wrap his arms around her and pull her into a strong hug.

"Hey, don't struggle me!" she snarled, but didn't push him away. Wolfie had never known why, but Ingrid tolerated him, even if he was a clingy little brother. Wolfie's grip tightened for a second, then he let go and took a few steps away, hanging his head.

"I'm sorry. I've just missed you. It's lonely in here", he mumbled. Ingrid didn't show any emotions, as she wiped her clothes quickly. However, from the corner of his eye Wolfie could catch a slight smile on her lips.

"Don't you have any friends?" she asked chilly, but Wolfie knew she wasn't so indifferent. He shrugged, so she just rolled her eyes teahtratically and said: "I need my room".

"Wait Ingrid", Wolfie called. "For how long are you going to stay?"

"We'll leave tomorrow before dawn", she said and in a flash she was gone.

Apparently Renfield hadn't disappeared completely, since the dining room was prepared and dinner was served. Usually Wolfie cooked himself, to avoid maggots and guts. This time he wasn't so lucky.

They were all sitting around the long table, Count Dracula and Ingrid at the ends and Wolfie somewhere in the middle. The silence was suppressing, and Wolfie could stand it only because it felt polite. Eventually he had to break it, for he was too curious to stay quiet.

"Uncle Count", he carefully said, to catch his attention. "How is Vlad? How are things going?"

Count Dracula said nothing for a long time. He ate and poured a glass of blood down his throat before speaking. Wolfie waited in silence, eyes never leaving his face.

"Things seem to be going well", he said. "Vlad is doing great. Something just feels a bit out of place but I'm sure he will manage". Ingrid uttered a laugh on the other side of the table getting a frustrated glance from her father.

"How about him and Rajani?" Wolfie wanted to know. It had been long since Vlad's blood-binding, but he had met his bride only once, after the ceremony, and so quickly he hadn't had any impression of her. All he knew was that Vlad had chosen her himself, that no one had influenced on the choice in any way. And that there were no feelings involved in this bound. Just a political affair as Vlad had called it.

"They're fine", Count said and focused on the blood. Renfield stood next to him ready to pour more in his glass as if he had nothing better to do. To be honest, he hadn't. Ingrid uttered a new laugh and this time Count Dracula didn't just limit to scowl.

"Ingrid, please, would you shut up?" he asked chilly.

"Actually no, I won't, since you are telling nothing but lies", Ingrid objected, which made her father hiss angrily.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. You know it damn well dad. Don't tell tales. Vlad's close to a burn-out, he had no idea what to do and he and Rajani hardly see each other", Ingrid told coldly. Wolfie frowned and leaned closer to her which, of course, was useless.

"What do you mean?" he asked at the same time Count Dracula asked: "How do you know that?" Ingrid sighed dramatically and sank into silence for the time she emptied her glass.

"Unlike you, I talk to those who are close to Vlad", she said.

"Like who?" Count asked irritated.

"Like his advisor. Fleance doesn't just look like Bertrand, you know? He talks", she said.

"And probably betrays too", Count Dracula snarled.

"Technically Bertrand never betrayed Vlad...", Wolfie tried to interfere, but no one listened to him. It took under a second for the two of them to start a war and the dinner was completely forgotten as they shouted accusations (among the other things) to each other. Wolfie listened for a short while, but eventually he got bored. A nice surprise had turned into a disaster and he wasn't even amazed. It would have been odd if Ingrid and Count Dracula could stand each other for more than an hour without starting a fight. Wolfie was just tired of it. No one cared to know how he was, what was going on at school. No one remembered that the next day was going to be his birthday. With a sigh he nodded to Renfield, got up and escaped the battle field.

Wolfie was getting ready for bed when he felt abreeze caressing the back of his neck. He turned around to face Ingrid who was now leaning against the door of his room, looking at him contemplatively.

"Oh, it was you. Sorry I'm not used to that anymore", Wolfie said, voice lacking interest. He turned back to search his t-shirt and allowed Ingrid to stay in silence. Simultaneously he wanted to know why she had come, and didn't want to have anything do with it. He was confused. Why were they even here? He was lucky they were leaving within a few hours, otherwise his plan would have been ruined.

"Sorry for that. Dad's still the same as always", Ingrid broke the silence, forcing her half brother to turn around again, impatiently.

"To that I am still used", he said. "I just wished you would even try to behave when you are together." Ingrid nodded slightly and sank into silence again, just for a little while though, so that Wolfie hadn't time to turn around.

"Tomorrow is your sixteenth birthday", she said quietly. As the words dropped from her lips, Wolfie's gaze dashed to meet her eyes and his eyebrows arched into a light, suspicious frown.

"How do you know that?" he asked, amazed, not realizing how impolite the choice of words was. Ingrid laughed dryly.

"Why does everyone always think I care only about myself?" she wondered out loud and Wolfie knew the question wasn't meant to be answered. He didn't think Ingrid thought only about herself, he'd seen so many times she wasn't like that. He was simply stunned that someone remembered. That it was Ingrid who did. "I'm not as horrible as you think I am".

"I don't think you are..." Wolfie started but he was silenced by an impatient wave of hand. Ingrid pulled from a pocket of her coat a small box wrapped in silver paper, tied with a golden bow. She handed it towards him.

"I'm needed elsewhere so I won't be here tomorrow. Open it when I'm gone, please. I know how it feels when no one remembers. That's why I brought you this", Ingrid said. For a brief moment Wolfie just stared. He had never received a birthday present. When Ingrid cleared her throat, Wolfie awoke and walked closer to take the present. His fingers brushed hers and he was once again surprised by how cold they were.

"Thank you, Ingrid. I… I don't know what to say", Wolfie murmured. He closed the cab between them and hugged her with one hand this time. He felt Ingrid's hands wrap lightly around him for a brief moment after which she was clearing her throat again.

"Okay, enough with this fluffiness", she said pushing Wolfie away gently. "Just have a happy birthday, okay? Go out with your friends or whatever and don't think too much. And promise me that whatever you're planning to do, you're gonna break all the rules and cause dad as much trouble as possible when he gets back?" Wolfie smiled absentmindedly.

"Yeah. Thank you, Ingrid", he said. Ingrid gave him one last glance, wished him a good night and then zoomed off, leaving the young boy alone in the room. Wolfie stared at the point where she had been standing, and then slowly reached his bed to sit on it. Somehow it felt like Ingrid knew what he had in mind. Wolfie couldn't tell whether it was a good or a bad thing, but he knew for sure that she wasn't going to stop him.

A/N Wolfie and Ingrid's relationship was maddeningly hard to describe. Hope I didn't mess up...
The song Wolfie is singing in the beginning is The Master of Puppets by Metallica